Chapter <b>38 </b>
Charles had never cared about what Ynda truly felt, yet her hollow performance now ignited his curiosity.
She walked past him <b>and </b>started up the stairs. He waited for her on thending, leaning back with an <b>air </b><b>of </b>detached coolness. “I took care of that celebrity issue,” he mentioned.
She continued down the hall without looking back. “Okay.”
Charles watched her go, a fresh cigarette perched between his fingers, unlit. After a brief pause, he followed her.
Ynda grabbed her pajamas and headed for the shower. When she stepped out, she found him already in bed, leaning against the headboard with his long legs stretched out. She froze, about to ask what he was doing here.
But then, his phone rang. This time, it wasn’t Sophie.
A momentter, Jack knocked on the door. “Mr. Sinir, we’ve identified the mole who leaked the internal info.”
The leaked bid had cost <b>Charles </b>a major project he’d spent months preparing for. Now, they finally had a <b>lead</b>.
Ynda moved toward the bed and reached for the covers, but his <b>hand </b>closed around her wrist. “Come with me. I want you there.”
She frowned, turned away, and began changing into her sleep clothes.
Charles watched, faintly amused, his hand resting lightly on her waist. “You’ve been acting differenttely. sweetheart.<b>” </b>
Around a man like <b>Charles</b>, even the smallest shift in behavior didn’t go unnoticed. She kept her eyes down, <b>changing </b>slowly. “I’m just tired
She got into the car after him; <b>Jack </b>was behind the wheel. They pulled up to another of Charles’s properties, one Ynda <b>had </b>never seen before.
The e moment she stepped inside, the metallic tang of blood hit her like a wall. She recoiled instinctively.
In the center of the living room, a man, beaten nearly unconscious, seemed to sense their arrival. He began pleading frantically, voice ragged, “Mr. Sinir, I shouldn’t have done this. I’m begging you, let me go, just this once. Have mercy!”
<b>Charles </b>walked calmly to the sofa in the middle of the room and sat down. His expensive leather <b>shoes </b>were smudged with blood, but he paid them no mind.
The man crawled forward, forehead dripping crimson. “Mr. Sinir, I’m so sorry. I’ll return every cent to thepany. I <b>was </b>wrong. I was greedy.”
7:45 Thu<b>, </b>Sep 11
<b>Chapter </b>38
He lunged for Charles’s pant leg, but Charles shifted his leg and kicked him away dismissively.
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Ynda stood behind Charles, watching his ice–cold expression. A chill ran through her. She’d known Charles for years and had seen his anger before. In public, he yed the charming, doting man, but when crossed, he turned ruthless and cruel. <fne29b> Updates are released by Find★Novel</fne29b>
He took a tissue and slowly wiped a drop of blood from his trousers. Without looking up, he asked Jack, “Where’s his family?”
<b>Jack </b><b>replied</b>. “At the airport. He transferred the money to them. Looks like he was trying to get them out of the country.”
“Stop them.” Charles ordered.
The man on the floor froze, eyes wide with horror. “Mr. Sinir, it was me. Punish me, not them. They’re innocent, I’m begging you… His voice broke into sobs as he trembled. “They didn’t know. They had no part in
this-
He thought of his tender wife, and his bright son who’d just <b>been </b>epted to a university overseas. His bloodied fingers curled into fists against the cold <b>floor</b>.
Then, with a sudden burst of despair, he lunged toward a nearby pir and smashed his head against it. “Take my life! Just spare them,” he gasped before <b>his </b>eyes went nk and he copsed, lifeless.
The room fell into a heavy silence, broken only by Charles’s <b>low</b>, humorless chuckle.
Jack, quick to understand, already made a hushed, urgent call to intercept the man’s wife and son before they could board their flight.
Ynda’s stomach turned. She’d grown up in the Grant family, <i>so </i>she was no stranger to violence.
But the thick, coppery smell of blood hanging in the air was something else entirely. Sheltered by strict upbringing and polished manners, the raw brutality of the <b>moment </b>left her <b>shaken</b>.
Charles nced sideways, noting her paleplexion. He gestured casually. ‘Come. Sit.”
She took a step back. After everything had settled, she just wanted to go home. “When are we going back?”
He lit a cigarette, the me flickering in his dark eyes. “I thought you might plead for mercy o on his family’s behalf.
Ynda turned her face away, fist clenched at her side. “If the family profited from his betrayal, they’re not innocent.” And she didn’t want to interfere in his business.
Her chest felt tight, her back damp with cold sweat. This was the price of betraying Charles. Arrogant, ruthless, and surrounded by yes–men who saw everyone else as beneath them, he lived by his own brutal.
code.
She drew a slow breath, forcing her emotions down.
Charles crushed his cigarette into an ashtray and leaned back. In one swift motion, he caught her wrist and
7:45 Thu, Sep 11
pulled her forward. She stumbled, bending awkwardly over the back of the couch until their faces were just inches apart.
His lips met hers. It was a hard, possessive kiss tinged with the scent of blood and tobo. “Honey,” he murmured, voice dangerously <b>soft</b>, “if this bothers you, you should’ve said something sooner.”
Ynda stayed bent, feeling his breathing sharp and cold against her car.
He released her wrist slowly and stood. “Jack, finish up here.”
Jack replied, “Yes, sir.”
Jack stayed behind to oversee the cleanup. Back in the car, Charles slumped into the passenger seat, tilting his head back. His Adam’s apple moved faintly as he closed his eyes. I’m exhausted. Drive<b>.” </b>
Ynda slid behind the wheel, her palms slick with sweat.
Ynda and Charles arrived back at Moonbay Estate a little after one in the morning.
<b>Ynda </b>got out of the car, brushed past Charles without a <b>word</b>, and went straight to her room. She made it to the sink just in time, retching before sshing cold water on her face.
A dry voice came from the doorway. Charles <b>stood </b>there, having shed his jacket, his shirt sleeves rolled up. One eyebrow was <b>arched</b>. “Was it that bad?”
She hurriedly rinsed her mouth and shook her head, avoiding his eyes. “Just an upset stomach.”
She’d showered before they left, but now she felt contaminated, needing to scrub the phantom scent of blood from her skin. She kept her gaze down and pushed the bathroom door shut without another word.
Charles didn’t move, a silent presence on the other side.
When she finally emerged, he was gone
Alone, she curled into a tight ball on the bed. She andn had gone too far. If Charles ever found our, <b>his </b>retaliation would be merciless. A man like him, prideful and powerful, would never tolerate such a blow to his
ego.
She tossed restlessly, her mind racing for a way out of this marriage.
Her phone buzzed. It was a message from her another number. Sophie: [Think you’ve won? How pathetic. I’ve had fun with Charles more times than you, his real wife. Bet you didn’t know he gave me this.] Then a photo followed
Ynda’s breath caught. Since she was ten, she had given Charles a gift every year–meaningless luxuries he likely never noticed.
But this one was different. This cross ne was a cherished keepsake from Athena, thete wife of the orphanage director, a woman who had been like a mother to her.
7:45 Thu, Sep 11
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Two years ago, after Charles’s car ident, she’d been terrified. Hoping it would protect him, she had reluctantly parted with it, her most precious possession. And he had casually given it away to his mistress.
A sharp, visceral painnced through her chest. Her fingers tightened around the phone until her knuckles turned white.
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