Caroline’s POV:
After leaving the clinic, I started the car and left.
While driving, I thought of my conversation with Samantha just now.
‘‘What on earth is Charles hiding from me? Is he treating me so well just to trick me into getting back
together with him?’’
All of a sudden, the car swerved. Thereafter, the pungent smell of gasoline wafted into my nose.
My heart almost leapt from my chest. I wanted to stop the car to check what had happened, but I soon
found out that the brakes weren’t working.
“What the hell?” I muttered, flooring the breaks again. .
‘Damn it! Something happened to the brakes!’ I grabbed the steering wheel with both hands,
attempting to control the car.
There was a car behind me, honking at me like a lunatic.
“What am I going to do? Argh!” I tried to suppress my fear, carefully avoiding the car in front of me.
Just then, my phone rang. In a fit of panic, I answered the call.
“Help! Something happened to the car, I’m in—”
“Caroline, it’s me, Samantha. I’m right behind you. What’s wrong with your car?” The sound of her calm
voice gave me a sense of security.
After taking a deep breath, I answered, “Samantha, something has happened to the brakes. I can’t stop
the car.”
Having said that, I stepped on the brakes again.But it didn’t help to slow down the car’s pace.My mind
suddenly went blank.
“Caroline, listen to me. Shift to a lower gear, and then turn on the emergency lights,” Samantha
instructed.
“Got it,” I answered.
I did just as she told me. “How much gas do you have in your tank right now?” asked Samantha.
I glanced at the fuel gauge and replied, “I’m running out of gas.”
‘What a horrible day!’
I didn’t have the time to think about why I happened to choose a defective car from the garage.
“Just keep driving, Caroline. All you have to do is to consume all your gasoline. Take a deep breath,
and calm yourself.” The sound of Samantha’s voice was a comfort to me.
“Okay. I will,” I replied firmly.
For my children’s sake, I wouldn’t give up on hope. Soon, I saw through the rearview mirror that the car
behind me overtook me.
“Samantha, is that you? Are you the one who’s ahead of me right now?”
“It’s me. I’ll help you stop the car,” she replied
I had no idea how she would help me. There was no time for me to think, so I just focused on holding
onto the steering wheel and trying not to crash.
Samant’s car slowed down. I watched as the bumper of my car got closer and closer to the back of her
car.
“Eek!” I screamed, closing my eyes.
Thereafter, my car bumped against hers. My head hit the steering wheel because of the resistance,
and the seatbelt pulled me back to my seat. My head was spinning at this point.
By the time I opened my eyes again, I saw Samantha’s face outside the window. She was banging on
the urine visibly worried.
I immediately unfastened the seatbelt with trembling hands and opened the door. Not long after, I
collapsed in Samantha’s arms and burst into tears.
“Samantha, I’m still alive. I’m alive,” I stammered.
“You’re okay. You’re safe now,” Samantha replied as she kept me standing.
After she comforted me again and again, I gradually calmed down.
“Why did you suddenly show up?” I cried while looking at her in the eye.
A smile appeared on Samantha’s lips.
“I noticed that you weren’t in a good mood, so I got worried and followed you,” she answered.
I nodded in response.
“Thank you.”
All of a sudden, an explosion was heard. Black smoke was rising from my car, and it soon burst into
flames.
“Oh, my God!” Samantha exclaimed, pulling me away from the explosion.
As I stared at the roaring flames, my body froze.
While I was dazed, I remembered that the waiver Charles gave me was still in my car. 1
A bitter smile appeared on my lips.
‘‘Maybe this is fate,’’ I thought.
“Caroline, I’ll stay right here and wait for the police to deal with the incident. You should go home and
rest.” Samantha embraced me.
“It’s okay. I’ll ask Elena to handle it. It’s getting late. You must be tired. You should go home and rest
early,” I replied, politely refusing her kindness.
What happened tonight had caught me off-guard. My mind was a complete mess. Right now, I didn’t
want to deal with anyone. That night, I was haunted by nightmares. The next day, I felt so damned
weak. But even so, I still asked Elena to take me to the hospital to see Charles.
Olivia’s POV:
I was standing at the door of the hotel.I pressed down the brim of my hat, vigilantly looking around
through my sunglasses before walking in.
“It’s me,” I said while knocking on the door of one room.
Once the door was opened, Simon looked down at me wearing a frown.
“Any news about the driver?” he asked anxiously.
As I walked inside, I took off my hat and sunglasses and answered, “No, this is about Edward.”
“Edward? Did you find any leads?” Simon asked loudly while grabbing my shoulders.
“Can you let me go first? It hurst,” I remarked.
Simon loosened his grip and knitted his brows.
“Why did you send me that message?” he asked.
I rubbed my shoulders, thinking of how horribly I was ravaged that night.
“Edward is a beast hiding in human skin,” I said through gritted teeth.
“Are you saying you want to leave him?” Simon asked while frowning. It was as if he was rejecting my
idea already.
“No, the opposite actually. I want your help to convince him to marry me the right way,” I said while
clenching my fists.
‘‘Edward’s company, all of his shares, assets, and everything he owned should be mine! Caroline may
be his daughter, but she just showed up. She doesn’t deserve to take those things away from me!’’ I
exclaimed inwardly.
Simon sneered, “Are you kidding? You really believe I can make that happen?”
“Are you planning to get rid of me?” I fired back.
“Believe it or not, I can just tell Edward that you went to his study the other day.”
Simon fell silent, glaring at me.
“If Edward finds out that you still suspect that he killed your father, do you think he’ll still allow you to be
with his daughter?”
Having heard my question, Simon scowled.
“I don’t have any other choice. We can either help each other, or else we’re both fucked.” I wasn’t sure
if I managed to persuade him, so all I could do was count on my luck.
“What can you even do for me?” Simon was looking at me with visible doubt in his eyes.
“I’ll help you investigate your father’s death. After all, I’m the one closest to Edward, aren’t I?” I
explained calmly. I noticed that Simon was still reluctant to agree, so I added some more benefits for
him.
“I can help you get Caroline,” I added. Simon looked me dead in the eye, and I could tell that all of his
reluctance had gone away.
“What can you do?” A smile was printed on my lips.
“It’s quite simple. You’ll be able to keep her by your side if you have a child together.”
“That’s impossible,” Simon replied, his head cast down in dejection.
“Worry not. I can help you,” I answered with a confident smile.
Simon was staring at me in silence. It took a while before he reached his hand out to me. “I look
forward to working with you.”
“I look forward to working with you as well.” I smiled and shook hands with him.
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