She darted a glance at Charles—who was already walking toward the mirror.“You did this?” he asked, his voice low, cautious.“Must’ve been one of those fans,” she said with forced casualness, though her feet wouldn’t carry her even an inch farther into the room. “Don’t tell me you’re scared, Charles.” She tried a light tone. “Stuff like this happens to celebrities all the time.”Charles turned to her, disbelief etched across his face. “What?”“I guess someone broke in,” she shrugged. “Nothing new. That’s why I keep telling you—I’m not just some regular girl in New York.”Her eyes flicked toward her phone on the nightstand—but there was no way she was going near it. Not when she didn’t even know if she was still alone in that room.“I… I can’t find my phone, though,” she added, pretending to search around her.“Here.” Charles picked it up and handed it to her.She smiled, taking it. “You’ve got sharp ey

Sadie shot Charles a glare, signaling with her eyes for him to chill. He ignored her. God, she's never seen two friends who insult each other this way and managed to be on good terms. “Um… Thomas, don’t mind him,” she said quickly. “He’s a little... um…” “No need to explain,” Thomas said smoothly. “Men get defensive when I’m around their partner. I’m used to it.” The sarcasm was thick, matching Charles’ usual tone. “With that said, can we move to the point? Time matters here,” Charles said. Thomas listened as Sadie walked him through what happened. She hadn’t left out any detail, though she remembered very little. She’d fallen asleep and woken up to the mess. “I’ll get back to you,” Thomas said, standing up. “I’d appreciate it if you reached out to me instead,” Charles said, stepping forward. “My fiancée is a pretty woman. I don’t want people sniffing too close.” Sadi

___Two Days Earlier___“Sir,” Roger’s personal assistant said over the phone, “things are going exactly as planned. The Harrington family is on the brink of collapse. If that last company terminates their partnership, it’s over for them.”Roger leaned back in his leather seat, eyes narrowing. “Go on.”“If you make a move now—reach out to them—you could take everything. They’re desperate.”Roger’s lips curved into a cold smile. “Let me pay them a visit.”He ended the call and immediately dialed Emmy.“Where are you, babe?” he asked, his voice low and smooth.“Actually, Roger… I’ll call you later.”He frowned, injecting just the right amount of concern into his tone. “What’s wrong? You don’t sound okay.”She sighed. “Our biggest partner just pulled out. We've been trying to reach them for hours—no response.”“Are you home?”“I’m at my parents’ house. You want to come?”“Bab

Now that Sadie understood a bit more about Charles — the fact that he preferred things with less money splashed all over them — she didn’t argue when he suggested they take the second Toyota Camry from the garage. Normally, she’d have chosen her Ferrari without thinking twice.“I think I have to change all these security guards,” she said as they drove out of the gate. “What if they’re part of what happened?”“Security guards can be crazy sometimes,” Charles muttered.If there was something he’d learned about women, it was that they didn’t always need advice — most times, they just needed someone to listen.“They’ve worked for me for the past five years. And now they’re behaving strangely,” she went on. “I can’t count how many times fans have tried to break into the house, and they handled it smoothly. Even dealt with reporters the last time.”“Maybe you could let this one slide for once. Sometimes it’s better to stick with the devil

____Harrington Family Villa ____Sadie looked around the sitting room, taking in every face. Emmy wasn’t there, but Roger was. Emmy’s parents were there too, along with probably some of Emmy's other relatives she had never met before. Which meant she had no business here. She didn't come for this. She was about to bust out her anger when Roger motioned at her to be calm. “We apologize for the sudden call, Miss Sadie,” Roger started smoothly, “but I believe this meeting is worth your time.”She couldn't hold back anymore, “How many times have I told you not to do this, Roger?” she snapped. “I thought I made it clear we aren’t close enough for these kinds of things.”“But you still came,” Roger said, smiling faintly.Of course, none of the family members knew how he lured Sadie here — he simply told them he’d ‘figure out a way’ to get her to show up.“Where is Charles?” Sadie asked sharply.“That’s not as impor