CHAPTER 212: THE ACCIDENT WAS INTENTIONAL

Daniel was in no mood to stop, not when he was this damn needy for his wife.

Only he knew how hard it had been to hold himself back yesterday. He had wanted to kiss her senseless the entire night but didn’t want to ruin the date or push her too fast.

But now that everything was good between them? There was no holding him back. He wanted to kiss her until neither of them remembered how to breathe.

Anna, however, struggled as the back of her head hit the couch. The stupid backrest kept her from escaping, trapping her under Daniel’s very determined mouth. She hadn’t expected the morning to turn this demanding, and she certainly hadn’t expected to fail so miserably at fleeing.

Daniel was a beast, an affectionate one, but a beast nonetheless, and knowing exactly how their mornings usually ended, Anna had tried to retreat before things got too intense.

"D-Daniel, wait—" she tried to speak between his kisses. But each time she opened her mouth to stop him, he swallowed her protest with another searing kiss.

"No," he growled, rejecting every syllable she attempted.

"I need you, wifey. So damn much." His voice was deep, hoarse, and raw with the need he’d been suppressing.

Daniel was aroused, and leaving him unattended was like leaving a beast leashed on a thin thread. It only made things worse for both of them.

Just when Anna finally gave in, finally lifted her hands and kissed him back, their phones rang, shattering the moment in an abrupt, brutal interruption.

"..."

Anna was breathless as Daniel pulled away. His jaw ticked in irritation as he snatched his phone off the table, slammed it face-down, and turned it off entirely.

"!!!"

"No more disturbance," he announced and immediately went back to kissing her, completely ignoring the continued ringing from her phone.

Anna would’ve done the same, ignored whoever dared interrupt, but when the phone didn’t stop. Not once. Not twice. Not even after the third time that’s when it hit her.

This wasn’t casual, and this wasn’t someone stubborn. It was something important. But with Daniel hovering over her like a possessive shadow, pinning her down without even using his hands, she couldn’t even lean sideways to check her phone until...

Knock! Knock!

Daniel growled. "Just ignore whoever it is."

She would have if the voice outside hadn’t spoken at the exact wrong time.

"Master, your assistant is trying to reach you. He says it’s urgent."

The moment the words reached him, Daniel froze. His whole body went still, alert in an instant.

Anna blinked, almost stunned at how quickly the beast in him snapped into the man who ran entire companies and made people tremble. But even then... He didn’t get up immediately.

He dipped his head and gave her a look that was both warning and promise. "Don’t move. I’ll be right back."

Anna, who currently resembled a cornered kitten, bobbed her head without argument.

Thud!

As soon as the door closed, Anna shot upright and scrambled for her phone.

"Damn—! I knew it was something important!" She screeched, dialing Shawn back and rushing onto the balcony with frantic steps.

***

Meanwhile, inside the study, Daniel answered Henry’s call. He was irritated, even furious, but he knew he had no right to snap at Henry for doing his job.

"What is it?" Daniel demanded, voice dropping into that deep, commanding tone that always meant business.

"It’s true that Katherine Bennett almost got into an accident. But she managed to jump aside just in time. The car sped past her." Henry wasted no time and quickly reported Daniel.

A dark frown carved itself across Daniel’s face. "What do you mean sped past? Are you telling me the car drove toward her on purpose?"

Henry hesitated for a beat but then confirmed. "Yes. The footage suggests it was intentional. The vehicle accelerated just after Katherine stepped out of the park. She was there for over two hours."

Daniel’s jaw ticked. He listened silently, absorbing every detail.

Last night, right before he slept on the couch, he’d asked Henry to dig into Katherine’s so-called "accident."

Anna had mentioned it so casually, claiming Katherine only had a sprained ankle. But Daniel had sensed from the beginning that nothing about it was simple.

"Find out what Katherine is up to," he ordered coldly. "And who she met at that park. I want a full report as soon as possible."

"Yes, sir."

Daniel ended the call, his suspicions sharper now. Katherine was definitely hiding something and he would uncover it soon.

Exhaling slowly, Daniel tried to calm his thoughts... until his gaze dropped to the unmistakable bulge straining against his pants.

"DAMMIT," he growled, frustration ripping out of him.

Without wasting a second, he stormed out of the study and sprinted back to Anna’s room.But when he reached the door and tried the knob, it didn’t budge.

"Locked! Again!" Realization soon struck him and this time his words came too frustratingly.

"Argh! Damn you, wifey," he snarled, half pained, half amused, but mostly all frustrated.

With no other choice, and with his body still painfully aroused, he stalked back to his own room, muttering curses under his breath, and headed straight for an ice-cold shower.

***

After the interrupted call, the couple went their separate ways for work. Daniel headed out first, still restless and impatient to hear whatever Henry would uncover for him. His mind was already racing with possibilities.

Anna, meanwhile, drove straight to meet Shawn.

Fortunately, Kevin was already at the office, handling the chaos caused by the news that had exploded the previous evening. He’d been confident things would eventually die down, but a few investors and brands—ones eager to sign Anna for upcoming projects and commercials—were understandably shaken.

And keeping them from backing out was now Kevin’s top priority.

He needed to ensure Anna’s future commitments remained solid and undisturbed.

After all, he valued his life—and he definitely didn’t want to die early because of the very man who had triggered the scandal in the first place.

"Are you sure Daniel has been looking for Katherine ever since she fled?" Anna asked, her voice low, uncertain only to see Shawn nod at her in response.

He had gone through every piece of intel available, every trace Katherine had left behind—and all of it pointed to the same conclusion.

"Yes," he confirmed. "He has been trying to track her down. But..." His expression tightened, and his eyes were as sharp as an eagle’s.

"He only knew as much as we did. Which means Katherine was monitoring both of you at the same time."

Anna stiffened, a chill sliding down her spine.

The idea of Katherine watching them, studying them made her stomach twist.

"No wonder it was so easy for him to find out about us," Anna muttered, pacing slowly. "But his silence... that’s what doesn’t add up. He hasn’t mentioned a single word about knowing I was also looking into Katherine."

Shawn folded his arms, thinking. "He has more sources than we do. And since you mentioned he’d been keeping an eye on you, it would’ve been easy for him to find out everything you were doing." His tone was matter-of-fact, which made Anna purse her lips into a thin line.

Back on the evening they uncovered Kevin’s truth, Shawn had already assumed Daniel knew almost everything about the people close to Anna. Maybe that was why Daniel hadn’t bothered hiding his own intel—he knew Shawn would stumble onto it anyway.

"What do you plan to do now that you know Daniel’s aware of everything?" Shawn asked. He didn’t want the conversation to end here.

Part of him was genuinely curious—about Daniel, about his team, about the kind of IT divisions they ran. Shawn was skilled, but his talent had been wasted under people driven by petty grudges. Now, with Betty cheering him on and pushing him to rise again, he wanted back into the game.

"For now, I can only rely on whatever updates Kevin brings us," Anna sighed, sinking back into her seat.

Kevin had told her earlier that Daniel wanted the news suppressed so she wouldn’t face backlash or judgment at work. Since Daniel’s face wasn’t exposed in the scandal, letting the chaos settle on its own was their safest plan—unless things escalated to the point where Anna had to issue a statement.

"By the way—there’s something else I want you to check," Anna said suddenly. Her expression sharpened, all business again.

"Name it." Shawn straightened readily.

"I want you to look into the accident Katherine almost had yesterday. She claims it was nothing, but... I don’t believe her."

"Location?" Shawn asked, already warming up his fingers over the keyboard.

"It’s across..." Anna began, giving him the location as she watched him pull his laptop closer.

Shawn didn’t waste a second. His fingers flew over the keyboard, effortlessly slicing through layers of surveillance access. Within minutes—faster than she expected he had the footage pulled up and displayed before her.

Anna leaned in as they watched the scene unfold before them.

Katherine frantically stepping out of the park, then a car approaching at a normal pace... and then—without warning it accelerated straight toward her.

Katherine barely managed to leap out of the way before the car sped past and vanished without even slowing.

Anna’s breath caught as the scene concluded on one thing and that was.

"The accident was intentional," she whispered, eyes glued to the screen, her pulse spiking.There was no doubt anymore. The driver hadn’t even hesitated. Whoever wanted Katherine hurt... had meant it.