At that mont Maria couldn’t blink. She didn’t move. She just stood there, staring at the screen, her breath shallow.
"What... what happened?" she finally whispered. Her voice didn’t even sound like hers.
However Valentina’s father sat stiffly on the couch, his jaw locked, his eyes frozen on the news ticker. "I... I don’t know," he said, slowly shaking his head. "According to the news, they’re still investigating. But..."
He looked up at her, his expression pale. "They said it wasn’t just him. Over thirty of them. Dead."
At that mont Maria turned toward him, her voice rising. "Thirty? Thirty n? What kind of animal kills thirty n in one place?"
Her knees buckled slightly, and she dropped onto the armrest of a nearby chair. Her hands trembled as she stared at the television. The cara showed glimpses of the mansion—black bags being carried out, flashing police lights, detectives pacing around.
"There has to be a mistake," she whispered. "This... this can’t be real."
Imdiately Valentina’s father rubbed his hands together, his eyes never leaving the screen.
"They said so of the bodies were found in pieces, Maria. Pieces. Like sothing shredded them."
Maria slowly turned toward him. "That’s not possible. Not even a machine gun could do that."
"No," he said, his voice low. "This wasn’t a gun, if it was they would have announced it, but again no bullet was reported."
Silence sat between them, thick and tense.
Maria swallowed.
"Then what was it?"
However Valentina’s father didn’t answer. He just stared at the screen, and for the first ti in years, he looked afraid.
They didn’t quite understand it. None of it made sense. It felt too strange, too brutal—like sothing out of a horror film. They just kept exchanging words, tossing questions into the air, hoping the other would co up with an answer.
"Maybe it was an ambush?" Valentina’s father muttered, his brows furrowed.
"An ambush by who?" Maria snapped, still staring at the screen. "Thirty? In one night? Without a single survivor?"
He had no answer, Maria slowly sat down, her shoulders slumping. Her eyes looked heavy, not from sleep but from defeat. "I haven’t even told you what happened to today," she said quietly. "That woman... Raymond’s mother..."
She paused.
She couldn’t even finish the sentence. She just shook her head and looked down, her palm brushing against her still-burning cheek.
I can’t even say it out loud, the sha sat deep in her chest.
The worst part was... she had hope. Real hope. That the boss of Black Bear would help her crush Valentina, push her out completely, make her vanish.
Now? He was gone, Dead. Gone like he never existed.
She stared blankly ahead, whispering to herself, "How am I going to do all of this now? How? I don’t even know anymore..."
Her voice cracked slightly, and then she rembered Liam.
The one piece she thought she could still control.
But lately... he’d been different. Distant. Almost too soft, all because of Valentina.
"What if he backs out?" she muttered. "What if Liam changes his mind... what if he doesn’t marry Chloe anymore?"
Imdiately her chest tightened.
If that happened... if he truly walked away now...The sha, the disgrace.
It would be too much for them to bear.
And knowing fully what they had planned from the beginning—the lies they had told, the strings they had pulled, the threats they had whispered into the right ears—Maria now realized that none of it might be possible anymore. Not with the way things were going. Not with Valentina still standing strong. Not with Raymond in the picture.
She dropped her phone on the table and leaned back, dragging both hands through her hair, her face full of frustration.
"What am I going to tell Chloe?" she whispered under her breath again.
She had promised her daughter that she was handling things. That the marriage with Liam was secured. That Valentina wouldn’t be a problem. That everything would be fine, but now?
There was no boss to scare Valentina. There was no more plan. And Liam... Liam had been acting strange. Soft. Like he wasn’t sure anymore.
’Damn.’
Imdiately she stood you and walked inside her room, She clenched her jaw, pacing back and forth, her mind racing.
"What am I going to do now? Who am I going to et?" she muttered, panic slowly creeping into her tone.
Then, like a lightbulb snapping on in a dark room, the thought hit her.
She stopped pacing, her eyes widened slightly.
"Elvis..."
Imdiately her lips curled slowly into a grin.
"If anybody can deal with Raymond... if anyone can crush that proud bastard and put him in his place..."
Without wasting anymore ti she nodded to herself.
"It’s Elvis."
Though she had always dread of Elvis marrying her daughter, deep down, Maria knew the truth—Elvis never liked Chloe.
He never looked at her twice, never gave her a second thought. It was clear. His disinterest couldn’t be masked, no matter how hard she tried to push Chloe toward him in the past.
So now, the best option wasn’t to force a relationship that would never happen.
The better plan... was to use Elvis.
Use him to deal with Raymond. To break him. To crush that calm arrogance that man always carried.
And more importantly, to make sure that Elvis never touched Valentina again.
Not that he would. After what happened between them years ago, Maria was certain Elvis carried a deep, lingering hatred for her. Valentina had bruised his ego, humiliated him, and walked away without a scratch. That sort of wound doesn’t heal. Not with soone like Elvis.
Maria knew what kind of man he had beco.
And that was exactly why he was perfect.
He would deal with Valentina rcilessly—not for her, but for himself. And in the process, Raymond would fall too. That was the only plan she had left now. The only hope she was willing to bet on.
Elvis—he wasn’t just anybody.
He was the son of the country’s Trade Association Head. A man whose influence reached deep into the business world. His father was powerful, feared and respected, and Elvis was no less connected. Among the elites, Elvis held weight. Among the business gurus, he was known.
And years back—he and Valentina had a very personal history.
An altercation that never truly ended.
he was chasing after Valentina back then. Obsessed. And while his father was campaigning for another tenure in office, Elvis crossed a line that changed everything.
Valentina didn’t stay quiet.
She went public.
She stood before caras and microphones and announced that Elvis—son of one of the most powerful n in the country—had almost sexually harassed her.
The news spread like wildfire.
It shook everything, his father, desperate to protect the family na during an election period, imdiately distanced himself. Elvis was sent abroad under the guise of "education" and "business expansion," but everyone knew the truth. It was exile. Quiet punishnt.
And the damage was done, Elvis’s na beca tainted.
People whispered. Won stared. n hesitated to do business with him. The public now saw him as soone who had no regard for boundaries, soone dangerous. The businesses he was managing suffered. Investors pulled out. Doors closed, But Valentina?
She beca a symbol of bravery.
She was praised. Admired. And for the first ti, people saw more than her beauty—they saw her strength.
And Maria rembered it all.
Clearly, that was the day Valentina’s na beca a force. But that was also the day Elvis’s rage was sealed.
Maria knew it. He had never forgiven Valentina. Not for the humiliation, not for the fall from grace, not for the silence he was forced to live in.
And now? Now it was ti to reopen that door.
At that mont Maria’s eyes narrowed.
"This is the rightful ti to involve Elvis again," she whispered to herself.
"He’s the one I’ll use to deal with Raymond... and Valentina... with one single blow."
**
Avery sat in her car, legs crossed, one hand tapping her steering wheel as the phone rang on speaker. It didn’t take long for the line to connect.
"Liam," she said with a soft, sugary tone, "it’s been ages. How have you been?"
Liam’s voice ca through almost flat, uninterested. "I’m fine."
Avery gave a short laugh. "Wow. That’s all I get? No ’I missed your voice’? No ’How’s life treating you, Avy’?"
Imdiately then Liam said dryly, "Avery , just get to the point. I knows you didn’t call for friendship talk. You never do. What do you want?"
She paused, then chuckled. "Ouch. That was direct."
"Yeah, well. I know how you move. You never waste your energy unless it benefits you."
Avery smiled at the truth of his words. She adjusted in her seat and said, "Seems you’ve studied well, Liam. That’s both flattering... and a little annoying."
However Liam said nothing.
Ivory continued, "Alright, alright. No need to act cold. You’re right. I didn’t just call to check up. I heard you’re not attending the class get-together."
"I’m not," Liam replied plainly. "Not interested."
Liam didn’t even flinch. His voice remained calm, steady, uninterested.
"I’ve never attended any of those get-togethers, Avery. And you of all people know why. I don’t sit around sipping wine and gossiping with so people I’ve outgrown. That’s not . It never was. So I don’t see any reason to change that now."
Ivory let out a soft hum on the other end.
"Mmm, I figured you’d say sothing like that."
"I’m not coming," Liam repeated, bluntly. "If that’s all, you can end the call."
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