Chapter 48: The One Line You Can’t Cross

For years, a shadowy force had hindered the Quinn family's growth. At first, Wendy didn't suspect the Harrison family, but it always seemed, coincidentally or not, that they were present whenever something went wrong. Then came the revelation: Moses's downfall overseas, the Hudd family's marriage alliance with the Harrisons to protect Moses, and finally, the Harrisons absorbing Moses's subsidiary before Waylon's sweep shut it all down.

Wendy had long suspected her car accident wasn't an accident. She was always a careful driver. Even if they had eloped and run away from home, it shouldn't have resulted in something so serious.

“Once we find Shanelle, everything will be clear,” she said.

From the rearview mirror, Sammy glanced at Wendy. After some hesitation, she spoke. “You’re angry about this because it involves Mr. Chase, right? I’ve always kept a cold front with him because I was worried the people behind all this would figure out how much I cared. I was scared they’d go after him. But last year…”

Last year, something happened to Chase. He was targeted even while staying safely at home. At the time, Chase had been making soup for Wendy. Somehow, he fell asleep on the couch. By the time Wendy rushed home with her team, he had already lost consciousness. The stove in the kitchen had been left on. The house was filled with carbon monoxide. Chase had passed out, and the door couldn't be forced open because one spark could have blown everything up.

Wendy had been overseas. By her original itinerary, she wasn’t due back until the next day. But she’d wanted to surprise Chase, so she changed her flight last minute. When she landed and couldn’t reach him, she knew something was wrong. Using the door code, she got in and saved him. If she hadn’t come back early, she would have returned to find Chase dead.

Someone had laid hands on Chase—and that was a line Wendy could never allow crossed. She could handle all kinds of corporate warfare. She was a businesswoman and had pulled her own underhanded tricks. But she never played with lives. Touch her reverse scale, and she would strike back.

From that day on, Wendy had grown colder toward Chase. If Chase were observant and smart enough, he might have figured it out.

Sammy continued, “Later, we found traces of sedatives in his tea. You and Chase were on great…”

Even now, the memory made Wendy’s blood run cold. If she hadn’t changed her flight, would Chase already be dead? And if someone had broken in violently, she might not have even seen his body.

Later, she asked Chase if he had ever taken any sleeping pills. He said no. The only pills in the house were Wendy’s—and he had never touched them. Someone had drugged Chase’s tea, waiting for him to come home and drink it. That person knew the door code. She’d gone over it again and again. The only ones who knew that code were her mother, Sammy… and Henry.

Back then, Wendy hadn’t been this suspicious of Henry. She couldn’t believe it. But as the investigation progressed, she learned just how colorful Henry’s life abroad had been—nothing like the miserable story he’d told. After marrying Shanelle, Henry essentially ran all her business dealings. Moses’s company, on paper, belonged to someone else—but Henry was the real boss. And someone like him? Taking a life wouldn’t be hard.

“Don’t worry too much,” Sammy said. “Henry’s here in the country now, right under your nose. It’d be harder for him to touch Mr. Chase. And since you’re divorced, you’re not really an obstacle to his plans anymore. He probably won’t make a move.”

Wendy leaned her head into her palm and sighed. “Can’t say for sure. I won’t let Chase leave my side. That alone might make Henry see him as a threat. Otherwise, why stab himself and frame Chase? Stella was the only idiot who couldn’t see through that. By the way, how is Stella doing overseas?”

“The branch office says she’s been going to class, behaving. When she’s not at school, she’s out shopping. As per your orders, we haven’t cut off her spending.”

Wendy sighed. Stella was still her sister. She couldn’t bring herself to go too far.

“Keep an eye on her. Don’t let her contact Henry again. I saw it back then—Stella always had a thing for him. I just didn’t think, after all these years, she still hadn’t moved on.”

They reached the hospital. Wendy rushed to the OR looking genuinely worried. The head nurse recognized her immediately—one of the hospital’s key investors—and hurried over to update her on Joy’s condition. The injuries weren’t severe, but Joy was small. She’d need proper rest and recovery. She was currently undergoing stitches and wouldn’t be out for another half hour.

From the way she asked, the head nurse assumed she was here to catch someone cheating. She pointed toward a woman waiting anxiously outside the OR. “That’s her. Looks like a foreigner. Said she’s the child’s birth mother. But she didn’t know anything useful. We were about to call the police.”

Wendy raised a hand to stop her. She studied the woman carefully, recognizing her from the photos. “She really is Joy’s biological mother. She just doesn’t know much because she’s been out of the picture for years. You can go.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Wendy whispered a few words to Sammy, who headed toward the observation room, while Wendy approached the woman.