Inside the van, the bodyguard handed the business card to Khloe.
“Miss Morrison,” he said respectfully, “this is from the CEO of the Fox Group.”
There was no shortage of companies eager to partner with the Morrison Group-industry giants lined up waiting. A company of that size could never make the list.
Khloe didn’t even look at the card. Her expression didn’t shift. “Blacklist the company,” she said coolly to her assistant. “No cooperation-ever.”
“Yes, Miss,” came the immediate reply.
That night, Khloe received messages from Trey again.
He’d called-she hadn’t answered. So he texted, asking when she’d be home.
Khloe read them and said nothing.
Days passed like that.
Eventually, even Trey began to lose his composure. He didn’t want to be the one to bow his head first, but the truth was plain-without Khloe, the company was struggling.
When he returned home that evening, Angela noticed the tension in his face immediately.
“What’s wrong?” she asked softly. “Is the company still having problems?”
Her voice was gentle. She reached out, trying to ease him, but this time he brushed past her without a word and went straight to Khloe’s room.
He pushed open the door.
The room was empty.
Not just unoccupied-stripped bare. The bed, the wardrobe, the vanity-everything was spotless, hollow, untouched.
It was as if no one had ever lived there.
“How… how is this possible?”
He stood frozen, the air sucked from his lungs. He had thought Khloe was only angry, that she’d gone to stay elsewhere for a few days. But she hadn’t just left-she’d erased herself completely.
Angela, following him into the room, looked startled too.
She’d spent her days taking their son out or working from home. The villa was large enough that she rarely crossed paths with Khloe. She’d assumed Khloe was working late at the company, which suited her perfectly.
A person like that was useful. A shadow. Someone who didn’t intrude on their lives.
It had never occurred to her that Khloe was gone for good.
“When… when did she move out?” Angela murmured.
Just then, little Pete darted in, clapping his hands. “Yay! The bad woman’s gone! Finally!”
“Shut up!”
Something in Trey snapped. A rush of blood, sudden and hot, flooded his head. His voice roared out before he could stop it-and his hand followed.
The slap cracked through the room.
“Ah-!”
Pete’s cry split the air. He stumbled back, landing hard on the floor, tears already spilling as a bright red mark spread across his cheek.
Angela’s eyes widened in shock. “Trey! What are you doing? How could you hit Pete?”
She dropped to her knees, gathering Pete up in her arms. His face was swelling fast.
Angela’s heart ached, and anger rose sharp in her chest.
Her eyes reddened, and before she could stop herself, tears spilled over. She shot Trey a fierce look, gathered Pete in her arms, and turned away without a word.
“Angela-” he called after her desperately.
But after taking only a few steps, he stopped. He couldn’t bring himself to follow.
The frustration in him coiled into something darker. He turned instead toward the house staff, his voice suddenly cold.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.