\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 39\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 39\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tristan casually added, as if it were an afterthought, \u201cAs for Grandpa using those shares to pressure you into having a child, I can handle that too. After this, you won\u2019t have to worry about anything. And I can even help you secure the shares.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The car rolled to a stop outside Genevieve\u2019s studio.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She reached for her seat belt, but the man beside her suddenly leaned in.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His presence closed around her in an instant, that same crisp cedar filling the space until it felt as though there was nowhere to breathe.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Genevieve\u2019s body went rigid. She shifted back toward the door on instinct, her eyes sharp with warning.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tristan stopped with a clear gap between them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His gaze held hers in the dark, steady and unreadable, but he didn\u2019t move closer. Instead, he reached past her, opened the glove compartment, and pulled out a thick document envelope.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRelax. This is just me paying a little upfront.\u201d He held it out to her. \u201cCall it a welcome gift for my new ally.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Regina returned to her apartment and lost it. She swept everything off the table.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The crash of glass and ceramic filled the room as tears streaked down her face, and something vicious twisted in her\u00a0<\/p>\n
expression.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Why? Why was Genevieve always the one everyone admired, while she was treated like something people wanted to crush under their feet?\u00a0<\/p>\n
She blamed it all on Genevieve.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just then, her phone buzzed. It was a message from Zachary.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cStop stirring things up and behave.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Behave?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Regina stared at the words until her hands started shaking.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then, she thought of someone-a former studio assistant Genevieve had personally fired, Jennifer Stone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jennifer was incompetent, and she had sticky fingers. When Genevieve caught her, she called the police and had her hauled in. Jennifer spent two weeks in jail.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jennifer must have hated Genevieve, and she loved money.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Regina dialed a number. \u201cHello. Jennifer? I\u2019ve got a job for you. Are you interested?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
There was a pause on the other end. \u201cWhat kind of job?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Regina said, \u201cThe kind that makes you rich. I need you to testify that when Genevieve worked at Lambert Group, she used her position to leak company secrets to a competitor.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s\u2026 That\u2019s perjury!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFive million dollars,\u201d Regina said, naming the number without batting an eye. \u201cWhen it\u2019s done, I\u2019ll even arrange for you to leave the country.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The line went quiet.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Five million dollars!\u00a0<\/p>\n
X CLOSE\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 39\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jennifer\u2019s eyes practically lit up.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Genevieve had ruined her career as a perfumer. Now, she could make Genevieve suffer while getting paid for it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFine,\u201d Jennifer said. \u201cI\u2019m in.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zachary returned to Regina\u2019s apartment and found the place wrecked. He frowned at the mess.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Regina walked out of the bedroom as if nothing had happened. She was draped in a silk robe and wearing a facial mask.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She casually remarked, \u201cYou\u2019re back?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zachary\u2019s patience was wearing thin, and his voice carried a hard edge. \u201cListen carefully. Before I\u2019m done with Genevieve, you\u2019re not to do anything else. No more stunts. And if you don\u2019t listen, don\u2019t expect me to show you any mercy.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He turned and went into the study, shutting the door behind him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Show her any mercy?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Regina looked at the closed door and sneered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He was just a pawn, yet he had the nerve to think he could boss her around.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0 Chapter 39\u00a0 Chapter 39\u00a0 1\/2\u00a0 Tristan casually added, as if it were an afterthought, \u201cAs for Grandpa using those […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-213","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-you-chose-her-so-i-married-better"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=213"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":240,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213\/revisions\/240"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=213"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=213"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}