CHAPTER 81. A very serious accusationAndrea couldn't understand how she could feel so bad and so good at the same time. She had secured her contract, but Mason had the nose of a bloodhound for ruining her happiness."I’ll... I'll be at my desk..." she murmured softly, as if talking to herself, and Zack felt a knot in his stomach, realizing how much it was affecting her. She had lost weight and at times seemed out of it."How much is the bonus for the contract?" he asked Ben after the door closed behind her."Four thousand dollars," his friend replied."Double it, and let's start looking for advertising contracts for the boy," Zack commanded, fully embracing his role as the owner of the company. "There are some strings we can pull to get him exceptional publicity..." He checked his watch, calculating the time because he knew it must be late in the UK, and the person he wanted to talk to was there. "I'll make that call tonight, but for now, we need to deal with the daycare issue."Half

CHAPTER 82. The First PieceThe social workers looked at each other and both fell silent, stunned."Alright, we can do this one of two ways, Director. You come with me to declare the daycare operational, or we pose for tomorrow's headline photos. Which do you prefer?"Mr. Gazca was an imposing man with many years of professional experience. The fact that he was willing to take this to the very end only increased Zack's confidence in him. Shortly afterward, they had the necessary documentation, and Gazca patted Zack on the shoulder with a smile."All set, Mr. Keller. Tomorrow you'll have the little girl back in her daycare. If you want to see how, be at this address tomorrow at eight sharp."Zack nodded, satisfied, and fell into thought for a moment."I appreciate you handling the case, but I'm worried Andrea won't accept my help," he said. "I mean, after everything that happened between us... we had a bad breakup and she still hasn’t forgiven me.""There are other ways. I’m also the c

CHAPTER 83. The company’s lead attorneyMason had come down the stairs of his mansion grumbling because the visit, according to the housekeeper, seemed very urgent, and he was taken aback when he saw the man at his door.No one had to tell him he was a lawyer; everything about him screamed it, from the elegant black suit to the folder of documents he carried."Good morning, Mr. Lee. I’m the lead attorney for Nexa Sport Representation, and therefore Mrs. Brand’s attorney," the man said firmly. "I’m here to notify you that the daycare your daughter attends has been declared fit again."Mason stared at the paper, trying to comprehend what he was reading."That’s impossible!" Mason growled, already imagining Andrea groveling at his door to see the child. "The social workers...!""The social workers you paid have already been fired, Mr. Lee," the lawyer said with a smile. "I’m just here to deliver the judge’s order. If your daughter isn’t at the court-designated daycare in thirty minutes,

CHAPTER 84. Only the best"I... I'll find a way to repay you," Andrea decided."You do that every day with your work. Ben told me that contract you landed was really exceptional," Zack replied. "Now you should focus on getting her good advertising deals."She nodded slowly, and Zack had to summon all his willpower not to go hug her like he wanted."Hey, Ben is asking for projects from an American advertising company. You can review them together," he informed her."Ben?""Yes... Ben," he replied, and Andrea nodded."Okay, I'll go see him," she murmured before heading to her office. But no matter how much she wanted to hide it, it was clear to her that Zack had his hands in all of this.She had two options: to hold onto her pride or to accept the help from the company's lawyer, but with her daughter's well-being at stake, there wasn't much room for pride.Ben handed her a large folder with the projects that KHC Group Advertising was working on at that moment and then handed her a check

CHAPTER 85. I’ll pack my bagZack wasn’t alarmed because news from England was usually good, but he still answered within two seconds.“Hello, love of my life, torment of my soul, desire of my heart...!”“You're such an idiot when you want to be, James!” Zack scoffed. “But I love you too. What's up? My assistant said it was urgent.”“Well, yeah! You called me to light a fire under my ass, and I’m returning the favor!” his friend laughed.James King and Zack had studied together at Oxford. Now, James managed one of the branches of Kings Holding Corporation while his older sister, Sophia, ran the Boston branch. Zack knew and respected her a lot, but he preferred to deal with his friend first.“Listen, Sophi called me. She got an urgent project for a youth trench coat brand,” James explained. “I showed her the picture you sent of the kid, and she liked his ‘aura’ or whatever. So if you can get to Boston with the guy by five o’clock tomorrow, the contract is yours.”Zack almost jumped wit

CHAPTER 86. What Happened Here Last Night!?Andrea looked around; she had a lot of furniture to organize and a house to tidy up, but fulfilling her first advertising contract was the priority. She packed her suitcase and tried to rest.The next day, she spent the entire morning with Adriana, making up for the time she would miss her with lots of kisses and hugs. Zack instructed Ben and Mr. Gazca to oversee Adriana's entry into the daycare in the morning.At noon, they boarded a private flight, and by the time they arrived in Boston, their spirits were high. They were immediately settled in a luxury hotel, and the advertising company sent a limousine for them.A very beautiful woman came out to greet them. She was obviously older than Zack but looked stunning in her executive attire.“Zack, darling, I’m glad you arrived safely. And especially for bringing me this prince!” Sophi greeted excitedly, looking at Gideon. “I wasn’t wrong, he’s perfect.”Sophi greeted the athlete and his mothe

CHAPTER 87. You're jealous!She was strong; she was a mini toy puppy, but she had strength, and Zack knew it when she pulled the sheet and sent him tumbling to the floor.“Why am I naked, Zack Keller!?” she growled fiercely, seeing him peek over the other side of the bed. “Wasn't your horny conquest last night enough for you? Did you have to rub yourself against me too?”Zack frowned, having no idea what she was referring to, but it was almost better to stay on the floor because when he stood up in just those boxers, Andrea's thoughts went weak.“Hey, hey, I know you shouldn't provoke a woman when she's in her time of the month... and by that, I mean all three hundred and sixty-five days... but I didn't do anything!” he declared. “What horny conquest are you talking about? Start there, and for the record, if I had rubbed against you, you wouldn't be standing, and you know it!”Andrea threw the nearest thing she had, which unfortunately was a pillow.“Oh, how kind of you! Thank you so

CHAPTER 88. StrategyShe picked up her shoes and headed to the door, not seeing that despite everything, Zack was trying to get up to do a little victory dance."She's jealous... Oh, damn, this hurts...!" he groaned, limping towards the minibar. "But she's jealous... That’s something!"He smiled as he sat on a suite sofa and pressed something cold against his jewels. She was jealous!Zack knew he had made a monumental mistake with her, but he was determined to fix everything, absolutely everything.Meanwhile, at that very moment, Mason was face-to-face with Mr. Gazca and Ben, who were waiting for him by the elevator."Where's Andrea?" he hissed without even a greeting when he didn’t see her anywhere.A nurse from the daycare took the baby, not without Ben greeting her first, and then he turned to Mason."Andrea had a business trip. She should be back tonight."Mason felt his blood boil."She had a business trip?" he growled, half-angry, half-incredulous. "Who did she go with?" Ben cle

CHAPTER 89. One way or anotherAndrea felt like the world was collapsing around her. She clutched her hands in her lap, mustering the strength not to scream."How... how did you know Adriana was in the hospital?" she asked Zack."Ben just told me. I asked him to keep an eye on Adriana, and apparently, Mason himself made sure to notify him that the baby got sick... supposedly because he couldn’t reach you."Andrea's eyes filled with tears as Zack drove at full speed."That’s a lie! I don’t even have a missed call from him!" she growled in frustration. "Did he say... did he say what happened?""No, just that she was admitted to the ER," Zack murmured, taking one of her hands and squeezing it in a reassuring gesture that didn’t help her at all.Twenty minutes later, around eleven at night, they were running through the hospital corridors until they reached the emergency desk."Adriana Brand... she’s my daughter!" Andrea exclaimed, stopping in front of the nurse on duty who quickly typed

CHAPTER 90. I'm Here to Stay"That's not true!" Andrea sobbed."I'll tell you what's true," Mason gloated. "I'm walking out of this hospital with the kid in my arms, and there's nothing you can do because a judge gave her to me.""Are you sure you want to play that card?" The voice behind them made them turn, and they saw Zack's grim face. "It's not in your best interest to threaten either of them.""Stay out of this, idiot. It's none of your business! If you'd left when I warned you, you would have spared her many tears," Mason growled, then reached his hands out to Andrea. "Give me the baby.""No... Mason...""Give me the baby or I'll call the police!""I'm not leaving my daughter alone with you to hurt her!" Andrea screamed."Then you know what you have to do," Mason hissed. "Walk straight ahead of me and get in my car."Andrea swallowed hard as tears streamed down her face, but she knew she had no other choice. If Mason was willing to do anything to subdue her, she was willing to