Chapter 179
Marina didn’t say a word, and she didn’t look like she was going to explain herself at all. That just made Daron’s expression grow even darker.
Eddy saw this and spoke up for Marina in a low voice. “Mr. Zamora, please don’t scold Ms. Finley. She didn’t want to get tangled up with that jerk either.”
Daron kept a cold face as he watched Marina get into the car, keeping her head down, not saying a word. There was a hint of anger in his eyes.
“I bet she wanted it plenty,” Daron sneered.
Once Marina got in the car, she instinctively took the left seat. Seeing Daron looking annoyed, her eyes flashed with guilt as she quietly said, “I didn’t.”
She no longer had any coherent thoughts about Lavern Ross.
Daron climbed in, casting a shadow that swallowed Marina whole.
His expression didn’t soften one bit.
Once he was in, Eddy closed the door for them.
Marina just accepted her fate, mentally bracing herself for whatever sharp words Daron was about to throw her way.
But Daron didn’t even bother to look at her. He just gave her a dismissive glance, let out a cold snort, with a mocking glint in his eyes.
His gaze was full of contempt, and the silence spoke volumes.
Marina parted her lips, about to explain herself, when his phone suddenly rang.
He pulled out his phone, glanced at the caller ID, swiped to answer, and held it to his ear with those long, elegant fingers.
“Joyce, what’s up?” he said.
Marina caught the restraint in his voice and paused, her mind clearing for a moment. But in the end, she swallowed her explanation, turned to stare out the window, a trace of melancholy flickering in her eyes.
The car was quiet.
Even though Daron hadn’t put the call on speaker, Marina could still make out the sweet, girlish voice coming from his phone.
“Daron, I stopped by your office today and found out you were away on a business trip. My birthday’s the day after tomorrow, can you make it back?” Joyce asked, her voice sweet and a little playful.
Chapter 179
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Daron’s voice was flat. “We’ll see.”
Joyce was clearly disappointed. “You’ve never missed my birthday all these years. If you can, please try to
come back.”
Daron just gave a noncommittal hum in response.
Marina felt her chest tighten, a jumble of emotions swirling inside her for reasons she couldn’t quite name.
But she quickly shoved those feelings aside.
It was obvious Joyce wanted to keep chatting with Daron.
But with Marina sitting right there, Daron kept it short and ended the call after a quick exchange.
As he put his phone away, Marina glanced up awkwardly, only to see Eddy in the rearview mirror, shooting her meaningful looks, clearly telling her to speak up.
Marina opened her mouth, then closed it again. For some reason, any urge to explain just disappeared.
She quickly looked away, pretending not to see Eddy’s hints at all.
Eddy saw Daron’s face in the rearview mirror, dark as a bottomless lake, and let out a quiet sigh. All he could do was focus on the road.
Marina stayed silent, and Daron didn’t say a word to jab at her either. A strange, heavy silence hung between them.
Inside the restaurant, after Marina led Daron away, everyone finally snapped out of their shock.
“Was that Mr. Zamora from Zamora Group?” someone asked.
“Yeah, I think so. How does Marina even know Mr. Zamora?” another
person
wondered.
“No wonder she broke up with Lavern so ruthlessly, turns out she landed Mr. Zamora. Talk about luck! Back in the day, she had Lavern, who helped her reach financial freedom, and now Mr. Zamora’s interested in her. She really changed her fate completely,” someone else chimed in.
“Maybe they’ve been together this whole time?” someone blurted out.
Lavern stood there, his face dark and stormy.
Everyone was gossiping about Marina and Daron, hinting at something going on between them, and that was all Lavern could hear.
Yara saw Lavern’s face change when she heard all that talk, and she immediately snapped at the people gossiping.
“Stop talking nonsense! Marina’s not that kind of person,” Yara said firmly.
One of the girls next to her quickly grabbed her arm. “When that girl was badmouthing you earlier, Marina
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didn’t say a word to defend you.”
“And judging by how close she seemed with Mr. Zamora, they’ve probably known each other for a long time,” another girl added.
Yara shot a worried look at Lavern, but with everyone watching, she didn’t dare go over to him.
Seeing him head out with a grim expression, Yara closed her eyes for a moment. Wanting to protect her own reputation, she nudged the girl beside her.
“Kary, go talk to Lavern for me. I’m worried he might do something he’ll regret, Yara said.
Daron was not someone anyone could afford to cross.
Plus, Yara had heard from Lavern that Daron now owned twenty per cent of Ross Group.
And Ross Group’s accounts were finally flush with cash again.
They needed to figure out a way to move that money out of the account.
If Daron had a full grasp of Ross Group, it would be much harder for them to siphon off money.
Yara couldn’t help but wonder if all the mess Shawna stirred up today would make Marina start to suspect them.
Yara lowered her gaze, her eyes briefly clouded with concern, but she still gave a small, composed smile to the classmates around her and said gently. “Sorry, everyone, the dinner got spoiled because of Lavern’s situation. I’ll cover tonight’s expenses.”
“Harvey, why don’t you take everyone out for the next round? We’ve got some things to sort out, so we’ll have to skip this one,” Yara acted all magnanimous and said.
Everyone got their fill of free food and juicy gossip, leaving the restaurant feeling like they’d scored big.
After watching everyone leave, Yara finally pulled out her phone and called her dad.
“Dad, someone spilt the beans about Lavern and me to Marina. Is everything with the factory sorted out?” Yara asked.
Her father replied right away. “It’s all taken care of. Even if Ross Group sends someone to check, all they’ll find is an abandoned factory.”
“I’ve handled everything with your aunt, too. The factory’s under her name now, so it’s got nothing to do with us. Even if Marina gets suspicious, she can’t touch us,” he said.
Yara remembered how totally unfazed Marina looked when she left, and how she didn’t hesitate to call the cops on Lavern when he and Shawna started fighting. She didn’t give him a shred of sympathy.
If Marina ever found out Lavern had been transferring Ross Group’s assets bit by bit into the Slav family’s hands, she’d tear them apart.
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“Dad, just to be safe, we need to make sure anyone who ever saw the Slav family’s books keeps their mouth shut. Go over everything again, don’t leave a single trace,” Yara said.
Lavern has sent over a lot of money in recent years, with the latest transfer being more than 1.2 million.
To cover their tracks, they cooked the books, kept the factory idle on purpose, and even returned five hundred thousand dollars to Ross Group.
If Marina ever decided to dig deeper and caught even the slightest whiff of what was going on, Lavern would be busted for working with them to rip off the company and for abusing his position to pocket company assets. No doubt, he’d be heading straight for prison.
Lavern still thought she might care about him.
But Yara, being a woman herself, knew perfectly well that if Marina ever got her hands on the evidence, she’d have Lavern locked up without a shred of mercy.
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
