"Get out of Rivercrest City!"


    Through the swarm of people, Noreen saw Seth and Bianca, who were being mobbed by reporters. They must have justnded, only to be ambushed by the media and environmental activists who had been tipped off. The activists hade prepared. As they chanted, they began hurling rotten eggs.


    Seth shielded Bianca with his body, protecting her from both the cameras and the projectiles. As the eggs flew toward them, he stood in front of her, taking the hits himself.


    Noreen watched the scene unfold, a flicker of something familiar stirring within her. She had once thrown herself in front of him just like that, to shield him from the same thing.


    Her phone rang, it was ire. Noreen looked away, and the fleeting emotion vanished, leaving only the calm, still waters of indifference.


    "Babe, are you out yet?" she asked.


    "My ankle!" ire wailed. "I twisted my ankle!"<fna8e1> Discover more novels at f?i?n?d?n?o?v?e?l?</fna8e1>


    Noreen picked ire up and took her straight to the hospital. As the doctor examined her, he kept frowning and ncing at the high heel on ire''s other foot.


    "I understand wanting to look good," he finally said, unable to hold back, "but are these heels really necessary? You''re tall enough as it is. It''s no wonder you got hurt."


    ire looked down sheepishly. "I was just cast as a secret agent. The role has a lot of action scenes in high heels. I was just trying to get used to them."


    The doctor just sighed.


    After the examination, Noreen helped ire out of the hospital. Near the outdoor parking lot, they saw Jude chain-smoking.


    Half an hour earlier, his father,


    Seymour, had copsed after his


    blood pressure spiked from the


    emotional distress. The doctors had managed to bring him back from the brink, but his condition was still critical. They had warned Jude that his father couldn''t handle any stress.


    more


    Jude''s heart was heavy. He hade outside to smoke and try to calm his nerves, but an entire pack nothing to


    of cigarettes hace


    ease the anxiety. He crushed the


    empty box in his fist and was about to go find a store to buy more when he saw Noreen.


    His first instinct was to turn and run. He felt a wave of shame so intense he couldn''t bear to face her.


    Noreen walked past him without a word, as if she hadn''t seen him. Or perhaps, she had simply chosen to ignore him.


    After she was gone, Jude went back to his father''s room. Seymour was awake. When he saw Jude, he turned his face to the wall, refusing to look at him.


    Jude''s shoulders slumped in guilt. “Dad, I''m so sorry."


    After a long silence, Seymour let out a deep sigh. Forget it. It''s my fault for expecting too much from you. knew you didn''t have the head to business, but I still pinned my hopes on you to save thepany was detuding myself."


    The more he spoke, the lower Jude''s head sank.


    "Notify the board. We''ll hold a shareholders'' meeting on Monday. I''ll be there myself."


    A cold dread filled Jude''s heart, and his eyes started to burn. “Dad, what are you going to do?"


    "What can I do?" Seymour said with a bitter, weary smile. "In my condition, what options do I have left? Besides dering bankruptcy, what else is there for me to do?"