Titan 150

Chapter 150

After the others left. Yolanda stayed behind the screen.

Ian came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his chin on her shoulder. “Did you really give him that bottle?”

“Yeah, but Charles said it on purpose,” she replied.

“Not sure your husband’s playing this right. Sure, he’s trying to push Edward into a move, but he basically just made you the biggest target in the room,” tan commented.

Yolanda raised an eyebrow and playfully patted his check. “Not bad, you’re pretty sharp.”

“Ms. Grant, you know you wouldn’t keep a clueless fool at your side–you’d be bored to death in no time,” lan teased.

Honestly, she felt the same way about some of the talent at Starlight; a handful of them she just couldn’t stand.

She’d realized long ago that Charles never really factored her into his plans. All he cared about was getting rid of those two uncles, not sparing a single thought for his own wife.

Good thing she’d figured it out early–her heart was steady and unmoved.

She slipped out of Ian’s arms, stepped from behind the screen, and headed toward the car waiting outside.

When they reached Ian’s villa, she pulled out her tablet and continued negotiating the contract revisions with Jason.

Ian had things to take care of, too–between reshooting scenes and memorizing lines for the days ahead.

Worried he might disturb Yolanda by staying downstairs, he quickly pressed a kiss to her cheek.

“I’m going upstairs to run through my lines,” Ian said.

Yolanda stayed glued to her tablet–work was all that mattered to her right now.

“Mm,” she murmured, not even glancing up.

Ian didn’t dare interrupt her. He quietly made his way upstairs to start rehearsing his lines.

Yolanda added a few more clauses to the new contract draft, then turned to Jason.

[Are these clauses legally valid?] she asked.

[Yeah,] he responded.

Once she got his answer, she immediately reached out to Mary, fingers racing across the keyboard as she lost herself in her work.

Just then, her phone buzzed–it was Blake calling.

“Renee’s completely losing it–she’s practically nuts. She trusts me, so Charles hasn’t dared lay a finger on me. Miss Grant, how far do you want me to go?” Blake asked.

Yolanda answered the call, stepped aside, and stared out at the last rays of sunset. Her thoughts flashed back to that child who had breathed their last in her arms. ‘Some scars never fade, she thought.

‘If Renee can toss away lives like they’re nothing, what gives her the right to hold onto hope?‘ Yolanda sneered inwardly.

“I want you gone. Vanish from Beloris–tonight. Go abroad and don’t ever come back. I’ll send the rest of your payment right now. Tell your brother to hang in there,” Yolanda said.

Blake’s throat tightened. He took a deep breath and forced a smile.

“Miss Grant, you really are more compassionate than I thought. Got it, thank you,” he said.

Leaving now would crush Renee–she’d lose her mind.

But she deserved it.

Back at the Sinclair estate, Blake gently squeezed Renee’s hand, eyes full of raw emotion. “I need to step out and pick something up for you. Just wait for me, alright? Three hours, tops.”

Renee couldn’t cope without Blake by her side, so Charles made sure he was brought over–whether Blake wanted it or not, nobody bothered to ask.

Panic flickered in Renee’s gaze. Whenever she shut her eyes, all she saw were the eyes of that man—the one who attacked her–like some blood–hungry beast. The only way she could sleep was by clinging to Blake’s hand.

“Blake, please don’t leave me,” Renee whispered, her voice trembling.

“Renee, I love you. I swear I won’t leave you. There’s something special I want to get for you, but I have to do it myself. I can’t trust anyone else with this,” Blake replied softly.

Renee let out a shaky breath, her eyes growing red as she clung tightly to his waist. “I know, I know you’re the one who loves me most.”

Blake raised his hand and gently patted her head. “Yeah, Renee, I love you more than anyone.”

On his way downstairs, he bumped into Renee’s mother, May.

May wore a mocking look as she took a sip of coffee from the table. “Renee liking you is your lucky break, but there’s no way she’ll marry you. That baby has to go, so you’d better talk her into it yourself. Otherwise, the Sinclair family won’t go easy on you.”

Blake kept his head down, looking like he was resigned to it.

“Mrs. Sinclair, I get it. I wouldn’t dream of having Renee–I’m just here to look after her, help her get back on

9:24 Thu, Oct 2

her feet,” Blake replied, keeping his tone humble and cautious.

May gave a mocking laugh, not even bothering to call him out on his act.

The moment Blake stepped outside, every trace of respect vanished from his face. Without hesitation, he booked the earliest flight–set to leave in three and a half hours—and headed straight for the airport.

Charles had eyes on Blake’s every move, but he was so convinced Blake was gunning for a spot in the Sinclair family–no way he’d bail before cashing in–that he let his guard down and forgot all about Blake’s flight info. His blind confidence became his undoing.

As Blake went through customs, his heart raced. He was terrified that Charles‘ people would stop him, and if that happened, everything would fall apart.

But Yolanda had warned him: Charles was cocky in some ways.

Charles would never see it coming–Blake skipping town right before the prize was his for the taking.

Renee sat cooped up in her room, counting the minutes–three and a half hours went by and Blake still didn’t show.

Suddenly, she lost it–shoving, smashing anything she could get her hands on.

Renee cried out, her voice wild with desperation. “I want Blake! Where did you hide him? Please–I’m begging you, just give him back to me!”

She was already hurt, and with all this frantic thrashing, it was only a matter of time before her wounds split open again.

May freaked out and immediately ordered people to search for Blake, fuming as she ranted, “He’s basically Renee’s servant now, and he thinks he can just walk off the job? Who does he think he is? Just wait till we drag him back–I’ll make sure he knows his place!”

Renee sat curled up on the floor, clutching her head, refusing to go back to bed. She looked completely lost, her mind in shambles.

“Don’t kill me, please–Don’t kill me!” Renee sobbed out, her voice hoarse with panic.

She’d always thought other people’s lives didn’t matter, never imagined one day she’d be the one begging for hers.

Renee pulled at her own hair and grabbed May’s arm. “Mom, do you know what happened? Somebody tried to kill me he had a knife, he just kept stabbing me!”

–

Panic filled Renee’s face as she desperately tried to scoot away, as if she could escape whatever was haunting

her.

May, who had always doted on her, felt tears prick her eyes. She pulled Renee into her arms. “Renee, Blake will be back soon. Don’t be scared, sweetheart.”

A glimmer of hope flashed in Renee’s eyes. “Yeah, where is Blake? He protected me–right now, I need Blake,”

9:25 Thu, Oct 2

she said, her voice trembling.

But the people May sent out soon came back saying they couldn’t reach Blake by phone–nobody had idea where he’d vanished to.

any

May was about to lose it. She snatched up her phone and dialed Charles without a second thought.

Charles was knee–deep in cleaning up the mess the Andrade family had dumped in his lap. Vivian had brokered the last shipping route, but now that she was in a coma, Jonathan Andrade had jumped in himself. The partners were blowing up his phone, pressing for the whole story between him and the Andrade family.

Charles had a scheme to gradually phase out the Andrade family’s influence on this shipping route, but it was going to be a hassle for a while–he’d have to start rebuilding connections with Drakeland from scratch.

“Charles, Blake disappeared four hours ago. It’s already ten o’clock, and he still hasn’t come back. Renee’s been crying nonstop, and I can’t get her to calm down. Could you maybe have someone look for him?” May asked, her voice tight with worry.

Charles wasn’t about to take his frustration out on his family, so he immediately told Jack to track Blake down. But ten minutes later, Jack walked into the study, his face grim.

“CEO, Blake booked a flight four hours ago. He’s already on the plane,” Jack said, his voice low and serious.

Charles let out a cold laugh. “Come again?”

He gave

off an aura that made the room feel like an icebox.

Jack lowered his head, struggling to get the words out. “Blake skipped town.”

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