The man being held by the security guards was of dium height and a bit overweight. He was wearing black shorts and a short-sleeved shirt, a black sun hat, and had a pair of black glasses hanging on his chest.
One look at his getup and you knew what he was.
Either a private investigator.
Or, a paparazzo.
Justin Kane stared at the man, a sharp glint flashing in the depths of his dark eyes.
Nina Thorne seed to have guessed sothing. Having just finished her al, she spoke up. "You go handle it. I’m going upstairs."
"Finished eating?" When Justin Kane turned his head to look at her, his expression softened.
"Mhm, I’m full."
Nina Thorne nodded softly and stood up.
Justin Kane walked over to her, his gaze sowhat probing. "Aren’t you curious who it is?"
’Judging by the man’s setup, he must be connected to Serena Kane.’
Nina Thorne truly wasn’t interested. "You’ll take care of it anyway. I’d rather go upstairs and binge so shows."
Justin Kane gazed at her simple, pretty face and said gently, "Alright, you go on upstairs and get so rest."
"Okay."
Nina Thorne nodded obediently, turning to head to the second floor. Looking ek and compliant, she said, "You get to it."
Justin Kane wasn’t surprised by this at all.
He’d noticed she had changed a lot since returning to the country, from a bright and proud young lady to her current ekness.
’I can’t even imagine what she must have gone through these past three years.’
As he watched Nina Thorne’s slender figure ascend the stairs, a chill returned to Justin Kane’s eyes. He swept his gaze over to the man held by the guards.
"Speak. What were you trying to photograph?"
Justin Kane strode forward, his powerful presence bearing down on the man.
The man’s heart jumped, and fear showed on his face.
"I... I was just taking so pictures of the scenery..."
Justin Kane sat down on the black leather sofa. His narrow eyes were utterly piercing. He didn’t say a word, rely stared coolly at the man.
But that one look was enough to make the man’s guilt palpable, leaving him nowhere to hide.
The guards took the cara from his hands, as well as his shoulder bag, and began to inspect them.
A mont later, a guard found sothing. "Mr. Kane, all the photos in here are of you and the missus."
The work ID they found and the cara were handed over to Justin Kane.
Justin Kane first looked at the photos in the cara, then took the ID, his eyes scanning the na field.
Starlight dia, Glen Denton.
’A paparazzo, just as I thought.’
"Talk. Who sent you?" Justin Kane tossed the ID onto the table and handed the cara back to a guard.
He crossed his legs and leaned back into the sofa in one fluid motion. His casual posture was nonetheless domineering as his cold gaze swept over the man.
"I don’t like listening to nonsense."
Although his voice was devoid of emotion, his eyes were as cold as daggers, flaying the man’s flesh piece by piece.
Glen Denton shivered uncontrollably and tried to argue, "I’m just a paparazzo. Mr. Kane, with your status, news of you having a girlfriend would be explosive. I just... I just wanted to create a viral story."
Justin Kane lost his patience and gave a lazy glance to a guard.
The guard understood and shot a fierce look at Glen Denton.
He walked over step by step, cracking his knuckles, then swung a fist into the man’s stomach.
"This is freedom of the press! Mr. Kane, what you’re doing is illegal!" Glen Denton doubled over in pain, his voice muffled.
’He’s got so nerve.’
’Bringing up freedom of the press at a ti like this.’
Justin Kane’s eyes were slightly closed, his fingers drumming lightly and irregularly on the sofa.
Pained howls rose and fell.
The guard was huge. After just a few punches, the reporter couldn’t take it anymore and begged for rcy. "Stop hitting ! I’ll... I’ll talk."
Justin Kane snorted. The corner of his mouth lifted as he raised his eyelids, sweeping a contemptuous, indifferent gaze over the man.
"Should’ve just said so from the start, shouldn’t you?"
His eyes were piercing and dark, a bottomless abyss that revealed no emotion, sending a chill down Glen Denton’s spine.
The rumors all said Justin Kane was decisive and ruthless.
Seeing him now, it was clear they were true.
Like a demon, he was terrifying.
But from last night until today, he had clearly seen Justin Kane being incredibly gentle with that woman.
So gentle that it was nothing like the man he was seeing now, and nothing like the ruthless figure from the rumors.
...
Nina Thorne was in her room, binging short-form dramas, completely ignoring the pained cries from downstairs.
’That man from earlier must have sothing to do with Serena Kane.’
She had gone upstairs precisely so she wouldn’t interfere with how Justin Kane handled things.
Short-form dramas were really popular and addictive lately. She had unknowingly watched dozens of episodes when a ssage suddenly popped up on her screen.
Nina Thorne’s expression froze. The ssage was from another OS on her phone.
She exited the video player, her slender fingers swiping across the screen.
A ssage from soone nad Mr. Locke popped up: [Soone’s offering three hundred million to buy the full-intelligence system technology.]
Above this ssage were many others, none of which Nina Thorne had ever replied to.
TN: [Who?]
Mr. Locke was clearly excited: [You finally showed up! If you kept ignoring , I was about to fly to Sylport to find you!]
[Jason Graham from the Vistara-Graham Group wants to buy it. What do you think?]
Nina Thorne wondered, ’Justin Kane isn’t looking for it?’
TN: [Is he the only one?]
Mr. Locke: [That’s right. What are your thoughts on this?]
TN: [No thoughts.]
Nina Thorne decisively closed the page. The person on the other end seed to have anticipated this and quickly sent another ssage: [Wait, I still have questions for you...]
Nina Thorne had already exited, giving him no opportunity to ask anything more.
Just then, the bedroom door opened from the outside.
Justin Kane’s tall, dark figure appeared before her. His dark eyes were gentle, and the corners of his lips curved slightly. "Who are you chatting with?"
Nina Thorne looked up at him, her eyes instantly crinkling into a smile. "Just watching so dramas. I got tired. Are you finished with your business?"
"Mhm."
Justin Kane smiled, looking handso and charming. "Want to hear about it?"
"Sure."
’If he’s willing to tell , there’s no reason not to listen.’
Besides, she also wanted to see if this matter was really related to Serena Kane, just as she’d suspected.
After Justin Kane finished explaining, Nina Thorne revealed a knowing smile. "She really is so... concerned about , all the ti."
It really was Serena Kane who had specifically arranged for a paparazzo to tail them and capture "proof" of their "affair."
And she really did manage to get so photos.
Nina Thorne didn’t ask any more questions, knowing Justin Kane would handle it.
Since she didn’t ask, Justin Kane stared at her for a few seconds before asking probingly, "Are you afraid of people finding out?"
Nina Thorne shook her head indifferently, her expression placid. "There’s nothing to be afraid of."
Hearing this, Justin Kane’s dark eyes relaxed. He teased, "You’re getting more and more like your old fearless self. But they won’t get the chance."
"Also, you need to be extra careful at Mrs. Lawson’s birthday banquet in a few days."
Although his tone was casual, Nina Thorne heard the underlying aning and pressed for details.
"So they’ve designed another big trap for this ti?"
’What is it with them?’
’Are they really set on tornting and only ?’
’I’ve never done anything to offend Serena Kane, so why is she doing this to ?’
Justin Kane’s expression was nonchalant as he let out a low chuckle. "My little Nina Thorne is getting smarter and smarter. Not bad."
"..." Nina Thorne was speechless.
’I can’t tell if that was a complint or a jab.’
"Don’t worry,"
Justin Kane reached out and affectionately ruffled her hair. "As long as I’m here, they won’t succeed."
Nina Thorne believed him.
Whenever he was around, she was the one being protected.
She was no longer the one who got cast aside, like in the past.
...
「The Kane Group, Head Office of the CEO.」
Assistant Cheney stood before the desk, reporting, "Mr. Kane, a group-wide announcent has been issued, dismissing Young Master Cole Kane from his position as Executive President of the branch company."
"Also, regarding Mrs. Lawson’s banquet, everything has been arranged according to your instructions."
"The paparazzo, Glen Denton, has been very cooperative. This is all the evidence and docuntation of what Serena Kane did three years ago."
"Good."
Justin Kane picked up the docunts and glanced at them, his handso face turning frosty. Without hesitation, he said, "Arrange it."
Assistant Cheney was startled. "But what about the Kane Family..."
Justin Kane lifted his gaze, sweeping a profound look over him. "Don’t worry about them."
That one look was enough to silence Assistant Cheney.
He had followed the CEO for many years and was used to seeing his decisiveness in the business world.
But he never expected that this ti, for the missus’s sake, he would be willing to disregard even the Kane Family’s reputation.
It was clear how important the missus was to the CEO.
...
Nina Thorne took an afternoon nap.
She was later woken up by a call from an unknown number.
She guessed who it was and answered impatiently, "What do you want now?"
"Nina Thorne, where are you? I’ll co find you. Let’s et up, I have sothing to tell you." Cole Kane’s anxious voice ca through the phone.
"No. We have nothing to talk about." Nina Thorne refused coldly, giving him no opening.
If Nina Thorne had been disappointed in Cole Kane before, then after the incident in Vistara, she now felt nothing but disgust for him.
She didn’t want to hear another word from him and prepared to hang up.
Cole Kane seed to sense this and said hurriedly, "Nina Thorne, about Serena going abroad three years ago... I misunderstood you. I apologize."
"Tell where you are, and I’ll co apologize in person, okay?"
Cole Kane begged in a low voice, his tone utterly humbled.
Ever since Nina Thorne sold her apartnt, she hadn’t even returned to the Thorne Family. For two whole months, he hadn’t been able to find out where she was living.
Listening to his persistent pleading and humble begging, Nina Thorne’s chest felt tight, as if stuffed with a sponge. "I stopped caring about that a long ti ago. You don’t need to apologize again."
This was just like Cole Kane.
He’d always wait until she was soaked by the rain before offering her an umbrella.
He’d punch her, then give her a piece of candy.
He had never given her genuine care or affection.
In the past, she had loved Cole Kane to the bone.
She could always find a reasonable excuse for his careless actions, telling herself to be understanding of his difficulties.
But after years of patching things up, her heart was already riddled with holes.
Nina Thorne was tired, and she had finally woken up.
"Cole Kane, don’t call again. We’ve already broken up, and the engagent is off. You saved once, so let’s just say I still owe you a debt of gratitude. I’ll repay it in the future." Nina Thorne’s voice was cold and resolute.
Cole Kane’s heart clenched painfully. He felt an emptiness, as if he had lost sothing incredibly important.
He panicked instantly, feeling a fear he had never known before. He began to regret why he hadn’t believed her back then.
That day, he had confronted Serena Kane at the villa, and they had a huge fight.
Although Serena Kane didn’t admit to everything she had done to him three years ago...
...his trust in her had been shaken.
In the past, he would have believed her unconditionally.
Especially when he recalled everything Nina Thorne had said at the Vistara hotel, he realized that regardless of whether Serena Kane had done those things or not, he didn’t want to lose Nina Thorne.
Cole Kane was afraid. In a low, hoarse voice, he pleaded, "Can’t you really give one more chance? For the sake of saving you ten years ago, just give one more chance to sit down and talk with you face-to-face."
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