Inside the private room, Caleb dismissed the waiter with a chuckle, "I've never seen Mrs. Yagle so... Well, rattled before."Riley, leaning on the Gibson family's support and her status as a widow, commanded extra respect from the old guard in Redenbaugh City.In the city's social circles, she was practically royalty, and few had the nerve to cross her."It was her who came looking for trouble with me, and she even tried to drag you into it," Madeline explained.Madeline did not want the Gibsons to find out about the baby's lineage, but she could not stand by and let Caleb take the fall.That mess was not good for her, Caleb, or even the baby.She had rushed into a divorce before, not thinking things through. However, she refused to admit to anything.Coming clean was meant to sicken Riley and to officially give her child a backstory.She could not just say the baby's dad was dead, could she?That would only lead to more issues once the baby arrived.A wave of complicated fee
Caleb was seething at Trevon's untimely intrusion, severing the moment.He had finally found the guts to lay his feelings out to Madeline, rehearsing lines in his head to win her over.However, Trevon swooped in.A huge chunk of Madeline's hesitation to tie the knot was tied to Trevon's presence.With Trevon in the picture, her 'yes' seemed even more out of reach.With that thought, the glares they traded turned frostier by the second."Mr. Gibson, you're not exactly busy yourself, huh? Clocking out this early, is the Gibson Group about to go under?"Trevon smirked. "Hardly. We've still got plenty of cash to splash on the Jabs family.""Well, that's a relief. Mr. Gibson, you can count on me. I've got the chops to take care of your health issues."Madeline was speechless.By the time Yeneth and Yahir showed up, Caleb and Trevon were perched on either side of Madeline, tossing snarky comments back and forth.Neither of them even glanced at the other, as if they were dissing th
Trevon looked where she was staring and saw a bunch of cars parked with several women getting in and driving off.Nothing seemed out of the ordinary."What's up?" Trevon inquired.Madeline quickly came back to her senses, her lips quivered, but she did not say a word.Instead, she turned to Caleb and asked, "Caleb, could you drop Yeneth off? She lives far away, and it's tough to catch a cab tonight."Caleb felt a knot in his stomach. "What about you?"Madeline gave a strained smile. "I'll ride with Trevon. We're headed the same way."Trevon's eyebrow quirked up, a spark in his eyes.Caleb watched them, feeling a sour twist in his gut, his heart swelling with an emotion he could not quite name."Sure."He did not dare to ask more and quickly left with Yeneth.Trevon's gaze shifted, landing on Yahir. "You're not going?"Yahir scratched his head. "Maybe I should tag along with you?"He did not want to face the boss lady at home. Going back would be like walking straight into
He did not know what he had until he looked, and Hoyt's digging had unearthed a goldmine. Cilix's recent jaunt to the Southern Archipelago had paid off big time. He had not just thrown up five factories, he had nailed down their supply chains too.In under a month, those factories would be cranking out nearly ninety percent of their workload.When the time came, would there even be a whisper of Jasperia Textiles left in the air?Cilix had gone and done it himself. He ordered a deep dive into every nook and cranny of the Sanders Group's factories, not letting anything slide.In the span of a single day, Hoyt's assets were frozen solid.Talk about kicking someone to the curb!Madeline hit the nail on the head—it was not her cutting off his escape, it was Cilix!To think, they had grown up together, side by side, and he had never guessed Cilix had such a dark heart.Hoyt, steaming mad, stormed into the Sanders family's mansion and let his fist fly right at Cilix.Wham!Cilix too
It took a while, but Lacee finally came over to Skylar, her voice gentle. "Mrs. Lowe, Mr. Sanders has left."She offered her hand to Skylar.Skylar swatted it away. "Get away from me, you faker! It's all your fault Lydia's locked up in that place!"Lydia was trapped, living a nightmare. Cilix seemed like he could not care less about her.What was going to happen to Lydia?Skylar was cursing under her breath, clutching her chest, coughing fits, seizing her.Lacee stared at her reddened hand, a hurt look on her face. "Mrs. Lowe, I swear I just stumbled upon that conversation about the mental hospital. You can check the bank cameras if you don't believe me. There were two ladies talking right next to me."Skylar eventually figured it out.Lacee was not the type to pull off such a stunt, not even if she was ten times bolder. It had to be Madeline, setting up the whole thing so Lacee would accidentally catch that conversation.However, Skylar could not let go of her resentment.If
The next morning, Hoyt was chowing down on the breakfast Bennet had snagged for them. "Bennet, you're a lifesaver. Just let me get back on my feet, and I'll make it up to you, promise."Bennet just chuckled and kept mum.Xoan limped in, snagged a fry, and plopped down at the computer, face blank as a slate.Hoyt dabbed at his mouth and frowned. "What's with the limp?"Bennet quirked an eyebrow. "Took a few hits."Boom!Hoyt slammed his hand on the table. "Who's got the nerve to mess with you? Point them out—I'll go give them a taste of their own medicine!"Xoan just snorted and kept his eyes on the screen.Bennet took a lazy drag on his cigarette and murmured, "I'd owe you one."The tinkling of wind chimes filled the room as Madeline strolled in, breakfast bag in hand.Madeline walked in to find everyone already digging into their food. She arched an eyebrow and chuckled."Looks like I'm fashionably late."Trevon had been adamant about walking her out, and it took some fanc
"Half the clothes the Sanders Group sells are just recycled second-hand gear. Oh, and remember that orphanage? Some of their 'new' stock came straight from there."The dye they were using was total junk. It was supposed to be top-notch, eco-friendly stuff, but it was all just nasty chemicals. I only swapped in the good stuff after I caught them red-handed."...Hoyt spilled the beans, nearly blowing the lid off Jasperia Textiles and the Sanders Group's shady dealings.Once he was done, he strutted off, munching on a fry.Bennet watched him go, muttering, "Greedy fat cats."They did not give a hoot about regular folks.Xoan scratched his head. "Madeline, you'd think with the Sanders Group using such crummy materials, there'd be some kind of scandal. How come I've never seen anything about it online?"Madeline smirked. "Cilix is a pro at sprucing up his and the Sanders Group's image. You think he'd let any dirt hit the web?""Let's just blast this info online, show everyone what
The villa district was usually a haven of peace, home to Redenbaugh City's elite. The only break in the silence was the occasional roar of a luxury car's engine.However, the quiet was shattered by a sudden outburst of wailing."That cursed Cilix! Your dad's long gone, and your mom's no help. If it weren't for the Lowe family throwing you a bone every now and then, you and your mom would've been out on the streets!""Now, you've scored big time and not only ditched us, but you go and accuse my boy of embezzlement!""He's your brother-in-law, after all!""You owe us an explanation today, or else... We'll take you on, old bones and all!"...Skylar was shaken up that morning, the sight of blood after a coughing fit sending her racing to the hospital.Then, without the test results, her anxiety was through the roof.She could not even bring herself to visit Lydia. She lay in bed with tears streaming down her face.Annoyed by the commotion outside, she snapped at Lacee. "What's a