After the divorce, he begged

Chapter 145

Rebecca slammed the car door and ran toward Amelia's hospital room. With every step, her chest tightened, a

storm of emotions she didn’t understand swirling inside her.

Two minutes later, she was at Amelia’s door. A man in a suit sat beside the bed; his profile was good-looking.

Rebecca stepped in and fought to keep her voice level. “Who are you, and what are you doing in my mother’s

room?”

The man turned at the sound of her voice, and Rebecca finally saw his face.

Compared to what she'd seen on the surveillance camera, he looked even more composed and cold. His eyes

were steady, carrying a calm that cfrom weathering countless storms, and his entire presence radiated the

power and confidence of someone used to holding sway.

Rebecca had met all sorts of people growing up, so it only took a glance to know this man was far from ordinary.

She thought, ‘He must be a tough person to deal with.

“I'm your mother’s friend.” He looked at Rebecca and hesitated, something unreadable flashing in his eyes.

“You're Rebecca, aren't you?”

Rebecca tensed. “You know who | am?” She'd never seen the man before, and Amelia had never mentioned him.

The only way he could know her nwas if he'd been digging into her mother’s life.

“Your

mentioned you before,” the man replied casually, his eyes still locked on Rebecca. “Has she ely?”

my mom talk about you,” Rebecca said, moving to the other side of Amelia's bed. She nan standing behind her.

“She never said anything about having any old friends, either.”

lace relaxed. “I'm not surprised you haven't heard about me. It's been nearly twenty years since in and | last

met.”

tca furrowed her brow. The secretary leaned in behind the man, lowering his voice for only the man to

Boss, you and Rebecca really share a resemblance. Is she your daughter with Amelia?”

The man was startled and thought, ‘So that’s why Rebecca looked familiar; now it all clicks.

As a mix of thoughts ran through his head, he suddenly asked in an almost probing tone, “Do you mind if 1 ask

what year you were born?”

“You still haven't answered me,” Rebecca shot back, refusing to reveal anything personal until she knew his

identity. “Who are you, and why do you keep turning up here?”

Rebecca accepted that the man might be her mom's old friend-she couldn't figure out what he wanted from

her.

“Amelia can tell you herself when she wakes up,” the man said, dodging again. His gaze settled on Rebecca,

heavier now. “I promised her | wouldn't reveal what went on between us unless she agreed.”

The secretary was speechless. He thought, ‘Way to make it sound even stranger.

Rebecca felt confused and thought, ‘If May's right, this man has sserious history with Mom. Otherwise, why

would Mom lose it when she saw that photo | sent her? And his actions seem like he’s hiding something.”

“I'll be back in a few days,” the man said, gaze still locked on Rebecca. “Maybe we could have dinner together

then?”

“No thanks,” Rebecca shot back without hesitation. “We're not exactly familiar enough for that.”

A tight ache spread across his chest. The man thought, ‘If Rebecca is my daughter with Amelia, trying to patch

things up as father and daughter is gonna be seriously tough. Didn't Amelia say she'd lost the baby?‘

“Is your birthday in August or September?” he asked.

Rebecca lied without missing a beat. “No.”

“Here’s my number,” he said, pulling out a sleek business card. His long fingers looked untouched by time. “If

anything comes up, just reach out.”

Rebecca didn’t take it. She wondered, ‘Are we even that close?’

“I'm not bad,” the man said, still holding out the card. There was a softness in his eyes that he tried to hide.

“May says Mom hates you,” Rebecca said, watching his face for any reaction, testing him. “She said I should

keep my distance from you.”

The man slipped the card into her hand. “Don’t let other people’s words cloud your judgment. Trust what you

feel.”

Rebecca lowered her gaze, staring at the string of digits for a moment, her expression unreadable. With both of

them watching, she dropped the card straight into the trash without the slightest hesitation.

They all fell silent. The secretary thought, ‘If Rebecca really was the boss’s daughter with Amelia, winning her

over was clearly going to be one hell of a challenge.”

“If there's nothing else, you guys should just go,” Rebecca said, her tone firm and cold. She trusted May and

Amelia-they were the only ones who'd truly ever looked out for her. “My mom doesn’t want others hanging

around. Don’t chere anymore.”

The man stopped; he hadn't expected Rebecca to reject him. “I'm your mom's friend.”

“Real friends don’t vanish for twenty years,” Rebecca retorted, voice iced over.

The man opened his mouth to try to say something, but when he caught Rebecca's cold, distant stare, all the

words died in his throat. “Smart not to trust strangers, Your mom taught you well.”

Rebecca just ignored him, staying silent. She thought, ‘Whether Amelia did a good job or not is none of this guy’s

business.

The man wanted to say goodbye, but Rebecca had already turned away to tend to Amelia, not giving him

another look. Knowing he’d leave no good impression if he stayed, he headed out with his secretary.

September,” he said.

‘Got it, the secretary replied.

“And run a DNA test for me,” he added. The man thought, ‘She really does look like me, but her personality is

like Amelia's. It was getting harder for him not to think Rebecca really might be his daughter.

“That's gonna be difficult, the secretary said, turning in his seat, his eyes complicated. “Jeffrey's people are

protecting Rebecca everywhere she goes. Getting a sample from her is pretty much impossible.”

The man’s eyes darkened and fell into thought.

At that moment, Jeffrey was up in the hospital's office, reviewing the surveillance camera from Amelia's room.

He caught every second of what happened between Rebecca and that man. He glanced at Riley. “Did you find

anything?”

Riley leaned back, tilting her head in thought.

Jeffrey was confused.

“Amelia blocked his information online,” Riley replied.

Jeffrey said, eyes locked on Riley. “I won't force you to look into Rebecca’s mom. But | want the basics of this

man; give it toin half an hour.”

Riley's fingers flew over the keyboard. She could definitely dig up the info. But she was afraid Jeffrey would end

up finding that Amelia was her mentor.

“I won't use him as a lead to dig into Amelia,” Jeffrey lied.

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