Chapter 286

The disappointment from yesterday's failed plans had soured Daniela's mood, leaving her little patience for niceties.

In a voice devoid of warmth, Daniela questioned,"What is it now?"

"It seems Joyce might have been caught up in a scam. I've already reached out for some help,but they're not as efficient as your contacts at Elite Lux.Could you possibly get someone on it?" Katrina asked, her voice laced with urgency.

Daniela proceeded downstairs to have her breakfast,with Katrina trailing right on her heels.

Once Daniela had finished her meal, Katrina, unable to contain her desperation any longer, pleaded,"Please, Daniela, can you help me? I'm truly

desperate here. Joyce has poured all her savings into this venture!"

Daniela was already aware of the situation. With a nonchalant air, she picked up her phone, tapped a few keys, and declared, "The company is a sham.They're planning to vanish abroad with the investments in a matter of days."

Katrina felt as if a bolt of lightning had struck her. Her complexion drained of color, and suddenly, she found herself collapsing to her knees. "What can we do?Help us, please! That money is all Joyce has!"

Daniela observed Katrina, now crumpled on the floor and weeping bitterly. A frosty gleam flickered in her eyes as she recalled Katrina's harsh words yesterday -that Brylee deserved to die.

Katrina was oblivious to Daniela's thoughts. She was consumed by panic. If Joyce lost the money, she'd never recover financially. Her future would be bleak and filled with hardship. What could possibly be done now? "Please," Katrina implored, her voice quivering with desperation. "I'm begging you, Daniela."

Daniela offered a slight, indifferent smile. "I can't assist with this matter. You might want to speak with Alexander. Milo has ties to the Bennett family."

She left her statement deliberately vague, shrouded in ambiguity.

Her cryptic words caused Katrina's mind to race toward a darker interpretation. She deduced that the Bennett family had never truly welcomed Joyce,cunningly using Milo as a pawn in a sinister plot.They resented the hefty fifty-million-dollar divorce settlement they were compelled to pay, devising a scheme to reclaim it.

In the wake of Daniela's veiled insinuations, Katrina stood frozen momentarily, her thoughts frantically assembling the pieces. A sudden epiphany struck her,propelling her to her feet.

"What did you just say? Milo and Alexander know each other?" The more Katrina considered it, the clearer it became. She had always felt that Milo and Alexander looked somewhat alike.

Fueled by fury, Katrina murmured a terse thanks to Daniela, grabbed a knife from the table, and stormed out, her emotions in turmoil.

Upon entering, Cedric noticed the fierce anger etched across Katrina's face.

"What happened to her?" he inquired, turning to Daniela.

With a shrug, Daniela narrated the events, to which Cedric responded with an approving thumbs up.

This tactic of deflecting the blame had taken Alexander by surprise.

Confronting Alexander, Katrina demanded, "Do you know Milo Brewer?"

Without room for denial, Alexander admitted, "He's my cousin." Those words incensed Katrina further.

Seething, she withdrew the knife from her bag.

The incident erupted into headlines, igniting a whirlwind of media attention. Speculation soared wildly.

"The crap these rich folks pull gets nastier every day!"

"Wait, Alexander actually paid some guy to seduce his wife?"

"Honestly, I didn't think it was possible for a man to stoop so low and embarrass himself this badly."

"Rumor has it, he's still yearning for his ex-wife.Could this be the reason for his desperate actions?"

"Pathetic Joyce, always the idiot falling for his manipulative schemes."

As the scandal intensified, the Bennett family's reputation suffered a devastating blow.

Their stock prices plummeted to unprecedented lows, leaving Alexander in a frantic search for solutions. His only feasible strategy was to convince Joyce to publicly clarify the situation.

When Joyce answered his call, her response was a chilly laugh. "You must be dreaming! When we were married and you disregarded me, I didn't see you debasing yourself like this. Don't think for a moment that I'm unaware of your motives. Your recent scramble to forge new partnerships is nothing more than a ploy to reclaim Daniela's affection. Well,here's a newsflash-I won't let you manipulate me!"

With a sharp click, Joyce ended the call.

From that moment, the Bennett family's chance to rectify their tarnished image was irretrievably lost.

Katrina faced legal consequences for her previous actions. By the time she was released, darkness had enveloped the city.

She attempted to reach Joyce, but her calls went unanswered. Weighed down by defeat, she trudged back to her home, where she took a long shower and finally collapsed into bed, utterly exhausted.

As she lay in the dim quietude, her mind wandered through a lifetime of calculated maneuvers that had led her to this dismal point.

Drained to her core, Katrina found no solace in rest.

The following morning, at the brisk hour of five, she jerked awake, stirred by an unyielding instinct.

This time, instead of venturing out, she paused by her bedroom door.

Minutes ticked by until the soft creak of a door pierced the silence.

Her eyes narrowed, suspicion igniting like a flint spark.

Quietly, Katrina twisted the doorknob and peered through the sliver of an opening. From this covert viewpoint, she spied Cedric. A crease formed between Katrina's eyebrows as pieces of a disturbing puzzle began to fit together.

Over the ensuing days, she monitored Cedric's comings and goings with a hawk's vigilance, her suspicions growing as she uncovered his secret late-night visits to Daniela's room.

On one such occasion, as she strained to see through the thin crack of her door, a slight noise escaped her.

Cedric halted on the staircase, his head snapping in her direction.

Their eyes locked through the narrow gap-his gaze icy and commanding, exuding a dominance that sent an involuntary shiver cascading down Katrina's spine, even as he was the one cloaked in secrecy.