Chapter 244

Cynthia's pupils constricted. She grabbed Luke's collar. "What did you say? Explain it clearly!"

Luke trembled. His voice quivered. "Five minutes after you entered the hotel, Silas went out. He was cursing, saying he had to meet someone. He told me to watch you."

"But when I got there, you were gone. I couldn't find you."

"Even stranger, after Silas left, he never contacted us again. Two days later, his body was found in the reservoir. I was there; he was dead."

A chilling thought struck Luke. He pointed at Cynthia. "It was you, wasn't it? You and Lilian conspired to kill him?"

Cynthia's eyes darkened. "Lilian? Why Lilian?"

Luke hesitated. He feared Lilian might kill him if Silas's death was her doing. Fear-filled eyes, he grabbed sand and threw it at Cynthia's face, then ran.

Cynthia chased him, but he reached a river and swam away. "Now that I know his name," she thought, "finding him won't be hard."

On her way back, Cynthia pondered Luke's words: Silas left in less than five minutes, and was found dead two days later. He connected it all to Lilian. This contradicted Lilian's story. The hospital report said she was assaulted. "If it wasn't an assault," Cynthia wondered, "what happened?" Desperate for answers, she investigated Luke.

She learned he was a thug with connections, extorting and blackmailing people. He gambled away money in underground casinos, once losing six million dollars in a single night. This six million dollars was linked to Shirley, tracing back to the time Shirley sold her shares. The money originally came from Cynthia. Cynthia had unknowingly bought Shirley's 20% shares (worth six million dollars) for only 300,000 dollars, creating a shell company to do so. This made Cynthia the largest shareholder with 40% of the company. At the time, she hadn't questioned Shirley's sale.

Later, when Shirley's actions were exposed, she claimed to have gambled away the money, shocking Justin. Cynthia realized Shirley hadn't gambled; she'd given the money to Luke, who'd lost it all. Cynthia couldn't understand why Shirley would give money to a thug like Luke. There had to be leverage.

Luke's real name was Luke Janssen. Cynthia searched for three days but couldn't find him. Jonathan noticed Cynthia's distress—poor sleep, nightmares. She refused to talk, insisting she could handle it. Jonathan had Claude investigate.

There was some good news: Cynthia's driving license arrived from Betrico. Jonathan gave it to her. "We can get our marriage certificate now. You're not going to lose me again."

Cynthia glanced at him. "When did I lose you?"

Jonathan touched his earring. "You forgot."

Cynthia didn't argue. She smiled, a rare sight in recent days, as she examined the license.

Jonathan said, "Tomorrow's Friday, the last day of the month. Let's get our marriage certificate. It's our third anniversary."

Cynthia remembered meeting Jonathan at the Dark Horse Club on the last day of October. "Okay," she said.

Jonathan was thrilled. He swept her into his arms. Cynthia momentarily forgot her troubles.

The next day, Jonathan was impeccably dressed. Even Cynthia was captivated. He eagerly brought her slippers and helped her get ready, much to Cynthia's exasperation.

Jonathan explained his attentiveness: "Today we're getting our marriage certificate. I don't want you to change your mind."

Cynthia sighed. "I won't change my mind. Now, get out!"

At City Hall, they went through the procedures. After receiving the certificate, Jonathan sighed in relief.

Cynthia asked to see it. Jonathan pulled it close. "No way. From today on, it stays with me. You're not allowed to touch it."

Cynthia was surprised. "Why?"

"Because you need the marriage certificate for a divorce, and I'm not giving you any chance to do that," he smirked.

Cynthia tried to grab it, leading to a playful tussle. They nearly bumped into a pregnant woman—Lilian and Filip, also holding a marriage certificate.

(Note: Chapter 214 appears to be a separate, incomplete chapter included at the end. I've left it as is, but it needs its own cleanup and likely additional context.)