Chapter 23

The bodyguards swarmed in, scattering the thugs like rats. All five were captured and returned by Alex's men.

"Take them to the police station," Alex ordered coldly.

Still trembling, I was pulled into the passenger seat by Alex.

"It scared you, huh?" Alex's voice was unusually gentle as he wiped the dirt from my face with a tissue. "It's okay now. It's over."

I stared at him, taking a moment to calm down. Recalling the foolish thing I had done and the danger I had narrowly escaped, I mumbled sheepishly, "How did you get here?"

Alex's tone hardened. "How did I get here? If I hadn't shown up, do you think you would have made it out of there today?"

Guilt washed over me, and I fell silent.

"Why were you following him?" Alex snapped. "Is he your new boyfriend? Were you so afraid he was another rich lad trying to scam you that you decided to investigate him first? And you ended up walking straight into a den of thieves! You didn't even realize you had one foot in the grave!" His voice was a mix of anger and sarcasm.

Truly ashamed, I could only offer a weak excuse. "He's not my boyfriend, he's just a coworker."

The car fell into an uncomfortable silence.

Alex said with a bitter laugh, "Serena, do you ever ask the right people for help when you're in trouble?"

I glanced up at him, confused. "What do you mean?"

He handed me a folder and started the car. "You're not just half-witted, you're also half-mute."

I opened the folder. Inside was Kevin's file.

Overjoyed, I dismissed the reprimand in Alex's voice. "Isn't this..."

"It's exactly what you've been looking for," Alex replied, his hand resting on the steering wheel. A flicker of helplessness crossed his face. "Serena, why can't you just ask for help?"

Clutching the documents, I scrambled for an excuse. "I didn't want to bother you with something so trivial, so I thought I'd handle it myself. Who knew it would turn out like this?"

Under Alex's intense gaze, I wisely fell silent.

With Kevin's file in hand, a weight lifted from my shoulders. For the first time in days, I slept soundly.

The next day at work, I ran into the last person I wanted to see. Julian had shown up again.

"Serena, I know I was wrong. Please forgive me," Julian pleaded, dropping to one knee with a ring box in hand at the coffee shop door.

I looked at him, my brows furrowing. "What are you up to now?"

He called out, his voice full of sincerity, "I really was wrong. I shouldn't have kept my identity from you. Please forgive me."

Seeing him like this, my intuition grew wary. My eyes drifted to Kevin, who was busy behind the counter. It suddenly occurred to me that this might be the perfect chance to test him.

I discreetly turned on my phone's camera and said with a frown, "But you kept it from me for so long, and it really hurt."

Julian faltered as a crowd began to form around us. Embarrassment flickered across his face. "I just wanted to see if you were the kind of girl who cared about material..."

"And what did you find out?" I asked, my voice low, struggling to suppress the resentment building inside.