"Who told you to co in here!"
"Who told you to co in here!"
They shouted in unison.
Alex froze. His gaze landed on Lucas’s hand—the sa hand that was currently helping Mrs. Hilton hold her pants up.
He imdiately spun around, eyes wide.
"Mr. Hilton! Madam! I swear I didn’t an to intrude! But there’s... a crowd outside. People were watching! I was worried it might cause a PR disaster for the company, so I—uh—I ca in. Also, here’s the file you wanted. I found everything!"
He held the folder up like a white flag.
Sophia glared daggers at Lucas.
"Let go of !"
Lucas’s tone turned low, teasingly dangerous.
"What’s wrong? I thought you were the one who always bragged about being in control. Guess what, Sophia—there’s always soone stronger. Just because I didn’t fight back before doesn’t an I can’t."
He gave her a gentle shove—just enough to make his point.
Sophia’s eyes narrowed.
Then, suddenly—
She grabbed a fistful of his hair.
"You shaless jerk!"
Lucas winced, hissing in pain—and in retaliation, he scooped her up and set her down hard on the desk.
The sound of impact echoed.
Outside, Alex froze mid-step, hearing the thud followed by a muffled gasp.
"Mr. Hilton..." he muttered under his breath, face heating. "I’ll... clear the hallway for you."
He started for the door—
But before he could reach it—
"Don’t bother. I’m leaving."
Sophia’s voice was steady—annoyingly calm.
She tugged her tucked-in shirt loose from her pants to cover her waist, ran a hand through her hair, and—like nothing had happened—walked toward the door with perfect poise.
The mont she stepped out, every employee outside went still.
Her tone was cold, cutting.
"What’s this? No one has work to do today? How long were you planning to stand here watching?"
The crowd scattered instantly.
Back inside, Lucas pressed a hand to his neck, brow furrowing.
"Wildcat," he muttered.
Alex caught sight of the faint red marks trailing down Lucas’s skin. He quickly fetched the first-aid kit.
"Mr. Hilton, are you all right?"
"Do I look all right? You couldn’t even control a bunch of employees gawking through the glass?"
When the alcohol touched the scratches on his neck, Lucas hissed again, irritation flickering in his eyes.
Alex tried—really tried—not to laugh.
"You can’t bla , sir. Maybe if things hadn’t sounded so... intense."
Lucas shot him a glare, but Alex continued, grinning.
"In all my years here, I’ve never seen you lose your cool, Mr. Hilton. Honestly, Mrs. Hilton might be your karma."
Lucas said nothing, but the faintest smirk tugged at his lips.
"Still," Alex added, leaning in conspiratorially, "from what I hear, Mrs. Hilton’s always surrounded by talented young artists. Handso ones, too. You might want to act fast, or we’ll both be watching your love life turn into a full-blown drama series."
Lucas’s jaw tightened.
In the mirror, the angry red scratches stood out clearly against his skin.
That little wildcat really had claws.
He reached into a drawer, pulled out a stack of those "relationship tip" cards again, and crossed one off with a thick red marker—
✗ "Feed her—Food wins hearts."
Yeah, no. She nearly ate him alive.
...
Outside the building, Sophia walked out of Hilton Group with her usual cool composure—but the corner of her lips betrayed her.
A tiny smirk.
She’d never liked weak n.
If anyone wanted her, they’d have to earn it.
Dominate her, outsmart her, challenge her—then they might have a chance.
Her phone buzzed as she slid into the driver’s seat of her car.
Her fingers brushed the steering wheel—and she froze.
Blood.
A tiny streak under her nail.
Had she scratched him hard enough to draw blood?
Her chest tightened—guilt flickering for just a second—before her thoughts shifted.
Lucas was leaving soon.
Country D’s branch must be serious trouble.
And if he was gone...
That was her window.
Her gaze hardened.
Before anything else, she needed to deal with Olivia—and the mysterious hand pulling strings behind JL Entertainnt.
Her fingers tapped lightly on the steering wheel as she thought.
Then she started the car, and drove back toward Blackstone Manor.
anwhile, inside Blackstone Manor.
"Billy, what do you hear?"
"A woman."
"A woman?"
Billy sat cross-legged with headphones on, face serious. A few of the kids clustered around him.
"Billy, are you sure that guy actually planted a bug on Ethan?"
"Isn’t that sothing we should be asking Dustin?"
Dustin nodded quickly. "I’m sure. My hypnosis work hasn’t failed yet."
Billy listened for a while; the feed was noisy.
"There’s a lot of chatter—can’t make it out clearly—but I think they’re in a car."
"In a car?"
"Yeah. There’s an echo, so it’s a small space, and I can hear a car horn. Definitely in a vehicle."
Billy made a few educated guesses.
"Angela, what do you think?"
"The locator showed he went to the Scott Group—he’s trying to pull Scott into a move against Mom and Dad. And now Trump, Morgan, and Wright are all in on it. If Scott gets involved too, that’s going to be a ss."
Angela sighed like a little adult and said calmly, "Billy, Morgan was in big financial trouble, but soone patched up their funding. Look who’s helping them."
"Okay."
Billy took off his headphones and was about to start digging when Faye suddenly squealed.
"Faye, what’s wrong?"
"Guys, sis—look! Isn’t that the bad aunt? Olivia?"
Olivia’s promotional photos were already out online, front and center.
"She couldn’t—"
Before Billy could find anything, footsteps ca down the stairs.
"Hey, babes?"
Sophia ca ho and frowned when the living room was empty. Why were her kids always hiding in the house?
"Oh no—Mommy’s back! Quick, hide!"
They scrambled to stash whatever they’d been playing with.
Sophia opened the door and nearly jumped at the sight.
"You six—why are you lining up in the doorway like that? "
"Mommy~ Faye missed you~"
Faye’s sweet little voice totally disard Sophia.
"I missed you too~" She kissed each of them and then said, "Go downstairs—I’ve got sothing to tell you."
"Mommy, what is it?"
"Your daddy’s going abroad for a while. There’s a problem at the overseas branch, and I might have to help out at the company. I’ll be very busy and might not be able to take care of you as much, so I wanted to tell you ahead of ti."
The six kids looked at one another, then nodded, obedient. "Don’t worry, Mommy. We’ll be good."
"Good. Also—second thing—I’m signing you up for kindergarten. You’ll be at school with teachers watching over you, and it’ll make things a lot easier for . Otherwise I’ll be worried all the ti."
"Mommy, I don’t want to go to school!"
Faye clambered into Sophia’s lap and wrapped her arms around her neck. "Mommy, we’re smart. We don’t want to go to school. We don’t want to leave you~"
Sophia covered her mouth to stop her.
"I’ve already made the decision. It can’t be changed."
Those kids could lt her with a single pout. No—she had to stand firm.
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