Chapter 655

Daniela paused for a long moment, her expression unreadable.

Then she said with cool indifference, "You can stay,but on one condition-you're not allowed to act on your own."

Cedric's eyes lit up, and he nodded without hesitation.His gaze sparkled with quiet excitement.

Daniela couldn't wrap her head around his excitement.Being around her meant danger. What kind of joy could he possibly find in this?

Cedric looked around cautiously, then spoke in a hush."Honey, are you starting to think this might be tied to your mother's death?"

At those words, Daniela tilted her head to look at 'Cedric.She realized Cedric was pretty quick at pushing his luck.

She'd only just given in slightly, and now he was already calling her honey.

Daniela retorted, "Did I give you permission to call me that?" Cedric's lips curved into a small grin. "Still, wasn'tI right?"

Daniela tossed him a look that barely held interest."Yeah."

She had spent all this time quietly unearthing clues,chasing the shadowy truth behind her mother's death.

The moment she dealt with the other members of the commerce association and was about to deal with Winslow next, the explosion struck like thunder.

It was obvious then-she had wandered too close to the flames of truth.

Whoever had been lurking in the dark clearly panicked and lashed out.

Every twist unfolding now was designed to block her path, to make her turn back before she uncovered more.

Daniela hadn't breathed a word of this to anyone. To the rest of the world, she was just chasing the explosion's cause, but Cedric had read the truth like an open book.

"Honey, let me help you get to the bottom of this.Just trust me," he reassured her.

Daniela shot him a cutting glare. "Don't forget your own words-you can't act on your own. Got it?"

Cedric nodded fast. "Then can I move back tonight?"

Daniela turned and headed toward the lot. "What's the matter? Your own place suddenly feel too small or something?"

Cedric let out a soft laugh. "I just prefer being around you. And let's notforget-there are still two ticking time bombs in your place. I can't relax."

Daniela opened her mouth to speak, but someone suddenly stepped into her path.

A masked figure stood before her, voice low,coated in quiet humility. "Daniela. Can we talk for a moment?"

Daniela's patience had already run out. "No."

She stretched a hand toward the car door, but Alexander stepped in closer. "Daniela, just five minutes. That's all I'm asking."

Daniela wasn't known for patience, and right now,she had none to give.

"How many five-minute chances do you think you deserve? I could give you a hundred and you'd still say nothing that matters. Alexander, didn't | already tell you? Quit embarrassing yourself and stop bothering me. Why is that so hard to get through your head?" Alexander opened his mouth,ready to speak.

But Daniela cut in before he could say a word. "Every time you show up wearing that heartbroken, love-starved face, it turns my stomach. Go ahead-tell me what you like about me, and I'll make sure to change it."

Alexander had swallowed more than his fair share of humiliation already today.

He had come clinging to the hope of finding even a flicker of warmth in Daniela's eyes.

But what he got instead...

"Daniela, are you really this cold inside?" Alexander's voice cracked with heartbreak.

Daniela nodded without hesitation. "Yep. That's me.

Now,will you finally quit pestering me?"

Annoyed beyond reason, she slid into her car.

She yanked the door shut, letting it slam with a sharp,echoing bang.

Alexander flinched at the sound, his shoulders curling inward as he stood there looking like a kicked puppy.

Cedric had watched it all unfold and cast a sideways glance at Daniela. She didn't so much as blink-utterly unfazed.

Cedric exhaled inwardly. He used to think Daniela was already ruthless with him but clearly, someone else had it much worse.

Cedric instinctively leaned back a little, doing his best to stay invisible, as if dodging emotional shrapnel.

A little ways off, Joyce stood silently, watching Daniela's car disappear into the distance.

She approached Alexander from behind, sneer curling on her lips. "Rejected again, huh? Alexander, how thick can you be? Whether Daniela regains her memories or not, her heart will always tilt toward Cedric. Limp or no limp, broke or billionaire-he's still the one she chooses. So stop trying. No matter how flawless you make yourself, she'll never love you. Not today,not ever."

Alexander turned his bruised face toward her,eyes like frozen steel. "Joyce. I'm too damn tired to spar with you. But keep running your mouth, and don't expect me to play nice."

With that, he climbed into his car and drove off,leaving dust in his wake.

Joyce stayed rooted to the spot, her fists slowly curling tight as she watched his taillights vanish. Jack stepped out of the banquet hall and asked, "Mom.who was that just now?"

A flicker of venom crossed Joyce's face. "That man is my enemy."

Once upon a time, she had inherited the Sinclair family fortune, but Alexander had ripped it all away from right under her nose.

By the time she clawed her way out of that basement,the world had flipped. Alexander had bled the Sinclair family dry and crowned himself the commerce association's leader.

Meanwhile, she had been cast out, forced to seek refuge in Daniela's villa.

It wasn't really Daniela she loathed. No-her true hatred burned for Alexander.

Alexander had taken every scrap of success she had bled for.

There were only two reasons she still drew breath-her child, and the vengeance she owed herself.

And she would be the one to end Alexander with her own hands.