"Now that we know it was Clark behind it, could you please hold a press conference to clear my mother's name?"

For a few seconds, Thalassa doubted she'd actually heard him say those words, but her disbelief quickly morphed into bitterness.

"You want me to hold a press conference and clear your mother's name?" she repeated, her tone laced with incredulity, waiting to see if he'd dare confirm it.

When he nodded, her jaw clenched tightly. "What makes you think I would ever do something like that?"

His brows furrowed as if he couldn't believe she was asking that question.

"Because that's the truth," he replied earnestly. "Thalassa since the awards show, my mother has been facing endless hate online and in public. She's lost millions of clients, and nearly all her investors have pulled out. Her business is on the verge of bankruptcy. My mother worked so hard to build her empire, and losing it will destroy her. If you tell everyone the truth that she wasn't behind the sabotage, it might save her company."

As the bitterness mixed with her disbelief, Thalassa didn't know whether to laugh or slap him.

She took a step closer, her voice hardening. "How touching Kris. But where was this wonderful sense of justice when your mother had me arrested for stealing and I was humiliated on TV for the whole world to see? Where were you when I couldn't even find a hotel that would take me in because no one wanted to be associated with a criminal like me. And now you think she deserves to have her name cleared?"

Kris's chest tightened with guilt as she recounted the pain she'd been put through, but he still felt she wasn't being entirely fair.

"Thalassa, my mother made a mistake having you arrested, but we all believed the evidence that was brought to us anonymously, especially when I had it verified and it all came pointing to you. This situation is different. We have clear evidence that it was Clark and not my mum. It's only fair that you let the truth be known. It's the right thing to do."

Thalassa tilted her head slightly. "Why doesn't she hold that press conference herself and declare her innocence?"

Kris sighed. "You know no one will believe her."

"Oh, just like no one believed me no matter how many times I pleaded my innocence?" she shot back, her smile dripping with mockery. "And what did you say, Kris? That it's 'the right thing to do'?"

The mocking smile vanished, replaced by a look of coldness that could freeze hell. "What has doing the right thing ever gotten me? Betrayal? Pain? Suffering? Tell me, Kris-why would I want to go through that again? I'm done doing things the right way. So, as much as I admire how much you love your mother, I'm afraid you'll have to tell her that her only option is to declare bankruptcy."

She turned to walk away, then stopped, glancing back at him. "Oh, and I want you out of my house before I get back tonight."

Luisa emerged from the kitchen then, her eyes widening in confusion. "Thalassa..."

"No, Luisa," Thalassa interrupted, her tone firm. "I want this man out of this house. If you insist on him staying even another day, I'll be the one moving out."

With that, she stormed off. Kris and Luisa stood in awkward silence for several seconds until Luisa finally gave him an apologetic look, filled with pity. "I'm sorry, Kris, but you have to leave."noveldrama

2

Despite the ache in his heart, Kris managed a small smile. understand."

"Congratulations! You managed to get yourself kicked out to less than a week," Alden chuckled later that day when he came to visit Kris at his penthouse.

"Honestly, I'm surprised Thalassa tolerated you for that long," he added with a smirk, still laughing.

"Yeah, because I'm sure your talk with Luisa went great when you went to see her this afternoon," Kris retorted dryly as he took a sip of whiskey.

Alden's smile instantly disappeared, replaced by a frown. "Low blow, man."

He slumped onto the couch beside Kris with a sigh. "She didn't even want to see me. I'm sure she was in her office, but she told her secretary to say she wasn't. I don't know why she's stretching this out so much."

Without asking, Alden grabbed the whiskey bottle and took a long drink straight from it. The two men sat in silence for several moments, nursing their drinks.

"What do you even do?" Kris broke the silence with a bitter chuckle. "What do you do when the woman you love with all your heart and the woman who gave you life and raised you with all the love in the world, hate each other?

"Don't ask me, man. I'd hate to be in your shoes," Alden replied, taking another swig of his drink.

Kris held out his glass, and Alden refilled it for him. "What's worse is, I think she hates me too. She hates me because I wasn't there for her when she lost our child. And she still thinks I'm not doing enough to punish the person responsible, but I am. I am, Alden." His voice cracked with emotion. "It was my baby too. How can she say I'm not doing anything? I had Karen arrested, didn't I? She had her released. She keeps on insisting that...that..."

"That it was your mother," Alden finished for him.

Kris's nostrils flared as he nodded bitterly. "Isn't it crazy? How could she think my mother would do such a thing? She would never harm her own grandchild. She... she wouldn't..." He trailed off, downing the rest of his drink. Setting the glass down, his hand shook as he picked up his phone.

"Who are you calling?" Alden asked curiously.

"Smoke," Kris replied, but before he could dial the investigator's number, his phone rang. It was Smoke calling. Kris quickly answered. "Smoke?"

"Mr. Miller, I have some news regarding the night your ex-wife lost the baby. It's both good and bad news."

Kris's back straightened. "Tell me."

"The good news is I think I know the identity of the man who attacked your ex-wife that night. The bad news is, he's dead. Seems he died in a gang fight a few months ago."

Kris's jaw tightened as he ground out, "Where the hell is the good news, Smoke? What am I supposed to do with that information?"

He had expected Smoke to tell him that he finally had proof that Karen was responsible.

"Please hear me out, Mr. Miller," Smoke replied patiently. It's good news because even though the man is dead, now that I know who he was, I can dig into his connections and find any link to Karen. The problem is, he was

hired by a lot of people for various crimes, so it won't be easy. But with some patience..."

"Patience is the last thing I fucking have, Smoke," Kris snarled, "I need you to find the person who hired him to attack Thalassa, Go through his entire history if you have to"

There was a brief pause before Smoke spoke, "Forgive me, Mr. Miller, but you're sounding less specific than before. Last time, you wanted me to find proof that Karen hired this man. Now, you want me to find the person behind the attack. Has something changed? Do you have a few suspect in mind?"

Kris swallowed hard. "Yes... My mother."