Chapter 452
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Ximena said nothing. She slumped into the chair, covering her face as tears streamed down uncontrollably. In that moment , she wasn’t the strong, commanding woman everyone knew–just a helpless mother, overwhelmed by pain,
Zora, spoiled and coddled all her life, had never been so much as scolded by her mother. And now–her mother had struck her. For someone else. It ignited a firestorm of rage within her.
Grabbing Ximena’s hair, Zora shook her violently. “Why are you crying?! You slapped me and now you’re crying?! How could I have such a pathetic excuse for a mother?!”
“Stop it!”
Caitlin’s voice cut through the hallway. She had just returned and caught Zora mid–tantrum.
“Caitlin?”
Zora paused but didn’t drop her defiant tone. “This is between me and my mother. Stay out of it ! ”
“I don’t care what your personal drama is. But this is a hospital, and you’re standing outside an emergency room. Have some decency and keep your voice down.”
Caitlin glanced sharply at her before turning to Ximena. “There’s no point hiding it anymore. She has the right to know.”
Indeed, Ximena had been keeping the truth from her daughter for years. But now, there was no more room to run. It was time.
“What truth? What have you been hiding from me?” Zora demanded.
Ximena wiped her tears, drew in a shaky breath, and looked at her daughter with glassy eyes.
“Zora… Zeke is your brother. Your biological brother.”
“My brother?”
Zora stood there, stunned into silence, eyes locked on her mother’s face.
Memories flooded her mind–every odd, emotional reaction her mother had shown when Zeke’s name was mentioned. The conflicted stares, the pained silence–it all made sense now. Not because of some scandalous affair, but because she had been looking at her own son.
Zeke was her brother.
A half–brother, but a brother nonetheless.
Suddenly, Zora broke into a bizarre, almost hysterical laugh. “Hah! Zeke is my brother? My actual brother? Why didn’t you tell me this earlier, Mom? You should’ve told me sooner!”
Her tone shifted from rage to jubilation. The moment she realized her brother was the CEO of SY Capital Partners, Zora saw it as a golden
ticket.
She had been trying to cozy up to Zeke, even considered seducing him. Thank god she hadn’t. That could’ve been a disaster.
Now , this truth only served to benefit her A powerful brother? That was a win.
Ximena was taken aback by how quickly her daughter flipped. “Zora… I never told you because I didn’t know how. I was afraid of what you’d think… You’re not angry with me?”
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“Angry? Of course not! I’m thrilled! I have a brother now. And not just any brother, a successful one?
Zora embraced the revelation with open arms, leaving Ximena somewhat relieved.
But with her newfound confidence, Zora turned to Caitlin with a sneer. “Now that we’ve cleared things up–Zeke is my brother. You don’t
need to be here anymore. You can go.”
“Fine. I’ll leave after I confirm he’s okay.”
A few minutes later, the emergency room doors swung open. Ximena and Zora rushed forward.
“Doctor, how is the patient?”
“We’ve removed the bullet. He’s stable, but he’ll need to remain hospitalized for a while.”
“Thank you so much, doctor.”
Zora grinned. “Thank god! My brother’s going to be fine!”
Caitlin watched them, nodded to herself, and then quietly turned to leave.
Zora caught a glimpse of her retreating figure and sneered triumphantly. “That’s right–walk away. You’ve lost this round.”
On her way back to TIG, Caitlin called Sebastian and learned that Tyler had interrogated the shooter. The man was another mercenary lured by Black Wolf Fortress’s bounty. It only confirmed what they already knew: until that threat was eliminated, peace was out of the question.
At TIG headquarters, Caitlin returned to the boardroom. CEO Garrett followed her inside.
“Caitlin, if it weren’t for your foresight–using Wade’s designs–we would’ve been destroyed today.”
He was genuinely impressed with her ability to anticipate the crisis.
“I’m not a prophet, Garrett. I just know how Zora operates.”
Caitlin had merely predicted Zora might make a move. But how the design was actually leaked? That still needed answers.
“Have we found the mole?”
“We’re still investigating quietly. Once we confirm the source, you’ll know immediately.”
Caitlin sank into her leather chair, thinking. “Bring all the designers from the creative department to my office.”
“Right away.”
A few minutes later, twelve designers stood assembled. Among them were Justin and Wade.
“Jonathan,” Caitlin called.
“Caitlin…”
The two exchanged greetings, but her eyes soon narrowed at the sight of bruises on Justin and Wade’s faces.
“What happened to you two?”
Justin averted his gaze with a scowl. Wade kept his head down.
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Peyton , another designer, jumped in to explain. “They got into a fight over the design leak.”
“A fight ?” Caitlin’s brow furrowed. “Why?”
Justin’s anger flared again. “Because I think Wade leaked my design.”
“I didn’t!” Wade blurted, clearly frustrated.
“ Do you have proof?” Caitlin asked, calm but direct.
“He had the most to gain! A few days ago, I saw him taking a shady phone call, then hanging around the office after everyone left. When I came back from lunch, my computer had been tampered with. I didn’t think much of it then, but now? After what happened? I think he copied my files.”
“I didn’t touch his computer. I didn’t leak anything,” Wade replied, his voice tight.
“Enough,” Caitlin cut them off.
She took a few slow steps, then stopped and turned to face the group.
“There’s no doubt Justin’s design was leaked. That much is certain. But as for *who * did it… well, the person responsible already knows.”
Her tone turned steely.
“Whoever betrayed this company–once I find out who you are—don’t expect mercy.”
She let the silence hang heavy in the room.
“You can all leave. In ten minutes, I’ll tell you who the mole is.”
AD