Chapter 378 rissa Is Going After Charles


    Finished


    On their way to Caden''s ce, Kelly kept ncing over at Zev, clearly wrestling with something she wanted to say.


    After a long stretch of silence, she finally blurted out, "Tell me-why is she so desperate to get married? At first, I thought she just wanted to marry someone useful. Like you or Shawn-you guys have real power. But Caden? He''s got no authority, and he''s ... well into guys. So what on earth is she thinking?"


    She was genuinely curious what had gotten into rissa.


    Zev nced at her, then couldn''t help but chuckle. "Shouldn''t we be feeling sorry for Caden right now? Of all people, he''s the one who captured her eyes?".


    Kelly rubbed the center of her brows and remembered something Eric had said. Abruptly, she looked up at Zev and asked, "You think there''s a chance rissa already knows that Beau and the people behind are nning to discard her? Maybe she''s desperate, doing whatever she can just to survive?"


    Zev nodded. "rissa chose to side with Shawn because marrying him meant the biggest payoff. But now that my Uncle Patrick has taken back Shawn''s power, and no one knows when he''ll get it back, those people behind the scenes have started targeting her too. So, yeah. To save herself, she''s even willing to settle for someone like Caden. Scraping the bottom of the barrel."


    Kelly fell into thought for a moment, then looked at him again. "Isn''t it strange, though? The people behind her family are in such a rush to get rid of her. But rissa is way smarter than her father and more useful too."


    "Too smart might be exactly the problem," Zev replied. "People like that rarely make the best pawns. They''re unpredictable. I''d bet anything rissa knows something she shouldn''t. That''s the only reason they''d want her gone so fast." Kelly stared out the window and muttered, "Looks like she really does know too much."


    rissa, too clever for her own good, had dug herself a hole. The people pulling the strings realized they couldn''t control her-and decided to eliminate her instead.


    Her intelligence had be her downfall.


    "Maybe we can use that," Kelly murmured. "When those people push her to the edge, we might be able to force the truth out of her. If she''s desperate enough, she might trade her secrets for a way out."


    Zev''s lips curled into a grin. "Babe, I was thinking the same thing."


    Then maybe it was time to add fuel to the fire-and make rissa''s situation even more desperate.


    Hardison Mansion.


    By the time Zev and Kelly arrived, Caden had already stationed ten security guards outside the front door.


    rissa had no way of getting past him. Caden


    asn''t the kind of guy you could reason with.


    He was the type who''d argue even when he was clearly in the wrong. When was


    he actually in the right? Forget it.


    14.57 Tue 27 May Q G


    Chapter 378 rissa Is Going After Charles


    rissa tried everything-called journalists, tipped off the media, and pulled every string she could think of. But Caden refused to let her in. He refused to even meet her face-to-face.


    "Caden! Shane is your son! You and Zev teamed up to trick me. If this goes public, your whole family will


    down with you!" rissa shouted, her voice rising in pitch.


    go


    She hoped to stir up enough drama that Caden would be forced to marry her for the sake of his family reputation.


    After all, Shane really was Caden''s kid. The DNA tests proved it.


    "Yell all you want," came azy voice from the door. Charles leaned against the frame, baseball cap pulled low, arms crossed. "Scream until your throat gives out. He''s a lowlife with nothing left to lose. You think he cares about exposure?"


    The message was clear: as long as Charles stood there, no one was getting through that door.


    Charles wasn''t exactly adept at dealing with women, though, and it showed-he was starting to look a little flustered.


    rissa tried every tactic-sweet talk, pleading, veiled threats—she was one step away from crying out loud.


    She knew Caden was her worst option, but she had no way out now.


    In a quiet corner, she called Shawn. Her hands were shaking. "I''ve done everything I can, but he won''t even talk to me. There''s no way to negotiate."


    Today had been herst-ditch effort, her full arsenal-and it hadn''t worked. Caden was a dead end, born to sabotage her in every way.


    He was stubborn, crude, had a terrible reputation, and zero power in the family. Aplete freeloader living off his older brother. There was nothing she could use to threaten or manipte him.


    "rissa, I thought you were smarter than this, Shawn''s voice came through the phone, cold and mocking. "You want to make someone bend to your will? You need to find their weakness. If you can''t figure out Caden''s, how do you expect to get anywhere?"


    "You''re not seriously suggesting I go after Sidney?” Her voice trembled. "That guy''s a madman. I wouldn''t dare." She was more terrified of Sidney.


    One of the brothers was a deadbeat, while the other was a maniac. She wouldn''t have gone near either of them if she hadn''t been cornered.


    "Sidney''s weakness is Caden. Control Caden, and you control Sidney. You don''t have to face Sidney. Just keep working on Caden." Shawn paused before suggesting, “Actually, go home for now. Stop pushing it. There''s someone else near Caden-his name''s Charles. I looked into him. He used to be undercover and pissed off a guy named Assad. And it looks like Caden cares a lot about him. Maybe it''s time to let someone else do your dirty work for you."


    rissa froze. If she tipped Assad off about where Charles was, Assad made his move. If Caden really cared about Charles, he might just have no choice but to marry her.


    iviy undercover Cop Hubby