Hearing Dexter's words, Mark's hand movement stopped as his mind took several seconds to process the information. His eyes flickered towards Dexter's, trying to see if the other was messing with him like he always does, but seeing how serious Dexter looked, Mark knew this wasn't one of his usual jokes. "You are talking about the driver from the accident scene, are you not?" He asked in confusion, not wanting to believe what he heard the first time. "The one that was supposed to have died in prison?" Dexter gave a nod and sank back into his chair. "The exact one," he replied. "I'm talking about Mister Parker.""How is he alive? We confirmed he was dead; I saw his body myself." Mark mused. "Well, apparently he wasn't. Someone else took the fall for him in prison, and the dead body we saw that time was made," Dexter began. "It took me a lot of digging through some archived files and trying not to get caught before I was able to get that much information.""He's living on one of those
"You don't look as wormed out as I was expecting you to look," Frederick muttered with a dissatisfied frown as he took in Lily's beautiful and elegant appearance.Hearing the comments, Lily turned back to see who had made it. Seeing Frederick standing behind her, dressed in a trench coat while standing beside a black Lamborghini, she rolled her eyes and continued her walk."It's not good to ignore someone talking to you, Missy," he called out with a dark chuckle. And with a signal from him, two men dressed in black suits blocked her path.Irritated, Lily hissed and glared at them before turning to Frederick with resentment-filled eyes. "Given the type of education you had, one would expect you to understand what it means to be left alone, but alas, I can only wish," she gritted out, and Frederick smiled."How can I possibly leave such a beauty alone?" He replied. "The more you struggle, the more I want you," he added and began walking towards her."I was expecting to see you with mas
"So what were you doing in our part of the city tonight?" Lily asked as they both settled down while waiting for their orders."I was coming to look for you actually," Mark replied truthfully. "I stopped by at the studio, and your manager told me you had just left, which is why I came in the direction I met you."Hearing his explanation, Lily nodded with a frown. "It's very unlikely for you to come looking for me without calling. Trouble in paradise?""You and I both know it was never a paradise," Mark chuckled with a glint in his eye. Talking to Lily had somehow ease all the tension he had accumulated throughout the day."I'm sorry if I caught you off guard," he added, making Lily shake her head."You don't have to apologise; I'm already eager to help." She waved him off. "So what's the matter this time? Does it have anything to do with why Frederick came after me today?""No," Mark replied. "It's a different issue. This one is about my late sister and the cause of her accident."Lil
As Mark dropped Lily off at her apartment, she went straight to the washroom to get cleaned before settling down to do some more studying of the materials given to her by the system. As she sat down in her work area, she noticed she had a message from the hacker's website. Deciding to take a detour before going back to work, she logs into the website to see that Dark Star has sent her several messages. Dark Star: We found the culprit.Dark Star: You will be compensated for defamation as agreed upon. Dark Star: I also have a new job for you; when you are available please send a message here. I'll be hoping to hear from you.Lily let out a chuckle as she read the messages. Even without buying the shares, she had wiggled her way into the Hamilton's. However, the only way she could have more say in the company's decision-making would be to have shares... as many as possible.Sinful: I did tell you the fault was not from me. I'm glad my name has been cleared. Sinful: I will be expect
"I've been expecting your call," Frederick chuckled into the phone immediately after picking up. "It took longer than expected, though; were you reporting me to your little boyfriend? Or maybe the cops?" He mocked.Lily scowled at the time in his voice; she felt her blood boil while glaring at his image that she had meticulously hung up on the wall. Picking up a throwing knife, she aimed it at the right eye in the picture, and without much effort, she hit her target.Letting out a satisfied sigh, she returned her attention to the call just in time for Frederick to go on again. "You were the one who called, and now you are silent? Don't tell me you are intimidated by my voice.""What do you want?" Lily questioned, her voice sounding unnaturally calm and composed. Frederick, hearing her words, raised a brow in surprise. He had been expecting her to be scared, panicking, or at least angered by his pranks.He let out a loud laugh, seeing how she was still unmoved by his pressure. 'Oh, how
Over the next few days, Lily continued to study how to break the Roux family's vault while making preparations for her major comeback and her revenge on the Hamilton family and those who had supported Henry in taking over her mother's company.As promised, Mark helped her acquire shares at the Hamilton Cooperation. The acquisition process was made even easier after the news about Dan Vick's scandals hit the news and the shareholder became desperate to jump ship to another company.Although Mark wasn't sure what exactly she wanted to do with the shares, he had gone above board to get her as much as he could acquire in that short period. And now, with his help, she had become the third person who held the most shares in the Hamilton Company, the first being Henry and the second being a shareholder who had gone missing almost immediately after Victoria's mother died.Lily let out a small chuckle as she read the document, showing that the shares belonged to her. Her eyes were filled with
"Are you okay?" Mark asked worriedly as he arrived at the studio to see the whole place in shambles. "What happened to her?""We got a mob coming at us; it's no big deal," Lily replied with a casual shrug as she put away the garbage bag she was holding. "What are you doing here though? I was expecting you to be busy with the project being approved now."Mark surveyed the destruction around them, concern etched on his face. "I came to check on you," he admitted. "I heard there were some disturbances in the area; you know, this side belongs to Watson's right? I was with my grandfather when it was reported. And I wanted to make sure you were safe."Lily's heart skipped a beat at his words, but she quickly regained her composure, forcing a nonchalant smile. "Aww, aren't you sweet? But as you can see, I'm perfectly fine. Just a little misunderstanding with some unruly individuals."Mark's brow furrowed as he took in the damage once more. "It doesn't look like a 'little misunderstanding'
Lily let out a soulless laugh at Rosaline's words, her eyes stained with unshed tears. Rosaline, on the other hand, scowled at her while looking around them to see if people were watching.Wiping away the tears that gathered, Lily cleared her throat, and her lips spread in an amused smile. "You crack me up, Missy," she breathed out. "You think your little threat will faze me?""What do you want?" Rosaline asked, trying to maintain her calm despite the anger and shame she was feeling."Me? What do I want? From you?" Lily asked with a frown while sitting upright. "You came to me; I should ask you that question. And I don't want anything from you," Lily said with confidence. "There is nothing you can offer me that I do not have," she added, her tone full of pride and arrogance while giving Roseline a condescending look.Roseline, realising there was no way she would be winning the argument against Lily, sneered in anger, picked up her wine, and threw it on herself while screaming to get
Lily pursed her lips as she narrowed her eyes towards the document placed in front of her. She sighed, looking from the papers towards a solemn-looking Bryan on the other side of the table. "Say something," Bryan urged, feeling uncomfortable by her silence. "I'm not sure what exactly I'm supposed to say," Lily replied. "I've gone through all sorts of possibilities. Every possible scenario I could ever think of has played continuously in my mind while awaiting the result of the investigation. And now you are providing me with this?" She breathed out."I swear it would be more believable if you said one of Henry's people betrayed him. Hell, it would have been more believable if you said it was his wife that decided to make his life miserable by threatening him with that information." She continued, her brows furrowing deeper as she continued to glare at the papers laid in front of her. "Honestly, I would have believed anything but the fact that all those threat notes and pictures wer
"I heard there is a new board member joining the company." Henry asked with a frown as he scanned through the company document Williams had brought. "Yes," Williams replied, preparing himself for the earful that he knew was coming. "How did it happen? Did I not tell you no more selling of shares? And definitely not to outsiders?!" Henry asked as his frown deepened in dissatisfaction. Williams pursed his lips, making no attempt to give excuses for his incompetence. How was he supposed to explain to his already angered father that he wasn't aware of the shares circulating underground until it was sold out?That would only expose him to more of his father's rage, and seeing the sore mood the man was already in, there is no way he would risk it.Henry's face reddened with anger, his voice rising. "Who is this person? What's their stake in our company?"Williams hesitated, choosing his words carefully. "The new board member's name is Lily Turner. She's a wealthy investor with… consider
"What brings you here?" Frederick asked as Mark casually walked into his office. "What do you think?" Mark replied with a smirk. "I don't believe we are close enough for me to just stop by for a greeting, are we?" He added and took a seat opposite Frederick. Frederick glared at Mark, hating how the latter was talking to him so casually. Swallowing his anger, he relaxed into his seat and raised a brow. "I don't remember having an appointment with you. So it will save us both some time if you go straight to the point; we are both busy men after all." Mark hummed and brought out a flash drive from his inner pocket. "We did have an appointment, but I guess your subordinates are incompetent; they couldn't even inform you about such things. Anyways, I'm here to talk about the collaboration for the government project." He announced."As much as I would like to handle both the construction and security system installation, I do not have the time to do it now that I have another branch to
"Marry me, and we can use your family's influence to pressure him out," he offered. "In the end, you'll get what you want while I also get mine." Roseline paused, her eyes narrowing the longer she heard Frederick talk. By the end of his speech, she burst out laughing uncontrollably, making Frederick's eye twitch in annoyance. "What's so funny?" He gritted out as she forced herself to sober up from her hysterical laughter."Oh, it's not funny," she replied coldly. "I'm just laughing at the absurdity of the proposal you just made. "I may not want to get married to those old fools, but I'm not desperate enough to settle for you, Frederick." She announced.Frederick balled his hands against the table, his eyes twitching uncontrollably while his lips curled into a sneer at the insult thrown his way. "You are saying I'm comparable to those men with one leg in the grave; how remarkable, Miss Anderson," he snarled, and Roseline shrugged."You are free to interpret my words anyhow you want,
"What's wrong with you?" Frederick asked with a frown as Roseline stormed into his office with a flushed face, slamming the door behind her without a care.Roseline, not saying a thing in reply to his question, dropped her bag and walked towards his wine shelf to serve herself a drink. "I'm glad you are comfortable enough to waltz around here like you own the place," Frederick hissed, his tone full of sarcasm and annoyance."They spent last night together," Roseline gritted out after downing the whole glass of wine. Reaching to serve herself another glass, she decided against it and took the whole bottle with her as she sat on the couch opposite Frederick's working area."You are talking about Mark and Lily, right?" Frederick asked with raised brows as he relaxed into his chair, and Roseline nodded in reply before taking a big gulp of wine. She scowled as the pictures she had received resurfaced in her mind. "Mark hasn't slept outside his home, not even at his parent's since he move
"Hey," Lily waved shyly as Mark's car came to a stop in front of her studio. Mark smiled and got down from the car, dressed in a casual black dress shirt and pants.He reached into the back seat of his car and brought out a bouquet and a box of sweets. Mark approached Lily with a bright smile, his eyes warm and inviting as he took in the sight of her."Hey there," he greeted her, his voice smooth and comforting. "You look lovely tonight."Lily blushed, her cheeks turning a soft shade of pink as she accepted the bouquet and the box of sweets. "Thank you," she replied, her voice tinged with a hint of nervousness as she took a sniff of the flower. "These are beautiful." She compliments."Not as beautiful as you," Mark replied, his tone sincere. "I thought we could start the evening with a little sweetness."Lily smiled, her eyes bright with excitement as she opened the box of sweets, the tantalising aroma wafting between them. "This is perfect," she murmured, selecting a delicate choco
Lily let out a groan as she read the reminder from Dark Star about his last work. Somehow, she had pushed the work out of her mind almost immediately after she had gotten it.However, having been reminded of it, she read through their chat again to refresh her memories of the job description."Investigate a hacker… ok?" She muttered to herself as she continued to read. "I still don't understand why I'm the one who wants to do such a simple job but anything for the money... and the opportunity to screw them over, I guess?"Without wasting time, she logs into the Hamilton's company security system, navigating through the angles and corners, trying to find the traces of the hacker and what they had done or undone."It's pretty easy to break in though," she commented with a frown. "How long ago have they updated the security system around their database?"Lily's fingers danced across the keyboard as she delved deeper into Hamilton's security system. The ease with which she navigated the n
"It's been a while since I've been here, and the atmosphere looks even more busy than the last time," Lily noted as she walked into Mr. Wallace's office.Her brow shot up in surprise as she took in the huge stack of files on his table and how overworked he appeared to be with his tired eyes and hug under-eye bags. "Please tell me you get a few days off in a week," she voiced worriedly and took her seat in front of him."Well, I'm supposed to, but I've not been able to do so these few weeks," Mr. Wallace replied. "On the brighter side, I've learnt to stay hydrated with water instead of other sugary drinks." He added, making Lily worry even more."Okay! Okay! You can pack up and leave now. You'll resume three days later," she encouraged hastily. "I will not have my employees overwork to this extent. You look like a homeless madman despite the expensive suit you are wearing!""I'm fine, I promise," Mr. Wallace sighed. "Let's discuss why I've called you here today, and then maybe I can t
"What was that stupid stunt you pulled the other night?" Frederick demanded, his tone cold and filled with anger as he walked into the private booth to see Roseline already waiting for him.Roseline frowned as she adjusted her jacket while crossing her legs over the other. "I don't understand what you are talking about," she huffed, and Frederick glared at her impatiently."Why would you go confront Lily like that?! You didn't just trash her studio; you even had the boldness to meet up and try to frame her?!" Frederick exclaimed. "How could you do something like that?!"Roseline's eyes narrowed as she met Frederick's furious gaze. Her voice remained calm yet held an edge of defiance as she responded, "Are you on her side?" She asked."I'm on your side!" Frederick grunted out. "You went behind me to do all those things. You think she's just some nobody you can bully around?""She's just a start-up fashion designer; what's there to be upset about?" Roseline huffed in annoyance, hating