CHAPTER 217: WE CAN’T LET HER GET AWAY WITH THIS

Meanwhile, Betty stood outside the room, shifting her weight and twirling her leg like a bored child. She had been waiting for Ethan to finish speaking with Anna, but the longer he stayed inside, the more curious she became.

Just as she huffed quietly to herself, she spotted Kevin marching toward her with the stormiest expression she had seen all day.

"Uh... what’s with that look?" she muttered under her breath, staring at his flared nostrils and rigid jaw. He looked like a bull ready to charge at whoever dared cross him.

"Sir Kevin, what happened? Weren’t you supposed to head to the sets? How come you’re back so soon?" Betty asked, her sweet voice snapping him out of whatever furious thoughts he’d been drowning in.

His expression softened only a fraction, but the anger simmering underneath was unmistakable.

"Betty, what are you doing standing out here and—" He paused, eyes narrowing as he glanced at the door behind her. "—why is Anna still inside? Hasn’t she finished her meal yet?"

Kevin found it unusual—Betty was practically Anna’s shadow. She never left Anna alone unless it was absolutely necessary. So seeing her outside, alone, with Anna behind a closed door...

His suspicion sharpened.

"Is someone in there with her?" he asked bluntly.

Betty’s smile froze on her face.

A line formed between Kevin’s brows. He might have gotten caught by Daniel’s men earlier, but he was still Daniel’s ally. If he sensed something off around Anna, he wasn’t above investigating. That was his job—and Daniel’s unspoken command.

"T-that, Sir Kevin... there’s no need to look so alert. And your face—it’s scary," Betty said with a forced laugh, swallowing hard when his glare intensified.

"Don’t test me, Betty. I’m already pissed off," Kevin warned.

But Betty heard something more important in that sentence—the perfect chance to divert him.

She didn’t mind Kevin knowing Ethan had dropped by. But if Daniel found out?

He would shift his entire office to the filming set just to keep an eye on Anna.

And that was the last thing Anna needed—her man breathing down her neck 24/7.

So Betty quickly grabbed onto Kevin’s anger like a lifeline.

"Sir Kevin... who pissed you off?" she asked with genuine curiosity, eyes widening just a bit for dramatic effect.

Kevin stopped. The question hit him directly in the middle of his frustration.

In an instant, he forgot what he was about to demand.

The moment at Wilsmith’s office replayed in his head—the venom in Fiona’s voice, the way she twisted words and spat poison about Anna to save herself. The realization had hit him like a slap. Fiona’s viciousness had been hidden under a polished mask, and now he finally understood why Daniel had assigned him to watch over Anna so closely.

So she wouldn’t fall prey to snakes like Fiona.

Kevin clenched his jaw, anger boiling up again.

"Someone who thinks she can badmouth Anna and walk away clean," he muttered darkly.

"Huh?" Betty tilted her head in confusion. But the moment Kevin explained, her eyes widened—and then darkened. In an instant, she joined him in the raging-bull competition.

"We can’t let her get away with this!" Betty hissed, cracking her knuckles loud enough for the hallway to feel her fury. "How dare she try to push Big Sis out of the movie!"

Betty had always known Fiona was fake—her sweetness was sugar-coated poison—but to hear she actually tried getting Anna removed from the film? That was war.

Kevin exhaled sharply, nodding with a cold expression. "Exactly."

"Come here," Betty whispered urgently, curling a finger at him.

Kevin leaned down immediately.

She whispered something so fast and furious he nearly couldn’t keep up, but whatever she said made both their expressions turn wickedly determined.

And without wasting a second, the two of them sneaked away—heads close, steps quick, fueled by righteous anger.

Completely unaware that someone hiding behind a pillar slowly stepped out the moment they disappeared.

Collin.

He had been hovering just far enough to observe everything without being seen. He’d watched Ethan enter Anna’s room, and Betty standing guard outside like a nervous puppy. He hadn’t been able to hear a word of their conversation, but his curiosity had only grown.

And now—with Betty and Kevin gone? The opportunity was too perfect.

Collin straightened his shirt, took a breath, and moved toward Anna’s door with slow, deliberate steps.

Whatever Ethan was doing inside... he wanted to know, not when he was the one who happened to saved Kathrine yesterday.

[Flash Back]

After Kira failed to hurt Kathrine, she returned to her hideout and lazily plopped into the seat across from Collin. She began recounting the entire fiasco—how the attack didn’t go as planned, how Kathrine managed to slip away, and how nothing went according to their setup.

They had plotted to strike as soon as Kathrine stepped back into the business world. It was supposed to be simple.

But Kira had no idea that Collin’s true agenda wasn’t just about the attack.

He wanted her gone too.

"What do you mean you failed?" Collin hissed, his voice laced with venom.

Kira shrugged, completely unfazed. "Relax. It wasn’t the right timing. I’ll handle it—"

But her lazy tone only ignited Collin’s fury further.

She was hired to kill, yet she lounged around like someone who had merely missed a bus. That nonchalance—her disrespect—made Collin’s blood boil.

"You were given one task," he snarled, eyes narrowing dangerously. "One simple task. And you show up here acting like it’s nothing?"

Kira rolled her eyes. "Don’t get dramatic. She just got lucky."

Collin’s jaw tightened, a muscle twitching.

He realized then—this wasn’t just incompetence.

Kira had become a liability. A loud, careless, arrogant liability. And Collin was already planning his next move and that was to get rid of her before she ruined everything.

But now that the plan had been extended, he had to wait, but not before learning what happened to cause her withdrawal.

[Present]

Collin stood before the door, his eyes almost drilling a hole into it. But the second he tried to evadrop, the door suddenly opened and he stumbled.

"What are you doing here?" Ethan’s stern voice made Collin’s breath hitch, but the man before him only intimidated him more.