Chapter 148

Chapter 148

Marlowe saw things going south fast and immediately switched gears, standing up with a look of righteous indignation to distance herself. "I had absolutely no idea about any of this! Freya came to me on her own, said she had core technology, so I let her give a presentation. If she's been stealing, we won't tolerate it for a second!"

Freya stared at Marlowe in disbelief, shaking with rage at her instant betrayal. "Marlowe , you used me and threw me away!"

I had no interest in watching them tear each other apart. I pulled out my phone and called the police.

"Ophelia, what are you for?!" Freya shrieked.

"Just doing what any law-abiding citizen should." I put the phone down and looked at her coldly. "Stealing trade secrets, suspected commercial fraud — Freya, you'll have the rest of your life to think about what you've done. In prison."

The police arrived at the conference room in under twenty minutes.

Faced with the hard evidence, they cuffed Freya on the spot.

She fought like crazy, hair flying everywhere, completely unhinged, screaming curses at Michael and me — until they finally dragged her out.

I took Jade with me to the police station to give our statements in support of the investigation.

The whole thing was straightforward. The chain of evidence was solid, and the statements went smoothly.

By the time we walked out of the interview room, it was already dark outside.

I rubbed my temples, which had started to throb, and was about to leave when I spotted someone unexpected sitting on a bench in the hallway.

Michael.

He was wearing a wrinkled jacket, his right hand wrapped in a thick cast, looking completely hollowed out.

He heard my footsteps and slowly raised his head. His eyes were bloodshot and locked right onto me.

I stopped, frowning.

"You're here to bail her out?" I looked at him with cold contempt. "Don't get your hopes up. Commercial fraud and theft of trade secrets, substantial amounts, airtight evidence — you're not walking out of here with her today."

I figured he'd lose it like he always did, or pick a fight with me over Freya.

But he didn't.

Michael leaned back in his chair and suddenly twisted his mouth into a smile — strange and unsettling.

The sound of it echoed through the empty hallway like nails on glass.

"Bail her out? Why would I bail her out?" He kept his eyes on me, and there was something deeply disturbing in his expression — a calm, almost gleeful satisfaction. "Ophelia, you really think I didn't know those files had tracking code in them?"

I froze, staring at him in disbelief.

"I knew it was a trap." Michael slowly got to his feet and stepped toward me, dragging his casted arm, lowering his voice. "I gave her those files on purpose. I told her they were core secrets on purpose. I stood there and watched her put it all in her paper and go wave it in the White Group's face."

His eyes burned with a raw, consuming hatred. "She played me for a fool for so long, used me like I was nothing, drove the Johnson family into bankruptcy, gave my grandfather a heart attack that killed him in the hospital. Did you really think I was going to let that go?"

A chill crawled up my spine.

"I wanted to watch her fall apart. Watch her destroy herself!" Michael's smile was worse than crying, his eyes lit up with the thrill of revenge. "Ophelia, you didn't disappoint me. You put her away with your own hands. Her life is over. Ha — hahaha..."

I stared at the man in front of me, almost out of his mind, and couldn't find a single word to say.

I'd always thought Michael was just a fool who got played by Freya. I never imagined he could be this cold-blooded.

To get his revenge, he'd set the whole trap himself — and didn't even care that he was putting himself at risk for leaking company secrets in the process.

Not long ago, the two of them were madly in love, willing to step all over me just to be together.

Now, the moment things fell apart, they went after each other like two starving animals, tearing at flesh and bone, each wanting the other destroyed.

The irony was almost too much.

Outside the station, the night breeze cleared my head a little.

Compared to all the wreckage of the Johnson family, what I actually cared about was Benjamin's health.

The night before in Luminous City, his ashen face and cold skin had been lodged in my mind like a splinter ever since.

Once I got in the car, I called him.

"Ophelia." He picked up, and his low voice sounded a little steadier than this morning.

"I had Luca book a full checkup for tomorrow. Once I wrap up what's on my plate, I'm taking you to the hospital for a proper look." My tone left no room for argument.

"That's not necessary." He cut in gently. "Luca already brought the family doctor by a little while ago for a full check. It's just a cold that hadn't fully cleared up, combined with running on empty for too long. I'm on a drip now. I'm fine."

Some of the tension in my chest let go — but not all of it. "You're sure there's nothing else?"

"Have I ever lied to you?" A quiet laugh, easy and warm. "When are you coming home? I miss you."

"I'm on my way." I hung up and had the driver make a detour to a dessert shop downtown, picking up the chestnut cake he always loved from his favorite place.

I pushed open the front door of the villa and had barely slipped on my house shoes when a tall figure came through from the living room.

Benjamin was in a dark gray set of loungewear, his complexion still carrying that pale, slightly sickly look — but he didn't hesitate for even a second. He opened his arms and pulled me in tight.

He held on hard, his chin pressing heavy into the curve of my neck, breathing me in like he'd been starving for it.

"You took forever," he said, voice muffled, with a hint of something almost like sulking.

"Had to give a statement at the station. Took longer than expected." I wrapped my arms around his waist and felt the warmth finally back in his body. That's when I truly relaxed.

He held on for a good half hour before he finally let go.

I pushed the chestnut cake in front of him. He ate slowly, unhurried, fork moving at his own pace — but his other hand stayed locked around mine the whole time, not letting go for a second.

His gaze was like a net pulled tight, and I was completely caught in it.

With him looking at me like that, I couldn't help but smile.

"Why are you so clingy today?" I pressed my fingers into his palm, teasing him a little. "Come on, what did you do? Are you hiding something from me?"

Benjamin paused. He set down his fork and looked at me steadily with those dark, deep eyes.

"No." He turned his hand and held mine, pressing my fingertips against the warm skin of his cheek.

He looked down, and his voice came out soft — but there was a weight to it that I couldn't quite name. "Ophelia, nobody knows what tomorrow will bring."

The smile on my face went still. My heart skipped a beat for no reason I could explain.