He didn't even like Zenobia. All she did was study; she wasted her entire youth without learning how to have fun. Yvonne was so much better-wild and impulsive, doing whatever she wanted. Now that was freedom.

Wendy left with tears in her eyes. She had tried to warn him, had even let him hear the truth, but he refused to listen. She would have to find another way to handle the shares. The company could not fall into Nathan and Joanna's hands.

The autumn wind was cool against her skin, a small comfort. She gazed out at the sprawling city of Yaro. Wendy, clever for a moment, a fool for a lifetime, she thought.

"Natalie," she whispered, a tear tracing a path down her cheek, "Mom will get revenge for you. Nathan doesn't deserve to be your father. And Sebastian... he was never good enough for you." Wendy tilted her head back, and a confident, dazzling smile spread across her still-beautiful face.

Natalie spent the morning reading the news, analyzing development trends for the next two years. It struck her then just how brilliant Sebastian was. His instincts on every project were spot-on; no wonder his rise had been so meteoric. Matthew was his equal, she realized. Both men possessed a terrifying gift for business.

Joanna was terrifying in her own right. In the future, she would leverage her connections to powerful men like Sebastian to become a business tycoon on his level. The first man to give her a taste of that power had been Marshall. Now that Marshall and Joanna were on the outs, Joanna would be looking for her next target: Mr. Wilson.

Natalie also remembered his ultimate fate. She had still been alive then and had heard the rumors.

Lost in thought, she was startled by a call from Matthew, asking her to lunch. Just as she agreed, another call came through. It was the elder Mrs. Spencer.

"Hello, Mrs. Spencer," Natalie said, her voice calm.

"Natalie, Marshall's in trouble," the old woman said, her voice frantic.

"Mrs. Spencer, please, calm down. Tell me what happened."

"How can I be calm?" she cried. "Last night, Marshall was at a bar representing

the branch office for a business deal, and he was framed!"

Natalie's brow furrowed. "Framed? What do you mean?"

1.not

Mrs. Spencer towered her voice. "Drugs. You understand. I looked into it-the bar is one of Sebastian's properties. In just one month, company secrets have been leaked, and we've lost three contract to competitors. Natale, you were right. That Joanna is a piece of work."

Natalie was grateful for the woman's unwavering trust. "I can only warn you to be careful of her. I still haven't been able to find out which company she's hiding behind." The next target, after all, was the Wilson family.

Mrs. Spencer's voice was cold as steel. "It might be more than one. The three contracts we lost went to three different companies. I've checked. Joanna's name isn't on any of them."

Natalie walked to the window, her

gaze distant. Joanna would never let Sebastian find out about the companies she founded By the time he did, she would be too successful, and he, completely unsuspecting, would only admire her ambition.

"Natalie, you know Sebastian. Can you please help Marshall? He can't have a criminal record. He's

supposed to inherit the companet

Mrs. Spencer fell silent, the

implication hanging in the ai She understood the true goal of the setup now: to give Marshall a record that would disqualify him from the inheritance.

Natalie had reached the same conclusion. "Where is he, Mrs. Spencer? Which branch office?"