Cap. 35: Covering the Mistake"He's here again?" Samuel asked, unfazed, as he saw Zen step out of the elevator right after Evandro and his partner. He watched as Zen subtly followed them, disguising his movements until they entered Lavínia's apartment. Then, he noticed a maintenance worker borrow a hat, cover his face, and sneak into the room."When you didn’t answer, he just entered the password. From now on, you either stay at my apartment or Zara’s—you’re not staying alone in your house anymore.""What is he? For God’s sake!" Zara exclaimed in panic, watching the footage from Lavínia's living room camera, showing Zen attacking someone in a fit of rage."He's terrifying!" Samuel pointed at the screen, still in shock. "What are we going to do?" he asked, while Lavínia stood with her arms crossed, staring at the footage without blinking."Erase everything related to this—every moment from their arrival to their departure," she instructed, her tone indifferent. Zara and Samuel exchange
Chapter 36: An Intern’s SuitLavínia returned to her apartment and began gathering what had been left behind, mainly the documents Evandro had brought to force her to sign. She quickly crumpled them up and tossed them into the trash. It felt as if she were covering up a crime.She spent the night in Zara’s room, where she slept, and in the morning, they went together with Samuel to the company."I’ll go buy coffee for the three of us," Samuel announced, glancing at Zara as if giving her a warning. Zara then grabbed Lavínia by the wrist."Why don’t we go together? We have time, you know," Lavínia suggested."No! I’ll buy it. It’s better if you don’t show yourself too much, or else I’ll hire bodyguards. Do you really want to come?" he asked. She shrugged, glaring at him before walking off with Zara, who led her to the elevator. Once they were gone, Samuel asked one of the interns to buy the coffee, and he stayed at the reception area, waiting.That’s when he saw Zen walking through the
Chapter 37: The Mission Isn't OverPanic radiated from Zara and Samuel's eyes as they stared at each other. Samuel grabbed her tightly, pressing his hand over her mouth."As I told you, your shift is in the afternoon. Besides, why are you fighting over a younger guy? Are you interested in him? And don't forget: Lavínia owns this place. Do you want to lose your job and never get another one? The only person who can ruin your career is her, and she does it without hesitation," he said, his smile turning dark as the threat in his words intensified."A whim? Doesn't seem worth that much, does it?" Zara retorted with an ironic smile."Good morning, professor," Zen greeted her with a nod."Good morning, Zen," she replied with a grumble, averting her eyes. The irritation was evident, and he noticed it right away."I couldn't warn you earlier since I was thrown into this at the last minute. But I thought a company like this would have more organization when it comes to changes like this," he
Cap. 38: I Want Your ProblemsMr. R frowned, feigning surprise.“That’s not possible. That case was in the hands of the owner of the firm.”"Are you talking about Mrs. Bayer?" Zen asked, his voice now lower."Exactly." Mr. R nodded, a faint smile on his lips."Well, she dumped it on a rookie intern and... I’m working alongside her on this case. There’s no chance of winning. I can’t act as a lawyer—just an assistant.""Why don’t you take the bar exam? You’ve had private tutors since you were twelve. I can arrange everything for you." Mr. R proposed."Go to hell! I only studied that because you forced me to. I’m not going to practice law just because you wanted to have a tool to cover up your dirty work." Zen shouted, his anger blinding him."Then figure it out yourself. Remember, that man was your mission. If you really want to prove yourself, make that woman win this case, and I’ll handle the rest once he’s behind bars." Mr. R said with an unyielding tone."How is she supposed to hand
Chapter 39: Let Me Support YouLavínia averted her gaze, blushing intensely. Her hands covered her cheeks, trying in vain to hide the turmoil of emotions overwhelming her. A mischievous smile curved Zen's lips as he observed her reaction with evident satisfaction."Such nonsense. Why don't you go start your shift with that shameless woman?" she murmured, trying to sound indifferent, but her voice trembled."Cintia is quite professional. I never thought I could learn so many interesting things from a woman. Did you know she has various intriguing skills?" he remarked, crossing his arms and stepping closer. Lavínia stared at him, her eyes wide with surprise."Skills?" she repeated, her voice faltering."Yes, she's the kind of woman with many qualities. I suppose that's why most men..." He left the sentence hanging, an enigmatic smile on his lips."I don't care what she does or doesn't do, and I hope you two aren't breaking company rules," she interrupted, trying to change the subject."
Cap. 40: Having Lunch with Her?As soon as they left, they headed to a restaurant near Alpha Corp. Lavínia walked briskly, her expression clearly showing irritation."Do you think she’s jealous?" Samuel asked Zara as they discreetly followed behind."Obviously! She never goes out for lunch with coworkers. She’s definitely fuming... If she keeps acting like this, she might reveal her true identity. I need to help her maintain this façade of the naïve and fragile intern. Have you noticed how protective he is of her?" Zara replied, a hint of amusement in her tone."Even so… like I said, there’s something off about this guy. How does an intern, who hasn’t even gotten his first paycheck yet, buy a $15,000 suit?" Samuel asked, still baffled."Are you going to tell Lavínia about this?""No, I don’t want to stir the pot further. Suspicious as he may be, he does seem to genuinely care about her. And with Lavínia acting this immature and making her security more complicated, it’s better to have
Chapter 41: Protect the Poor GirlLunch couldn’t have been more chaotic. Only Zen and Zara seemed to enjoy the situation until Cintia made an announcement.“Lavinia... why don’t you try the dessert? The pudding here is divine; it has a special ingredient,” Cintia teased, serving Lavinia a slice.“No!” Zara immediately shouted, alarmed as she grabbed the pudding. “This stuff shouldn’t even be on this table! What do you think you’re doing? Trying to get accused of attempted murder?”“I’ll eat it instead. It’s not going to kill me,” Samuel said, taking the pudding and having a spoonful.“What’s wrong? It’s just pudding,” Cintia said with a malicious smile, her eyes glinting with a strange light.“You know very well Lavinia has a life-threatening allergy to eggs and anything derived from them,” Zara said indignantly.“Let her be. If she wants to provoke me, that’s her problem,” Lavinia sighed indifferently, while Zen remained frozen by this new revelation.“That’s enough! I’ve lost my app
Cap. 42“Where are you? Everyone involved has already been gathered, except the one person you asked to keep confidential. Will you resolve this today?”“Where are they?”“At the service base on the outskirts of the city, at that ranch you know so well.”“Then keep them there. I won’t be able to go today.” He informed, watching Bayer discreetly, leaning to the side.“But isn’t the workday over?” He asked curiously.“Yes, but right now… I’m watching someone.”“Are you really that smitten with this woman?” He smiled, skeptical. “They say that after the first night, virgin guys want to spend their entire lives with the woman who took their virginity.” He mocked, laughing from the other side of the line.“Are you crazy? How could a guy like me be a virgin? Besides, I’m here because she’s handling Dimon’s case, and in less than a week, she’ll face the court with some accusations. I want you to get all the evidence we have filed away. She has little time to authenticate the evidence I’m goi
128 - The Family Secret“Lavínia is showing signs of her mother’s hereditary disease,” the doctor began, his expression serious. “We didn’t expect the symptoms to appear before she turned thirty. If I had predicted this... maybe we could’ve started treatment earlier to try to inhibit the effects.”“What do you mean?” Zen asked, the tension clear in his voice.“That, little by little, Lavínia may start forgetting who she is, what she knows, what she is capable of. Her neurons might begin to degrade and...”“But what about her mother?” Zen interrupted, confused. “Her mother lasted years, right?”“No... It’s not exactly like that.” The doctor sighed. “Lavínia’s mother went through an extremely difficult time in the beginning. The disease, in its early stages, presents itself very aggressively, until the body adapts to the changes. But when that happens, the person is never the same. They start a slow, but irreversible, walk toward death, from the moment the symptoms appear.”“How’s that
127: "The Unseen Truth"While everyone at the recovery center was stunned and unsure of what to do, the cameras had recorded everything that had happened. The room was engulfed in a heavy silence as the footage was played again, as if trying to make sense of the inexplicable.Lavínia kept her gaze fixed on the screen, her face pale, her heart racing. She immediately recognized the woman who had entered her mother’s room. Her stomach churned at the thought of the worst, but she continued watching, and what she saw left her speechless: her aunt Eleonor, with a cold, determined expression, trying to suffocate Elena. The footage continued to show Zen, stumbling drunk, entering the room, grabbing a syringe, and injecting something into the woman, who then collapsed unconscious.“I-I…” Lílian tried to stammer, uncomfortable. “He didn’t kill her…” she added, her voice heavy with tension. “He only injected Elena with the medicine. Your aunt is sleeping in one of the rooms.”“Thank goodness…”
Chapter 126: "Fugitive in Search of Refuge"After paying for the taxi, he entered with her, who sat on the sofa.“What the hell… what am I going to do?” he asked, messing up his hair in impatience and staring at Elena sitting on the couch, her expression indifferent.“Are you okay?” she asked, swallowing dryly, her voice dragging.“You keep talking…” He sighed uneasily. “Why did you come here?”“I’m scared, I don’t want to stay there, and I don’t want to die,” she confessed, frightened.“Your daughter is going to cause a big mess because of you. Why don’t you go back? How did you get here without knowing where I live?”“I followed you and waited until that man left. I need you to hide me, please.”“Why?”“You saw… that woman, who I don’t want to call a sister, is trying to kill me. With my death, my husband can take the fortune that’s in my name.”“Damn, ma’am, your family really loves money.”“My daughter has millions saved in my bank account for my treatment. I’ve had her working ha
Chapter 125 - Secrets, Shadows, and Unexpected EncountersShe observed for a short moment before stepping back and calling someone."Darling, you won’t believe this, but I found her," she said while heading toward the elevator booth, barely noticing that she had passed by someone familiar."What is that woman doing here?" Zen murmured, suspicious. Still, he wasn’t interested in finding out as he waited for his call to be answered."Valmont, send me the address where Mrs. Bayer’s judge appointment will take place. I remember it’s today, right? The newspapers won’t stop talking about it.""Are you thinking of going?""Yes.""But it’s a restricted event. Normally, only prosecutors and employees from her firm would attend… Oh, that’s right, you’re one of them. Still, you didn’t receive an invitation. You need one to get in.""Valmont, a closed door has never been a reason for me not to enter—you know that. Besides, I need to figure out the real reason behind Lavínia’s marriage. Have you f
Chapter 124 – A Narrow Escape“What do you mean?” Cedrick asked, confused. “I've never seen anything like this before. There was no woman more focused and attentive to her work than Lavínia. If she’s acting this way now, it must be because of what she's been doing lately.”“True... Besides, today is her appointment. She’s finally going to become the judge she always dreamed of being!” Zara commented—until she felt a tap on her shoulder from Samuel.“She’s becoming a judge?” he asked, frowning.“No! Actually, I got mixed up...” she mumbled, bringing her hands to her head. “I think I’m just as exhausted as Lavínia.”“It doesn’t seem like you got mixed up.” Cedrick retorted, suspicious.“You’re still here?!” Cedrick’s mother sighed, grabbing his arm and pulling him away from the two.“What’s going on?”“Where is she? I went to her room, and she wasn’t there!” his mother asked, fear in her voice.“Who? Mrs. Bayer?”“Yes, her…” His mother pressed her lips together, placing a hand on her ch
Chapter 123 – Shadows of the PastSamuel and Zara rushed into the room upon hearing her panicked scream. When they found her, Lavínia was curled up in the corner of the bed, while her phone, its screen cracked, lay in the opposite corner where she had thrown it.“What happened?” Samuel asked, trying to calm her down, but she didn’t say a single word.“What could she have seen that scared her this much now?” Zara questioned anxiously. “I keep saying… We need to disappear for a while, maybe go to another country and take a vacation. The problem with Lavínia is that she always insists on facing everything, but it seems like things are getting out of hand.”“I don’t know...” Samuel murmured in confusion, gently laying Lavínia down on the bed. She kept her lips pressed together, still in a state of panic. “What is that man’s motivation? What does he really want?” he asked, as confused as he was concerned, while Zara swallowed hard.“We should ask the doctor to give her a sedative.”“No! I’
Chapter 122 – A Game of Shadows“Well... I saw her a few times after that party,” he commented, swallowing hard, while Zen seemed to have asked on purpose."I'm afraid of a few things..." he confessed, ignoring Valmont's reaction."Of what?""Of losing the things I love. I know I shouldn’t love or get attached to anything—that’s how that man tried to raise me... but I can’t help it. I’m used to clinging to what I never had when I was younger. The day I woke up in that hospital after almost dying, I woke up with a new family. So, it wasn’t a bad day for me. I was only 14, and I didn’t have the cold mind I have today. But that time definitely saved me... or I would have discarded anything that had to do with humanity.”"I know... Romanov wanted to create nothing but a killing machine. You are one, but with feelings. You’ve learned to respect the people you love. But not everything goes the way we want. Things are getting out of control, and with this note, I’m almost certain you might b
Chapter 121 – The Trap"Hey, what are you—" Lavínia tried to step out, but it was too late.The elevator doors shut with a metallic thud, and within seconds, a thick white fog began to fill the cabin. Lavínia pressed herself against the wall, frozen for an instant. Her heart pounded as the chemical scent invaded her lungs, suffocating her.Desperate, she rushed to the panel, pressing the buttons repeatedly, trying to force the doors open or stop the elevator. Her hands trembled as her lungs began to fail. The fog spread rapidly, making every breath more difficult."Someone... help me..." she managed to whisper before a violent coughing fit overtook her, tears streaming from her stinging eyes.Meanwhile, Zen was still sprinting up the stairs like a madman, hearing only the muffled sound of his own footsteps and the deafening pulse of blood in his ears. He knew he had to get there before it was too late.Inside the elevator, Lavínia collapsed to her knees, her fingers still fumbling wit
Chapter 120 - The Silent Threat"She received that?" he asked, standing up."Where is she, and where is that note?""She’s better, she's working, and the note is back in the pile of gifts," she informed him.Cedrick immediately rushed toward the office.All the employees turned to him, confused by his abrupt entrance. He hadn't even realized how fast he had moved."Hey, assistant, what are you doing? I thought your shift was over," one of the women asked."Yeah... but I heard there's a lot of work here. By any chance... is that pile of stuff meant to be taken to storage?" he asked, pointing at the stack of mail addressed to Bayer."Yes, please, if you can... burn everything related to hate messages and gifts," one of them said, still tense. They were all scared.Cedrick grabbed a large box, dumped everything inside, and discreetly hid the envelope under his blazer. He carried the box to the storage room, where, after setting it down, he pulled out the letter and read it.It was exactl