Chapter 34

Suzy nodded blankly. "Thank you."

Truthfully, as long as her uncle’s hopeless romantic brain had finally rebooted, she was already satisfied.

During the days she’d been recovering, Adam and Leonard had thoroughly investigated the incident. The sequence of events had been pieced together, and the evidence carefully preserved.

The mastermind turned out to be Monica’s so-called "brother," Mario Lanetti.

They weren’t blood-related. Monica had been adopted into the family. The two had gotten involved far earlier than anyone suspected.

After learning that Leonard had drafted a will leaving most of his assets to Monica in the event of his death, greed had taken root.

If Leonard died, Monica would inherit everything.

And then the two of them could run off together—wealthy and unburdened.

The method had been crude, but disturbingly effective in its simplicity. Tamper with the brakes. Create an accident. Let fate do the rest.

They had calculated everything. Everything—except Suzy.

They hadn’t expected that on that particular night, she would insist on driving. They certainly hadn’t expected her to survive with only minor injuries.

Now Mario was already in custody. What awaited him next was the cold machinery of the law.

Adam glanced at Leonard. "That woman didn’t make a scene?"

With Monica’s temperament, silence would be unnatural.

Leonard had barely begun to respond, "No—"

When his phone rang. He glanced at the screen and grimaced. "You jinxed it."

He turned the phone so Adam could see.

The caller ID read: My Monica

.

Adam’s eyebrow lifted. "You haven’t changed the contact name yet?"

Leonard’s mouth twitched. Without hesitation, he hung up and blocked the number.

He had no desire to deal with her again. If once there had been love, now there was only disgust—sharp and bitter. But the moment he blocked that call, another unfamiliar number rang.

He rejected it.

Blocked it.

Another one came.

Reject. Block.

Over and over until, finally, the phone fell silent.

Adam watched the process with quiet approval. The romantic fool was truly awake this time.

After sitting still for a moment, Leonard excused himself to use the restroom.

That left only Suzy and Adam at the table.

Suzy kept her head down, pushing food around her plate. She wasn’t hungry, not really.

The issue with her space gnawed at her mind like a persistent ache. Compared to that, losing a million dollars would’ve been nothing.

While Leonard and Adam had been talking, she’d at least had something else to focus on. But now that the conversation had paused, her thoughts spiraled back to the same unsettling void.

What if the space is gone?

The thought made her stomach twist. She was so lost in her own mind that she didn’t notice the waiter approach.

"Your dessert," the server announced warmly.

Suzy looked up.

A delicate glass dish of ice cream—creamy swirls topped with fruit and a drizzle of syrup—was placed gently on the table.

The waiter glanced first at Adam. But Adam gestured toward Suzy. "Put it in front of her."

The dessert was set before her.

She blinked. "You ordered this for me?"

Adam simply nodded. "Why?"

He studied her quietly for a second. "You look like you’re in a bad mood. When you’re in a bad mood, eat something sweet."

Suzy instinctively touched her cheek. "Is it that obvious?"

Adam didn’t answer, but his expression said everything.

She couldn’t help but laugh softly. "Thank you, Adam."

She scooped up a spoonful and tasted it. The cold sweetness melted on her tongue, rich and comforting.

Almost instantly, her mood lifted a little. Her smile grew brighter.

"...You’re welcome," Adam replied evenly.

Then, as her smile lingered—clear and radiant—he shifted his gaze away, as though the light of it were something he preferred not to look at for too long.

After dinner with Adam, Leonard took Suzy home.

The dessert had worked, just as Adam had predicted. The sweetness had melted away some of the heaviness in her chest, and on the drive back, she even managed a few genuine smiles.

But the good mood didn’t last.

The moment they stepped out of the elevator and saw Monica standing outside their door, both of their expressions froze.

Suzy stood slightly behind Leonard and felt it—the subtle tightening of his jaw, the faint stiffness in his shoulders.

Monica, however, reacted like a lit fuse. The instant she saw Leonard, she lunged forward, hair disheveled, eyes wild.

"Leonard Kale! How dare you not answer my calls? How dare you block my number?!"

Her voice was shrill, scraping against the quiet hallway like metal against glass.

Leonard shifted slightly as she rushed toward him. Suzy, without missing a beat, extended her foot.

Monica stumbled. Her heel twisted sharply. With a graceless cry, she pitched forward and hit the ground hard.

"Ahhh—!" The scream that tore from her throat was piercing and ugly.

She scrambled upright, face flushed with fury, eyes venomous as she glared at them.

"You dare treat me like this? You actually dare?! Leonard Kale, I will never forgive you!"

Leonard’s expression didn’t change. He looked at her as if she were nothing more than a stray noise in the corridor.

He reached back, took Suzy’s hand calmly, and said, "Suzy, let’s go inside."

"Okay."

They walked past her as though she didn’t exist.

That was when Monica truly panicked. When she realized he wasn’t just posturing—wasn’t waiting for her to beg—that he truly meant to end it.

"Leonard! I was wrong! Don’t break up with me! I know I was wrong!" Her tone changed instantly, softening, trembling.

She tried to stand, but her ankle screamed in protest. The pain made her gasp.

Still, she didn’t care.

She dropped to her hands and knees and crawled toward him.

"Leonard, I really know I was wrong! Please—please don’t hurt Mario! He didn’t mean it! He was just confused for a moment! Don’t send him to prison..."

Leonard stopped.

Slowly, he looked down at her. "Do you even hear yourself?" he asked coldly.

Seeing that he had paused, Monica seized the chance. She crawled closer and clutched at his leg, sobbing loudly.

"Leonard... please! You can’t send Mario to prison! He’s still young! If you do that, you’ll ruin his life! He’s my only brother! Leonard, I’m begging you... I’ll return everything you gave me. Just let him go..."

Leonard felt nothing.

No hesitation.

No softening.

Only a chill spreading through his chest.

For an entire year, he had given Monica everything—money, patience, indulgence. And in return, he had received indifference, contempt, endless dissatisfaction.

Yet now... She was willing to abase herself for another man.

The irony was suffocating.

So this was what it meant to feed one’s whole heart to a wolf.

No. A wolf at least had loyalty.

Monica didn’t.

"Mario tried to kill me," Leonard said quietly. The calm in his voice was far more frightening than anger. "And you’re asking me to forgive him? If it weren’t for Suzy, I would already be dead. You have the audacity to ask me for mercy?"

He let out a soft, humorless laugh. "Monica, even if you think I’m a fool, there should be a limit."

She was silent for a few seconds. Then, in a small, stubborn voice, she muttered, "But... you’re fine, aren’t you?"

Leonard’s pupils contracted. For a split second, his hand almost rose to strike her.

He forced it down.

He did not hit women, no matter how vile they were.

"Monica," he said, each word sharp and final, "get the hell out."