She turned to Maxim and asked, “What about Jayden? We haven’t been home for a while, and I completely forgot about him. I thought he was still at his old company, but I just remembered he’s already left.”Maxim glanced at Tatianaand replied, “You’re only thinking about him now? As his sister, you’re not doing a very good job.”Tatiana wasn’t offended by Maxim’s comment; she just laughed and said, “I’ve been so focused on my husband that it’s easy to forget about Jayden!”Lately, Maxim had been flirting with her so much that she felt like a naive young girl.After all, she was supposed to be older than Maxim in terms of maturity. How could she let herself be swept away by a man like him?With that thought, Tatiana decided to tease Maxim a bit more. “Why are you so quiet, honey? Are you unhappy?”As she spoke, she leaned closer to Maxim. He had been looking down, and when she said that, he didn’t lift his head. Tatiana took it as a sign that he was charmed by her, so she grew bolder
Seeing the puzzled look on Tatiana's face, Maxim continued, "As long as he promises a higher profit to the other side than what I'm offering, taking this company from me would be a piece of cake."Tatiana’s confusion deepened at Maxim's words. "But if that's the case, won't he end up losing money? If he uses the company's funds like that, the company will suffer losses. If you tell the company about this,they would never allow it.”After Tatiana finished speaking, she looked into Maxim's eyes, lowered her head for a moment, and then came up with a bold idea. She turned to Maxim and asked, "Do you think he's using his own account to cover those expenses that shouldn't need to be paid?"Maxim paused for a moment, then nodded in agreement.Seeing Maxim nod, Tatiana was genuinely shocked. "If this keeps up, he'll be bankrupt in no time. This can't possibly be a long-term plan; he must have some other way.""Yeah, this investment will definitely fall back on me in the end. But John is b
He had intended to bring up Maxim's progress to knock down his inflated ego, but Tatiana's comments had derailed his thoughts.John seethed with anger toward her. She had repeatedly disrupted his plans, and once he took control of the company, he vowed she wouldn't have it easy. He would make sure to toy with her before casting her aside. That ungrateful woman!John dared not voice these thoughts in front of the two of them, so he silently cursed Tatiana in his mind. However,sitting across from him, Tatiana could read his eyes clearly. She lowered her head with a cold smirk; his gaze was utterly disgusting. If it weren't for her current status, she would have long ago plucked his eyes out."Alright, alright, let's not talk about that anymore. Since Maxim is off having fun with his wife, there's no rush on this job," John said, pulling out a cigarette to offer to Maxim. To his surprise, Maxim merely glanced at it and replied, "I don't smoke. If you like it, you can keep it, Uncle
As Maxim spoke, Tatiana felt a stir of emotions. However, she didn't want to let him off the hook so easily, so she kept her face cold and remained silent."The events that followed are what you see now. I was just a kid back then, and I didn't understand much. Even though I knew John wasn't a good person, I had no choice but to let him manage the company. It wasn't until I became an adult and joined the company that I realized many of the key players had sided with him over the years. Trying to take back the company has been a complicated matter, and John has been working behind the scenes to stop me.""I knew John's intentions the day after I married you,” Tatiana said, turning to look at Maxim. "The poison in you was planted by Jihn. It's a rare toxin, and I don't know where he got it. He’s been administering a slow-acting poison to you all this time. I showed you before that this kind of poison takes at least ten years to show its effects."Listening to Maxim's words, Tatiana beg
However, Tatiana was too preoccupied to notice. After speaking with him, she quickly bent down to change her shoes.Maxim paused for a moment, then stepped forward. "I'll go with you. I should check on Tara too. Since she's your student and something happened here, it's only right for me to see her."Tatiana found Maxim's response a bit odd. He didn't seem like the type to be so caring. But the urgency of Tara's situation had her too rattled to think much about it.After hearing Maxim's words, Tatiana simply nodded and said, "Okay, let’s hurry. Tara is still at the hospital.”"Okay, sounds good."Once everything was ready, the two of them drove towards the hospital."Vance, are you in the room?," Tatiana said, glancing at the hospital as they approached. She quickly dialed Vance's number to check in.After a few seconds of silence on the other end, Vance replied, "Where are you now? I'll come to the hospital entrance to pick you up.""Great, I'm almost there. You can head down now.
"I'm fine, just a bit scared," Tara replied. "But the other girl might be hurt a little more seriously."Tara spoke to Tatiana, her eyes filled with guilt. If she hadn't been so scared and fainted, maybe she could have called the hospital herself instead of waiting for someone else to discover the situation."You don't need to feel guilty," Tatiana said, noticing the remorse in Tara's eyes. She stepped closer and reassured her, "We just checked on that person, and yes, it was serious. But Tara, you were incredibly brave. If it weren't for you, that girl in the next room might not have made it. So instead of feeling guilty, she should be thanking you."Tara was touched by Tatiana’s words, and the guilt in her heart seemed to fade a bit. She smiled, still a bit incredulous, and asked, "Is that really true? Did I really save her?""Yes, you did. She's alive and healthy," Tatiana confirmed, nodding firmly with a warm smile directed at Tara."Now, you need to rest. Don't think about the
"Developing games? I remember someone from our company was quite interested in that area. As for the film side, isn’t Jayden the only one under your wing? If you want to avoid losses, you’ll need to bring in more people later on."Maxim looked a bit confused by Tatiana's comment. He didn’t quite understand why she suddenly mentioned her company alongside his.Seeing his puzzled expression, Tatiana smiled and clarified, "I mean, we shouldcollaborate again on our projects.”"We're collaborating again. By signing the contract with the company you need now, it's like signing with two companies at once, right? This way, the money we make will surpass what John can offer all at once. It’s a win-win for us, while John will only end up losing both money and resources."After hearing Tatiana's words, Maxim finally understood. This approach was something he hadn't encountered before, so whether it would work was uncertain. However, given the current situation, it seemed like the only option. If
Tatiana listened to him while glancing at the well-dressed Delany beside her. She smiled and shook her head. "It's fine. Just show me the case files, all of them, including the information on the previous victims. I need everything, but I don't have much time to go through it here. I’ll need to take the files with me to reviewat my own pace. Is that okay? Please let the higher-ups know about this.""They mentioned from the start that they were aware of your preferences, so they just asked me to cooperate with you. If there are any other issues or needs, just let me know directly. You don’t have to worry about anything else," Vance replied.After saying this, he observed Tatiana's expression, unsure why she had agreed this time. The higher-ups were anxious that she might suddenly withdraw her help, which would make the case much harder to crack.Rebecca was well aware of the internal dynamics but felt it was unnecessary. She had always been someone who kept her word. Mason's behavio
Three days later—The first thing Tatiana saw when she opened her eyes was a blanket of white. After a few moments of confusion, she blinked and slowly turned her head to look around, realizing she was in a hospital.Before she could take in her surroundings, she heard the sound of a door opening. Turning toward the noise, she saw Maxim walking in.When Maxim saw Tatiana awake and looking at him, he felt a rush of excitement. He quickly approached her and asked,"You’re finally awake! How do you feel? Is there anywhere that still hurts?"Tatiana slowly shook her head, wanting to speak, but her throat was dry and raspy. Instead, she looked at Maxim, hoping he would understand that she needed water.Fortunately, Maxim got the hint. He smiled at her and hurried over to pour a glass of warm water. After helping her drink, Tatiana felt a wave of relief wash over her. "I’m fine. How long was I out?""Three days," Maxim replied, his eyes filled with an emotion she couldn't quite place.Emo
With that thought, Riley quickly left those people behind.Tatiana, on the other hand, was unaware of Riley's situation. She stood facing the assassin in front of her, her expression icy."Miss, we hope you can leave this place. We don't want to harm you; we just need you to leave that man behind. We assure you, you can leave here safely."These people had been here for a long time, trying to persuade Tatiana to leave. Their boss had ordered that she couldn't be harmed, but they couldn't understand why this woman refused to budge. They had been standing there for what felt like ages.Realizing that convincing Tatiana was futile, the leader turned his attention to Mazim. "Maxim, are you still a man? Hiding behind a woman?”Maxim pressed his hand against his shoulder, his face pale from blood loss. He managed a weak smile and replied, "Better than being unprotected like you."Though he said that, deep down, he hoped Tatiana would leave soon. He didn't know how long they could mainta
Crushing the herbs and applying them to the wound, then bandaging it up was all she could do for now. After tending to his injury, he looked at Tatiana and said, "You need to get out of here quickly. They’re not after you, and they won’t chase you. Find a way back and get someone to rescue me."Tatiana replied, "By then, it won’t be about saving you; it’ll just be about collecting your body."Seeing Maxim’s pale face, Tatiana insisted, "I’m not leaving. It was my idea to come here, and I won’t just abandon you.""Why are you being so foolish?" Maxim's lips curled into a slight smile. In such a dire situation, all he wanted was for Tatiana to leave.She was the girl he liked, and he wanted her to be safe, away from this suffering. But why, upon realizing she wouldn’t leave, did he feel even more touched and reluctant to let her go?"I’m not foolish. I’m with you, and we’re married—even if it’s just pretend. We’re friends, right?" Tatiana said, helping Maxim to his feet as they slowly
The man didn’t even have time to react before he collapsed unconscious.The commotion drew attention, and all eyes turned toward Tatiana.“Run!” Tatiana shouted, grabbing Maxim’s hand and sprinting toward the nearby trees.Her shout jolted everyone awake, and the leader yelled for the others to pursue both of them.As Tatiana saw that they were about to disappear from sight, the leader at the front suddenly darkened his expression. He quickly pulled out something and fired a shot toward Maxim.Tatiana turned around just in time to witness this scene, and immediately grabbed Maxim, trying to switch places with him. But little did she know, Maxim had also spotted the bullet heading his way.The leader initially thought the bullet might miss Maxim since the woman beside him was ready to take the hit, but to his surprise, her didn’t let her take the bullet for him.“Bang—”The sound of the gunshot echoed, startling the birds perched in the trees, sending them flying off into the distance
Moreover, John had sent someone to wait for them so early. If they hadn't arrived earlier, and had waited until later to come, things would have been even more complicated.With these thoughts in mind, Maxim felt even more determined. Once they were out of here, he would make sure to pull John down from his position as soon as possible. Someone like him didn’t deserve to be in the company.He believed that his grandfather would never allow such a person to be part of the company either.The next morning, sunlight streamed through the leaves, casting bright rays that pierced Tatiana's eyes. She blinked a few times, slowly waking up.As she looked around, her mind began to piece together the events of the previous day. At that moment, Maxim also stirred awake as Tatiana shifted away from his shoulder.He had barely slept at all last night, finally drifting off only as morning approached.Tatiana stood up and checked her phone, only to find there was still no signal. She turned to Max
"The place ahead is Sylvia's home. Do you think they might not be looking for us and instead have gone to kill them?""No way, these assassins are all managed by someone. They only target their assignments and won't harm anyone else, so we need to protect ourselves first." Tatiana said this without a hint of hesitation, but then she realized that as a young lady, she probably shouldn't know about such things.Thinking this, Tatiana cautiously glanced at Maxim. His expression didn’t seem strange, so he likely hadn’t caught on to what she was implying. With that thought, she quietly sighed in relief; otherwise, she would have to find a way to explain everything, which would only complicate matters. She didn’t want Maxim to get dragged into this mess.With that in mind, Tatiana said, "Let’s stop talking about this and get out of here. We can’t stay for long, and we can’t be sure they won’t come back.”As she spoke, she tugged on Maxim's shirt and led him toward the exit. However, as she
As he spoke, Maxim glanced outside at the darkening sky. They had already wasted too much time, and they couldn't afford to linger any longer. They weren't familiar with the area, and it was best to get back to their car before it was completely dark. Otherwise, they might find it impossible to return.Tatiana understood his concerns and frowned as she looked at the weather outside. "Let's go talk to the old lady about this. If all goes well, we can leave right away. We can bring Sylvia and Marianna back with us when we return the notebook. Right now, going back is too risky."Sylvia and Marianna had only gone out a few years ago. Tatiana thought that it wouldn’t be right to leave them behind while taking Grandma alone, so her initial plan was to bring all three of them back together. However, it was clear that they couldn’t take Grandma on such a journey now. At her age, it wouldn’t be good for her to travel those long distances. They decided that once they returned the book, they
“She left when she was very young, and I don’t know much about it,” the old woman said, shaking her head as she looked at Tatiana. “But I haven’t dared to go into her room all these years, so I don’t know what’s inside. There might be something valuable in there. I have the key; you can go take a look.”Sitting on the stool, the old woman had thought it through. These two didn’t seem like bad people, and sharing this information with them wouldn’t hurt. Maybe they could even find the killer of Cordelia. After all, so many years had passed,and she had come to terms with it. The most important thing for her now was Sylvia and Marianna. So, for their sake, she decided to open the room today.Tatiana was a bit surprised. She hadn’t expected the old woman to be so accommodating, but this could indeed lead to more information. Feeling grateful, Tatiana smiled at the old woman and said, “If you don’t want to go in, you don’t have to. We won’t disturb anything inside.”The old woman stood
The elderly woman knew she was putting them in a tough spot, but she felt she had no choice. This was her only hope after all these years. She couldn’t afford to send her children to school herself, so she had to push for this arrangement. For her kids, she was willing to take the risk.The old man's request was something Tatiana hadn't expected. She thoughthe would ask for wealth or something similar, but it was just about reading books? Was that all?Tatiana appeared somewhat dazed, which seemed to signal to the old man that she was reluctant to give up this opportunity. So she quickly added, "You don't have to feel hesitant. Just take her out. All you need to do is cover some necessary expenses, and consider it a loan. Once they have the ability to earn money, they will definitely come back to repay you. I promise."This time, even though Tatiana hadn't fully processed the situation, Maxim had. He looked at the old man and calmly said,"No need.""What?" The old woman was momentar