Chapter 74

At the Stewart Group.

After receiving a call from Calvin, Davin went to Wyatt's office. "I've already contacted those banks as per your instructions. Unless you give the green light,the Morrison Group won't get a loan offer anywhere in Kretol."

He spent several minutes outlining the situation, but Wyatt just sat there in silence. Davin was just about to ask Wyatt when Wyatt broke his silence with a question. "What do you think women like for birthday presents?"

That caught Davin completely off guard.

Weren't they discussing the Morrison Group now? How did the topic suddenly shift to birthday gifts?

It wasn't until Davin glanced at Wyatt's computer screen that he noticed the date circled deliberately.

May 5th-Amelia's birthday.

The realization hit Davin square in the chest, and he awkwardly cleared his throat. "I'm probably not the right guy for that question." After all, he had been single for over twenty years.

Still, wanting to be helpful, he suggested,"If you want real advice, Dr. Chapman's your guy. He has dated many women before. Ask him how to win over a woman-he'll know."

Wyatt shot Davin a look of pure annoyance. "What use are you to me?" he muttered. But as soon as Davin left his office,he wasted no time calling Marc.

Marc,having just finished a tough surgery, still wearing his white coat, blinked in disbelief when he heard Wyatt's words on the phone.

Wyatt,of all people,was calling to talk about birthday gifts for women? This was so unexpected.

But remembering Wyatt's care for Amelia, Marc understood everything. While changing clothes, he said in a teasing tone, "Well, you couldn't have come to a better expert. Let me-"

Wyatt cut him off without missing a beat, saying,"If you keep rambling about useless things, don't expect a single penny of investment from me in the future.Just answer my question."

Marc,ready to boast, was cut short by Wyatt's words and quickly retorted, "You're no fun, always waving threats in my face-" Any further complaints died as the call ended with a click-Wyatt had already hung up.

Worried that Wyatt might actually stop his funding,Marc wasted no time. He quickly dialed Wyatt back,blurting out his advice the moment the line connected,"Jewelry, exclusive handbags,flowers-women always like those things."

Wyatt ended the call as soon as Marc finished speaking, the busy tone humming in Marc's ear. Marc sighed in resignation.

After a long day of chasing down leads, Santos finally pieced together a few promising clues.

His mind kept circling back to the name "Stewart" he had heard, a realization dawning with increasing gravity.

In all of Kretol, only a single family wielded the kind of influence attached to the Stewart name.

Laura couldn't fall asleep at all, and the moment she heard Santos' key in the lock, she pushed herself upright and got out of bed, hope flickering in her eyes.

She was about to ask Santos what he had discovered when he said in a serious tone, "Has Jaxton done anything lately to cross Wyatt?"

Santos had already investigated. The Eastside Project was personally proposed by Wyatt.

It was Jaxton who'd landed that contract,which now seemed less like a win and more like a trap set by Wyatt.

Knowing it might be a trap didn't make it any easier Challenging Wyatt head-on was unthinkable for the Morrisons. For now, Santos could only try to figure out Wyatt's motive for doing this.

Laura, even with her usual objections to Santos' stern approach with Jaxton, knew that this matter was serious. She racked her brain, replaying recent events,but nothing stood out-she couldn't remember Jaxton crossing Wyatt.

Just then, a sudden realization hit her-Amelia's name flashed through her mind.

She briefly recounted Amelia's recent changes to Santos and said coldly, "Do you think this might be Amelia's doing?"

"Not a chance. Amelia would never do something like this!" Santos' answer came without hesitation, his tone firm.

Hearing how firmly Santos defended Amelia, Laura couldn't help but let sarcasm slip into her words. "You trust her so much. I wonder if it's because you like Katrina or-"

A flash of frustration crossed Santos' face. "Laura,enough. Don't forget, if Katrina hadn't stepped in to help you back then, you wouldn't have what you have today."

His words brought a strange flicker of emotion to Laura's eyes, silencing her for the moment.

Santos continued, "Wyatt proposed this project himself. Do you really think a secretary like Amelia could pull strings at that level? Besides, i was Dayna who had stolen the files and handed them over to our son."

Laura dropped the subject of Amelia, turning her simmering frustration toward Dayna instead.

Once she'd gotten it out of her system,she brushed off Santos' objections and dialed Ricky's number.

Ricky had always assumed Amelia kept him from bidding just to let the Morrisons snag the deal. Only after Laura's urgent call did it finally dawn on him that there was something wrong with the project.

Laura's frantic tone actually brought him some relief -he was grateful now that he hadn't participated in the bidding at all. Still,he refused to lend money to Laura. He soon hung up the call. Janessa, awakened by the noise, had listened in with growing satisfaction as the Morrison family's misfortune became clear to her.

Yet, her thoughts lingered on Dayna,who remained locked up at the police station. She curled into Ricky's arms, her voice gentle and coaxing. "Don't get upset,dear. If Dayna had handed those files to us instead,wouldn't we be the ones in trouble now? Once she's out, I'll make sure she learns her lesson.You've always been good to her-please, help get her released."

Nearly fifty, Janessa looked a decade younger, her careful self-care lending her an almost ageless allure.

With practiced charm, she drew Ricky close,and after their intimate moment, his mood improved. Soon enough, he promised to do whatever he could to get Dayna released.

The only way to get Dayna out was for Amelia to withdraw the charges, so Ricky called her early the next morning.

Amelia was on her way to the office when her phone lit up with Ricky's name. She considered hanging up,but as soon as he brought up Laura's plea for a loan,her curiosity made her hesitate.

After learning that Jaxton had signed the contract, she'd already suspected the Morrison Group was headed for disaster. She just hadn't expected their trouble to come so quickly.

Worried Ricky might end up dragged into the mess,Amelia warned, "Let me put it plainly-if you lend them anything now, you won't get it back."

For once, Ricky didn't argue, which felt odd to Amelia.

But Ricky's real motive came out soon: he wanted her to withdraw the case against Dayna. Amelia's answer was swift and sharp. "Absolutely not! Dayna knew exactly what she was doing. Theft is a crime. She's not a child anymore, and she needs to face the consequences of her actions-just like you always told me."

Years ago, when Dayna had schemed against her and made her shatter Ricky's prized bottle of wine, the punishment had been swift: an entire night kneeling.Ricky had told her to face the consequences of her actions.

A pause hung between them, then Ricky tried again,his voice softer. "She's still your sister, Amelia. You used to care-"

"I was blind before!" Amelia retorted,cutting Ricky off without a second thought.

She stopped at a red light, her thoughts drifting to old memories she couldn't quite shake.