Chapter 12
Chapter 12
FLORENCE’S POV
My breath caught in my throat.
Emily?
I hadn’t heard the name in so long that I’d almost forgotten it. But she wasn’t even Emily anymore… she was
Carmen.
Emily smirked, watching the realization dawn on me. “Finally figured it out?”
I could barely nod. My thoughts tangled, flashing back to memories I hadn’t touched in years.
My parents‘ divorce had been a brutal one. Messy. Ugly. Fil. I remembered my mother grabbing Emily’s arm and pulling her with her when she left my father. I remembered Emily screaming and crying.
I remembered feeling bitter that Mum didn’t take me with them.
And now… god knows how many years later… here she was under a different name. Was she hiding? Was she trying to escape something?
The man beside her chuckled, breaking the silence. “You two are sisters? That makes this even easier.”
Emily laughed. “Flo… meet my boyfriend. Daniel Lockwood
I’d recall that name anywhere. Lockwood. The direct competitors of Whitehill International. Mason’s arch–enemy.
Daniel tilted his head, studying me with amusement. “It’s a pleasure.”
I didn’t respond. Instead, my gaze flickered back to the document he now placed on the table between us.
“I need a favor,” he said smoothly, tapping his fingers against the paper.
I narrowed my eyes. “What kind of favor?”
He leaned forward. “You’re Mason Whitehill’s wife.”
Something about the way he said it made my stomach turn wasn’t surprised he knew… a man of his means would have eyes and ears everywhere.
Daniel smirked. “I’ve done my homework. I know your little fairytale marriage is crumbling. Now that Jade Thome is back, do you really think Mason has a place for you anymore?”
The words landed like a blow to my chest.
“You’re on borrowed time in this marriage, darling,” Emily said. “Don’t you want to make him pay?”
I forced my expression into something blank, refusing to show any reaction. But deep down, my emotions twisted into something dark and ugly.
Because they weren’t wrong.
Mason had spent five years suspecting me. He married me just to investigate me. He planted a bug in our room to record my conversations. He ignored me and dismissed me constantly. And now that Jade was clearly safe and alive, I was tossed aside.
My husband hadn’t even noticed I moved out.
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Chapter 12
Daniel saw the flicker of anger in my eyes and pushed further. “You give me what I need, and I promise you’ll get the revenge you deserve.”
1 froze.
“What exactly are you asking me to do?” I asked. “Since you know everything, you also know Mason doesn’t share company information with me.”
“Come on, Florence.” His voice was smooth, patient, almost amused, “You don’t strike me as a woman who waits for things to be handed to her.”
Emily exhaled sharply, shalding her head. “That’s exactly what she’s done for the last five years.”
Daniel chuckled, tilting his head slightly. “True. But that’s why I find this moment so… fascinating.” His eyes flickered over me, unreadable. “You’re finally free of him.
I clenched my jaw. “I never said I wanted revenge.”
Daniel smiled, Slow. Calculated. “You didn’t have to.”
I
I wasn’t sure myself if I wanted revenge. I really just wanted peace. But something told me Daniel didn’t care about what I wanted.
“Mason never let you in, that much is clear.” Daniel took a slow sip of his drink. “But even a woman locked out of the empire still holds value.”
I narrowed my eyes. “I’m not a spy.”
11
He hummed. “No, you’re not. But you’re observant.” His fingers tapped lightly against his glass. “You’ve spent years watching, haven’t you? Watching how he moves, who he trusts, who he doesn’t. What gets under his skin.”
I stayed silent.
Daniel leaned forward slightly, his voice soft, almost conversational. “So I don’t need numbers or reports, Florence. I need something far simpler.”
I swallowed. “Which is?”
His smirk returned, sharp and knowing. “Tell me what keeps Mason Whitehill up at night.”
I tensed.
Daniel sat back again, watching me carefully, giving me time to let the weight of his words settle. Emily smiled, toying with the stem of her glass.
Daniel watched me like a hawk, so I looked at Emily pleadingly, hoping some sisterly affection remained. But I was greeted by a cold death stare. It dawned on me that she had stolen the Hollingsworth on purpose just to lure me away from my friends and colleagues. I was hoping to leave the billionaire politics behind, but it had a way of chasing after me.
“Why are you doing this?” I asked her.
“You really don’t know?”
I clenched my jaw, my chest tightening.
She exhaled a bitter laugh. “Do you have any idea what my life became after Mom took me?”
A memory surfaced–the day of the divorce.
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Chapter 12
My birthday.
I had begged my father to come home early that night. And because he loved me, he did. I was at the park with my friends when he came home and found… her. My mother. Afd a strange man she’d convinced us was our uncle. She had been cheating on my father for years.
The fight that followed shattered our family.
Emily’s voice pulled me back to the present. “You were Daddy’s little princess, weren’t you?” she sneered. “But you never once thought about what happened to me.”
I swallowed hard, my fingers curling into my palms.
Mum refused to admit her mistake and, in a fit of anger, packed up her valuables and stormed out, taking Emily with her. I was left to pick up Dad’s broken pieces, and I always thought Emily had it easier.
“Your little request broke their marriage and ruined my life” Emily said. “She never wanted me, Florence. She only took me out of spite. And she made sure I paid for it every single day.”
Years of resentment burned in her eyes.
I opened my mouth, but no words came.
Thad spent my life resenting my father’s distance. But Emily… she had been trapped with a mother who didn’t love her.
Had 1 really been so blind?
But no. That didn’t justify her threatening me right now.
“I was only a child,” I said, shaking my head. “And right now, you’re asking me to betray Mason-”
“Why do you even care?” she snapped. “He never gave a damn about you! You’ve wasted years of your life loving a man who used you!”
I felt like I’d been punched.
“Em… I think I’ve had enough, I need to leave-” as I stood up, Daniel raised his eyebrows. In a flash, I was surrounded by towering bodyguards.
Panic flashed through me. I was trapped.
Daniel chuckled at my reaction. “You really think I’d let you walk out of here without a deal?”
I turned back to Emily. “Please,” I said, my voice low. “You don’t need to do this.”
She hesitated for just a second. But Daniel was already moving
He grabbed my wrist and pressed a glass of amber liquid into my hand.
“If you want to leave,” he murmured, his voice dangerously smooth, “then you have to drink everything on this table.”
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