Jessica and Matthew stood beside the CEO’s chair in the Executive Meeting Hall. They were the only ones not sitting. Even though they tried to look calm and serious, they kept fidgeting.They were too excited to hide it. Both of them were proud of their achievement. They had just been hired as the secretaries to the new CEO of Nova. To them, this was the biggest job they had ever gotten.Claudia had never met them in person before today. She had selected them purely based on their applications and the high scores they got in the online evaluation test. It was meant to help Ryan, especially since she would be assisting him more at home than in the office. Two strong, experienced secretaries, working under the CEO, would take a great deal of workload off his shoulders.Matthew cleared his throat and took a slight step forward toward Claudia.“Good afternoon, Ms. Claudia,” he said respectfully, his voice a sounded a little too eager. “We are the two applicants who received the interview

Ryan stepped out of the Nova Headquarters building, the tall glass doors closing behind him.Claudia walked beside him as they approached the Maybach.She glanced at him with a pleased smile. “Congratulations, Sir,” she said with a warm voice. “You performed exceptionally well in the meeting today. The board is already talking about how confident and strategic you were.”Ryan smiled lightly as he felt a bit relieved and proud. “Thanks,” he said. “I just did what I could.”As they approached the car, Ryan was just about to reach for the door handle when they both heard hurried footsteps from behind them. The sound came fast and hurried, like someone running out of nevousness.Ryan turned slightly, and Claudia followed his gaze.Julian Knight came into view, almost jogging toward them, dressed in a wrinkled designer shirt soaked in sweat. His tie was crooked, and he looked more disheveled than usual. His forehead was covered in sweat, his eyes darting to and fro with panic. The moment h

Ryan slowly lifted his head from the wall, his forehead reddened from how hard he’d pressed it. His breathing was ragged, and his eyes were red with the horror that had just crashed into his life like a wrecking ball.His mother had been kidnapped And he didn’t even know where to start from.The thought swirled in his mind, making him dizzy.He pushed himself away from the wall and staggered forward slightly, his feet dragging across the tiled hospital corridor. He confused, afraid and totally out of words. His senses were all at war with each other.His mother… the one person who had always believed in him, even in his darkest days was just kidnapped after he had already saved her from dying.He whispered to himself, “Who could’ve done this?”The question bounced around in his skull and he had no direct response to it. Faces flashed before him like slideshow images—people from his past, enemies he had silenced, and those he had publicly humiliated.“It can’t be Jessica or Matthew,” h

Detective Mark shook his head at her arguments. “Miss Elizabeth McCarthy,” he spoke formally, “you and Mr. Julian Knight will have to come with us to the station for questioning regarding the kidnapping of Mrs. Walker.”“What?” Elizabeth’s voice rang across the compound like an alarm. “You must be out of your mind! I’m not going anywhere with you!”Her brows furrowed as her voice went higher. “Do you even know who I am? Do you know who my father is?”Julian, who had been standing quietly beside her with a stiff expression, shifted nervously, glancing toward the McCarthy mansion where Mr. and Mrs. McCarthy were now standing on the porch.Detective Mark raised his hand. “Miss McCarthy, this isn’t an arrest. It’s standard procedure for investigation. You’re being asked to come for questioning, not being dragged into a cell. We ask you to cooperate so that due process is followed.”“Don’t preach legal ethics to me!” Elizabeth snapped, her eyes flashing in anger. “This is harassment!”“Ref

Elizabeth swayed, almost fainting from pure embarrassment. Her face swollen as she turned sharply to Julian, her voice shaking as if she would break down in tears in the next moment."Wait… all that money , you mean it wasn’t yours? You were making all those promises with money that didn’t even belong to you?"Julian ran a hand through his hair, guilt written all over his face. "Elizabeth, I didn’t say that…""You did!" she cut him off. Her eyes burned with anger and what looked like embarrassment. "You said we were going to get a one billion dollar house after our wedding. Was that all lies too?"Julian looked helpless. "Look, I just need you to be positive right now, okay? I’m going to bounce back somehow.""Somehow?!" Elizabeth yelled, her voice echoing through the large mansion. "How are you going to bounce back when you just got fired? You didn’t just lose a job, Julian. You lost your entire position at Nova!"Julian opened his mouth to respond, but no words came out. He had no e