After the divorce, he begged

Chapter 156

Chapter 156

MHD

“All I’m asking is for you to stay with me, Rebecca. To stop this talk of divorce, Jeffrey explained, his voice patient. “This isn’t about taking away your freedom.”

Rebecca didn’t bother to reply. “Right, she thought bitterly. He won’t let me leave him, and he expects me to accept that he’s supporting Andrea forever. How is that any different from taking away my freedom?”

“Here. This is yours,” he said, pulling the unlimited black card from his jacket and offering it to her. “I had it reissued with a new design. Andrea never touched it.”

Once, such a thoughtful detail would have melted her heart. Now, it was just noise. Her mind was a single. looping track of panic. She thought, Is Samuel okay? How could this have happened? The school knew all his allergies…

Suddenly, a horrifying idea struck her. She shoved him away, scrambling back to put some distance between them. Her eyes were wide with a new kind of terror.

“Samuel..” she started. “His allergic reaction. That was you, wasn’t it? Did you stage this whole thing?”

The pieces clicked together with sickening speed: the prepared agreement, the order to the doctors to stand down, and the door to his suite left open. It was all too perfect to be a coincidence.

“No.” Jeffrey said flatly.

“Really?” Rebecca shot back.

“No,” he repeated.

She chose to believe him. He didn’t have to lie to her.

Once Rebecca’s emotions had somewhat settled, Jeffrey asked the question almost anyone in his position would have asked. “Do you really think I’m the kind of man who would risk our son’s life?”

“Are you serious?” Rebecca shot back. “You were literally using his life as a bargaining chip five minutes ago. Did you forget already?”

“Amazing,” she thought with biting sarcasm. How a man that powerful could have such a short memory.

Jeffrey’s jaw clenched, but he said nothing to defend himself. The truth was, he was just as terrified for Samuel as Rebecca was. But he didn’t tell her.

The clock rewound two hours, to the moment Rebecca had stormed out of his suite.

Jeffrey was about to call Gregory, intending to have him speak with the gaming division executives. He wanted them to ease up on the PrimePlay Technologies team’s workload and provide more hands–on training

10:30 Mon, Sep 29

Chapter lati

to dial, his cell rang. He recognized the

and it’s had, the teacher

with him and keep me updated on his condition. My team is on its way,

dialed the private medical unit that shadowed Samuel 24/7, ordering them

in under sixty seconds, giving him the

reaction is quite severe, the head of the medical team reported to Jeffrey over the phone, his voice tight. “We’ve stabilized him for the moment, but we need to get him

set everything in motion the instant

the

shifted to information control. He dialed Lena again. “Say nothing of this to Rebecca for the time being,” he commanded. “I’ll be in

“Okay.” Lena agreed.

the next hour, Jeffrey never left the video call with the medical team. He watched the monitor, his eyes locked on Samuel’s pained face. For the first

felt like forever, the doctors

doing?”

Emory Yeager, who had personally supervised the case, appeared on screen.

“Then why

just exhausted. It’s been a long day for him, Emory reassured him.

Jeffrey’s chest finally began

he suddenly remembered how hell–bent she was on divorcing him and taking

want you to use makeup that’s safe for kids to make him look like he’s still

request, but no one dared question the order. They

10:30 Mon, Sep 29

Chapter 156

the stage was set

the present. He met Rebecca’s glare and answered her accusation. “I used his life to threaten you,” he admitted, his voice even. “But just this

She needs to believe I can be this ruthless when it comes to Samuel. It’s the only way she’ll understand that leaving me is not

He wanted her to have an easy life, not kill herself with late nights and stressful

power, the one thing that was truly hers. “You have got to be kidding me.”

clue what had set her off. “I gave you back the card. You can have anything you want. Why waste your time at an

paper off the table. “And for the record, there is nothing in your stupid agreement that says

quit. I know exactly what happens, she thought, the memory burning like acid. The next time we fight. he’ll spit out those same words: Everything you

I’ll have no comeback. I will not make the same mistake twice. Once was more than enough humiliation to last

“If the job makes you

in anger had become a permanent

her, a strange warmth flickered to life in Jeffrey’s

is, he thought. ‘She’s the same as she always was. The only difference is

late, Jeffrey said softly. “You should