Chapter 66 Blames
Chapter 66 Blames
Colton’s POV
The moment we were far enough from the event hall, Kylie turned on me.
“How?” Her voice was shaking with barely contained fury. “How does this keep happening? We had everything perfectly arranged and somehow that woman manages to dismantle it every single time!”
“Lower your voice,” I said tightly.
“Don’t tell me to lower my voice, Colton!” She stepped toward me, her finger pointed directly at my chest. “I did my part. I kept Jocelyn occupied. I took her far enough that she couldn’t see anything. That was my role and I executed it perfectly!”
“You call that perfect?” I laughed bitterly. “You let Lauren appear from nowhere and knock you to the ground in front of everyone. How does someone sneak up on you like that?”
“That is not the point!” Her voice cracked. “The point is that Gina and Daniel failed. Your people, Colton. The ones you personally vouched for. Richard was right there and they still couldn’t finish the job!”
“They didn’t fail,” I said sharply. “They got outsmarted. There’s a difference. And whose idea was it to use Gina in the first place? Yours. You brought her into this.”
“Because you had nobody better!”
“Because you insisted on rushing the plan before it was ready!”
“Because you never have anything ready!” she screamed.
We stood facing each other in the corridor, both breathing hard, the silence between us thick with everything that had gone wrong tonight.
Then something in me snapped.
The slap landed before I could stop it.
Sharp. Clean. Definitive.
Kylie went absolutely still.
Her hand rose slowly to her cheek. She looked at me with an expression I had never seen on her face before—not anger, not calculation, just pure, unfiltered shock.
Then without a single word, she turned and walked away.
“Kylie.” I followed immediately. “Kylie, stop.”
She kept walking.
“I’m sorry.” I moved in front of her, forcing her to stop. “I lost control. I shouldn’t have done that.”
She looked at me with cold, flat eyes.
“You hit me, Colton.”
“I know.”
“Don’t ever do that again.”
“I won’t.” I held her gaze. “I promise you, I won’t.”
The silence stretched between us uncomfortably. Then slowly, by degrees, the ice in her expression began to thaw.
“They got to Gina and Daniel before we could,” I said, lowering my voice. “Which means they know. And if Gina or Daniel talks to the wrong person tonight, everything unravels.”
That landed.
Kylie straightened. “We need to find them.”
“Exactly.”
We searched the entire perimeter of the venue with quiet urgency. The parking lot. The service corridors. The garden terrace along the western wing where staff sometimes gathered.
Nothing.
I dialed Gina’s number.
One ring. Then silence. Switched off.
Daniel’s number was the same.
“They’ve been contained,” Kylie said flatly.
I said nothing because we both already knew it.
We made our way back into the main hall through the side entrance, slipping in quietly. The anniversary celebration continued completely undisturbed around us—music, laughter, the comfortable obliviousness of people who had no idea what had been unfolding in the corridors outside.
“Colton.”
Grandma Lilian appeared from the crowd looking elegant but troubled, her eyes moving past me even as she greeted me.
“Grandma. You look beautiful tonight,” I said warmly.
“Where is Richard?” she asked directly.
I kept my expression easy. “I’m honestly not sure. I assumed he was making his rounds with guests.”
“And Jocelyn?”
“Haven’t seen her in a while either. Perhaps they stepped out together for some air?” I offered with a casual shrug.
Lilian looked at me steadily, the way she always did when she was processing more than she was saying.
“Something feels off tonight,” she said quietly.
“Everything looks perfectly fine from where I’m standing, Grandma. It’s a beautiful event.”
She wasn’t satisfied. Her eyes continued scanning the room slowly even as she spoke.
“Perhaps I should alert security. Ask them to do a sweep of the building,” she said.
“That’s actually a very sensible idea,” I agreed immediately, keeping my tone easy and cooperative. “Better to be certain than to worry unnecessarily.”
She looked at me one more time with those sharp, searching eyes, then moved toward the event coordinator.
I turned to Kylie. “We need to leave before—”
“Colton!”
Mr. George Adeyemi materialized at my shoulder, broad and commanding, flanked by two associates who both looked like they had important questions waiting. George was one of the Asher Group’s largest investors—the kind of man whose attention you could not politely escape.
“George, sir.” I extended my hand. “What a wonderful evening.”
“Indeed, indeed.” He shook it firmly. “Tell me, with Richard traveling so extensively lately, the board has been asking questions about succession. Stability. Long term vision.” He looked at me meaningfully. “Can you speak to that?”
I straightened slightly.
“The Asher Group is in excellent hands,” I said with measured confidence. “And as the natural next in line, I can assure you that any transition of leadership will be seamless and well managed.”
“So it’s confirmed?” George raised his eyebrows. “You’re the designated heir?”
“Unless my uncle miraculously produces a child of his own,” I said, allowing a careful, easy smile, “I am the rightful heir to the Asher Group. The natural order of things.”
George nodded slowly, filing this away with the seriousness of a man making mental calculations.
“Heir?”
The word came from just behind George’s left shoulder, pleasant and conversational and perfectly timed.
George turned with interest.
Lauren stood there in a simple navy dress, completely composed, a glass of water in one hand and an expression of polite curiosity on her face.
“Is there another heir besides Colton?” George asked her, genuinely interested now.
“Oh, I was just wondering aloud,” Lauren said warmly. Then she turned those calm, steady eyes directly onto me. “Colton, wouldn’t you be happy if a miracle happened in your family? A new heir perhaps? I imagine that would be wonderful news for everyone who truly loves the Asher name.”
My blood ran cold.
“Of course,” I said, holding her gaze without blinking. “Family is everything.”
“It truly is,” she agreed pleasantly. “Richard is so fortunate to have people around him who care so deeply about protecting his legacy.”
The word protecting hung in the air between us like a quiet declaration.
George chuckled warmly, entirely unaware of the conversation running beneath the conversation.
I turned to him with a measured smile. “Excuse me, sir. I need to attend to a few things. But please, enjoy the rest of the evening.”
I found Kylie’s arm and guided her firmly toward the nearest exit.
“What exactly did she mean by that?” Kylie asked under her breath as we moved.
“She meant exactly what I think she meant,” I said quietly.
“The pregnancy? Everyone already knows about—”
“Walk faster,” I said.
Because Lauren’s eyes had followed us all the way to the door.
And she was smiling.