Chapter <b>304 </b>
“Mr. Carr<b>, </b>have you seen those online rumors<b>? </b><b>Any </bments?” asked one of the reporters.
“What, that’s what you lead with? Try some decency<b>, </b>Kurtis said, one hand casually in his pocket as his bodyguards cleared the way. He seemed itching for a fight.
The reporter’s lip curled. Every journalist in Kroit <b>City </b>knew Kurtis’s reputation–he <b>was </b>a notorious yboy in his youth, and honestly, not much had changed.
“We were just talking business. What kind of business? That’s confidential. Not like you’d bail us out if we lost money, right?<i>” </i>he continued.
“Business meeting in a private room like that? Mr. Carr, your story just doesn’t hold water.”
<b>“</b>We couldn’t agree, so we threw down.” Kurtis suddenly leaned in, aggressive. “Who <b>says </b>you have to believe me?”
His defiance only fueled those reporters‘ enthusiasm.
In a high–rise restaurant by the waterfront, Alice anxiously scanned the crowd. She wondered, “Why is Kurtis the only one here? Where’s Aubree?
Alice’s stomach turned. Something felt off. But it was already toote. The reporters finally realized that after all their questions, Aubree and Bowen still hadn’t shown up.
They got so caught up grilling Kurtis, they didn’t even notice the real story <b>slip </b>right past them.
By the time the reporters figured it out, Aubree and Bowen were already on their way to the flower market with the address provided by Kurtis.
“Whatever. They’re already gone. Let them dig. They won’t find a thing. Besides…<b>“</b>Alice paused, pulling out her phone. A sly smile crossed her face as she scrolled through the flood of rumors about <b>Aubree </b>and the two men.
“The more you chase the spotlight,” she muttered, “the more <b>they’ll </b><b>tear </b>you <b>apart </b>under a damn microscope. My sweet girl. You sure you’re walking away clean this time?”
*****
“This is it,” Kelvin said, double–checking the address <b>before </b>pulling the <b>car </b><b>over</b>.
Aubree nced at the entrance. “The door’s shut.”
No one moved. “We’re toote,” she <b>muttered</b>, <b>eyes fixed </b>on the door<b>. </b><b>“</b>Alice must’ve known I <b>was </bing for Gordon. Probably had him moved already.”
She let out a sigh, ming herself for not being more <b>careful</b>. “Let’s <b>go</b>. We’ll ask Kurtis <bter </b><b>if </b><b>he </b>has any <b>other </b>leads. We’ve already tipped our hand; finding Gordon now is next to impossible<b>.” </b>
Aubree thought bitterly, ‘Whole damn world! How <b>the </b>hell are we <b>supposed </b>to find one <b>person </b>in all of it?<b>” </b>
However, Alice’s actions <b>only </b>confirmed that <b>there </b><b>was </b>more to Carmen’s <b>background </b>than met the eye. With the Gordon lead gone, Aubree could still dig into Alice’s past or look into Carmen. Either <b>way</b>, Aubree might stumble onto something unexpected.
“So,” Kelvin said, “what’s your n for handling all that <b>crap </b>online?” They all knew how this kind of thing yed out–it always came down harder
on women.
“I’m not wasting my breath on it,<b>” </b>she answered with <b>a </b>smirk. “If people <b>are </b>still obsessed with my private life, that just means I’m not powerful enough yet. Tell me, Mr. Turner, have you ever lost sleep over tabloid gossip about yourself?<b>” </b>
Things were different for Kurtis. He’d been tangled <b>up </b>in <b>scandal </b>for years, but when he chased <b>a </b>lookalike<b>, </b>people called him “loyal“.
“They’re tearing into me because they think I got where I am because of you, and I’ve cheated and cut corners,” she said. “They doubt me. Maybe they’re just bitter. Either way, they’re just waiting for me to crash and burn.”
Bowen stared into her eyes, stunned by the fire in them. For a second, it actually made his heart <b>skip</b>. “Then let them see for themselves—you’ve never cut corners.”