"Alaric Lancaster made write the letter."
Daniel’s words shocked Henry as well. He hadn’t expected that. He had been doubting Alaric, questioning his motives, and it turned out Alaric was the one who exposed Damien’s true face.
"If Alaric Lancaster hadn’t pushed Anderson, we wouldn’t have seen Damien for what he is," Henry exclaid. "He didn’t have to help us. But he did."
Aveline turned to her father, hearing him speak about Alaric. Yes, Alaric had helped her uncover Damien’s moves. The mole in Laurent Industries. But she already knew Damien’s truth before the letter.
Henry looked at his daughter, not realizing yet how deep the fracture in her trust ran.
’He could have alerted Charles. Or ,’ Henry thought. Then he could have kept Aveline out of the ss.
’Why did he send it to her?’ He wondered.
Recalling Alaric’s confidence in Aveline when they t in the hospital, "Maybe he knew I wouldn’t sit quietly and cause chaos. Hence, he chose to trust you, Lina." He voiced his thoughts.
"He didn’t trust ." Her voice was barely a whisper. "He used ."
Henry didn’t hear her. He thought she should be relieved. But her face said otherwise.
Aveline’s lips curved into a small, bitter smile. Of course, everything had been falling into place too perfectly. Alaric had gone too far out of his way for her to gain her trust. She should have noticed it. But she didn’t. She let him close. So close that she worried about him.
"Maybe he did trust ." She said dryly. "I should find him. And thank him." She turned and walked toward the exit.
Alaric had said ’Find .’ and she was going to keep her word. Not to hear his answers but to demand the truth.
Halfway, she paused and turned around. Her voice was calm when she t Henry’s gaze, "That’s illegal."
Henry: "..."
He looked away in silence. He couldn’t explain why they had to resort to illegally confining Daniel. Involving the cops would only tip off Damien.
The n nearby exchanged awkward glances. Only now did they understand why Henry insisted they dress clean and presentable.
Aveline wanted to ask them to hand Daniel over to the authorities. Or let him go. But she knew, if he left, Damien would find out. So she accepted it with silence.
"Treat his wounds," she ordered softly. "Get him food." It was all she could offer.
She walked away with the lump in her throat growing. They would treat Daniel’s wounds.
Who was going to treat hers?
The ones that didn’t bleed. The ones no one could see.
...
At NexGuard,
Beatrice left before dawn to dodge the press. Isabella locked herself in the Lancaster Mansion. Edward had ordered guards to keep her away from Alaric. Because even he knew, if she saw her son, Alaric would put her in prison without hesitation.
And Alaric sat in his office, unable to focus on work, his eyes on the front gates, waiting for Aveline.
He had expected this day to arrive the mont he chose to reveal his face to Daniel. But he didn’t expect it to be this soon.
The gates opened. And his breath caught in his throat. But it wasn’t her.
A flashy red Ferrari roared as it drove in, begging for attention from everyone.
Nicholas Lancaster. His half-brother.
The last person Alaric wanted to deal with.
He regretted never blocking his family mbers from stepping there. There was also a reason he never did that. He had already ruined enough Lancasters’ reputation due to his immaturity. The outsiders didn’t have to learn about their family ss.
Ezra opened the door, and Nicholas stepped inside the office, dressed like he was heading to the beach, not the office.
"Hello brother..." Nicholas grinned, "I’m sorry, I missed your product launch." In reality, he wasn’t even invited. "I ca as soon as I returned." He had returned from his trip a long ti ago.
Ezra frowned. "Mr. Lancaster, don’t embarrass yourself by acting like a circus animal," he said flatly, and closed the door behind him.
Nicholas’s smile dropped. He wasn’t cheerful by nature. This whole act? It was a mockery. Payback for years ago when Alaric crashed his project presentation at Lancaster Global Holdings.
Alaric didn’t care about Nicholas. He didn’t crash that board eting due to Nicholas, but Isabella, who had asked him not to attend.
He entered as a board mber just to ruin his mother’s mood, who was way too excited about her stepson’s first project, and ignored that he was graduating on that day. She supported Nicholas, who had purposefully chosen the sa day.
Alaric leaned back and swiveled his chair towards Nicholas. "Why do you think you had a sudden business eting during my product launch event?" He smirked, pouring a large bucket of pure kerosene over his ego.
Nicholas’s eyes narrowed, realizing it was Alaric’s doing. "Alaric!" He said through his teeth, his fake grin tightened, "It doesn’t matter."
His eyes darted, noting every inch of the office while swallowing his pride. "I’m just here to visit my little brother and his new office."
Alaric didn’t bother about Nicholas again and tried to shift his attention to work, but Maserati pulled up shortly.
His chest tightened. He couldn’t let Nicholas see or know about Aveline. He dropped a ssage to Ezra and held his cool under Nicholas’s eyes.
A receptionist rushed inside and broke the silence, "Mr. Lancaster, allow to show you around the office," she told Nicholas.
Nicholas was there anyway to get as much information as possible, so he followed the pretty receptionist.
...
Aveline entered the room without knocking. There was no hesitation. She didn’t flinch even when she t Alaric’s eyes. She walked in calmly.
She wasn’t there for answers. Alaric could tell that at first glance. Her expression was never so cold. Her eyes held no light.
She didn’t even look mad at him. That made him nervous. Nonetheless, he stood up, "Sunshine..."
She raised her hand, cutting him off. "You’ll just answer , Alaric Lancaster." She placed her bag on his desk. Her stare didn’t break from his.
Those green eyes that once made her curious now felt like bullets coated in poison. The face she had found honest, beneath the sarcasm and smirks, now looked unfamiliar.
She wasn’t going to lose her calm. The truth was all that mattered. "Was I just another piece on your board? Or was I the trap you set for Damien?" Her voice held no emotions.
"Sunshine..."
"Don’t sunshine ." She snapped, "I’m not falling for your flowery words this ti."
His lip pressed into a line, his expression hardened. She had every reason to doubt him. It hurt, but he deserved this.
"Aveline Laurent, look at ..." He said, voice low, "Do you think I needed you to trap Damien?"
She didn’t answer. She nodded to herself. After all, she wasn’t new to his dodging of her questions.
Then her voice turned colder, "Did you know before we t here?"
Alaric’s jaw clenched. She was choosing the hard way. Without an explanation, there would be nothing but a heap of misunderstanding, "I-"
"Yes or no?" she snapped.
"Yes." He said through his teeth.
"Did you send Giselle to ?"
"Yes."
Of course, his n unlocked the door for her to find Damien with Vivienne. Then he invited her to the product launch through Giselle.
Or else, how could just an event pop up out of nowhere? right at the ti she needed?
She didn’t stop. "Did you set up that flower display at the launch for ?"
"Yes," Alaric said through his teeth, staring back into her eyes.
Each response only made everything worse.
"Did you dig into my marriage?"
"Yes."
"Did you find out about Daniel Anderson and send the letter to ?
His voice dropped to a whisper, "Yes."
Avelune turned away, struggling to take a breath. Then she faced him again. "Do you expect to trust you after all this? After you used like a pawn?"
He started stepping forward, "Sunshine..."
"Stay right there," she hissed, but she was already backing away with every step he was taking. Unable to stand any closer to him.
"You lied to . You manipulated . You acted nobly. And the worst of all," Her voice cracked, "I trusted you. I believed your promise. I looked for you. I was... worried about you."
Her hands trembled, her legs stilled when she felt sothing break inside her, all over again.
"You’re just like him," she said. "Alaric Lancaster, how are you any different from Damien Ashford?"
He froze.
She stepped closer, "I was fighting monsters," she whispered, "and I didn’t even see the one standing beside ."
She pushed him. Hard. Her hands shaking against his chest, "My father was right, I can’t handle it. How can I? When every person I et has a twisted mind and a knife in hand."
She laughed suddenly at the irony. What was she doing?
She was lying. She was plotting. She was hiding behind her fake smiles. Acting in front of Damien. Planning a betrayal in the na of protection.
How was she any different?
Her lips trembled, then she steadied, "I guess... I’m no different either."
And that hurt her most of all.
Reviews
All reviews (0)