Chapter 1287:
Sherwood’s fingers tightened into fists as he swallowed the surge of emotion rising inside him. He stepped back quietly, his expression darkening.
Brad responded with a slow, measured smile that never reached his eyes.
Had it never crossed her mind that the child she was carrying might belong to the man she so openly despised?
Kari turned back to Brad, looping her arms around his neck. “Relax—it’s your baby,” she teased. “You’re the only one for me.”
Brad curved his lips into a smile that said nothing. “I’ll cancel the meeting. We’ll go out and celebrate.”
Kari felt as though everything had finally fallen into place. She touched her stomach lightly, rested her head against Brad’s chest, and exhaled a soft, contented sigh. “I’ve never been this happy. It feels like I have everything I’ve ever wanted.”
𝘕𝗲𝗐 𝘄е𝘦k𝗹𝗒 с𝗵a𝗽𝘵𝘦r𝗌 𝘰𝗇 𝗴а𝗅ո𝗈𝘷els.c𝘰𝘮
Brad looked down at her, his eyes cold and distant. “Does it?”
Completely unaware, Kari smiled to herself. “Maybe I’m just lucky,” she murmured. “Lucky enough to be loved forever.”
Brad let out a quiet chuckle. “Yeah—very lucky.”
She had better stay that lucky for the rest of her life.
News of Kari’s pregnancy reached Luther quickly. He instructed the technicians monitoring the chip to pull up Brad’s emotional readings. Brad was usually steady, but lately his responses had been shifting—and most notably, there had been a measurable spike of excitement the instant he heard about the baby.
Luther concluded that Brad was genuinely pleased, and that brought him some relief. In his mind, a child would bind Brad in place and eventually erase whatever feelings for Rylie still lingered.
Brad went nearly a full week with barely any sleep, refusing to rest until every last detail had been arranged.
On the eve of the Arindel-Miraquayan region’s first official meeting, he stood at the floor-to-ceiling window of his office, looking out at the city lights shimmering far below.
Behind him, Sherwood set the final stack of organized documents quietly onto the desk. “I’ve gone through everything you handed me. It’s all here,” he said. “Look it over and let me know if anything seems off.”
Brad turned, picked up the files, and began reviewing them carefully, page by page. “How many of the Arindel-Miraquayan shareholders are backing us?” he asked.
A faint smile touched Sherwood’s lips. “Thirteen core shareholders in total. Seven are openly on your side. Of the remaining six, three are under Luther’s thumb—he’s using blackmail, hidden accounts, the kind of leverage you’re already familiar with. Two are sitting on the fence, waiting to see who comes out ahead. The last one…” He paused briefly. “Luther’s cousin. Loyal to him without question.”
Brad gave a small nod. “That’s sufficient.”
Sherwood moved to the desk, switched on the computer, and brought up a detailed list. “These are the people within Havenridge Group that Luther pushed aside over the years,” he explained. “Some are senior executives he sidelined because they refused to participate in the money laundering. Others are long-serving veterans he demoted after they crossed Kari. The rest are heirs from founding families whose shares he forced away from them.”
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