Cold husband burning regret

Tricia masked her discomfort with a nonchalant hum. “Heard you went back to The Capital to find your birth family. Didn’t expect you back so soon.”

Nearby, one of the lab assistants cast a wary glance their way. Rumors of a rivalry between these two women had been circulating for months–it looked like they were

true.

Charlotte stopped right in front of Tricia, her expression cool and unreadable. “You seem to know a lot about my business. Must’ve put in quite a bit of effort digging around, huh?”

Tricia caught the edge in her tone, but just smiled with feigned innocence. “I’m afraid I have no idea what you’re talking about, Ms. Sterling.”

Charlotte turned to the assistant. “You can get back to work.”

Snapped out of her curiosity, the assistant nodded. “Of course.”

Once she’d left, Charlotte let her polite façade drop. “Whether you actually understand me or not doesn’t matter anymore. Sooner or later, the truth always catches up to you.”

Tricia’s smile faltered for a split second, but she quickly regained her composure, giving a soft laugh. “Are you here to threaten me?”

Charlotte stayed silent.

Tricia stepped closer, lowering her voice so only Charlotte could hear. “How unfortunate for you. Even if you’re the Rayburn family’s darling, you can’t touch me. We’ll see which of us comes out on top in the end.”

Charlotte clenched her fists, knowing full well Tricia was goading her. If she took the bait and started a scene under the security cameras, she’d only give Tricia ammunition to use against her.

Taking a slow breath, Charlotte forced herself to relax. As Tricia turned to leave, Charlotte called out with a faint smile, “Aren’t you even a little curious about your real parents?”

Tricia froze mid–step.

“I’m an orphan. What parents? Even if they

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17:14

Chapter 399

smiled, saying

from her lips. Whether Tricia

drifted to the research report on her desk, and she fell

silence.

She blamed Charlotte for ruining her chance to photograph the

was that last remark supposed to

Her biological parents?

Could Charlotte know something?

She’d never even met her so–called parents–what did they matter? She’d be damned if she let Charlotte

Mr. Carstairs‘ assistant walked over.

B give

“She said Professor Aldridge sent her to

research results.”

need an update on

problem?” Heath asked, picking

report back on the

for an old, discarded report from a previous failed trial. The numbers were similar to the

couldn’t have been

had interrupted her before she could do anything more. No matter

later, Assistant Heath headed toward the database with the finalized research results