Chapter 1149
Natalie saw the genuine terror in his eyes. The previous timeline had been excessively cruel to him.
It had been even crueler to her, but she had already made her peace with it. Knowing that Sebastian hadn’t been the one to kill her and her unborn child had mysteriously extinguished the darkest parts of her hatred.
She offered a gentle smile. The handsome man standing before her was pacing nervously, his lips pressed in a tight line, his striking eyes locked onto hers.
“Marshall, breathe,” she said softly. “We just have to play the hand we’re dealt. No one knows exactly how this will play out.”
“No, you know. You know exactly what she becomes, don’t you?” Marshall pressed, desperate for answers.
Natalie thought for a moment. At this point, there was no reason to keep him in the dark. “From what I know, she eliminates everyone in her path. She uses everyone as stepping stones until she reaches the absolute top, becoming the ultimate business queen. And the sickest part? The public reveres her as a kind, philanthropic icon.”
But things were different this time. Joanna’s reputation was already in the gutter. Her ascent wouldn’t be nearly as smooth, because Natalie simply wouldn’t allow it.
Marshall stared at her in shock, but seeing her serene, composed expression somehow grounded his racing heart.
He lowered his voice. “Did she kill Sebastian too?”
Natalie shook her head. “I don’t know how he died. By that point, he had broken my heart so completely that I avoided them both at all costs. I didn’t even realize they weren’t working together until this lifetime. But don’t worry, Marshall. We’ll be fine.”
Marshall’s chest felt tight. The sheer impossibility of their situation was enough to make anyone’s head spin.
“I feel better just hearing you say that. But everything is moving too fast. Zachary was an absolute titan in the industry. Nobody dared cross him. He had wealth, power, and A-listers at his Beck and call, When, the news broke about the black market, I didn’t even believe it at first. I’ve had dinner with the guy. He was always so charming and well-spoken. He always looked at people with this polite smile. Who knew he was hiding such a demonic soul beneath that polished exterior?”
Natalie teased him with a smirk. “I recall someone telling me how beautiful, gentle, and kind Joanna was when we first met. You called me a vicious woman and even slapped me twice for it.
Marshall looked down at his hands, looking incredibly guilty. He had been completely brainwashed by Joanna back then.
“Slapping you is the biggest regret of my life. But you definitely got your revenge. The pain of having both my arms snapped, I literally wanted to die.”
“But I learned my lesson. I swear I’ll never betray you again. I just need to know what our next move is.”
He was genuinely anxious. Joanna’s capacity for evil far surpassed Zachary’s.
Natalie had mentioned before that Joanna had an elite shadow team backing her, but he hadn’t been able to dig up a single trace of them.
It was terrifyingly stealthy.
Every lead he chased died the moment he looked into Nora.
Natalie chuckled. Her pale face looked striking, the smile on her red lips radiating confidence.
“Next, Joanna will absorb Zachary’s agency. She’ll swallow every single asset she can get her hands on.”
“She has an elite syndicate behind her that can launder those assets into her name without leaving a paper trail. Our job right now is wait for their land development project to crash and burn. Once that happens, we hunt down that shadow team. If we expose them and drag Joanna off her pedestal, we survive.