Chapter 26 What’s Your Real Game?
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If Iris hadn’t come by to drop off the bag Natalie left at the office, none of this would’ve come to light. Jonathan would’ve never known that Christopher had wrongfully accused Natalie.
Natalie had gotten caught in the rain and drank a little too much. Now she was fighting off a cold.
She sneezed several times in a row, making Yvonne worry herself sick.
“This is all your fault, Chris, and Dad’s tool” Yvonne huffed, cradling a mug of warm water in her hands. “If you two had believed in Mom, she wouldn’t have gotten sick in the first place!” She stomped over to Christopher, her cheeks puffed in frustration. “A simple sorry isn’t enough. Chris, you need to write her a full–on apology essay!”
Christopher’s expression cooled the moment he heard his sister take sides.
Write an apology letter to that witch? Not a chance. Honestly, she should be grateful I didn’t write few dozen pages of lawsuits against her.
Natalie remembered Iris’s advice and quickly stepped in to ease the tension. She pulled out a worksheet.
No need for that letter,” she said calmly. Just finish this essay.”
Jonathan and Yvonne both looked down at the title printed at the top of the page: “My Mother.”
Milo saw that too. He let out a snort and said, “Keep dreaming. If he manages to finish that essay, I’ll do a handstand and poop in upside–down posture.”
But right after he spoke, Christopher narrowed his eyes cunningly. His young voice came steady and sharp. “Okay. I’ll write
“What?”
Milo thought he must’ve misheard. “Boss, it’s an essay about
He repeated himself, just to be sure.
your mom not some witch.”
Christopher stood with his hands in his pockets and gave a calm nod. “I know.”
“You’re really doing this?” Milo was not giving up.
“Yeah. I am.”
Milo was wordless. He could sense several intense stares boring into his back. The pressure was enough to make him shiver.
Natalie gave his shoulder a pat and said with a smile. “I’m looking forward to your performance.
Milo turned beet red. “If I actually do it… would you really watch?*
Natalie raised a brow and challenged, “If you’ve got the nerve to do it, I’ve got the guts to watch. Want to start now?”
Milo choked on his words, his face practically glowing red.
This witch!
That night, Milo was pacing the room like a man about to face a firing squad.
“Boss! Why on earth did you agree to write that essay for that witch?!”
He looked as if he wanted to slap himself
“should’ve just kept my big mouth shut about the handstand poop thing!”
Christopher was sprawled out on the couch, hands in his pockets, completely relaxed.
He didn’t know what Natalie was planning, but he wasn’t going to let her get away with anything.
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Chapter 26 What’s Your Real Game?
“Relax,” he said casually. T’m not letting you make a fool of yourself for nothing.”
“Geez. Thanks?”
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“Anyway, what’s the update with Jacques?” Christopher asked, suddenly shifting gears as he turned his attention toward Milo.
“Oh–Jacques is about to sell Solaria Group for five billion dollars. He’s planning to dump all of it into Cosmos Tech
Christopher grabbed his laptop. His fingers moved quickly over the keyboard.
In no time, he had the stock pulled up on the screen.
Milo peeked over and said, “Yeah, that one’s been on fire lately. A number of people made enough to buy houses and sports cars. It’s one of the Oracle of Stocks’s top picks–guess it really is something special.”
Christopher sat cross–legged, the laptop resting on his knees. His eyes narrowed slightly at the numbers on the screen.
“You bought some too?”
“Sure did. I dumped everything I had into it,” Milo said, his voice buzzing with excitement.
He had already picked out the mansion and the car he wanted.
Christopher reminded him. “Then you’d better cash out now while you’re still ahead.”
Milo didn’t catch on to the hint. “Huh?”
The boy reached over and gave him a light tap on the head. “Remember this: when everyone already knows a stock is making money, that means you are the one being taken for a ride. Cosmos Tech? Probably a setup.”.
Turns out, the company behind Cosmos Tech was an empty shell–just a name, registered overseas.
It was a trap.
And Milo knew better than to question the boss.
Christopher might be 18 years younger, but he was smarter than anyone Milo knew, and he was aware of what the boy was capable of.
As Milo scrambled to pull his money out of the market, Christopher turned his eyes to the full moon outside the window,
“Oracle, what’s your real game?”
In the master bedroom.
Jonathan sat in an armchair, his book open but untouched
His eyes drifted again and again to the bathroom door, the light inside still glowing. He glanced at the clock on the nightstand.
Forty minutes. Natalie had been in the shower for 40 minutes–and there hadn’t been a single sound.
A cold knot twisted in his stomach. He wondered whether something had happened to her.
Putting the book away, he walked up to the bathroom door and knocked.
No response.
His expression hardened. He turned the knob and stepped inside.
Jonathan’s breath caught in his chest as his worried gaze shot toward the bathtub. He had dialed 911.
The sound of running water echoed through the bathroom. Hot water was spilling over the edge of the tub, streaming across
Chapter 26 What’s Your Real Game?
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the floor.
And there–Natalie’s pale arm hung limply over the edge of the bathtub. She looked unconscious.
“Natalie!”
Jonathan rushed forward, instinctively grabbing her wrist.
It was delicate- fragile in his grip. A faint scar–an old one–ran across it.
Before he could lift her out of the tub, a pair of arms suddenly wrapped around his neck.
A soft, gentle touch brushed against the corner of his lips.
Her kiss was enticing–light and playful. Her delicate tongue slipped past his teeth, slow and deliberate–drawing him in. tormenting him in a charming way.
