A moment later, she slipped from the room, leaving Linsey and Felix in uneasy silence.

Without wasting words, Linsey confronted him, saying, I could hear Joanna s voice through the door.

Felix feigned confusion, eyebrows lifting. Voice? What are you talking about?

There were moans, Linsey said, her voice low and strained. She

Felix interjected with a half-laugh, shaking his head. You re imagining things. Joanna wouldn t be making noises like that in our room.

Uncertainty flickered across Linsey s face. But

Felix cut her off, his voice turning unyielding. You must ve heard rumors by now. Haven t I told you time and again not to jump to conclusions? Joanna s nothing more than a friend. She was just helping me with my wound. That s all. A touch of exasperation colored his words as he finished.

Noticing the irritation in his voice, Linsey let the matter drop and tried a different question. So why didn t you answer when I called you earlier?

Confusion briefly clouded Felix s features. You called? Maybe my phone was on silent. I didn t notice it at all.

Almost on cue, the phone on the nightstand began to ring and ring.

A frown creased Linsey s brow as she glanced toward the sound.

Felix seethed silently at the untimely ringing of his phone and hurried to add, I need to answer this call right now.

Before Linsey could get another word out, he leaned forward and swiftly extended his arm past her to snatch the phone resting on the bedside table. The display showed his secretary s name, so Felix wasted no time answering.

What is it?

Moments later, his entire expression darkened. Come again? What did you just say?

Updates loaded at g@lno es?com

Linsey s concern grew as she watched him field the call.

No sooner had he hung up than she leaned in, worry in her eyes. Is something wrong at the company?

Tension weighed heavily in Felix s reply. The land in the northern suburb someone just snatched it away from us.

The shock on Linsey s face was impossible to miss.

That particular property had been locked down ages ago. She couldn t imagine how they could lose it now.

As anxiety churned inside her, Collin s mocking voice seemed to echo in her head. You ll come back to me, begging.

Dread crept in. Was Collin behind this sudden disaster?

Before she could work through the possibility, her phone started ringing. An unfamiliar number flashed on Linsey s screen.

A strange intuition tugged at her, and one name rose instantly to mind. That suspicion was confirmed as soon as she picked up. Collin s voice, light and mocking, came through the line.

Did your hopeless boyfriend mention the land yet?

Linsey s anger surged. So you re the one who did this?

A lazy chuckle drifted across the connection, Collin admitting without a hint of shame, That s right. It was all me.

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