The officer watched as ra acted with such determination and quickly pulled her aside. "Ms. ra, please, take a moment to calm down."


    ra was genuinely furious, her anger clouding her judgment as she rubbed her temples. "Officer, I''m ready to fully cooperate with your investigation."


    She had been so focused on other things over the past month that she''d neglected Ryan, thinking as long as he was with Cole, everything would be fine. She never imagined he''d get into such a big mess.


    In a hurry, she called Cole and found out his family had been sick, so he''d been guiding Ryan remotely. Ryan had been acing his online courses, so Cole hadn''t mentioned anything to ra.


    Cole''s voice was cautious yet serious. "Ms. ra, is something wrong?"


    The fewer people who knew, the better. The Bradford Group was already in a shaky position, and if this got out, thepany''s stock would crash.


    ra brushed off the call with a few vague words but was still uneasy. It wasn''t until she spotted the news trending online that her mind went nk with shock.


    Typically, such news wouldn''t make the top of the trending list, but the whistleblower imed that a young CEO from a big corporation was among those caught. Everyone was buzzing with curiosity, waiting for the name to drop.


    ra was instantly overwhelmed, still clueless about who was manipting Ryan. Her mind first went to Greysen, then to Quinn. After thinking it over, Greysen seemed the most likely suspect.


    She called Greysen, but he had already skipped the country and was living it up abroad. "ra, I knew you''de begging one day. You want to know who set Ryan up, don''t you? Well, I''m not telling."


    ra had recorded their call. "Greysen, Ryan at least gave you a break."


    "Ha! That''s because he''s too soft. Serves him right. Just like Johnny. That''s why thepany never went public. If it were in my hands, who knows how far it''d go? Ryan inherited Johnny''s stupidity. Those two should just reunite in hell."


    ra hung up abruptly. Only Ryan knew the full story now. She stayed by his hospital bed, not leaving his side. The hospital was close to the police station, which made it easy for the authorities to keep an eye on him.


    When Ryan woke up, he stared nkly at the ceiling. He knew ra was still there but didn''t dare to look at her. ra yed the recorded conversation with Greysen, the words echoing in the room.


    Ryan''s eyshes fluttered, and then he covered his face with the nket, crying softly. ra had once told him he''d have to grow up someday. She just didn''t expect the cost of growing up to be so harsh.


    She yanked the nket away. "What right do you have to cry? The person behind all this is about to expose your arrest online. If we don''t stop it in time, both you and thepany are finished. Even now, you refuse to tell me who''s behind it?"


    Ryan bit his lip, tears streaming down as he shook his head. ra felt the urge to p him again. But she was starting to piece things together. Ryan had his ws, but he valued family above all else. Otherwise, Quinn and Naomi wouldn''t have had such an easy time manipting him.


    He had once openly despised ra, but after she pped him a few times, his only retaliation was to throw harsh words. She took a deep breath, grabbed the cup beside her, and held it to his mouth, forcing him to drink.