Chapter 20
As it turned out, Tristan’s instincts had been right all along.
Just as Morse Group’s stock price began to stabilize, several investment firms pulled out in unison, as if prearranged. The stock price plummeted and reached an all -time low.
Standing by the floor–to–ceiling window, Tristan’s fists slowly clenched.
Behind him, Steven didn’t dare make a sound.
“Where’s Liam?”
“We can’t reach him anymore.”
At these words, the office fell into a dead silence.
Steven wiped the sweat from his forehead, but it just kept coming.
Thinking of what he’d uncovered, he knew his own career might be finished too once he said it.
“Have you found who’s behind those institutions?”
It had finally come to this.
Steven closed his eyes briefly and laid the file on the desk.
“Mr. Morse, we’ve looked into it. The firms are tied to different parent companies, but every one of those companies belongs to A.N Group.”
Upon hearing this, Tristan felt a sense of relief as if he’d expected it. His gut had been telling him that A.N Group belonged to Annabel.
She had returned to seek her revenge.
If that was the case…
Tristan stood downstairs at A.N Group. His suit was wrinkled, his eyes bloodshot. He had been waiting there for three days.
The front desk had rejected every single one of his appointment requests with perfect politeness and absolute coldness. Security guards had stopped him each time he tried to get through.
However, he couldn’t take it anymore.
“Step aside.” His voice was terrifyingly low.
Before the security guard could react, Tristan shoved him aside and strode toward the elevators.
He had to see Annabel today.
The door to the top–floor office was violently pushed open.
Annabel sat by the floor–to–ceiling window, her back to him. Her pen made a sharp mark on a document.
“Mr. Morse, you’re trespassing on private property. I could call the police,” she said calmly, without turning her head.
Tristan’s breath hitched.
He had heard that voice countless times in his dreams. Now it was so close to him, yet it was as cold as a stranger’s.
“Anna…” he rasped, taking a step forward. “I know it’s you.”
Annabel finally turned to face him.
Sunlight poured in from behind her, outlining her slender figure. Her makeup was flawless. The girl who used to cry for him seemed to have disappeared.
“Linda,” she corrected him, tapping the nameplate on her desk.
“Or you can call me ‘Ms. Norton.“”
Tristan’s chest rose and fell rapidly.
“I’ve uncovered everything about Cassie!” He quickly stepped forward, bracing his hands on her desk. “It was her. She was the one orchestrating all those schemes. She’s been lying to me all along. I really thought the thug that day was someone you hired to hurt her…”
Annabel watched him quietly, her eyes void of the slightest emotion.
Tristan’s voice grew lower. “If I had known it was you, I wouldn’t have…”
“Wouldn’t have what?” Annabel suddenly smiled. “You wouldn’t have pushed me off that platform and broken my ribs with an iron rod? Or you wouldn’t have crushed my fingers under your heel?”
She picked up a remote and pressed a button.
The office’s projection screen slowly descended.
The video showed a burlap sack slipping away, revealing Annabel’s pale, blood–stained face. Tristan stood there, cold and unmoving. Behind him, Cassie smiled in triumph.
And the moment the iron rod fell, Annabel’s body curled in pain. Her faint cries of pain filled the room.
Tristan’s face went ghostly pale.
1
“Shall I keep playing?” Annabel rested her chin on her hand, her tone light. “I have much more. Like the part where you held Cassie and asked her to call you‘ Darling‘?”
Chapter 20
Tristan was speechless. He looked at her indifferent expression. The next second, his knees hit the ground heavily.
“I’m sorry…” His voice trembled, his fingers desperately clenching the edge of her desk. “I swear I didn’t know…”
Looking down at him, Annabel suddenly found it laughable.
The once–mighty Tristan now knelt before her, like a man who had lost everything.
