Her
Chapter 38

Chapter 38

After finishing up her calls, Matilda went upstairs to change. Slipping into a chic purple dress, she added a matching shawl, earrings, and necklace, and spritzed on some perfume. Her makeup was flawless, giving her a radiant glow,

Grabbing her pearl–studded handbag, she headed downstairs and casually informed the servant. Im heading over to the Fraley’s

Everyone assumed she was going there to drum up some cash, so no one questioned her motives

Meanwhile, back at the old Berry mansion. Lea sat at her desk with a test paper in front of her, a laptop buzzing away, and several tabs open on the

screen..

After digging into Helen’s background, she wanted to see what Matilda would do next. So, she used some hacking skills to track her movements. She steered clear of hacking directly into Matilda’s home or car, opting instead to tap into the surveillance systems around the Berry estate. After all, Matilda was no ordinary woman, and neither were her associates–teaming up with tech wizards had clearly paid off in her r Group Technology and Fraley Medical.

From a highway camera feed, Lea saw Ewan and Matilda leaving home one after another.

In the car, Matilda was decked out to the nines. Lea’s intuition screamed that Matilda was off to meet her lover.

Lea’s eyes darted as

she kept inputting the code to track Matilda’s car

Matilda headed straight to Fraley Hospital,

roles at Berry

The hospital was blanketed with cameras, making it easy for Lea to keep tabs on her. She watched Matilda ride the elevator straight to the top floor of the main building.

Nixon was the head of Fraley Medical, and with Matilda’s backing, he practically owned the place. The top floor was like his private domain. Running the hospital together, Matilda and Nixon had plenty of reasons for their frequent private meetings.

As Matilda reached the door, she scanned her fingerprint and it opened automatically

Inside, Nixon awaited her, clad in a sleek dark gold robe, loosely tied. He was holding a wine bottle in one hand and a glass in the other.

Two years Matilda’s junior, Nixon was a powerhouse in the healthcare industry–wealthy, influential, and always well–groomed. Next to him, Ewan hardly compared.

As Matilda stepped in, the door closed behind her, shutting out the world.

She gave him a frosty glance and snapped. “Put that crap away. I’m not in the mood”

Undeterred, be followed, saying. Tin clued in about Helen.”

Running the hospital kept Nixon pretty occupied, so he didn’t usually have time to keep tabs on Helen’s drama. But today, with the Berry Group stocks tanking and everyone buzzing about Helen’s school incident, it was hard to miss..

“You’re just losing it. Let me help you chill, he murmured, pressing her gently against the sofa, his lips replaceing hers as his hands began to undress

ber.

“I’ve got some serious shit to discuss, uh… Matilda muttered, pulling away slightly. “Christian has roped me into using Fraley funds to scoop up Berry shares… to prop up the stock price. I need your help to pull together the money: she said, groaning.

He tugged at her dress, looking up at her. “How much are we talking?”

“At least 1.6 billion, she stated firmly.

“That’s no chump change, given our financials, he replied.

“I know. But once Helen is cleared, the stock price will soar. We buy low, sell high–classic play,” Matilda argued confidently.

His eyes sparkled. “Damn, that’s a slick strategy.” In one fluid motion, he stripped off her dress, flinging it aside.

Soon, their heavy breathing filled the room, punctuated by fragmented conversations,

Maltida plotted, “We need to lock down that cash. Once Helen’s out, Christian will repay the funds, and I can grab more shares to tighten our control over Berry Group. That little shit Lea stole three percent of my stock: 1 need to strengthen my holdings. And if Christian kicks the bucket, the Berry fortune is basically ours. Marker’s shaky, but we’ll ride it out!”

Nixon was hyped as he knew Matilda pretty much had the Berry clan in her grip, and he was set to benefit big time.

Chapter 38

“Don’t sweat it. I’ve got bank connections. Saved a CEO once, getting a loan is gonna be easy. Just make sure we pay it back timely.” He reassured

her.

Nixon then patted her bottom. “Hey, turn around and hike it up a bit.”

“Ab–hold up. Got a patient, Donna Yancey, in the hospital. Can you make her daughter

TOP

the

e line!” Matilda said.

“Piece of cake. Once she’s in my hospital, she’ll follow orders, no questions asked.” he boasted confidently.

Over at the Berry Mansion, Lea yanked off her headphones. The rest of the conversation had taken a sour turn, and she needed a break.

She closed all the active tabs on her laptop and took a deep breath.

After a

a moment to clear her head, she grabbed her phone and shot a text to Chris, listing several top–notch medical researchers and doctors she had crossed paths with before–folks who were brilliant but currently flying under the radar and possibly struggling. Perfect recruits for Riverview SmartMed, which was desperate for top–tier talent.

She didn’t stop there, she also fired off a list of critical medical equipment he needed to purchase.

“Chris texted back quickly, (Got it, Miss Lea. I’m on it

Meanwhile, anxiety about Alfred nagged at her. She quickly sent a message to Eddie. (How’s the Crown Prince doing Still at the hospital?)

Eddie’s response came promptly. He’s back at the lakeside villa, meds sorted. Nothing major

Relieved, Lea dove back into her work, firing up her laptop to work on the 3D model With the medical startup gaining momentum, her plate was overflowing with tasks.

Over at the lakeside villa, Alfred kept his eyes glued to the Berry Group’s stock performance.

Despite the turmoil surrounding Helen, the company’s stocks continued their nosedive, teetering dangerously close to hinting rock bottone

Alfred still held 400 million worth of Lea’s earlier offloaded shares and contemplated injecting more money to stabilize the stock

Suddenly, his phone buzzed–an alert from Chris, passing along a message from Lea. Chris’s requests weren’t usually this direct or significant. hinting at the urgency and imponance of the situation.

Chris didn’t usually need to run things by him, but Lea’s requests were a bit out of the ordinary

Alfred stared at his phone, deep in thought, weighing his next move

Eddie brought in a cup of water and said, “Sir, Mr. Andrews is asking when you’ll be returning. Should I book a flight for tomorrow morning?”

Their stay in Vaporleon City had lasted longer than anticipated, all due to sorting out hospital matters. But now that everything was squared away, it seemed they could finally head back.

Alfred tossed his phone onto the table and shrugged. “Nah, I’ll hang around a few more days.

Helen was locked up, and Lea and Matilda were going at it tooth and nail. Matilda, in particular, seemed to have the Berry family and the whole city. of Vaporleon under her thumb. So, Alfred wasn’t quite ready to leave just yet.

Eddie looked startled. Is he staying because of Lea? he wondered

“And how am I supposed to head back without you?” Eddie asked.

“Just handle it like you always do Alfred replied.

Eddie scratched his head hard, didn’t know what to do.

The next day, Lea went to school as usual. As she walked down the hallway, she bumped into Zed, who looked like he’d been waiting for her.

“Hey Lea, I noticed the license plate yesterday. It’s from Iverton. Is that guy from there?” he asked curiously.

Her eyebrows furrowed, a hint of suspicion creeping into her eyes.

Zed quickly added. “No offense, just looking out for you since we’re classmates and all.”

“How well do you know him? Can you trust him? be probed further. “Those Iverton elites aren’t like us Vaporleon folks, they wouldn’t normally go for someone like us. Be careful you don’t get conned and left heartbroken, he warned, his tone sincere but cautionary.

Chapter 38

Zed knew Lea’s routine three years of just her, the Berry family, and school. At school, she was always the quiet one with her long hair shielding her face, never really mingling So he figured she wasn’t close to Alfred

“Done” Lea glanced up at him, her eyes cold. She had already told him once; stay out of her affairs. So his reminder was redundant to her.

Zed felt a lump in his throat, speechless while Lea simply walked past him and entered her classroom.

Zed watched her go, frustration painted all over his face, his eyes tinged red with emotion. He cared deeply, offering what he thought was helpful advice, yet it went unappreciated.

Frustrated by Zed’s comments, Lea decided to left school early to visit the police station.

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