?Chapter 1421:


    Even if Christina shed with Dn, she still had the wealth, influence, and connections to stand toe-to-toe with him. They were equals—something Ynda could neverprehend.


    “Have you heard?” Ynda murmured, trailing her fingers across Brendon’s chest. “Christina’s been cklisted. The whole inte’s talking about it.”


    Brendon caught her hand, his lips curving slightly. “Yeah,” he said quietly.


    He wasn’t surprised. In fact, he’d been waiting for this moment—waiting for Christina to have nowhere to run but back to him.


    “But why would Mr. Scott do that?” Ynda asked, pretending to sound puzzled. “Did they have some kind of falling-out?”


    Brendon shrugged. “Who knows?” Truth was, he didn’t care what happened between them. All that mattered was that it gave him the upper hand.


    Dn’s move was ruthless—but to Brendon, it was a gift.


    The fact that Dn hadn’t issued a denial yet was proof enough—this was almost certainly true, not some baseless rumor.


    Now that Christina was cut off from the industry, every door closed to her, she’d eventually have toe crawling back to him. He could already picture it—her pride stripped away, her spirit broken.


    The once-proud Christina would be forced to bend her head and beg for help. And when that day came, he’d be there. Smiling. Waiting.


    No one would dare help her; Dn’s power reached everywhere. Anyone foolish enough to take her side would be crushed. So when Brendon extended his “kind” hand, she’d have no choice but to take it.


    He could already imagine her eyes, full of desperation and gratitude, as she called him her savior.


    He lounged in the dark of his own spite, feeding himself fantasies that had nothing to do with reality. If he couldn’t beat Dn, how could Christina possibly stand a chance?


    In his mind, her awards and titles were just meaningless stickers—no defense against raw power. So she’d be crushed. Ruined. Finished.


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    And when everyone turned their backs on her, he pictured himself stepping in with a single, pitying hand. A little warmth at just the right moment, and she’d cling to him like a drowning person grabbing a lifeline.


    “Should we help her?” Ynda murmured, nestling closer. Was it her imagination? Brendon seemedpletely unconcerned about Christina’s plight.


    Brendon sounded almost bored. “She made her own bed. Let her lie in it.” There was a strange thrill under his calm. He couldn’t wait to see her crumble.


    Ynda said nothing. She watched him instead, wondering what was really going on behind that face.


    He was bing harder to read, and that worried her more than she cared to admit. . . .


    A few dayster, Christina and Dn arrived in Kitaso separately, having agreed to meet at the cemetery.


    In her hands, Christina carried a bouquet of roses—Joelle’s favorite. She knelt before the gravestone, cing them with care, her movements slow and reverent.


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