Sebastian stiffened, a hint of anger in his voice. "Natalie, you actually believe those photos?"


    Natalie found the question absurd. "Sebastian, you and Joanna are two of a kind -cowards who won''t admit what you''ve done. Are you telling me the videos of you two in bed, of your ''vigorous exercise,'' were fake? You can have them authenticated. They''re real."


    Sebastian had seen the videos and photos she was talking about. They weren''t doctored. The people in them were him and Joanna. The man was him. And yet... he had never touched her. The most intimate they had ever been was when he carried her to the hospital.


    "Get out of my way. You disgust me," Natalie said, her voice trembling. "And finalize the divorce. I want nothing more to do with either of you." She grabbed Queena''s arm and pushed past him.


    With Natalie gone, Joanna turned to Sebastian, her face streaked with tears. "Sebastian, I never knew Natalie hated me so much. She mes me for everything. And... Sebastian, I saved your life. Why did you cancel my card?" She immediately yed her trump card, knowing how much that act meant to him.


    Sebastian''s gaze was deep and unreadable. "The debt for saving my life has been repaid. I''ve given you billions over the years. That''s enough. I won''t be giving you any more money. My wife has misunderstood and thinks you''re my mistress. For the sake of your reputation, you should ask your own family for money from now on."


    "And through all of this, Natalie never said a word. You, on the other hand, never stopped provoking her. Joanna, it''s clear who is framing whom. When you decided to treat me like a fool, you should have realized that even a life debt has its limits."


    He turned and walked away, leaving Joanna with nothing but the sight of his cold, retreating back.


    She stood frozen,pletely lost. Sebastian was cutting her off? No more money? Fortunately, she had used the money he''d given her over the years to secretly establish her ownpany. She had hidden her true strength. Sebastian, this pawn, had outlived his usefulness. The video she''d given him hadn''t convinced him. Damn it. But she wasn''t done with him yet.


    Joanna pulled out another credit card, paid for the clothes, and left with Yvonne.


    Once they were in the car on the ground floor, Natalie finally let herposure slip.


    "Natalie, maybe we should just go home," Queena said gently.


    Natalie just shook her head and pointed toward the back street. "It''s still early. You wanted barbecue, right? Let''s go. Food makes everything better."


    "But you..."


    "I''m fine," Natalie insisted. "Things like this don''t hurt me anymore. I''m just going to wait. I''ll wait for the day Joanna is utterly ruined and alone. She left a trail of evidence with all


    her schemes against me I''m going to take back


    thing she owes


    me, piece by piece. I''m going to rip that wolf''s clothing right off her."


    Who was the man Joanna was really working with? She was a skilled hacker herself, and she knew the photos Joanna had sent weren''t


    ??? %


    fake. That''s why she had fought with her, why she had fallen into her traps every time, making Sebastian believe she was a monster.


    "Queena, let''s go," she said with renewed determination. "I''ve let go of him. I''m


    not sad. I just want to uncover the truth about the past."


    There was more to Joanna than met


    het


    was


    the eye. There was a dangerous assassin in her pocket, someone whose identity she had never learned in her past life. And who the man Joanna truly loved? These were all mysteries yet to be solved.


    Tonight''s confrontation had jogged her memory. Joanna had used Sebastian''s money to secretly build her ownpany. That''s how she had been able to so easily acquire the Don family''s assets after Wendy had her breakdown.