"What?" Elena exclaid with disbelief. She opened the file and checked the contents.
Inside were the legal docunts transferring ownership of the property to her na.
The downtown villa was one of the Sinclair family’s most valuable properties. Elena had never imagined they would give it to her.
And three percent of Sinclair Group’s shares... It was a fortune.
Elena blinked, stunned. She then shook her head and closed the file. "I can’t accept this. It’s too much."
She returned the file to Catherine. "You’ve already done so much for . I can’t accept any more."
"It’s not a favor, sweetheart," Catherine said, squeezing her hands gently. "It’s our blessing. Don’t turn it down."
Her voice turned softer. "We owe your father so much. He was loyal to Richard until the very end. Even after his death, he saved my husband’s life. Without his kidney donation, Richard wouldn’t be alive today."
Silence settled between them.
Neither of them said a word for so ti.
After a long pause, Catherine spoke again, "Without your father, we wouldn’t have built the empire we have today. We are imnsely grateful to him. But this isn’t our attempt at repaying that debt. It’s our love for you. Accept it."
Elena hesitated for a mont. Then she gave a small nod.
At the office...
After a long eting, Elias ca out of the conference room. He checked the phone and found Elena’s ssage.
’Elias, I’m going to the Sinclair mansion. See you at ho in the evening.’
A flicker of irritation crossed his calm face.
"Why do you have to go there?" he muttered under his breath. "Haven’t they hurt you enough?"
He scrunched up his face and stord down the hallway.
"Sir...Mr. Rowan," Owen called out to him from behind. "Where are you going? We still have a contract to sign with the client."
"Postpone it," said Elias without breaking his strides.
"But..." Owen hurried to him anxiously, trying to stop him. "The deal is..."
Elias paused and turned to him.
The icy look in his eyes made Owen swallow the rest of his words.
"I said postpone the eting," Elias repeated. His voice was low but sharp enough to send a chill down Owen’s spine.
Owen rarely saw him lose his composure. He didn’t dare say anything. He simply bowed his head.
Only after Elias disappeared did he let out a long sigh.
Pulling out his phone, he called the client.
"Hello. Mr. Rowan has an urgent matter to attend to," he said grimly. "He won’t be able to make today’s eting. We’ll contact you shortly to arrange another schedule."
Back at the mansion...
Elena said goodbye to Catherine and ca out of the house.
The mont she stepped outside, a familiar car rolled into the driveway and stopped beside her.
Elena paused. Her fingers tightened around the strap of her handbag.
The driver’s door pushed open, and Noah ca out.
"Elena..." He grinned as he stepped toward her. "You are here."
The mont the housekeeper inford him that Elena had visited his mother, he ca rushing here without delay. He was hopeful that Elena had finally softened her heart and forgiven him.
"I knew you would co," he said with confidence. "You love . You can’t live without ."
Elena stared at him in disbelief. The sheer arrogance of his assumption left her speechless.
A hint of irritation entered her eyes.
"I am not here for you. I ca to see Catherine."
The smile on his face remained intact. "I know. But I also know your heart. You can’t stay away from for a long ti. And you will eventually co back to ."
He took a step toward her. "I am glad that you’ve let go of the bitterness and are ready to start over. Trust , Elena. I’ll make everything right. I’ll spend the rest of my life making you happy."
He held her hands gently. "I’ll devote myself completely to you. My loyalty will belong only to you."
Elena’s features settled into a cold mask.
A few weeks ago, those words would have lted her heart. Now they only made her feel sick.
She withdrew her hands, her legs moving backward to create a distance between them.
"I don’t need you anymore. Have you forgotten that I’m already married?"
The smile on his face vanished right away. "I don’t care," he roared. "That marriage ans nothing. You are my woman. And you will be mine forever."
He grabbed her arm and pulled her toward him.
"Get away from ."
Instead, Noah wrapped his arms around her. His hold was so tight that all her struggling seed useless.
Elena stopped fighting and glared at him with pure resentnt.
"You had ," she said coldly. "I was with you for fifteen years. I loved you, followed you, and did everything for you. I was married to you. But what did you do to ?"
Noah’s face paled, and his grip around her loosened a bit.
Elena pushed him away. "I was pregnant with your child. And you didn’t show even a shred of rcy."
She shoved him away with all her strength. "You killed it."
Noah staggered back. His throat constricted. Every ti she ntioned their child, it felt as though an invisible hand was crushing his throat.
The guilt was unbearable.
"And you expect to forget everything and co back to you."
Noah closed his eyes, his chest burning with guilt and regret. "That was a terrible mistake I ever made. I know I can never undo it."
He looked at her pleadingly. "But please... give a chance to make up for it."
"No." The answer ca imdiately, rcilessly.
"What?" A look of unease crossed his face. "How could you be so heartless?"
Elena laughed. "Heartless? You are calling heartless. It’s you who is heartless."
She jabbed a finger into his chest. "You orchestrated the accident that killed our child. You did that to make Tessa happy. You hurt again and again. And you called heartless."
Tears burned her eyes.
Noah’s guilt deepened. He wanted to make things right, but everything went wrong. His words seed to make her even more miserable.
"Fine. If you want to call heartless, call that. Curse , yell at , and hit ."
He tried to force her hand toward his face. But Elena curled her fingers and resisted against his force.
The slap didn’t land on his face.
"Hit , Elena. Take all your anger out on . I won’t complain. But don’t talk about leaving ."
"Are you crazy? Let go of ."
She struggled to pull away. But Noah refused.
His grip only tightened.
"I won’t let you go. I won’t allow you to go back to that bastard." The madness in his eyes terrified her. "No one can co between us. If anyone dares, I’ll destroy them."
In the anti, a black Rolls-Royce pulled into the driveway.
Both Noah and Elena turned to it.
The car ca to a stop. The next mont, Elias stepped out of it. His eyes flashed a murderous glint as soon as they landed on Noah’s hand around Elena’s wrist.
Every muscle in his body tensed.
"Take your hand off her."
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