?Chapter 537:


    His tone, his choices—none of it added up.


    “Why would we investigate Melvin?” Gerard cut in, visibly confused.


    Freya took note of his reaction. So Gerard was out of the loop?


    “I’m not investigating him,” Kristian replied. “If you don’t believe me, check it out yourself. With your skills, it won’t be hard.”


    “Normally, it wouldn’t be,” Freya said, her voice tinged with doubt. “But if you’re using your hidden resources, I might not be able to find anything.”


    She had always known that Kristian had ess to power and connections far beyond the public eye. Some trails simply couldn’t be followed through ordinary channels.


    Kristian’s expression darkened. “Am I really that untrustworthy in your eyes?”


    “Trust?” Freya scoffed. “From a man who lies without blinking? What gives you the nerve to even ask?”


    Even though Kristian knew he was lying, hearing her say it so inly made his chest ache.


    “I don’t care why you’re investigating Melvin. Just stay out of my business with him,” Freya said, her tone leaving no room for argument. She didn’t want her ns derailed again. And she sure as hell didn’t want more ties to Kristian.


    She wasn’t concerned about Kristian targeting Melvin either. If push came to shove, Melvin had the full weight of Anita International behind him.


    Kristian’s temper red. Hearing Freya speak up for another man with such conviction, something inside him snapped. “You care about him that much?”


    “Yes, I do.”


    ?????????????????? ???? ???????????????? → g???????ν????????????


    “Do you love him?” The words tumbled out of Kristian’s mouth before he could stop them.


    Freya stared at him, incredulous. “That’s none of your business.”


    Noticing that Kristian was on the verge of saying something wildly inappropriate again, Gerard jumped in with a well-timed distraction. “Anyway, Ms. Briggs—why was Melvin with you there?”


    Freya replied coolly, “Putting on a show.”


    With those few words, Gerard pieced it all together. Earlier, Freya had only exined things to Kristian in a hushed tone, leaving Gerardpletely out of the loop. Now that he understood, he didn’t press any further. “So, whose ce are we headed to now?”


    “My ce,” Kristian and Freya spoke in unison.


    Gerard pressed his lips together, unsure who to follow.


    “ording to your script, you’re currently unconscious,” Kristian pointed out, clearly angling to take her home. “Since I brought you out, I’ll take you to my ce to keep an eye on you.”


    “You should take me to my ce,” Freya countered tly. “I don’t have ess to your home.” Freya had no immediateeback for that.


    She furrowed her brows, her usual calm demeanor giving way to something more unsettled. She didn’t want to go to Kristian’s ce, but if she left now and was seen on surveince, the person orchestrating this would know that she and Melvin were faking it. And without herptop, there was no way to hack the system.


    “Then I’ll head to Mr. Shaw’s ce,” Gerard said, directing thement to Freya.


    When she gave a small nod, Gerard started the car and drove off.


    .


    .


    .