“Right after I take everything as mine, which is my birthright.” The backstabber’s face turned cold, hatred laced in his voice. “The right my brother took away from me because he thought I wasn’t good enough to be able to run the company beside him, because he thought I’d tarnish the Valencian name due to my reckless, illegal businesses.” Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and looked at Ivanov again. “But I’ll get my right back now. And as promised, you’ll get 45% of the shares of the company.”

That’s what he promised him?

Ivanov flashed a slimy smile. “Now that’s what I wanted to hear. I can’t wait to watch the news of the famous business tycoon’s sudden death all over the news channels.”

I gritted my teeth.

This dream of yours will never come true, you bastard!

I have to tell Ace. I have to stop him before he leaves the hotel.

Wiping the tear that rolled down my cheek, I turned around and ran.

But as if the whole universe was against me, my feet came in contact with a small flower base that was lying on the floor in the darkness, making an unfortunate noise throughout the empty hallway.

Their conversation stopped immediately. As did my heart.

SEVENTY-ONE: CURIOSITY KILLED THE CAT

An eerie silence fell over the ambience for a moment while I stood there frozen. Only the sound of my own heavy breathing reached my ears.

Then I heard footsteps approaching from the other side of the door.

Oh, no! They’re coming!

I need to hide! I wouldn’t be able to run from them. They’d catch me if I ran.

Looking around frantically, I searched for a place to hide.

Rushing to the one of the doors, I tried to open it without making a noise. But to my utter bad luck, it was locked. I tried another, but to no avail. They were locked.

No, no, no! I can’t get caught! I can’t! I need to inform Ace about his plan.

My heart pounded under my rib cage as I went to the opposite side of the hallway and pushed on a door. And this time, it opened.

Almost letting out a sob of relief, I rushed in and quickly closed the door behind me, as silently as I could. The sound of doors being slammed open and their shoes hitting the floor harshly made me flinch.

They didn’t utter a word, but I could tell they were surveying the area.

Then I heard a voice, a cold thick Russian accent. “Search around.”

I gulped. Sweat rolled down my spine. With trembling knees and hands, I stood against the door with my back pressed against it.