After what felt like an eternity, Raymond reluctantly let go of her. He looked at her flushed face and her labored breathing, a glint of satisfaction in his eyes. "Melinda, I want to be with you tonight."
Melinda stared at him in shock but quickly understood his meaning.
She took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay."
---
Morning sunlight streamed through the curtains as Connie woke from her sleep. Today was her first day back at the company, and she had a lot to do. Most importantly, she needed to sue the lawyer Floyd for altering her will without permission.
Han Zhong was caught red-handed with a million-dollar bribe, and with Connie's awakening, his fate was sealed.
Meanwhile, Emily's biological father, Walter, was also apprehended by the police. All the crimes he committed to cover for Emily were exposed, and he faced a long prison sentence.
Emily, on the other hand, was in a holding cell, her face pale and her eyes lifeless. She never imagined she would end up like this. She regretted everything she had done.
Elsewhere, Elsie had been hiding in a hotel since Leo's arrest, afraid of being implicated due to her ambiguous relationship with him. When she saw the news about Emily being involved in the nanny's murder, she laughed, thinking Emily deserved it. But her laughter soon faded as she realized her own precarious situation.
After carefully dressing up, she decided to find Melinda. The moment she saw Melinda, she felt a pang of guilt and tried to leave, but Melinda blocked her path. "Elsie, what are you doing here?"
Elsie looked at Melinda, feeling extremely guilty. "I... I'm waiting for someone."
"Waiting for someone? Who?" Melinda asked.
Elsie's face turned pale, and she stammered, "I... I just..."
"Just what? Just want to talk about the night five years ago when you and Emily set me up?" Melinda sneered, as if piercing through Elsie's heart.
Elsie trembled with fear, never expecting Melinda to know about that. She looked at Melinda helplessly, as if seeing a demon.
"I treated you as my best friend, but what about you?"
"Best friend? Melinda, do you even believe that yourself? I was always just a sidekick to you. Why do all the rich people like you? Why does someone still want you, even though you're a used-up slut?" Elsie ranted, saying things she never dared to say before. But what did it matter? Melinda still had a better life than her. She laughed and cried, feeling unjust.
"From the moment you schemed against others, you were destined for a bad end," Melinda said coldly. She turned to the bodyguard and instructed, "Put her on the Thomas Group's blacklist. Don't let her show up again."
In the dimly lit underground parking lot of the Thomas Group, the faint smell of car exhaust lingered in the air. Suddenly, the sound of high heels echoed, and Elsie stormed in with a fiery demeanor. She spotted Melinda not far away, anger flashing in her eyes.
"Melinda, stop right there!" Elsie shouted, her voice reverberating in the empty parking lot.
Melinda turned around, looking at Elsie coldly, without a trace of fear. She had anticipated Elsie wouldn't give up. "Elsie, what do you want now?" Melinda asked icily.
"What do I want? You'll find out soon enough!" Elsie smirked as she approached Melinda, taunting her. "Melinda, you think you're hot stuff just because you hooked up with Raymond? Let me tell you, he's just playing you. Once he's bored, he'll toss you aside!"
Melinda's face flashed with anger. If it weren't for the dirt she had on Elsie, revealing her connection to Emily, she might have been fooled. Even more shocking was Elsie's involvement in the events from five years ago.
She knew Elsie was trying to provoke her, but she couldn't help wanting to slap her. Just then, Elsie said, "Oh, by the way, Melinda, did you know? Your son's father is actually a male escort! Hahaha!"
That was the last straw for Melinda. She stepped forward and slapped Elsie hard. The sound echoed in the parking lot, leaving a red handprint on Elsie's face.
"You... you dare hit me?" Elsie clutched her face, looking at Melinda in disbelief.
"So what if I hit you? Elsie, I'm warning you, don't push me, or you'll regret it!" Melinda said coldly.
At that moment, several bodyguards approached, standing behind Melinda, expressionless as they looked at Elsie.
Seeing this, Elsie instantly cowered. She knew she wasn't a match for Melinda, especially with so many bodyguards present.
"What... what do you want?" Elsie stammered.
"Ms. Perez, please leave," one of the bodyguards said coldly, stepping forward.
"I... I'm not leaving! You can't make me leave!" Elsie shouted.
"If you don't leave, we'll have to use force," the bodyguard said, moving to grab Elsie.
Seeing this, Elsie was terrified. She quickly backed away and then turned to run. The bodyguards didn't chase her, just watched her disappear at the parking lot entrance.
"Mrs. Thomas, are you okay?" one of the bodyguards asked Melinda.
"I'm fine," Melinda shook her head. "Don't let people like her into the Thomas Group again."
"Yes, ma'am," the bodyguard replied and left.
Watching Elsie flee, Melinda smirked. She knew Elsie didn't have the guts to go against her. But Elsie's words reminded her of something important: who was Sam's father?
This needed thorough investigation. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Melinda checked the time and saw it was almost noon. She decided to visit Delilah at the lab and have lunch together.
Melinda arrived at the lab and saw Delilah busy at work. "Delilah!" she called out, walking over.
"Melinda, you're here!" Delilah's eyes lit up as she put down her work and greeted Melinda. "What brings you here?"
"Don't call me that. Just call me Melinda like before. I'm not Raymond's wife yet. I came to see you and have lunch," Melinda smiled. "How's the lab doing?"
"We've got a lot of new talent recently. They're quite capable. When are you coming back to guide them?" Delilah teased.
Melinda nodded, and they left the lab together. They went to a restaurant they used to frequent and chatted animatedly over lunch.
During their conversation, Delilah shared some good news: she was getting married in May. Melinda was genuinely happy for her and promised to give her a big gift.