Chapter 139

"H...how?"

Lily smiled. "You thought I was inside?"

Ariana's eyes widened. "How did you know?" she clenched her fist.

"Don't worry, I'll tell you when you get here. It will take you a few hours to arrive, and while you're on your way, make sure to come with your add-ons or lifejackes, because I promise you I won't miss as you did. I'll make sure you die by my hands."

"And if I don't?"

Lily smirked. "You wouldn't dare. I already have too much on you, Ariana.You have to face me whether you want to or not. It's either you die, or I die,Ariana."

"You're right. It's either you die or die," Ariana responded.

"I'll send you the location. You already planned to get rid of me before the car accident, which didn't work. Now that your plan has failed, I want you to bring your A-game because you won't believe what I've prepared for you,"Lily said before hanging up. She exhaled deeply, relieved.

Ariana could choose not to come, but she was too smart for that.

Still stunned, Ariana thought about how it seemed like Lily had nine lives.Her mind wandered to something Bella, Lily's stepmother, had mentioned during her prison visit.

If Lily survived that car accident, it must mean she had known from the beginning. Someone in her inner circle must have betrayed her. Lily even

hinted that she had a backup plan, meaning she was fully aware of everything.

Ariana turned to Eric, whostood nearby with a concerned expression.

Eric noticed her intense gaze and asked, "Is everything okay? Who were you talking to?"

Shaking away her suspicion, Ariana told herself that Eric couldn't have betrayed her. He loved her, and she was certain of it. Even if he didn't support all her plans, he'd stuck by her because of his feelings. There was no way he'd align himself with her enemies.

She walked up to him and stopped right in front of him. "She's still alive?"

"Who?"

"Lily. She's alive. I just spoke to her-I couldn't believe it."

"She didn't die? That's impossible. The car caught fire; it burned to ashes."

"Yes, but she wasn't inside."

"Then how did she find out about what we planned?" Eric asked though a part of him felt relieved that Lily was alive. If she were truly dead,Ariana would face far greater troubles once Alexander and her grandfather learned the truth.

"Perhaps there's a traitor," Ariana muttered, her gaze fixed on Eric.

"You think I'm a traitor?"

"You and everyone else are suspects," she said, looking him straight in the eye.

"You're unbelievable! I can't belleve you'd even consider suspecting me,"Eric replied, hurt by her accusation.

"What else am I supposed to think?" Ariana shouted. "Lily didn't die, so that means someone who knew about my plans either you or the others-leaked the information to her. Now I'm back to square one!" She ran her fingers through her hair, visibly frustrated.

"If you're going to accuse me, then I'll leave right now. I won't be involved in any of this anymore."

"Fine,you can leave!" she snapped.

Eric headed for the door but paused before leaving. "For the record,I never supported your actions, but I would never betray you. Remember that," he said before walking out.

Ariana slumped onto the couch, overwhelmed by frustration.

Now that everything had spiraled out of control, she had no choice but to activate Plan B. The problem was she had no idea what Lily was planning.She had to be more prepared than ever.

Determined,she stood and went to meet her men at their secret hideout.

Meanwhile, Carolina, who had been keeping a close watch on her daughter's activities, couIdn't shake the feeling that Ariana was at the center of all the chaos. She decided to follow her secretly to intervene before things got worse.

Elsewhere, news spread that there were no casualties in the car explosion.

Alexander, who had been frantic for the past two hours,felt slightly relieved but remained tense.

"Have any of the men reported back yet?" he asked.

"Not yet, Alexander. We need to wait a bit longer. We just sent them out,"Ethan replied.

"What do you mean by 'not too long' Ethan?" Alexander snapped.

"Calm down. At least we know she wasn't in the vehicle," Ethan reasoned.

"But she's still missing!"

Ethan ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. "Have you tried her number again? Also, maybe we should contact her grandfather-what's his plan for her disappearance?"

Ethan's words sparked an idea. Alexander quickly dialed Lily's number.and to his surprise, it went through. Relief washed over him.

"It's ringing," he said, his voice steadier.

Ethan moved closer and sat down, waiting to hear what would happen next.

Lily saw the incoming call and hesitated. She had intended to call Alexander herself, but now that he was calling first, she felt at a loss for words.

Alexander tapped his fingers impatiently on the table, waiting for her to answer.

Gathering her thoughts, Lily picked up and placed the phone to her ear."Alexander."

Hearing her voice instantly calmed him. "Lily, where are you?"

She hesitated. "Somewhere. But I'Il be back at the family mansion soon.I already called Grandfather and informed him. I was going to call you, but you called first."

"Your vehicle was targeted. How did you know what was going to happen?

"Michael was with me. He detected it in time."

"Fine. Tell me where you are. I'll come and get you myself."

"I'm already on my way home, Alexander. Michael and Matthew are with me."

"Where were you going so early in the morning? And why were they with you?" Alexander demanded.

Lily didn't know howv to answer.

"Answer me, Lily!"

Ethan watched in astonishment at Alexander's commanding tone. Just a few hours ago, Alexander had been panicking like a helpless child, but now he was exuding authority.

Suppressing a laugh, Ethan listened as Lily replied, "I'l explain everything.Alexander. I'll be back soon."

"I want you at our home, not your grandfather's. The moment you return,come straight to me and Viola. Understood?"

"Yes, I'll come home."

Alexander ended the call and immediately checked the tracking device connected to her number.

"She's far from the city," Ethan noted, observing the screen.

"She's hiding something," Alexander muttered1.standing up.

"Yes, but since she said she is on her way then you should wait for her to get back".

"No, I'm going there," Alexander said firmly.

"There are a lot of negative rumors going around about her. Shouldn't you stay back to take care of them?" Ethan asked cautiously.

"I do not care about those rumors; they are all lies," Alexander replied coldly.

"I never said they were true,but they are still rumors," Ethan pressed.

Alexander thought about what Lily had told him about being with

Matthew and Michael. "Whoever tried to kill her is spreading these rumors.

The same person caused the accident that almost killed Lily and Viola and left my mother in a coma," he said through gritted teeth.

"I have a bad feeling, Alexander, and I don't like it when I feel this way,like something is about to go wrong," Ethan said, his voice tense.

"So what do you plan to do?"

"Get the men ready. We're heading to her location," Alexander commanded without hesitation.

Ethan nodded, understanding the seriousness of the situation.

Lily was surprised that Alexander no longer brought up the rumors spreading about her. Does this mean he didn't believe them? she wondered,feeling a sense of relief.

Although he had been authoritative on the phone, she was glad that he wanted her and Viola to come back home.

"Was that Alexander?" Michael asked.

"Yes." she replied softly.

"He must be relieved to find out you're okay," Michael said.

"Yes, and he wants me to come back home soon with Viola," Lily said,her voice lighter.

"This means he didn't believe the rumors and won't come for my head anymore.," Michael joked with a slight smile.

"Of course, Alexander knows me better than anyone else. He knows those photos were photoshopped," Lily said confidently.

Michael seemed to relax. “Ariana should be on her way here, right?”

“Yes, she's already on her way, but she's still about an hour away,"Matthew confirmed.

Matthew's assurance didn't fully calm Lily. “Matthew, you said no one would be able to track my location, right?”

“Yes,why?”

"I just have a feeling that Alexander might have tracked my location while on the call with him," Lily admitted, her anxiety creeping back in.

Matthew smirked slightly, trying to ease her nerves. "Of course, he would.

The man's madly in love with you."

--.-to find my location,

right?”

"Not a chance," Matthew said confidently."I used layers of back codes to block anyone from accessing your location, no matter the device they use."

Lily let out a sigh of relief.

The only people who had her location were her grandfather's men,who were already on standby for Plan B. She was certain her grandfather wouldn't give Alexander the location, and she had already told him she was on her way home.

But unknown to Lily, Alexander was already on his way to her location.