Chapter 71
The two exchanged smiles, then walked side by side to the facility's cafeteria.
Milton carried two meal trays and sat down across from Lucinda, pushing one toward her. He arranged the utensils and placed the soup on her right side.
"I've already contacted your other two brothers. They'll be back by the weekend." He picked up his utensils, his gaze settling on Lucinda's face, a smile at the corner of his mouth.
"Okay." Lucinda took a bite of vegetables, thinking this second brother was at least quieter than Mom and Dad—he hadn't immediately shoved cards and companies at her.
"When you were little, you were only this big." He gestured the length of a baby, his voice soft. "The first thing I'd do when I got home from school was hold you. You'd cry, but the moment I picked you up, you'd stop. Mom said you recognized me."
Lucinda's movements paused. The corner of her mouth curved slightly. Something in a hidden corner of her heart stirred faintly.
Milton was about to say more when his phone buzzed. The screen displayed "Mom."
He answered. Valencia's voice blared from the receiver, loud enough for Lucinda to hear every word.
"Milton! How long has it been since you came home? Your sister's been back this long and you're still holed up in that facility! I'm telling you, I've already called your brothers. Everyone's coming home this weekend. Not a single one of you is getting out of it!"
Lucinda listened to her mother's booming voice and silently took another bite of rice.
Everyone home this weekend. That meant three brothers plus Mom and Dad. Five people surrounding her.
Just imagining the scene gave her a headache.
Milton answered with a smile, his gaze resting on Lucinda's face, his tone gentle. "You don't need to remind me. I'll take good care of my little sister."
After hanging up, he speared a piece of deboned fish and placed it in her bowl.
That afternoon, Lucinda inspected every piece of equipment in the facility.
By the time she straightened up, the sky outside had darkened.
Milton walked her to the facility entrance and pulled a card from his pocket, pressing it into her hand. "A welcome gift. There's thirty million dollars in there. The PIN is your birthday."
Lucinda looked down at the card. Her mouth twitched.
She couldn't escape it after all.
The Douglas men—from father to brothers—expressed love in a strikingly unified way: by shoving bank cards at her.
She was about to push it back when Milton's hand closed over hers, firmly pressing the card into her palm.
She looked up at him. His expression was identical to their father's when he'd shoved the company at her. Non-negotiable.
She sighed inwardly and decided to accept it. If she returned it, he'd just force it back on her anyway.
Outside the facility gate, the Maybach was already parked and waiting.
Reginald leaned against the car door, a thin layer of dusk settling on the shoulders of his coat.
His eyes lit up the moment he saw Lucinda. He was about to walk toward her when he noticed the tall man behind her—and their hands clasped together.
His footsteps stopped.
Milton saw him too. Their gazes met in the dusk. One stood on the steps, the other by the car door. The distance between them wasn't far, but the air suddenly felt thin.
Reginald's gaze dropped to their clasped hands. His eyes darkened. He strode forward and grabbed Lucinda's other hand.
"Milton." He spoke directly, his gaze tinged with coolness.
"Reginald." Milton's tone was equally calm.
The two had been college classmates and close friends. But now, in front of Lucinda, they couldn't help but compete.
Lucinda looked down at her two hands, each held by a different man. Her mouth twitched.
These two were nearly sixty years old combined. Why were they acting like kids fighting over a toy?
She shook her head helplessly, pulled both hands free at the same time, and walked toward the Maybach without looking back. She opened the door and climbed in.
Reginald's eyes brightened. He shot Milton a triumphant look and immediately followed her.
In the rearview mirror, Milton still stood on the steps at the facility entrance, watching the black sedan gradually disappear into the distance.
The car left the facility gate. Once they were out of Milton's line of sight, it stopped. Reginald reached over and took her hand.
His thumb gently rubbed the back of her hand. After a long silence, he suddenly spoke. "Don't accept things from other men. Whatever you want, I'll give it to you."
Lucinda glanced at him. Seeing his dead-serious expression, she wondered what on earth he was jealous about now. "That was my brother."
"Even your brother isn't allowed." His tone left no room for negotiation. He kept his eyes forward. "I'll work hard to earn money so you'll never run out, not even in several lifetimes."
Lucinda pulled out the card Milton had given her, twirled it between her fingers, and said flatly, "Then I'll take my brother's. Not yours."
Reginald's hand tightened sharply.
He immediately turned and pulled her from the passenger seat onto his lap.
Before Lucinda could react, she was sitting on him.
His arm tightened around her waist. He lowered his head and kissed her.
Lucinda's mind went blank for a moment. She pushed against his chest. He didn't budge.
"Say you'll take mine." His voice was low and hoarse.
She glared at him, her face flushed, her lips pressed into a tight line.
He lowered his head and kissed her again. Then a second time. Each kiss clung to her more than the last.
Lucinda was kissed into a daze, her face growing uncontrollably hot.
In the end, she could only give in. "…I'll take yours."
Reginald finally stopped. He rested his chin in the crook of her shoulder, the smile at the corner of his mouth impossible to suppress.
He held Lucinda. Lucinda rested her head against his chest, her heartbeat unable to calm for a long time.
This man didn't play fair.
The car hadn't driven more than two kilometers when her phone buzzed.
It was an encrypted message from Fiona Baker, the assistant Wesley had assigned to her. Just one line.
[Problem at the warehouse. Come quickly.]
Lucinda's gaze paused on the screen. "Go to Ridgeway Tech."
Twenty minutes later, the car stopped outside the back entrance of the Ridgeway Tech warehouse. Under Lucinda's firm insistence, Reginald stayed in the car to wait for her.
Lucinda pushed open the door and pulled a black baseball cap from her pocket, tugging it low over her head.
She took off her coat, flipped it inside out, and put it back on. The cream-colored trench coat had become dark gray.
The side entrance to the warehouse area was a heavy metal door. She pressed her palm against the scanner. The screen flashed and displayed a line of red text: [Fingerprint verification failed].
Her brow furrowed slightly. She tried again.
Failed.
Her fingerprint had been erased from the system?
Lucinda pulled her hand back, her gaze resting on the red text.
She was the legal representative of this company, the holder of the highest access level. Her fingerprint had been entered by Wesley himself when he'd handed the company over to her.
To erase her access from the system, either there was a mole in IT, or someone had obtained a system account with higher privileges than hers.
In the entire company, the people who could access core permissions could be counted on one hand.
But right now, the most important thing was to get inside the warehouse.
Lucinda didn't hesitate. She pulled a pair of black gloves from her pocket, crouched down, and used a tool she carried to remove the scanner's outer casing.
The circuit board inside was exposed. She connected her phone to the scanner's port with a data cable and began typing rapidly on the screen.
Lines of code cascaded down the screen. Several layers of encryption were quickly dismantled.
Her gaze followed the data flow downward as she silently calculated the time in her head.
From the moment she'd stood in front of this door until now—less than two minutes.
The final firewall lifted. The metal door let out a low hum and slowly opened.