Chapter 166

Millie shook her head. She didn't share the details with the Elliott siblings, only saying she needed to leave

Myron paused. "Where are you going? I'll drive you."

She glanced at him. "Watson Group."

He studied her for a moment, and then gave a silent nod.

Before long, the car stopped outside the Watson Group building.

"I'll go up with you," Myron offered.

"No need," Millie replied. "I've got this." She didn't want to complicate things any further.

Her mind was already racing. The six gemstones were her key to winning this bet.

As for Egbert... he never played by the rules.

She needed to figure out his angle-quietly, without revealing her own

Myron nodded. "I'll wait in the parking lot then."

She agreed without hesitation and got out of the car.

Myron drove down to park, his usual warmth vanishing as he drummed his fingers on the steering wheel.He then pulled out his phone and made a call.

After a few rings,someone answered.

"I need you to do something for me..." he said and then issued a series of instructions before hanging up.He looked through the windshield toward the Watson Group building, eyes focused.

Upstairs,Millie stepped into the CEO's office.

Brandon stood near his desk, his expression dark. As she walked in,he tossed a toy gun onto the desk.

On the other side of the room, Egbert approached with a smile.

"Millie. It's been a long time," he said, giving her a once-over. "You've changed since then."

She ignored the comment. "Why did you call me here today?"

"Oh, right." Egbert pulled a document from his briefcase and handed it to her. "Take a look. It's the contract you and Brandon signed back in Flesta when you came to find me."

There were traces of dried blood on it.

Millie's eyes lingered on the pages. That day in Flesta came rushing back.

Brandon had dived into freezing water to pull her out.She had looked Egbert in the eye and reminded him -"You gave me your word."

Now, years later, he repeated those words, more composed but no less calculating. "I gave you my word."

Under the office lights, the blood-stained contract looked even more striking.

Before Millie could take it, a hand reached out and grabbed it.

Brandon.

Just like that autumn day years ago, when he held her close and signed that contract-his own hand soiled with her blood.

Now, he stood holding this very contract again,his eyes narrowed as he stared at Egbert.

Egbert met Brandon's gaze and flashed him a smile.

"I've honored this contract all these years because of Millie," he said. "But now that you're divorced,I think it's void."

He turned to Millie, smiling. "Just say the word, and I'll tear it up."

She didn't answer. She walked over to Brandon and took the contract from his hand.

She flipped through it. Clause after clause, each one a sharp edge forged during desperate negotiations.

Back then, they had won for the Watson Group. But it hadn't been her victory.

She had lost something invaluable instead.

Millie placed the contract on the table and looked across the room at Egbert, still smiling at her.

"Egbert Perez," she said, clearly and evenly

"Yes?" His eyes brightened. The charming smile masked something darker beneath. He looked like a knight awaiting his princess' orders.

But Millie knew better.

He wasn't a knight in shining armor. He was a devil in disguise.

"If you want to end the contract, find a better reason,"she said. "Don't use me as your excuse. And don't treat me like a pawn."

A flicker of shock crossed Egbert's face.

"Huh?" He sounded genuinely surprised.

Just like back then. He had always thought he was the one in control, only to find the game shifting beneath him.

The truth was, she had initiated that bet in Flesta.

Only the two of them knew the details.

Everyone else thought Egbert had forced her into it.They believed he'd manipulated her. But he hadn't.She had led him into it.

It was only the second time in his life he'd been caught off guard-and both times, it was because of her.

Back then, in the space of just fifteen minutes while Brandon was away, Millie had forced Egbert's hand.

She had stunned him three times in a row and eventually secured the contract.

Now, after years apart, she managed to catch him off -guard yet again-and still effortlessly so.

"I thought you hated him," Egbert said softly, glancing at Brandon. "I thought you'd want revenge."

Millie lowered her gaze, not answering.

"If you brought me here just to discuss this contract,"she said, "then I should make it clear. This is between the two of you. I was just a former employee at Watson Group. Now that I've left, you should resolve it yourselves."

She paused, and then added, "You can end the collaboration for any reason you like. Just don't involve me. Now excuse me, for I have other things to take care of."

With that, she turned to leave.

It wasn't that she didn't resent Brandon. She just refused to be Egbert's pawn.

She had come only to understand his intentions. Now that she had, she no longer wished to stay.

But as she reached the door, a hand caught her wrist.She turned.Brandon's eyes met hers. They were dark,intense.

"What really happened in Flesta during the fifteen minutes I was gone?" he asked.

Before she could speak, he added, "That year,we lost a child. That child was mine too. I have a right to know."

A sharp ache rose in Millie's chest. She pulled her hand away.

Her gaze dropped briefly to the contract on the table.

He used to say that Watson Group was their child too.That together, they could make it thrive.

He promised that he-and the comnpany-would always stand behind her.

But now,he wouldn't even return the Bennett family's possessions.

His promises had all become empty words.

So should she tell him what really happened that year?