Chapter 136

Once she sent off the message, Lainey stopped by her place, picked up a candle box, and headed straight for the café.

As she waited for things to play out, a new scheme formed in her mind, prompting her to fire off a text to Eleanor. "That man you're convinced will always be loyal? He's meeting another woman in private."

If Eleanor happened to walk in and catch her and Nolan together, even in a compromising position, that would be exactly what Lainey wanted!

Meanwhile, Eleanor sat at her desk, double-checking the most recent quarterly fabric shipments on her computer.

Her phone lit up with a notification, and she barely glanced at the screen.

After skimming the message, Eleanor just scoffed, dropped her phone onto the desk, and dismissed the whole thing.

So now Lainey was done threatening and wanted to stir up drama?

How immature.

How dull.

When Eleanor never wrote back, Lainey started to get irritated.

Did Eleanor honestly not believe her?

Or perhaps she just didn't give a damn.

Lainey clenched her jaw and sent another message. "Nova Lounge. It's across from the Stewart Group.Think I'm lying? Come see it for yourself."

When Eleanor saw the address, her usual detached look wavered ever so slightly. Lainey's air of certainty made it obvious Nolan planned to show up.

Nolan wasn't naive; if he recognized the setup, he probably had a plan of his own, maybe even hoping to put Lainey's meddling to rest finally.

But Lainey had a knack for scheming, and she would never shy away from bending the rules to her advantage.

A sense of unease crept in for Eleanor.

Instead of getting tangled in her own suspicions, she figured it was smarter to see what was really happening.

Besides, she genuinely wanted to know what Lainey was plotting this time.

Without hesitation, Eleanor memorized the location, locked her phone, and stepped outside.

Nolan, on the other hand, was totally oblivious to Lainey's latest manipulations.

Even if the truth hit him in the face, he would brush it off.

He had faith that Eleanor would understand his motives.

Snapping back to the moment, Nolan fixed his gaze on Lainey and delivered his warning. "I'm only here to say this once. Leave Eleanor alone. If you keep pestering her, I won't hesitate to let your parents hear all about what you've been hiding abroad, and I'm not just talking about Horace Boyd."

Fear didn't grip Lainey at first.

But when Nolan brought up that last bit, she couldn't help but panic.

Where had Nolan picked up details about what happened in Zerovia?

She had erased every trace!

Just how much did he really know?

Was he aware of her history with drugs or, even worse, her role in those murders with Horace?

No way!

There was no chance he could have known about all that, right?

A look of utter disgust crossed Nolan's face as he finished what he had to say and turned to go.

As he took a step, a sudden wave of dizziness swept over him, and a strange heat started building in his veins.

Something was wrong.

He hadn't eaten or drunk anything here.

What could possibly be causing this?

While he was struggling to steady himself, Nolan's gaze flickered to the candle quietly burning on the table.

Realization hit him like a punch. The candle. That was where he had let his guard down.

The moment Nolan staggered, Lainey's fear melted away, replaced by a surge of triumph.

Everything had fallen into place, just as she had hoped!

If she could pull Nolan into her bed, every one of her troubles would vanish.

Predatory excitement lit up her gaze. "Come with me, Nolan. Let's go relax in the lounge upstairs."

While she made her move to seize his arm, he jerked away and snapped, "Don't touch me!"

He stumbled back, but even after he pulled away, the wave of discomfort kept building inside him.

Without a second thought, Nolan quickly grabbed a nearby knife and opened a wound on his palm.

Right then, crimson fluid immediately flowed out, gaining him the clarity he desperately needed.

An unspeakable pain churned inside Lainey's heart as she witnessed this.

He would rather harm himself than have sex with her? Well then.

This was how he liked it?

A wild, frenzied look tóok over Lainey's eyes as she turned around and yelled at the servants lurking behind her, "Why are you just standing there? Get over here and help me grab him!"