Hawthorne''s helicopternded on thewn of his Greenvale estate. The mansion was a near-exact replica of the one in Starfall City, and as he stepped off the aircraft, he felt a momentary disorientation. He instinctively walked upstairs to the second floor, pushed open the bedroom door, and saw the familiaryout, identical to their room in Starfall City. But the bed was empty. There was no Gwh, only a room cleaned to perfection by Butler Parham. A wave of disappointment washed over him as he walked inside.


    Butler Parham came upstairs. “Mr. Everhart, weren''t you getting married? Where is Ms. Everhart?"


    "She didn''te with me," Hawthorne said.


    Seeing the grim look on Hawthorne''s face, the butler knew better than to ask any more questions.


    Hawthorne pulled out his phone and texted Patti Yale. “Prenatal check-up tomorrow."


    Patti''s heart leaped when she saw his message. Although she was pregnant with James''s child, she knew the baby''s days were numbered once Hawthorne found out. James had sent her to get close to Hawthorne and marry into the Everhart family, but he had no intention of divorcing his own wife to marry her. She needed to find another way out.


    Hawthorne had, after all, once loved her and treated her well. She figured if she allied with him now and followed his orders, she could slowly rekindle their rtionship. After she helped him take down James and got rid of the baby, surely he would choose her in the end. He wouldn''t be able to resist her, given how she''d risked everything for him, not to mention the halo effect of being his old me.


    She''d had his wife, a woman named Gwh, investigated. She was the heiress of the Langford family from Starfall City-an impressive background, but one that came with the baggage of the feud between their families. Even Patti knew about the dark history, a time when she had been the one by Hawthorne''s side, helping him through his most difficult moments.


    She smirked. That Langford girl was certainly bold. The Langfords had nearly destroyed the Everhart family. How dare she marry into that kind of hatred? Compared to her, Patti was a much better match.


    "I''ll go with you," she texted back. "How is James?” She stared at the screen, her eyes fixed on his reply.


    "He''s convinced I''ve fallen


    “No. That''s between her and me. It has nothing to do with you. Just handle your end


    of things,” Hawthorne''s voice was cold when he called, tly refusing to let her into


    his private life, let alone discuss Gwh with her.


    "Oh, I was just concerned. I was only asking."


    "Don''t be." Hawthorne hung up, his tone decisive and detached.


    On the other end, a smile yed on Patti''s lips. It seemed Hawthorne hadn''t been honest with his little wife. She had of course deliberately timed her message to coincide with his wedding. She wanted to see if his new bride had enough charm to keep him by her side. As it turned out, one message from her was all it took for him to fly back from Starfall City.


    Patti couldn''t help but wonder: did Hawthorne truly not like her


    anymore, or was he just angry that she''d schemed against him with another man it seemed this Gwh wasn''t so special after all: Patti became even more certain that the woman was nothing more than a pawn in Hawthorne''s game to secure his business empire.