If Victor ever found out it was his own granddaughter who stole the virus, I can''t even imagine what he''d do.

    He''d be heartbroken, that''s for sure.

    But you know what? He kinda brought this on himself. Spoiling your only granddaughter when you''re old? Yeah, that never ends well.

    She''s gotten so out of control, she thinks the world revolves around her!

    A doctor, but not a shred of medical ethics.

    She knew exactly who Elysia was, and still had the nerve to stir up trouble.

    Honestly, she has no clue about her own ce in all this...

    Back in his office, Benjamin picked up his phone and dialed Tarquin.

    Tarquin was already at thepany. After Elysia and the kids went to bed, he''d headed straight in. He''d been away for a while-even though Lowell was helping keep things afloat, the paperwork had piled up.

    As soon as Benjamin answered, he was practically buzzing, "We got them all! Every single one took the bait!"

    Tarquin barely looked up from his stack of paperwork-not surprised, not even remotely worried. He never went into a fight unprepared, and every move was pre-nned. Nothing unexpected would happen. No surprises, no slip-ups. He''d just let Sabrina dig her own grave. She''d walked right into his trap, and climbing out would cost her dearly.

    But right now, he was more concerned about Lucian.

    "When will the results from Lucian''s paternity test be in?" he asked.

    Benjamin replied, "The sample only arrived just before sunrise, so the soonest will be this afternoon. I''ll call you as soon as I have the results. Oh, and I looked into Lucian''s condition. He''s awake now, but it''ste-stage cancer. Doesn''t have much time left."

    Tarquin frowned. "How long, exactly?"

    "Best case, maybe a year or so. Worst case, a few months."

    Tarquin went silent for a moment, then hung up and went back to work, brow furrowed in thought. He''d wait for the paternity results before making any decisions about Lucian.

    For now, there were still two huge stacks of files on his desk, all waiting for his approval. It felt like being a kiding back from a month-long summer break, only to find all your homework waiting for you.

    When Tarquin worked, he wasser-focused. The next two hours, he barely moved from his desk.

    Lowell was there too. He was

    ver

    supposed to be off today, but since the kids needed some extra sleep and their ski trip had flopped, he came back in. Single, no real hobbies, nothing much to do at home-at least at the office, there were people to talk to.

    But Tarquin''s work pace was brutal. Forget chatting, the man barely took bathroom breaks.

    Lowell was starting to regreting in. If he''d known it''d be like this, he''d have stayed home and watched reruns.

    And Tarquin''s pace meant everyone else was scrambling, too. Every time he signed off on something, a new wave of tasks crashed down on the team. The whole office was in chaos.

    People started messaging Lowell in thepany group chat:

    [Lowell, please tell the boss to take a break! If he keeps going, we''re all going to drop dead!]

    Someone even added a crying puppy meme.

    Lowell read the messages, poker-faced, then tried to y it cool as he told

    Tarquin, "Hey, maybe take a little break?"

    Tarquin said nothing, just handed him a signed document. "This is urgent. Get the word out-I want to see a first draft this afternoon."

    Lowell sighed and left, and a collective groan rose from the workroom.

    The boss had only been in for half a day, but it felt like they''d worked two weeks straight.

    One of the secretaries, looking absolutely exhausted, whispered, "Lowell, it''s lunchtime. Doesn''t the boss get hungry?"

    With all the work, nobody had time to eat. If Tarquin went to lunch, maybe they''d get a breather too.

    Lowell shook his head. "Just hang in there. If you''re starving, grab some crackers or something from the break room."

    An actual chorus of groans followed.

    Lowell ducked back into Tarquin''s

    office, intending to remind him

    about lunch. But seeing the stol

    cloud on Tarquin''s face, he chickened out.

    Clearly, something-or someone-had put him in a bad mood.

    As Lowell was trying to guess which unlucky partner was about to get chewed

    out, Tarquin''s phone suddenly lit up.