Samson’s lips curved upward slightly, the icy aura he’d carried moments ago melting into something warm and bright.
The security guards strode over, then turned to Justin and Clara with a cold, curt command. “You two. Out.”
Everyone in the room gasped, eyes widening in shock.
No one had expected Terence to take the side of two people long cast out of Regentia’s elite circle over Justin, the city’s newest golden boy.
Who the hell were they?
The room was full of sharks, and it didn’t take long for every gaze to shift–calculating, wary, and full of questions.
However, in the middle of the storm, Justin and Clara were the only ones who couldn’t accept reality.
Justin’s face was as dark as thunder. “Mr. Kinsman, what is the meaning of this?”
Terence didn’t even blink. “Mr. Barlow and Ms. Preston are my distinguished guests. Anyone who disrespects them is disrespecting me.”
His eyes swept over the crowd, his voice like steel. “Anyone who disrespects me stands against the Regentia Business Council itself.”
When his gaze landed on Justin, there was fire behind it.
Terence had worked too hard to secure a deal with one of the top–ranked Hanvarnese tycoons on the Apex Wealth Ranking. He
wouldn’t let anyone ruin it.
Justin and Clara were escorted out. Not a single ripple followed.
The room remained perfectly composed. Every guest wore a polite, practiced smile, everyone except the two who’d just been
thrown out.
Later, in the car, Samson held me tightly, guilt heavy in his voice. “I’m sorry, honey. I got here too late.”
His fists clenched hard, knuckles white. In his mind, he’d already torn those two apart a thousand times.
If he hadn’t been so focused on negotiating with Terence that day, I wouldn’t have been left in such a vulnerable position.
Samson gently touched my reddened cheek, the fury in his eyes barely contained.
I wrapped my arms around him, and all the pain and humiliation I’d felt seemed to melt away.
Then a thought struck me, and my voice turned cold. “Sam, I think there’s something wrong with how my parents died.”
I’d never questioned it before, but Clara’s words kept replaying in my head, gnawing at me.
“Leave it to me,”
Samson’s voice was as steady as ever, effortlessly calming me, just like it always had.
Three years ago, after he’d pulled me from the ocean, I discovered the truth–the so–called useless Barlow heir I thought I knew was secretly running one of the largest Hanvarnese conglomerates in Eurivane.
Samson was far more capable than I had ever imagined.
Three days later, Samson returned with answers.
“I found out what really happened to your parents,” he said in a low voice.
1/2
Chapter 5
+15 Bonus
Instead of explaining, his lips pressed together before he finally sighed. He threw a man, bloodied and beaten, onto the floor in
front of me.
When I saw his face, my eyes went wide.
It was Shane Parham, our family driver, the man who had worked for my family for over 20 years.
“Ms. Preston! I’m sorry, Ms. Preston! I had no choice! Mr. Garner threatened me with my daughter’s life! If I didn’t do what he said, my little girl would die! You know her, she’s only nine! She’s just a child!”
Shane’s words were broken and scattered, but like pieces of a puzzle, they eventually formed a picture.
Justin had threatened Shane using his daughter’s life, forcing him to tamper with my parents‘ car brakes.
On the day of the crash, my mom had suddenly learned of a priest at a cathedral who had blessed a gemstone, said to cure any illness.
Normally, my parents were rational people. They would’ve questioned how convenient that sounded. However, I had been gravely ill, beyond the help of any medicine.
Reason had failed them. So at 3:00 am, my dad drove my mom out to get it.
At first, the car had no issues. On the way back, after their exhausted bodies climbed back into the car, they discovered the brakes no longer worked.
By the time someone found them, their bodies were already cold, and in my mom’s arms was the emerald bracelet, perfectly
intact.
When I woke up, Justin had wiped away every trace of evidence. Even Shane had been shipped out of the country.
If not for Samson’s power overseas, Shane would have stayed hidden forever.
“Ms. Preston, I confess! Please, I’m begging you, spare my daughter! She’s innocent!”
My face turned to ice. “Take him away.”
A
