Afterward, from bathing to drying off, and then blow-drying her hair, Mason’s aftercare was thorough. When Le, wrapped in a towel, wasid on the bed, Mason leaned down, and kissed her. Then he went to the kitchen to cook.


    He wore nothing but ck pants, with a cigarette dangling from his mouth. Just as he started cooking, his phone rang.


    Caleb’s voice came through, “Are you avable?”


    Mason replied, “Yeah.”


    Caleb hesitated, “What’s that noise?”


    Mason took the cigarette from his mouth, flicked the ash, and said, “I’m cooking.”


    Caleb thought he misheard, “What?”


    “Cooking. You can’t understand?”


    After a few seconds of hesitation, Caleb asked, “What’s wrong with you?”


    Mason, unbothered, replied, “Does it concern you?”


    Caleb changed the topic, “Omar has been cozying up to some higher-ups while you’ve been away.”


    Mason sneered, “Who?”


    “One from marketing, a finance manager, and a director from the nning department.”


    Mason didn’t feel threatened, mocking, “Is that all he can manage?”


    Caleb retorted, “If he were more capable, would you still be in your position?”


    Mason chuckled, “And his brother?”


    “No movements this past week. He went to a church.”


    Mason coldlyughed, “Praying for Jesus’s bless?”


    Caleb noted, “Don’t you go to church often?”


    Mason, nonchnt, responded, “I go to suppress the evil within me. Otherwise, Otherwise, I’m afraid I can’t help but kill them.”


    Mason wasn’t joking. People said the eldest grandson of The Ramirez Family had gone mad after returning, but no one knew Mason had been even crazier for a while. His madness was terrifying. He was normal during the day but lost control at night.


    During that time, even The old Mr. Ramirez couldn’t sleep soundly at night, fearing Mason might kill someone. But eventually, Mason did nothing. Over time, he became normal again.


    To prevent outsiders from specting The old Mr. Ramirez publicly stated that Mason was perfectly fine.


    When Mason finished speaking, Caleb fell silent, lost in thought. After a while, he snapped back and asked, “I’m curious, why were you fine during the day but had episodes at night back then?”


    Mason almost smiled, “Do you think I’d tell you?”


    Caleb sighed, “Okay, then can you at least tell me how you got better?”


    “Why are you so curious?”


    Caleb chuckled, “Come on, spill it. I didn’t ask before because I didn’t want to upset you, but it’s been years. It should be fine now.”


    Mason looked down at the food and said in a low voice, “I asked Le for a photo of herself.”


    Caleb was puzzled, “That’s it?”


    Mason nodded, “Yeah.”


    Caleb was still confused, “How does a photo make you better? Did you…”


    Mason cut him off, “Don’t be gross. I didn’t do anything back then.”


    Caleb was more baffled, “Then what did you do?”


    Mason closed his eyes, “I prayed every night, holding her photo.”


    Caleb felt a shiver run down his spine and got goosebumps.


    After hanging up on, Mason brought the dishes to the table and went to the bedroom to call Le. She was lying on the bed, reading an email from thepany about an outstanding project payment. A 70 million project had only been settled for 50 million, with the remaining 20 million dragging on for over six months.Original from N?velDrama.Org.


    Hearing movement at the door, Le didn’t look up, “Is dinner ready?”


    Mason leaned against the doorframe, “Is Miss Patel hungry?”


    Le changed the topic, “Why was the previous project manager fired?”


    Talking about work, Mason became more serious, “Bribery and corruption.”


    Le turned to look at him, “Did he dy the final payments for the projects?”


    Mason confirmed, “Yes.”


    Le, “How much did he embezzle?”


    Mason joked, “You want to embezzle too??”


    Le met his gaze and bluntly said, “I’d rather focus on you. I’ve heard that you’re quite generous, casually giving away houses worth millions to your ex-girlfriends.”


    Mason’s smile faded, “Le.”


    Le sat up, “Yes?”


    Mason looked at her, seemingly deep in thought. After a while, he said seriously, “I’ve never slept with anyone else but you.”


    Le was visibly shocked.


    The atmosphere in the bedroom turned quiet. They stared at each other, and Mason watched Le’s expression shift from shock to confusion, “You don’t believe me?”


    Le was momentarily dazed, “Then why did you…”


    Mason was straightforward, “You mean the rumors? I just didn’t want to marry Jennifer.”


    Mason walked to the bedside, leaned over, and ced his hands on the bed. “Le, can you tell me what you’re feeling? Surprise? Shock? Fear?”


    Mason’s sudden closeness made Le instinctively lean back. But for every inch she moved back, Mason moved two inches closer.


    Finally, their noses touched.


    “Mason…” She murmured.


    “Are you scared?”


    Le bit her lip and, after a few seconds, pushed him away. “I’m hungry.”


    With that, she slipped out from under his arms.


    Mason chuckled softly.


    Le left the bedroom and went to the bathroom to wash her face. The cold water helped calm her racing heart. That was his first time, and hers too. It was fair. Neither owed the other anything.


    As Le stood with her hands on the sink, trying to convince herself, she suddenly heard Mason talking to someone in the bedroom.


    “He went to Darren’s ce?”


    “Did you have someone follow him?”


    “Got it. Call me if anythinges up.”


    Mason hung up and walked out of the bedroom just as Le came out of the bathroom. They locked eyes, and Le couldn’t help but ask, “Who went to my uncle’s ce?”


    She already had a suspicion but needed Mason to confirm it.


    Mason looked down at her, “Your…”


    “My dad?”


    Mason nodded, “Yes.”


    Meanwhile, at Darren’s ce…


    Keith stormed into the house, furious.


    “How dare you? If you hadn’t given Le my contact information, she wouldn’t have been able to reach me!”


    Darren tried to calm him down, “Alright, alright, take it easy.”


    Elsa set the cup down on the coffee table with a loud tter, “That’s a funny thing to say. Le is your daughter. Isn’t it natural for her to want to find her father?”


    Keith was left speechless by Elsa’s retort.


    Elsa sneered and continued, “Besides, you’ve been living it up all these years while my sister and Le were stuck at home working like ves to pay off your debts. You can’t be that heartless.”


    Elsa’s words were always harsh. Seeing Keith about to explode, Darren pretended to calm things down, pping the coffee table lightly, “Can you say a little less?”


    Elsa huffed and went back to her room.


    Once Elsa was gone, Darren sighed, “I got kidnapped and beaten up a few days ago. Just got out of the hospital…”


    Keith frowned, “What happened?”


    Darren lowered his voice, “It’s rted to that kidnapping case from years ago.”


    Mentioning the kidnapping made Keith’s face turn pale.


    Seeing Keith’s expression, Darren pushed the cup towards him, “What happened back then… It’s a secret, I haven’t even told my sister.”


    Keith’s face remained tense as he picked up the cup and took a sip, “You didn’t just keep it from your sister. Did you give her the half a million?”


    “Keith, it’s true I didn’t give my sister the half a million back then, and that was my fault. But let’s be honest, even if I had given her the money, it wouldn’t have helped much with all the debt you left behind…”


    Keith didn’t respond.


    Darren paused for a moment before continuing, “I give the money now, which would be more useful than back then.”


    Keith didn’t say anything else.


    Darren nced towards the bedroom to ensure Elsa wouldn’te out, then leaned closer to Keith, “If the truth about what happened back thenes out, you and I…”


    Keith gave him a sideways nce, “What does that have to do with me?”


    Darren’s eyes widened.


    Keith put down the cup, took a deep breath, “I didn’t do anything back then. I was too busy running away. Don’t try to pin this on me.”


    Darren was furious, “Keith, don’t push it. I’m not afraid to tell you, Mason is already starting to suspect that I’m involved. If anything happens to me, I’ll spill everything you did back then.”


    Keith’s face darkened instantly.


    “Just deny everything. He won’t find anything.”


    “What if…”


    “The people involved are either dead or missing. What could possibly go wrong?”


    Darren considered this and nodded in agreement, “True.”


    “Keep your mouth shut. Don’t go bbing.”


    Darren said, “Don’t worry. Even if you dunk me in a barrel of booze, I won’t say a word about what happened back then.”


    “You’d better keep it that way.”