BOOKSDRAMA Chapter 206
Chapter 610
Susanna's breath caught in her throat. "Star, what did you just say? My mom, she...?"
"You heard me right. She used to run Black Gate," Stella replied, her voice calm and direct, not mincing words.
On the other end of the line, Susanna's breathing grew even tighter, sharp and uneven.
Even though Stella had spelled it out so clearly, Susanna still couldn't wrap her mind around it.
She took a shaky breath. "How could that be? There's just no way. My mom's just an ordinary businesswoman-you know that.
She couldn't even make her bakery take off, let alone... this."
Her voice picked up speed, tinged with panic.
To her, her mother was the kind of person who never had a lot of money, but always managed to get by. In Portis City, her mom's
small catering business was barely a blip on anyone's radar.
And even if she had some minor reputation, it wasn't for her business sense-it was more for her knack for making friends and
always being at the center of every neighborhood barbecue or PTA event.
But to say that this woman, of all people, used to be the one running Black Gate?
Who could believe that?
Susanna had started to get suspicious lately, but now that she was hearing it for real, her chest felt tight with fear.
Or maybe it wasn't suspicion so much as dread. Real, bone-deep dread.
Because if her mom was tangled up with Black Gate, then any hope of a quiet, normal life was gone.
That was what Susanna feared most.
Before Stella could say anything, Susanna jumped in again. “Star, you must be mistaken, right? There has to be ome mistake."
There had to be. She knew her mom better than anyone-no way did she have that kind of power.
Stella could tell Susanna wasn't buying it, and her voice was getting sharper by the second. Stella tried to keep things gentle.
"Do you want me to double-check for you?"
"Yes, please, just check again. Right away."
Stella hesitated. "Honestly..."
Honestly, confirmation was almost beside the point. Coincidences like this didn't just happen.
"There's nothing 'honestly' about it, Star. Just confirm it-please, I need you to confirm it."
Susanna's voice trembled.
The truth was, she just couldn't bring herself to accept what she was hearing. Stella went quiet for a second.
She could hear the fear in Susanna's voice-who wouldn't be scared, finding out their mom was mixed up with something as
dangerous as Black Gate?
Just then, before Stella could hang up, her phone buzzed in her hand. She glanced down at the screen.
A message from one of her people. Attached was a photo-an even clearer one than before.
The last time she'd seen a picture, Stella had been pretty sure it was Susanna's mom, Lacey.
But now, with this photo...
"Well, I guess there's no need to check anymore," Stella said softly, a hint of regret in her voice.
No matter how desperate Susanna was to cling to denial, the truth was staring them both in the face.
As Stella spoke, Susanna's breath hitched again. "Star, you—"
"I'm sending you a clearer picture. Take a look for yourself."
Stella forwarded the photo, and since they were on the phone, Susanna saw the notification pop up right away. She opened it,
and with just one glance-
Her face went chalk white.
It was her mother. No doubt about it.
On the other end, Stella heard Susanna's breathing quicken, and tried to soothe her. "Try not to panic, okay? She's not in as
much danger as you think."
After all, as Ronald had said, someone who could lead Black Gate wasn't exactly a pushover.
If Lacey really was who they thought she was, that actually made her safer, not
less.
Susanna gripped her phone so tight her knuckles whitened. "I've heard stories about Black Gate... the kind of things they've
done. People are scared to even talk about it"
And her mom-her own mother-had been right in the thick of it.
doing her best to calm her down.
Chapter 206
Frederik looked at Gregory. The old man's jaw was locked, yet he said nothing, but the vein on his temple had begun to show.
Maria returned to her seat. She rested her hands on the desk. "So, before you waste the court's time and embarrass yourselves
further, I suggest you withdraw your little petition"
David Holt opened his mouth, but Maria cut him off.
"The document is notarized, registered, and filed. Every line is airtight. And if you try to contest it, I will personally make sure
every past transaction you've all tried to bury gets pulled into discovery"
Frederik looked at the second file he brought. He didn't touch it.
Meanwhile, Amalia was still staring at the paper in her hands.
Maria's voice remained steady. "You wanted a legal war. I suggest you bring a better army
"Grandfather, this-"
"I was not made aware of that document," Gregory said, just as the car started moving. After seeing that document, they were
left with no choice but to leave. Obviously, that woman Amalia still tried to fight it, but Gregory knew it would be useless.
"Then what about what woman?" Frederik asked. His grandfather actually helped Amalia get out of prison.
"Let her be," Gregory said, adjusting the cuff of his sleeve as the car moved through the downtown traffic. "The deal was simple.
We get her out. She files for control. In exchange, she gets to crawl out of that cell and play family."
Frederik didn't reply.
Gregory leaned back against the seat. "I underestimated Maria Alcaraz. I thought she was just one of Rossi's many lawyers.
Turns out she's more of a wall than a door."
Frederik tapped his fingers on his thigh, processing. "Do you want me to contact her again?"
"No. Not her." Gregory pulled out his phone. "Call Amalia's lawyer. Tell him to advise her. If the court's off the table, maybe she
can make it a public matter."
Frederik raised an eyebrow. "Media?"
"She's shallow and dumb enough to know how to turn sympathy into leverage," Gregory said. "She'll do whatever it takes if the
headline looks expensive enough."
Frederik gave a short nod. "Alright. I'll take care of it."
The car turned onto the bridge. For a moment, neither of them said anything.
Frederik glanced out the window, then spoke again. “I still haven't found who orchestrated the accident."
Gregory didn't respond at first. His eyes followed the skyline in silence. Then, his jaw clenched. "Keep digging."
Frederik's grip tightened. "It was clean. Too clean. No digital footprint, no traceable tail, and nothing in the logistics report. The
driver's records were wiped just two weeks before the crash."
"Then we missed something."
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Chapter 206
"I don't like it," Frederik muttered. "It wasn't us. But whoever did it had a reason. And money. It was surgical"
Gregory turned his head slightly, but he didn't speak. His silence was enough.
Frederik leaned back, brows furrowed. He had spent days reviewing every possible connection, every possible motive. Still,
nothing led to the truth.
He wanted Izzy's shares. He wanted control. But he hadn't wanted her dead. Whoever moved first had done it perfectly.
And that unsettled him more than he was willing to admit. He didn't even know who the enemy wast
Gregory didn't speak again until they were halfway across the bridge.
"When you don't know who the enemy is," he said finally, "you watch everyone." Frederik nodded slightly, eyes still on the road
ahead. "Even our own?" Gregory didn't answer. That, in itself, was the answer.
The car pulled up to the private lot behind the Vasili building. Frederik followed his grandfather inside, both men quiet as they
entered through the executive elevator.
Once the doors closed, Frederik checked his watch.
"I have a call with Vasili Energy in twenty minutes. They're asking questions too. They want to know if zy will be removed from
the South Asia expansion
committee."
"And the shares?"
Gregory turned to him. "You still want them?"
Frederik didn't hesitate. "Yes."
"Then stop hoping for the board to fix it for you. The girl may have disappeared,
but she didn't die. Until there's a body or a death certificate, that name still holds."
Frederik nodded once. "Understood."
The elevator dinged. They stepped out into the quiet, glass-walled top floor of the tower.
Gregory paused by his office door. "We'll let Amalia make noise. She'll go to the media, and drag her niece's name in if she has
to. Rossi's name will be pulled through the dirt."
Frederik didn't flinch. "And what if Maria retaliates?"
"She will," Gregory said. "But once the story is public, we're not playing chess anymore. We're playing poker. And all she has is a
lawyer's mouth."
Frederik watched as his grandfather entered his office.
Still, his thoughts stayed on the accident. He couldn't let it go. The way the reports had been sanitized. The camera footage just
happened to cut out. The driver had cancer and no next of kin. A man who should never have been behind a wheel that day.
It was too perfect.
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Chapter 206
Someone planned that hit.
And they weren't finished.
Obviously, Frederik didn't like that.
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"So... Frederik actually helped Amalia." Izzy pursed her lips as she leaned back against the bed. "That's unexpected." She
actually thought Calen would do it. But Frederik Vasili?
"The Vasili family closely worked with your grandfather in the past," Liam said. "But he isn't the one responsible for the accident,"
Izzy said.
"No, he isn't."
Izzy nodded. Until now, Liam had yet to find out who tried to kill her; however, he was certain that whoever targeted her would do
it again-and this time, he wasn't letting her out of his sight.
"What about the family of that driver?" she asked. She heard that the family of the driver of the truck that hit her car died. The
man already had stage 2 cancer and had no insurance. He was forced to work to support himself and his family. "Maria already
took care of things," Liam said. "We have been trying to track their finances, but we didn't see any movement in their funds at
all."
Again, Izzy nodded. Liam suspected that whoever hired that driver must have given his family a huge amount of money, but they
couldn't find any traces of this so-called money.
Liam glanced down at the tablet on the side table. A notification blinked at the corner of the screen. He picked it up, skimmed the
message, then turned to her. "Anna's awake," he said. "The doctors confirmed it an hour ago."
Izzy exhaled quietly. "That's good."
She leaned her head back against the pillow, eyes momentarily unfocused. The quiet buzz of machines in the background filled
the space between them.
Then she looked at him. "What if we never find out?"
Liam met her gaze. "We will."
"But what if we don't?" she asked again. "What if we never find out who tried to
kill me?" Is she going to hide forever, then?
Liam didn't speak immediately. He set the tablet aside, stood up, and walked to
the window. The trees outside moved gently in the wind, but the compound remained quiet. Controlled.
He turned back to her.
"We'll find them," he said. "And when we do, it ends. I'll make sure of it."
Then a knock interrupted their conversation. Mondo walked in with a grave expression on his face.
"Sir... we have a problem," he said.
Finally, when Hull came home, Susanna hurriedly ended the call.
He walked in with a cold, hard look on his face-the kind of look that told you whatever he'd been doing, it wasn't pretty.
Hull tossed something to Silas a gun. Even from across the room, Susanna could see the blood, fresh and bright, smeared on
the barrel.
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