A faint smile touched Sebastian''s lips. The mystery surrounding Natalie was bing more and more intriguing.


    "Sir! The news about Larry and his gang just broke!" Sean eximed, looking at his phone. "In 2021, they raped an eighteen-year-old girl in a warehouse. Shetermitted suicide by jumping into the sea. That same year, on September 16th, they broke into the home of a retired man during a robbery. The shock caused him to have a fatal heart attack. This..."


    Sean''s voice trailed off. "My God, these men are monsters. They prey on the weak-young women and the elderly. How could Joanna and Jerome be friends with people like this?" He looked up at Sebastian. "Sir, are you still going to try and get them out? If you do, more people will get hurt."


    A flicker of emotion finally crossed Sebastian''s stoic face. "Sean, did you think I was going to save them?" he asked, his words clipped and sharp. He suddenly remembered what Natalie had told him on the phone that Larry imed Sebastian would bail them out. That son of a bitch would say anything. It was clear now that his indulgence had allowed Joanna to be utterly fearless.


    Sean nodded slowly. "Sir, usually all Ms. Scott has to do is ask, and you grant her every wish. Remember the time Ms. Sanders was seriously ill? Joanna called, and you spent the entire night with her, leaving Ms. Sanders to go to the hospital alone. That kind of thing has happened countless times since Ms. Scott returned."


    "I''m just trying to make a point, sir.


    No one will wait forever. A rtionship built on neglect is doomed to fail Natalie has finally chosen to give herself back


    herself, and you back to... well, you."


    "Shut up," Sebastian snapped, then stopped himself. "You don''t need to remind me. I didn''t... I wasn''t ready... Wendy''s words came rushing back to him. His face


    hardened and he turned G


    After a few steps, he paused. If there really was someone powerful behind Joanna, he needed to force them out into the open.


    "Cancel Joanna''s credit cards," hemanded. "Tell her that her saving my life has been repaid. She''s spent over a billion of my dors over the years. That''s more than enough. Go to the Scott family residence and tell her yourself." He narrowed his eyes. Joanna had spent so much of his money, yet he''d never seen her with any extravagant purchases. And Natalie, his actual wife... he had never even given her a credit card.


    "Sean," he added, a new thought forming, "I also want you to investigate where all that money has gone. Look for anyrge transfers. A billion dors is more than enough to start a major corporation."


    Sean''s face broke into a grin. "Sir, you''re finally looking into it! I''ll get on it right away."


    Seeing Sean''s smile, Sebastian had a sudden, stark realization: he had been aplete fool.