“Are you done with your work?”


    Xena bit her lower lip, looking a little embarrassed. “Mr. Lincoln, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have spoken out of turn.”


    Seeing the tears welling in her eyes, Zac frowned and forced down his irritation. “Get back to work.”


    A flicker of disbelief crossed Xena’s eyes. She had not expected him to just brush her off without a word of


    She wiped the corner of her eyes, lowered her gaze, and murmured, “Alright.”


    When the office door closed, Zac picked up his phone, debating whether to call Liz. But then he remembered she had already blocked his number.


    His brow furrowed even deeper. “Forget it. If she’s not going to ask for my help, why should I go out of my way to worry about her?” he thought.


    He tossed the phone back on the desk and went back to reading his files.


    Meanwhile, Kimberly had also seen the posts online. She immediately called Michael, her voice thick with displeasure.


    “Have you seen what people are saying about Liz? She is scamming clients out of their legal fees and losing cases left and right. Bringing her back will only embarrass us. I will never acknowledge her as my daughter. If you want her back, you can go get her yourself.”


    Michael had been in meetings all morning and already had a headache. Her words made his temper re.


    “Do you have any idea what shape thepany is in right now? <b>If </b>you keep being this unreasonable, then maybe we should just stop living together. Think about it.<b>” </b>


    He hung up before she could respond.


    Kimberly’s face turned red with anger. She called back several times, but he rejected every call, and eventually his phone was switched off.


    Furious, she mmed her phone down, though she knew in her gut that Michael meant it this time. If she did not go <i>to </i>Liz, he might really divorce her. She had worked too hard for too many years to hand her ce over to the mistress he kept outside.


    “Get the car.”


    Her expression was dark, her hatred for Liz only growing. Ever since Liz came back, there had been nothing but chaos in the house. That woman was nothing but trouble.


    An hourter, the Smith family car pulled up in front of Liz’sw firm. Kimberly turned to the driver. “Mr. Lopez, call Liz and tell her toe down. Tell her I need to see her.”


    “Yes, ma’am.”


    Upstairs, Liz was reviewing case files when her phone rang. She answered casually, “Hello, who’s this?” “Ms. Smith, it’s Uncle Lopez. Mrs. Smith and I are downstairs at your firm. She has something to discuss with you. Could youe down for a moment?”


    Liz’s fingers tightened around the papers. Her voice was cool. “I’m busy. Whatever it is, just say it over the phone.”


    The next voice was sharp and cutting, unmistakably that of a middle–aged woman. “Busy? Busy scamming clients out of their fees, or busy cleaning up the messes you make?”


    After all these years, hearing Kimberly’s voice still sent an involuntary pang through Liz’s chest. She had thought that with enough time, she could let the past go Now she knew she could not.


    Lowering her gaze, she replied coldly, “Mrs. Smith, if I remember correctly, we already severed ties. What I do with my time is none of your business. Anding here to confront me based solely on a bunch of online rumors without checking the facts first… don’t you think that’s a little ridiculous?”