Chapter 13

Even though Virio was right there beside me, I still couldn't shake this uneasy feeling inside.

When I snuck into the study tonight, I could feel it—Killian already suspected me.

Especially since I didn't go home tonight.

Thinking about this, I stared at my phone, suddenly getting the urge to call Killian.

When Virio heard my idea, he stared at me in disbelief. "You want to call him now? Aren't you worried he'll catch on to something?"

"But I'm his adopted daughter. It's so late and I still haven't gone back. If he asks me about it tomorrow, what am I supposed to say?"

Since I didn't go home tonight, I should tell him myself.

Or rather, if I'm staying out overnight, I should let my uncle know.

Hearing me say this, Virio shook his head. "I think they're already starting to suspect you."

"They?" Looking at Virio's expression, I quickly realized he must mean Killian and Freya.

"When you were with them just now, could you feel Freya's hostility toward me?"

Virio repeated Freya's name. "Freya?"

This made me uneasy. I blinked at him. "Or are you saying that after meeting Freya tonight, you're interested in her?"

After saying this, I realized my tone sounded a bit upset.

Though I didn't want to admit it, my expression gave everything away.

Virio seemed to notice quickly too.

He suddenly leaned in close, our faces just inches apart. "What? Jealous?"

I shook my head. "I'm not."

What right did I have to be?

To Virio, I was just a one-night stand, a business partner.

All my leverage was just that I was different from the others.

If I started making demands on Virio because of that one night, I'd be no different from all those other women trying to get his protection.

Besides, I was the one who threw myself at him that night.

Virio never forced me from start to finish, and he didn't owe me anything.

I kept my eyes down, staring at my hands, not daring to meet Virio's gaze.

Just then, the man in front of me let out a soft laugh.

"You know what, Elvira? You're actually terrible at lying." As Virio spoke, he lifted my chin with two fingers.

He forced me to look up at him.

This position made my heart ache. "But you just now..."

I looked up and fell right into the man's deep eyes.

Virio's looks were flawless.

Those beautiful eyes were staring at me without blinking.

The moment our eyes met, I could feel the emotions surging rapidly inside me.

If that first night was the beginning of my attraction to him, then tonight, when he came decisively to rescue me, my feelings for him changed even more intensely.

But looking at the man in front of me, I wasn't sure if I was equally special to him.

After all, with this man's status, how many women would kill to be with him?

Before me, there must have been many others like lost lambs, begging for his favor.

Was I really more special than them?

What made me unique was that I could work with him, give him what he wanted.

As long as I stayed this smart.

But once feelings got involved, this relationship could become my weakness.

I understood this clearly in my mind, but facing the man in front of me, I couldn't say a word.

And right now I was still sitting on his lap.

Our position was intimate, our bodies pressed close together.

I could feel the man's reaction beneath my legs.

This made my face flush and my heart race. Just as I was about to speak, Virio gripped my chin and shook it left and right.

I was forced to turn my head from side to side.

Then I heard Virio say to me, "Your sister, Freya, seems very hostile toward you."

"Yes, Mr. Soren, I know that without you telling me."

That day when I found out Killian wanted to give me to Hamilton, Freya could barely hide her smug expression.

And after two consecutive failures, she was even more furious than Killian.

Simply because I hadn't been forced to give myself to Hamilton as they expected, hadn't been forced to catch some dirty disease!

Thinking about this, I couldn't help grinding my teeth. "They'll definitely come after me again. If they're already suspicious of me today, then the next round of revenge will come soon."

"What I'm saying is, your sister is not simple. Maybe all that stalking you've been feeling these past few days—she's behind it," Virio said.

I noticed Virio's word choice was very vague.

He could have investigated directly, but in front of me, he used words like "maybe" and "perhaps."

"How sure are you about this?" I blinked seriously.

Virio stared at me for a moment, then suddenly smiled. "Based on male intuition, she seems to really like me."

The sudden topic change caught me off guard. "True, Freya pays more attention to news about you than I do."

Would this affect Virio somehow?

But then I heard him say, "Precisely because she's interested in me, she's jealous of you."

"I'm guessing because of these feelings, your sister is going to do something none of you expect." With Virio's hint, my eyes widened again.

Indeed, I knew Freya all too well.

Though we usually wore social masks and pretended with each other, I still knew Freya was ruthless and good at acting.

And most importantly, Freya's vindictiveness and jealousy were especially strong.

But I couldn't figure out what Freya would do in such a complicated situation.

Even though Virio had protected me time and again...

Whether they found out or not, I couldn't see an opportunity for Freya to make a move.

However, a few days later, I understood what Virio meant by those words.

Charles told me some shocking news.

I was sitting in their conference room at the time.

Charles had used his usual excuse of having me come discuss business.

"Ms. Lacey, I'm sorry to call you over so suddenly again," Charles said.

Faced with the familiar opening, I no longer panicked like before.

"Just say it, Charles. What news did you get this time?"

Since the private investigator died that day, I hadn't dared contact a new one.

I felt that person died because of me.

Charles thought for a moment, then slapped a note down in front of me.

I picked it up and immediately recognized Freya's handwriting.

It said one sentence: [Teach her a good lesson.]

This "her" undoubtedly meant me.