His smile was no longer gentle but sharp and venomous. "Don''t you know that the more you favor him, the more you''re sealing his fate?"


    "Young Master." Alexia hurried over and bowed deeply. "It''s done."


    Chad gave her a slight nod, and she understood, pushing his wheelchair into a nearby lounge to speak privately.


    "Mr. Hamilton is infuriating!" Alexia fumed on Chad''s behalf. "Who does Thaddeus think he is? You are the rightful heir of the Abernathy Group! And even now, he''s still protecting that bastard... Has he gone senile?"


    "It was to be expected," Chad said, his smile never reaching his eyes. "In Grandfather''s eyes, Thaddeus is his true grandson. He and I... we''ve grown distant."


    "It''s utterly despicable! He can''t even tell who his real family is!" Alexia stomped her foot in anger. "I''ve bribed Dr. Zade to confirm Thaddeus''s drug use, but even so, with Mr. Hamilton protecting him, it seems we still can''tpletely destroy him, can we?"


    Chad looked at her, his dark, gloomy eyes holding a hint of amusement. "You hate him that much?"


    "I do! I wish I could kill him myself, cut him to pieces and feed him to the dogs!" The memory of her public humiliation, of being a disgraced heiress living worse than a beggar, made Alexia''s eyes turn red with hatred. She had to swallow the curses she wanted to hurl at Evadne''s entire family line.


    Chad narrowed his eyes, his voice melodic andzy. "Such deep hatred can onlye from deep love."


    A chill ran down Alexia''s spine. She immediately knelt at his feet, looking up at him with devotion. "No, Sir! My heart has only ever belonged to you... Thaddeus was nothing! I was young and foolish then, misled by Elspeth! Otherwise, I would never have associated with someone so beneath me!"


    Chad ignored her disy of loyalty. "Deep love and deep hatred... I''ve never experienced either. So, in a way, I envy your hatred. And I envy my brother''s love."


    He didn''t hate Thaddeus, or his grandfather, or anyone. It seemed he was doing all this simply because he found it... interesting.


    Just then, Alexia''s phone rang. It was Hans.


    "Hello,” she answered curtly, in front of Chad.


    "I''ve checked. Nothing," Hans''s cold, emotionless voice replied.


    Alexia was furious. "Are you serious? There are cameras everywhere, and you didn''t catch anything? I don''t believe it!"


    "If you don''t believe me,e check yourself." Hans hung up, leaving Alexia fuming.


    "Sir, a woman broke into our primaryb today. She injured one of the doctors and stole his ess cardh had Hans check the surveince, but he said he couldn''t find her on any of the footage. What bad luck!"


    Chad''s expression remained unchanged. "Did she cause any trouble?"


    "No, not really. We did a thorough search afterward and nothing was missing or out of ce," Alexia said, then hesitated a flicker of fear in her eyes. "But... I think she recognized me"


    Chad raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Oh?"<fn4cf5> ?????? ???? find?novel</fn4cf5>


    "She... I think she called me by my old name." Alexia''s eyes darted around nervously. "I had extensive stic surgery, even on my vocaf cords and I''ve been professionally trained to change my mannerisms How could anyone recognize me? It''s impossible!"


    "Nothing is impossible," Chad said, idly turning the ring on his finger. "To get into that ce and leave without a trace means she''s resourceful. It also means she knows you well."


    Realization dawned on Alexia, her eyes widening. "I know who it is! It has to be her... It has to be!"