Echoes Of a Forsaken Heart

Chapter 182

Natalia locked eyes with the man before her, the tension palpable as they stood motionless. Time seemed to stretch on until, with a sudden burst of energy, she wriggled free from the grip he had on her and aimed a kick toward his most vulnerable spot. Hamilton's face darkened instantly as he caught her leg. "Natalia! Are you out of your mind?" he exclaimed.

She shoved him hard. "You're the crazy one, Hamilton. You're a complete lunatic!" she spat back, her voice tinged with anger.

With that, she spun on her heel, climbed into her car, and without a second thought, she fired up the engine and sped away.

Hamilton watched the retreating tail lights, a cold glint flickering in his eyes. Natalia had the nerve to take a shot at him! She really had guts.

He got into his own car and followed her at a leisurely pace.

As Natalia drove, she tried to get a grip on her emotions, but thoughts of Ryan and what might have been with him only added to her frustration. It seemed inevitable that if things kept going, taking the next step was just a matter of time. If Hamilton really...

She couldn't help but rub her temples, taking a deep breath to steady herself. Hamilton was probably just not ready to let go. She figured once he got bored or found someone new, he'd move on.

Natalia didn't return to Scarlett's. Instead, she headed to Graham's place to look for clues.

As she parked, another car pulled up behind her. Her eyebrows knitted together in annoyance as Hamilton stepped out.

"Aren't you done yet?" she snapped.

"I just want to check out Graham's situation," Hamilton replied with a tone of self-righteousness that brooked no argument. "After all, I'm involved in this case too."

Natalia didn't bother to argue with him and made her way upstairs.

The old apartment building's hallways were poorly lit, the motion-activated lights barely functioning. Natalia used her phone to light the way when suddenly someone grabbed her wrist. "You're just going in like that?" Hamilton questioned.

She shook him off and turned on her phone's flashlight. "If Mr. Fowler feels uncomfortable, he's free not to enter," she retorted.

Hamilton scoffed. "Natalia, are you sure you can handle this alone? If what you say is true, and Graham's backer is targeting you, are you sure there's no ambush waiting?"

Her lips tightened. She wasn't sure anymore. She was in the light; her adversary in the dark. Worse, she had no idea what their endgame was.

Hamilton chuckled at her side. "Tell you what, Natalia, I'll be your personal bodyguard for free."

She shot him a cold look and continued forward.

open, making her tense and almost drop her keys. Hamilton quickly pulled her into his arms. She paused and frowned, but didn't struggle, instead glancing to the side. There stood a woman in her fifties,

asked with

sigh of

brushing herself off as

woman

face lit up. "It really is you! I haven't seen you

to Hamilton. "Is

off

she didn't give him

was your boyfriend. Have you

with

beamed. "Your mother must

bitter laugh, "Don't celebrate just yet. Who knows, they might break up any day now." "Natalia!" Natalia's shout at Hamilton was fierce. Then she softened her tone for Cora. "Don't mind him; he's a

suspiciously. Then her expression changed as she remembered

will get better.

trailed off, her face saying

concern deepened. "Cora, who has my dad

racket all night. I don't even let my grandson stay here anymore." Natalia's frown deepened. "Has he been

you don't want to catch anything." Natalia thanked her and was about to enter when Cora added, "There was this one

costs a small fortune. I was wondering, how on earth did

pensive

pulled up a photo of Eveleen, handing it over to

head. "No, that woman

Cora's response, Hamilton let out a soft

knew exactly what

look and pocketed her

Cora, Natalia headed into

she was

and flicked on the light, revealing

a step, Hamilton was

frame stood starkly in the dingy room, making it seem even more cramped

to the filth and