Chapter 250
Daisy slipped out of the wedding dress, her thoughts already leaping toward her next play.
The opening move had worked flawlessly. She hadn’t just spread headlines about herself and Adrian for Sophie to stumble across—she had even lured Sophie into witnessing it in person.
What Daisy hadn’t expected was Adrian storming off so abruptly, without so much as a pause.
The risk now was that Adrian and Sophie might actually compare notes and piece the truth together.
In annoyance, Daisy slammed her heel against the floor. At least Sophie’s heart had been nudged with suspicion. That was enough for now.
Her priority shifted to securing her backup plan—Luke couldn’t be allowed to slip away. Sooner or later, Adrian’s curiosity would undo him, and he would come looking for the answers she dangled.
Right then, Daisy’s phone lit up with an incoming call. It was her father, Stan Ross.
Daisy answered, switching to her sweetest tone. “Hi, Dad. What’s going on?”
There was a short pause before he spoke. “Are you feeling all right?”
Puzzled, Daisy furrowed her brows. “I’m fine. Why do you ask?”
“Then explain why Luke was dragged off because of you.”
A cold prickle crawled through Daisy’s stomach, twisting tighter with each word. “I never took him anywhere.”
Stan’s voice shifted, growing sharper, as if the pieces were clicking together in his head. “Not long ago, a group of men in black suits showed up at Luke’s. They claimed you weren’t well and said he knew your medical records better than anyone, so they were taking him immediately.”
Eyes unfocused, Daisy muttered, “I… I didn’t know anything about this.”
For a beat, the call went silent before Stan’s irritated voice cut in. “That sly bastard Mike Knight. He must’ve figured out Luke’s part in everything. Don’t worry, kid. This mess isn’t yours to carry. I’ll get to the bottom of it.”
The phone felt heavy in her hand as Daisy stood frozen, her thoughts refusing to line up.
Everything was falling apart. Her last bargaining chip had just vanished.
Who on earth had taken Luke?
Was Adrian the one behind it? That would explain why he had brushed aside her threats so confidently and walked away without hesitation.
However, Adrian had been cast out of the Knight family, stripped down to nothing more than a faceless employee. How could he possibly orchestrate something on that scale?
Daisy ran the possibilities through her mind. All afternoon, Adrian had been glued to her side, every step within her sight. He hadn’t even slipped away to take a phone call. There was no chance he could have orchestrated this.
Maybe someone had overheard their conversation at the café. Could the information have gone straight back to Mike?
That explanation fit too neatly to ignore. Only Mike had the reach and muscle to send a crew to Prasti and snatch Luke in such a short time.
Still, losing Luke wasn’t the end of the world. She had already squeezed every bit of dirt about the old scandal out of him. That secret was enough to keep Adrian under her thumb. At least her father remained clueless that she had been the one to leak it.
Adrian pushed the car to its limits on the way home.
From the passenger seat, Neil said, “Mr. Knight, the paparazzi caught photos of you with Miss Ross. The internet’s running wild with gossip about it.”
“Get rid of them. Now.”
“I already did. The second they surfaced, our team scrubbed them.” Neil paused before adding, “Can’t confirm if Mrs. Knight caught wind of them first, though.”
Adrian’s jaw tightened. “She saw everything.”
That was why she had shown up right outside the bridal boutique. Clearly, Daisy’s so-called bargain had been nothing more than a setup.
He should have seen this coming.
At least he hadn’t actually crossed the line with her. There was still a chance to make things right.
The car roared beneath Adrian’s grip as he sped toward their house.
Upon shoving the door open, he found nothing but silence waiting for him. Sophie was nowhere in sight.
Adrian’s heart lurched as he pulled out his phone, spotting one unread message from Sophie.
“You can just send the divorce papers to Sarah’s. I’ll cooperate and sign them. Don’t waste your concern on me.”
Adrian immediately called back, yet every attempt went straight to voicemail. Another try with a text message failed as well. The screen blinked the cruel truth—she had already blocked him.
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.
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