Kaitlyn had crossed paths with Simon before. Back then, she saw him as nothing more than a spoiled, self-absorbed rich kid-kind of a dimwit, but harmless
enough.
But today, standing in front of her, Simon seemed like apletely different person, almost unrecognizable.
His face was calm, but you could tell there was a storm raging inside. His eyes were bloodshot, like he hadn''t slept well in ages, and he had some serious dark circles.
"So, she never cared about me, just used me as a pawn. What kind of pawn? No wonder I''ve had so many attempts on my life. Could all of them be tied back to her?!"
He practically shouted thatst question, frustration boiling over.
Simon used to be pretty naive, but he had definitely been through a lot of assassination attempts. The Ferguson family''s power had always shielded him.
He often wondered why it seemed like his life was more valuable than Dn''s, the real heir.
If what this woman said was true, then it was all a setup from the start.
ra...
ra!!
His hand, hanging loosely at his side, slowly clenched into a fist, so tight his nails almost dug into his palm. What could be more humiliating than this?
He had been so confident she''d never leave him, thinking she''d always be his. Turns out, he was the biggest fool.
Why should he be humiliated like this?
A dark rage flickered in his eyes, his teeth grinding together.
But within moments, he pulled himself together, walked right past Kaitlyn, and left.
Kaitlyn stood there, feeling like she''dnded herself in a mess. She had wanted to warn ra about Simon, something seemed off about him. But then a barrage of phone calls stole her attention, and she forgot all about it.
Meanwhile, ra was busy transferring investment funds to Kaitlyn''s studio in chunks. Kaitlyn, being sharp and talented, made sure every penny counted. She was producing short web series for streaming tforms, skipping the tediouswork approvals, ensuring quick payoffs.
They figured once the three shows aired, ra would be looking at a cool six million.
This gave her some breathing room, easing the pressure to chase more investments, especially since the Bradford Group was revamping its product lines, ditching all the old designs.
Luckily, even though Johnny was soft in his management style, he was a stickler for quality. This loyalty kept a solid customer base. So, when the products went on
sale at half-price, they were snapped up, easing the inventory load.
In less than a week, the current stock was cleared, even gaining some buzz online.
Seizing the momentum, ra pushed apany-wide initiative to update all product lines, making sure the electronics looked fresh and modern withoutpromising on quality. This led to a boost for many young employees who had been sidelined.
These young talents had a ir for design and were eager to bring contemporary trends into y.
After a grueling week, ra finally paused, feelingpletely drained. What she didn''t know was that Ryan had been trying to reach her all week. Despite his desperate pleas, no one would let him use a phone.
Ryan was being kept under tight watch in a remote facility. Aside from his suite, the staff who brought his meals barely exchanged words with him.
He had gone from hoping ra would visit to feeling crushed by disappointment.
Most days, his body ached all over, pain coursing through him, making him curl up on the floor, wanting to scream and roll around.
How could ra just leave him like this? Weren''t they supposed to stick together no matter what?
Now, he was left with nothing.
What hurt him more than the prison-like conditions was ra''s decisive cut-off.
She had always been good to him.
The more he thought about it, the sadder he got, tears streaming down his cheeks.
Just then, the door creaked open, and someone stepped inside.
He curled up tighter, his voice raw, "Get out, get out!"
The visitor''s voice was gentle, "Mr. Ryan, I''m a friend of ra''s."