The man swallowed hard as he slowly lifted the gun from the floor. The instant the weapon was completely in his hand, something unbelievable happened. Click! Without anyone touching the trigger, the gun gave a strange metallic sound. The man froze. His eyes widened. "W-what..." Before he could finish speaking— Bang! A single bullet shot out. Instead of travelling toward Antonio, it turned in midair and sped straight back toward the gunman. "No!" The man screamed. The bullet struck him squarely in the chest. His body jerked violently. The gun slipped from his fingers and crashed onto the polished floor. He staggered backwards. Blood slowly spread across his clothes. He stared blankly at Antonio, unable to believe what had just happened. "I..." His lips trembled. "I..." His knees gave way. Thud! He collapsed heavily onto the floor. Within seconds, all movement stopped. The room became deathly quiet. None of the remaining intruders dared move. Victor Kane stood

Jude Clarke's face darkened the very moment he heard the secretary's response. She had looked straight into the camera without the slightest hesitation and boldly declared that his proposal against Antonio Morris was nothing short of wicked. Her words echoed in his ears, and for a few seconds, he remained completely silent, staring at the screen with an expression that grew colder by the second. The silence between them became uncomfortable. Then, slowly, the muscles on his face tightened, and every trace of patience disappeared. Leaning closer to the camera, he fixed his eyes on the woman and spoke in a voice that was calm but frighteningly sharp. "So, this is your final answer?" The secretary did not flinch. She remained seated upright, maintaining her professional composure despite the intimidating look on Jude's face. "I cannot support a plan that is intended to ruin another person's reputation," she replied firmly. "No matter how much money is involved, there are certain things

Vanessa's attention remained fixed on the phone pressed against her ear. Just seconds earlier, Jude Clarke had increased his offer. "Seven hundred thousand United States dollars." The amount echoed repeatedly in her mind. For a long moment, Vanessa said nothing. Her silence stretched so long that even Jude began to wonder what had happened. He looked at his phone. The call was still connected. Frowning, he pulled it away from his ear and glanced at the screen before bringing it back. "Hello?" There was no answer. "Miss Cole?" Still nothing. Jude's eyebrows drew together. "Hello?" He wondered if the call had frozen. Perhaps the network had become unstable. Or maybe she had become so offended that she had simply placed the phone on her desk and walked away. He cleared his throat. "Can you hear me?" Another few seconds passed. Then he called again. "Miss Cole?" "I know you're there." "Hello?" Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Vanessa's voice came through.

The executive assistant quietly closed the office door behind the secretary. The soft click of the latch echoed through the room before silence settled between them once again. Neither woman spoke immediately. The private conversation they had started the previous day had continued uninterrupted, far from curious eyes and listening ears. They had deliberately chosen a small conference room on one of Bellagio Group's upper floors, a place where employees rarely visited unless meetings had been scheduled. The location offered the privacy they believed they needed. For several moments, both women simply sat across from one another, each absorbed in her own thoughts. The secretary was the first to break the silence. "If we're going to complete this assignment," she said quietly, "we have to make people believe it." The executive assistant slowly nodded. "Jude made one thing perfectly clear." She folded her hands neatly on the table. "He doesn't simply want Antonio embarrassed." H

The accusations spread through the office like wildfire. Antonio's face darkened with anger as he looked from the secretary to the executive assistant. For several seconds, he was too stunned to react. Then his composure broke. "Enough!" His voice boomed across the office, silencing many of the murmurs. He pointed directly at the two women. "What are you talking about?" The secretary instinctively stepped back, clutching the jacket tightly around herself. Antonio took another step forward. "Are you trying to set me up?" His voice was filled with disbelief. "You came into my office carrying blank documents. You locked the door yourself. Then you started screaming for help." He looked around at the employees gathered at the entrance. "Every single one of you knows me." "I have never behaved this way." "I have never touched her." The executive assistant folded her arms. "There." She looked at everyone around her. "Do you see?" "He isn't even apologizing." "He's tryin