Chapter 22
The commotion had drawn too much attention, and someone in the crowd had quietly called the police.
Fiona found herself at the police station, answering questions alongside the others. She had initially planned to press charges against Daisy, but with no surveillance cameras in that section of the street and no concrete evidence to present, the case seemed destined to go nowhere.
Quentin’s assault on Daisy, however, was a different matter – multiple witnesses. had seen him attack her. It should have been an open–and–shut case, but Daisy’s response left everyone stunned.
“He’s my lover,” Daisy insisted, her voice dripping with misplaced devotion. “We were just playing around. He only got physical because he loves me so much – it Was
a heat–of–the–moment thing. I don’t blame him at all.”
The police officers exchanged knowing glances with Fiona, all of them speechless. at this textbook example of domestic abuse rationalization.
While Quentin managed to dodge criminal charges, the police flagged him as a person of interest for future reference.
Fiona’s swimming plans thoroughly ruined, she was about to call a cab home when she spotted Evelyn rushing through the station doors, worry etched across her
face.
“Are you alright, sweetheart? Are you hurt?” Evelyn’s hands fluttered anxiously over her daughter.
“I’m fine, Mom. Let’s just go home.” Fiona managed a smile, linking her arm. through her mother’s.
–
Before leaving, Evelyn shot a piercing glare at Daisy and Quentin, her voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. “Let me make something crystal clear the Lockhart family isn’t what it used to be. I will not tolerate anyone hurting my daughter on my turf, and I certainly won’t let anyone take her away from me!” Her eyes flashed with maternal fury as she delivered her final warning. “If there’s at next time, I promise you’ll all pay dearly for it.”
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With that, she swept out of the station with Fiona in tow, her protective anger
radiating off her in waves.
Once
outside, Fiona melted into her mother’s embrace, her tough facade crumbling slightly. “Mom, you were so badass back there!”
Evelyn’s expression softened,, though her voice retained a hint of reproach. “And you, young lady – we have drivers for a reason. Why do you insist on going out alone? What if something terrible had happened to you? What would I do then?” “From now on, you either take a diver with you or one of our security team.. No
exceptions.”
“Okay, okay, I promise!“” Fama conceded, knowing when to pick her battles.. For weeks afterward, Evelyn remained on high alert, constantly worried that Quentin and Daisy might resurface to harm Fiona. Fortunately, both seemed to have vanished completely.
Fiona gradually pushed the incident to the back of her mind, especially after her contacts back home informed her about the chaos unfolding within the Sherwood family. Severall board members were quietly buying up shares, preparing to fonte Quentin out, while other powerful families circled like sharks, sensing wellness im the once–mighty Sherwood empire.
Quentin, they said, had most likely fled back to their home country, his taill
between his legs.
Fiona let out a heavy sigh. She never intended for things to spinall this far out of
controll.
But some things were like dominoes – once she’d tipped that first piece, there was no stopping the chain reaction that followed. The consequences had taken on a life of their own, sweeping far beyond her original intentions..
“Earth to Fiona? What’s on your mind?”
Her colleague’s voice snapped her out of her brooding thoughts.
“It’s mothing,” she deflected, switching to business mode. “How’s the project
coming along?”
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“Drowning in deadlines. Looks like we’re in for another round of late nights.” Fiona couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh. She could barely keep her head above water with her own workload – the last thing she needed was to get tangled up in someone else’s mess. The whole Sherwood family situation? That was
entirely Quentin’s doing. He’d made his bed, and now he had to lie in it. Some people had to learn the hard way that actions had consequences. Karmal might take its sweet time, but it always collected its dues.
Pushing those thoughts aside, Fiona threw herself back into her work. With impossible deadlines looming and mountains of tasks piling up, she might as well
have moved a bed into her office.
Her mother Evelyn watched her daughter’s grueling schedule with a heavy heart. Still, she refused to coddle Fiona into becoming some sheltered princess whol
couldn’t stand on her own two feet. Instead, she worked behind the scenes, quietly
leveraging her years of professional connections to smooth her daughter’s path
forward.
Fiona worked like a woman possessed, regularly pulling all–nighters. When she
was in the zone, everything else ceased to exist. Lost in spreadsheets and presentations, she’d look up to find herself alone in the building, the last soul left
in the office.
Tonight was no different. Glancing at her phone, she saw it was nearly 2 AM. Too late for a reliable cab service, she decided to walk part of the way home. The
streets were eerily empty, with malfunctioning streetlights flickering like nervous
sentinels in the darkness.
That’s when she noticed it – a tall shadow suddenly appearing beside her own. Every muscle in her body tensed, survival instincts kicking into high alert.
As she passed a small copse of trees, it happened in a flash – the figure lunged forward, wrapping strong arms around her in an iron grip.
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