Blanche snapped back to her senses, shoving Fernando’s chest with all the strength she could muster.
Fernando immediately let go, panic flickering in his eyes. “Did I hurt you?”
He fussed over her, taking her hand and anxiously checking her up and down for injuries.
She had no choice but to spin in his grasp, twice, before finally steadying herself. Blanche pressed her hand over his, exhaling in exasperation.
She couldn’t help but wonder if Fernando had ever dated anyone before. He seemed utterly clueless about reading a woman’s mood.
If only it were him…
Eddy’s face flashed unbidden through her mind. Blanche shook her head, trying to banish the thought.
Just then, the door burst open and Felipa hurried in, her eyes blazing with frustration. “Professor, Eddy’s brought people to the institute.”
“He’s demanding you hand over Blanche, or else–he says he’ll burn the whole place down!”
“How can he be so reckless?” Hugo Black followed Felipa in, his face ashen. “The Professor’s research is vital to the country! If anything happens to it, no matter who he is, he’ll be charged with treason!”
Blanche’s face drained of color. She felt an urgent need to return. She couldn’t let Fernando get dragged into this, and she certainly couldn’t risk the entire institute.
Fernando seemed to sense her turmoil and caught her hand, refusing to let her leave. “What does the Director–General say?”
“The Director–General insists we need Blanche. He’ll be here, as promised, to escort her away,” Felipa said, bowing her head. “That’s the message he wanted me to give
her.”
A tense silence fell across the room, so heavy that even a pin drop would have echoed.
There was nothing left to misunderstand.
The organization was in crisis. The Director–General couldn’t come in person just
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yet, but it was only a matter of time. Blanche’s return was non–negotiable,
She couldn’t make things harder for him.
Blanche took Fernando’s hand and traced a message into his palm: Take me back
“Laney?” Fernando grasped her fingers tightly. “He’ll hurt you.”
Blanche shook her head, letting her hand slip from his.
Half an hour later, a black van sped through the gates of Ivycrest University. Outside the research institute, a crowd of reporters and onlookers pressed in so thickly there was hardly room to breathe.
“Mr. Simmons must have some kind of evidence if he’s showing up at the Ivycrest Research Institute like this!”
“Word is, Professor Reese was the man at the center of Mrs. Simmons’s cheating scandal last week. Even though it was declared a hoax, there’s no smoke without fire. What do you all think? Leave your comments below!”
“No way! Professor Reese has spent years undercover for the sake of science. There’s no chance he’d interfere in someone else’s marriage, let alone kidnap Mrs. Simmons. It’s just too wild to believe!”
“Professor Reese! Professor Reese!”
As soon as Fernando stepped out of the van, reporters closed in from every side.
Eddy’s bodyguards, all in black, muscled their way through the crowd, carving out a path for him.
Fernando’s calm gaze locked with Eddy’s, who glared back at him with cold, stormy
eyes.
Fernando was quickly escorted inside the institute.
Behind the glass, everyone held their breath, their eyes glued to the unfolding confrontation–afraid to miss a single moment of this showdown.
“Where’s my wife?” Eddy’s voice was icy, cutting straight through Fernando.
the bodyguards manhandled Felipa out of the way and brought in two
specialists to search Fernando’s vehicle from top to bottom.
A laptop was hooked up to the van’s onboard computer to check its GPS history.
Felipa watched, her heart pounding in her chest, recognizing every step of their procedure.
21:42
Inside the institute’s lounge, Fernando’s fists clenched at his sides. At that moment, his envy of Eddy reached its peak.
Eddy was the only one who could search for Laney openly, shamelessly–who could claim her without fear or hesitation.
“Where is your wife? That’s not a question for me,” Fernando replied, refusing to avert his gaze.
C
