Chapter 57

Serena Blake's hand trembled as she clutched her phone, her fingertips turning white.

"This can't be..." she muttered to herself, her flawless makeup unable to mask the panic in her eyes.

Grant Mercer's voice came through the phone. "Serena, what's wrong?"

She took a deep breath, forcing herself to sound calm. "Nolan Reed... he rejected my request."

"What?" Grant's voice sharpened. "How could he refuse?"

Serena bit her lower lip, a shadow of resentment flashing in her eyes. "He said... I deliberately stepped in front of that acid on purpose."

Dead silence filled the other end of the line.

After a long pause, Grant lowered his voice. "How does he know?"

"How should I know?" Serena tugged at her hair in frustration, her carefully styled curls now disheveled. "The way he spoke just now... it was like he was a completely different person."

Suddenly, a thought struck her, and she shot to her feet. "Could that bitch Aria Bennett have said something to him?"

Grant considered it. "Impossible. Aria hates him now—why would she reach out?"

Serena paced the room, her high heels clicking rapidly against the floor.

"No, I need to confront him in person." She stopped abruptly, a ruthless glint in her eyes. "He can't just cut me off like this."

Grant quickly intervened. "Serena, don't act impulsively. If he's already suspicious, going to him now will only backfire."

Serena scoffed. "Then what do you suggest? After all the effort I put into getting close to him, everything's ruined!"

"Don't panic," Grant said quietly. "First, we need to find out exactly how much he knows. If Aria is behind this, we have plenty of ways to deal with her."

A calculating look crossed Serena's face. "Right... Aria. If we just get rid of her..."

She picked up her compact mirror, studying her twisted expression before slowly smoothing her features back into a sweet, charming smile.

"You're right, Grant. We'll stay quiet for now and wait until we know more."

After hanging up, Serena immediately dialed another number.

"Hello, it's me," she cooed, her voice sickly sweet. "Logan, darling... I missed you."

Meanwhile, Nolan Reed stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing down at the city lights.

His phone screen lit up with a message from his assistant: "Mr. Reed, as instructed, we've cut off all funding for projects involving Ms. Blake."

A cold smirk curled Nolan's lips.

He turned and walked to his desk, pulling out a stack of photos from the drawer—all evidence of Serena's intimate encounters with various men.

"Serena Blake," he murmured, his voice dripping with disgust. "Did you really think I'd let you manipulate me forever?"

His phone buzzed again—a text from an unknown number: "Mr. Reed, the recording you requested is ready. We can release it anytime."

Nolan tapped the screen lightly. "Wait for now."

He needed the perfect moment to strike.

At that very moment, Serena sat in Logan Price's luxury car, completely unaware of the storm about to hit her.

"Logan," she purred, leaning against his shoulder, "if someone ever tries to hurt me, you'll protect me, won't you?"

Logan wrapped an arm around her waist, declaring confidently, "Of course. Who would dare touch my woman?"

Serena smiled in satisfaction, a flicker of triumph in her eyes.

She didn't know it yet, but the gears of fate had already begun turning—and the web of lies she'd so carefully woven was about to unravel completely.