Winona was a sharp one, and she couldn''t help but notice how strange Zane was acting towards Elysia.


    When Winona and Prisci got into a fight, Zane seemed only concerned about Elysia''s feelings.


    Elysia didn''t n on keeping anything from Winona; she just felt a little sorry for her.


    Winona had genuinely liked Zane once.


    Elysia gave Winona a look that said, "I''ll fill you inter."


    Meanwhile, Zane was fuming, his fists pounding against the steering wheel in frustration.


    He had sent his mom to the hospital to keep an eye on Winona, never expecting her to mess things up like this!


    If he''d known she was this unreliable, he wouldn''t have let her go in the first ce!


    Zane''s mind was a chaotic mess. He wanted to rush back to the hospital and smooth things over with Elysia, but he had bigger fish to fry.


    Someone had uncovered his affair, and now they were ckmailing him!


    He had to clean up this mess, and quick!


    If he couldn''t handle this properly, his carefully crafted image of the "perfect husband" would crumble to dust.


    And knowing Elysia''s personality, getting her to fall in love with him was a long shot at best.


    This situation needed to be dealt with, and fast.


    Zane yanked on his tie, trying to calm his nerves.


    Impulsiveness would only make things worse.


    He parked his car in front of a secluded luxury hotel and made a call.


    "I''m here. Where are you?"


    The person on the other end gave him a room number, and Zane, after donning a mask, got out and headed inside.


    He had thought it over: as long as the demands weren''t over the top, he''d meet them. If they wanted money, he''d pay up.


    But if they pushed too far, he wasn''t above taking drastic measures.


    Zane found the room, knocked on the door, and waited.


    After a moment, the door swung open.


    To his surprise, a young and beautiful woman stood there, wrapped in a bathrobe,


    her hair still wet from a shower, looking every bit the seductress.


    Zane blinked in confusion, double-checking the room number to make sure he was in the right ce.


    Before he could ask any questions, the woman hooked a finger around his tie and yanked him forward.


    Off bnce, Zane stumbled into her, and she used the momentum to pull him in for a kiss, her hands wandering to his waist.


    The door clicked shut behind him.


    Zane waspletely taken aback, Realizing something was off, he


    shoved the woman away, his volet


    cold and demanding, "What do you think you''re doing?!"


    The womannded on the floor, looking up at him with a pout, "Isn''t this why you called me? To do this? What else were you nning to do, discuss philosophy? This is my job!"


    Zane''s brow furrowed. He was here for negotiations, not a rendezvous with a call girl!


    This woman wasn''t someone he had called!


    Frustrated, he pulled out his phone to call the number again, but it was no use- the line was dead.


    Every attempt he made was met with a message saying the number was no longer in service.


    Realizing he was being yed, Zane shot a re at the woman and quickly left the hotel.


    Back in his car, he sat in silence, piecing it all together.


    Someone had drawn him out under the pretense of ckmail but hadn''t shown up themselves. Instead, they set him up with a woman, yet hadn''t forced him into anypromising situation.


    What was their game?


    Zane brooded over this for a while, but nothing added up.


    The hotel remained quiet, and after a moment''s pause, he started the engine and drove off.


    A sense of unease gnawed at him, as though something bad was looming just over the horizon.


    He needed to get Winona back home, pronto!


    As long as Winona was under his roof, whatever storm brewed, he''d have the upper hand.


    Winona was his leverage.