?Chapter 527:


    “I can’t say no to money!” Gerard said quickly. Since his boss wanted the truth, he’d give it. This was not the time to hesitate.


    Kristian’s eyes narrowed.


    “You did say it was Ms. Briggs who was buying—not someone else,” Gerard exined, worried that Kristian’s icy tone was aimed at him. “If it were anyone else, I wouldn’t say a word, no matter what they offered.”


    “Melvin didn’t agree,” Kristian said calmly, but his wordsnded with weight.


    Gerard might sell Kristian’s secrets to Freya, but Melvin…


    Gerard blinked, thoroughly lost now. “What are you getting at?”


    “Last night, I called you. He picked up,” Kristian said,ying it out inly. “I knew he got something out of you, so I asked him to name a price to keep it from Freya.” Gerard listened intently.


    “He asked for a billion,” Kristian said, eyes locked on Gerard.


    Gerard nearly choked. Melvin? A whole billion? What kind of guts did that guy have?


    “I agreed. Then he asked for ten billion,” Kristian added.


    Gerard’s mouth twitched.


    Ten billion? That was beyond greedy. That was delusional.


    Melvin had the nerve to ask, and Kristian had the nerve to y along.


    “So… did you agree?” Gerard asked, half-joking, unable to hide his nosy tone.


    “Yes,” Kristian replied, voice low.


    Gerard was stunned speechless. Was Kristian really that rich? So rich he could toss around ten billion so easily?


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    “Mr. Shaw,” Gerard started, suddenly feeling bad for all the cash flying out the window. “If you’re that worried about him bbing, you could just give me one billion and I’ll keep him quiet.” It just felt too wild to be real.


    “But he turned it down.” Kristian was now convinced something wasn’t adding up with Melvin.


    “Honestly, that’s smart. Ten billion’s no joke. Who knows if you’d actually pay or try to trap him? Being cautious makes sense,” Gerard said confidently. “Besides, he’s not the kind of guy who’d go against his conscience for money.”


    Wait. Melvin said no. That meant… Freya might already know? But when Gerard called her earlier, she hadn’t acted weird at all.


    “He refused my money, but said he wouldn’t tell Freya,” Kristian said, suspicion thick in his voice.


    “That checks out. If he told her, he’d only be making things worse for himself,” Gerard said, thinking back to the version of Melvin from that night. “He probably just doesn’t want you and Ms. Briggs to get back together.”


    Kristian’s gaze darkened a shade. “What do you mean by that?”


    “He has feelings for…” Gerard froze, panic flooding him.


    What did he just say? Had he really just let that slip?


    The temperature in the office seemed to drop with Kristian’s stare. “He has feelings for Freya?”


    “I’m not entirely sure,” Gerard said, masking the faint unease that stirred beneath hisposed exterior.


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