Chapter 57

Lily Green's hand trembled as she clutched her phone, her fingertips turning white.

"This can't be..." she muttered to herself, her flawless makeup unable to mask the panic in her eyes.

Richard Brown's voice came through the phone. "Lily, what's wrong?"

She took a deep breath, forcing herself to sound calm. "Michael Johnson... he rejected my request."

"What?" Richard's voice sharpened. "How could he refuse?"

Lily bit her lower lip, a shadow of resentment flashing in her eyes. "He said... I deliberately stepped in front of that acid on purpose."

Dead silence filled the other end of the line.

After a long pause, Richard lowered his voice. "How does he know?"

"How should I know?" Lily tugged at her hair in frustration, her carefully styled curls now disheveled. "The way he spoke just now... it was like he was a completely different person."

Suddenly, a thought struck her, and she shot to her feet. "Could that bitch Lucy White have said something to him?"

Richard considered it. "Impossible. Lucy hates him now—why would she reach out?"

Lily paced the room, her high heels clicking rapidly against the floor.

"No, I need to confront him in person." She stopped abruptly, a ruthless glint in her eyes. "He can't just cut me off like this."

Richard quickly intervened. "Lily, don't act impulsively. If he's already suspicious, going to him now will only backfire."

Lily scoffed. "Then what do you suggest? After all the effort I put into getting close to him, everything's ruined!"

"Don't panic," Richard said quietly. "First, we need to find out exactly how much he knows. If Lucy is behind this, we have plenty of ways to deal with her."

A calculating look crossed Lily's face. "Right... Lucy. If we just get rid of her..."

She picked up her compact mirror, studying her twisted expression before slowly smoothing her features back into a sweet, charming smile.

"You're right, Richard. We'll stay quiet for now and wait until we know more."

After hanging up, Lily immediately dialed another number.

"Hello, it's me," she cooed, her voice sickly sweet. "Liam, darling... I missed you."

Meanwhile, Michael Johnson stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing down at the city lights.

His phone screen lit up with a message from his assistant: "Mr. Johnson, as instructed, we've cut off all funding for projects involving Ms. Green."

A cold smirk curled Michael's lips.

He turned and walked to his desk, pulling out a stack of photos from the drawer—all evidence of Lily's intimate encounters with various men.

"Lily Green," he murmured, his voice dripping with disgust. "Did you really think I'd let you manipulate me forever?"

His phone buzzed again—a text from an unknown number: "Mr. Johnson, the recording you requested is ready. We can release it anytime."

Michael tapped the screen lightly. "Wait for now."

He needed the perfect moment to strike.

At that very moment, Lily sat in Liam Parker's luxury car, completely unaware of the storm about to hit her.

"Liam," she purred, leaning against his shoulder, "if someone ever tries to hurt me, you'll protect me, won't you?"

Liam wrapped an arm around her waist, declaring confidently, "Of course. Who would dare touch my woman?"

Lily smiled in satisfaction, a flicker of triumph in her eyes.

She didn't know it yet, but the gears of fate had already begun turning—and the web of lies she'd so carefully woven was about to unravel completely.