Chapter 173: The Ring
Chapter 173: The Ring
Evelyn snatched her phone from the floor, quickly locked the screen, and shoved it into her pocket. "It's nothing."
She lifted her head, forcing a smile that looked worse than a cry. Her voice came out dry and hoarse. "Just spam. Probably threats from that Moda brand supporter. Nothing substantial."
Ryan stopped in front of her. Those deep eyes studied her face.
He clearly didn't believe her. But he also knew that right now, Evelyn was like a frightened hedgehog. Push too hard, and she'd raise all her quills.
"Really okay?" Ryan crouched down to meet her eyes. He reached up and gently brushed her messy bangs aside. "If something's wrong, don't carry it alone. I can handle any trouble."
"I know." Evelyn avoided his gaze, her body trembling slightly. "I'm just tired, Ryan. I want to go check on Elias."
Ryan's hand paused in midair. Finally, he just patted her shoulder gently. "Go ahead. Stay with him. I'll take care of the rest."
As he watched Evelyn's retreating figure practically flee into the break room, all the warmth vanished from Ryan's face.
He stood up and made a gesture to Vincent behind him. "Trace that phone number. And raise the security level around Elias's preschool to maximum. I don't want any more 'spam' bothering her."
...
Meanwhile, at the penthouse of the Omni Tower in Manhattan.
Damian Green stared at his computer screen, jaw clenched.
As a former control freak with an iron grip on everything around him, even after deciding to let go and seek redemption, he'd kept certain unsavory habits.
Like the hidden mirroring program he'd planted in Evelyn's phone. So well concealed that even Nova's tech team hadn't been able to fully remove it.
On the screen, the photo of a switchblade pointed at Elias's back stabbed at his eyes.
"Marcus..." Damian squeezed the name through gritted teeth, a vein pulsing at his temple.
That child was only three years old.
The same child who grabbed his finger and called him "Daddy" when he had a fever. The same child whose eyes were as clear as an angel's.
Marcus dared to point a knife at him.
A surge of violent rage and panic swept through Damian, obliterating his reason.
He yanked open a drawer and pulled out a black velvet box. Inside lay the silver ring he had stolen from Evelyn's apartment.
An ornate "L" was engraved on the inner band.
Damian had always assumed this was an engagement gift from Ryan Lawrence to Evelyn.
He'd wanted to melt it down countless times, but kept it because Evelyn treasured it.
"Ryan Lawrence can't protect you. I will."
Damian grabbed the ring, snatched his car keys, and stormed out of the office.
...
Half an hour later, at the Four Seasons Hotel executive lounge.
Marcus Lawrence was enjoying afternoon tea when his bodyguards at the door were violently shoved aside.
"If you've come to plead for that woman, Mr. Green, you've come to the wrong person." Marcus didn't even look up. He calmly sliced a scone. "My patience is limited."
Bang!
A silver ring slammed onto the marble table with a sharp crack.
"Keep your people away from that child."
Damian braced himself against the table edge, eyes bloodshot, breathing ragged. "Otherwise, I'll hand this ring over to the media."
"Ryan Lawrence giving a family heirloom to an outsider should be enough to give him serious problems with your stuffy board of elders, wouldn't it?"
Marcus's hand stopped mid-slice.
He set down his knife and fork, picked up the ring, and squinted through his cloudy old eyes.
"Family heirloom?" Marcus let out a scornful laugh. "Ryan is just an adopted bastard. What right does he have to family heirlooms? This is nothing but cheap market junk..."
Before he could finish, his pupils contracted sharply.
He felt it.
On the inner band, beneath the "L," there was a ring of extremely faint, almost worn-smooth relief.
It was an iris flower.
The Lawrence family crest was a griffin. But a century ago, only direct female bloodline members were allowed to engrave a hidden iris pattern on their wedding rings or jewelry. It symbolized purity and nobility.
That tradition ended fifty years ago.
Because the last woman in the family to bear the iris emblem ran off with a poor painter and disappeared without a trace.
Ryan couldn't possibly have this ring. So it had to be Evelyn's.
Marcus's mind raced, connecting countless threads.
Evelyn was an orphan from that remote convent orphanage.
Her amber eyes that seemed so strangely familiar to him. And this ring that should have been on that runaway heiress's hand.
So that was it.
That lowborn woman carried the noblest blood of the Lawrence family.
In his mind, no wonder that wolf pup Ryan was so devoted to her.
If Ryan married her, he could legitimately claim the core inheritance rights of the Lawrence family through his spouse.
This was a long game indeed.
"Interesting."
He gripped the ring tighter and looked up at Damian. "It seems Mr. Green still carries a torch for his ex-wife. Breaking into my territory over someone else's child."
"Cut the crap." Damian clenched his jaw. "I want that child safe. Now. Immediately. Call off your people."
"Deal."
Marcus agreed so quickly that Damian froze for a moment.
Marcus pulled out his phone and dialed a number right in front of Damian. "Pull back the men watching the kid. Yes, right now."
He hung up and waved the ring. "This stays with me. In exchange, I won't touch that mother and child for now. Fair trade."
Damian stared at the ring. Evelyn had been desperately searching for it. But he had no choice.
"If I find out you've touched a single hair on that child's head again," Damian turned to leave, his voice cold as death, "I won't let you off."
Watching Damian's retreating figure, the smile vanished from Marcus's face, replaced by something dark and greedy.
"Dig into this." He murmured to his assistant. "Find the origin of this ring. Find Evelyn's birth mother. I want solid proof."
This ring wasn't leverage against Ryan. It was a death warrant for Evelyn. Or better yet, the key to controlling the entire family.