Riya’s pulse quickened. She pressed her lips together, scrambling for composure.
’There is no way he could have found anything,’ she thought, trying to reassure herself. ’I closed the file. I closed the folder. I made sure no one found out I touched his laptop.’
Confidence bolstered her nerves until she recalled the housekeeper seeing her leaving the study.
Riya’s mouth twisted with irritation. ’So that old woman has a death wish, does she?’
But she quickly smoothed her tone, swallowing her anger. "Yes," she said, feigning innocence. "I went in to look for a charger. But I couldn’t find it. So I left right away."
Even though she tried to downplay the situation, the tremor in her chest gave her away.
Nathaniel’s gut twisted at the ease with which she lied, disbelief flickering across his face.
She sounded almost too natural, like she had been an expert in lying at ease. If he hadn’t already known about it, he might have believed her.
"Are you sure?" he asked.
"Yes," Riya answered almost imdiately. "What would I do in your study? Why are you asking this? Did sothing happen?"
She pressed the phone a bit harder against her ear, curious to know what he would say.
Nathaniel didn’t answer right away. He was certain she was lying.
But why? Was she betraying the Grants, siding with Zachary? Or had Zachary really forced her hand sohow?
He couldn’t expose her, not yet. If she realized he suspected her, she’d only get more careful, and he’d lose the chance to uncover her real intention of working for Zachary.
Besides, Zachary was no ordinary rival. The man’s connection with the underworld made him dangerous. A single misstep, and his entire family could be in danger.
He managed to stay calm.
"I’m just checking—nothing serious," Nathaniel said casually. "Actually, I noticed my laptop wasn’t powered off. It surprised . I asked Zara, and she said she hadn’t been in the study. Then I heard you were there this afternoon. So I wanted to ask if you touched it."
Riya’s teeth sank into her lower lip, her stomach twisting.
’Damn it,’ she muttered under her breath, cursing herself for her carelessness.
In her rush, she had forgotten to power down the laptop before slipping out. She shut her eyes for a brief mont, regretting her hastiness.
"I don’t know—I might be confused." Nathaniel’s voice drifted through the line again, breaking her spiraling thoughts. "Maybe I forgot to turn it off myself, and only thought I had."
Seizing the opening, Riya pounced on the excuse. "Maybe...I didn’t touch your laptop. Even if I wanted to, I don’t know your password."
Nathaniel’s lips curled in a quiet scoff. He caught the faint tremor in her tone, the flicker of panic poorly concealed. Inside, his mind sharpened. ’She thinks she is clever.’
But he also realizes his mistakes. If Riya could do this, anyone could do it.
’The password is too simple. Ti to change it.’
He resolved not only to replace the password with sothing impenetrable but also to encrypt his files.
"I know. Don’t worry," he said, masking his frustration. "Everything is fine. You should rest."
The call ended.
Riya sat frozen on the bed, the phone slipping from her grip. Nathaniel’s casual, unbothered tone echoed in her ears, making her chest tighten with a dull ache. It was like a cruel taunt, gnawing at the walls of her heart.
He had not found out what she had done. If he ever discovered that she had stolen the project file and betrayed him, he would never look at her the sa again. He would despise her.
’No. He must never find out. I can’t let that happen.’
Riya didn’t want to be coerced any longer, nor did she want to keep deceiving Nathaniel. "I need to break free from him... I can’t keep lying to Nathaniel."
But Zachary had those videos. If she could delete them, she didn’t have to fear him anymore or follow his orders.
"I need to find those videos and delete them.’
Back to Nathaniel’s study...
Nathaniel didn’t waste another second. He impatiently scrolled down the screen and found a number he hadn’t called in a long ti. But tonight, he dialed it.
After several rings, the line finally clicked. "Nathaniel? So you do rember —after all this ti." A voice dripped with sarcasm ca through.
Nathaniel ignored the jab. "I need your help," he said grimly.
"Sa issue? Zachary?"
"Yes..." Nathaniel replied through clenched teeth. "Who else could it be? He never stops plotting against us. This ti, Roberto suffered because of him. I don’t know where it ends, or who he’ll target next."
In the past, Zachary had orchestrated Vincent’s accident, leaving him with serious kidney damage and even claiming Riya’s father’s life. Yet, despite knowing he was behind it, the Grants couldn’t press charges. There simply wasn’t enough evidence against him.
Nathaniel’s frustration threatened to boil over.
"I don’t want to lose again," he said with desperation creeping into his voice. "You’ve investigated him before. You know his thods, his patterns. I can’t trust anyone now—not even the police. Roberto’s accident... the timing is too coincidental to ignore. He was looking into Zachary; I’m certain he uncovered sothing."
"I heard about the crash." The man’s voice turned serious. "The car was running at a high speed, and it happened to be raining heavily in that area. He lost control, and the car plunged into the river. There is no evidence of tampering. It was nothing more than a tragic accident."
That was exactly what the police had concluded.
Nathaniel’s hand tightened around the phone, his knuckles whitening. The words from the other end only fueled the storm brewing inside him. He refused to listen to the sa explanation again. His instincts scread that this was no re accident.
"I know it already," Nathaniel snapped. "But I am telling you – it’s Zachary’s doing."
"If you are suspecting Zachary just for that, it’s useless," the man said with a warning tone. "You won’t find anything. You rember what happened last ti. Your father asked to dig into him, and what did we find? Nothing. Don’t waste your ti or mine on this again."
"But things are different this ti," Nathaniel pressed, a spark of unyielding resolve flashing in them. "Help ."
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