Chapter 6

Later, due to the recent surgery, Ella had insisted on postponing Cora's flight for two weeks. The day before her departure, she returned to the apartment alone to gather her documents. She'd barely stepped out of the car at the neighborhood entrance when several sports cars roared up behind her. One braked hard, and the window rolled down to reveal a familiar face. "Well, well! If it isn't Cora!" Cora recalled that the man was Zachary Ludwig, one of the "creditors" Axel once introduced her to and one of Corestone Group's shareholders. Moments later, Axel got out of the car behind and asked, "Cora, what are you doing here?" She fought down the disgust and turned her face away. "Getting my documents." "Oh! The flight to Auchendale with the team is tomorrow," Zachary said, as if struck with realization. At that, Axel's expression softened. "Alright. I'll forgive you for what you did to Lulu, then. Nolan and I will see you off at the airport tomorrow, and when you come back, we'll start over again." "Alright." Cora turned around and headed into the neighborhood, not wanting another word with him. Behind her, their loud and unrestrained mocking laughter followed. "Man, you've really got her trained like a dog." "Look at her. She's walking all stiff with that brace, yet she's still thinking about working to pay off your debts. How pathetic!" Axel looked at her limping figure as a smug, triumphant smile spread across his face. In high spirits, he gathered his friends for a party until dawn. At 7:00 am, his alarm blared, and he sent Zachary to the architecture firm to keep an eye on the Auchendale project. "Cora's barely out of surgery. Go watch the team closely, and make sure nothing goes wrong." Someone snickered. "You're really protective of your wife, aren't you?" After arriving at the architecture firm, Zachary saw a bus parked at the door, with the engineers ready to depart. Harvey greeted him with a smile. "Everyone's here, Mr. Ludwig. We're heading out." Zachary scanned the list and frowned. "This isn't right. Someone's missing." "Who?" "Where's Cora?" Harvey looked baffled. "Cora? She resigned right after returning from Auchendale." Immediately, Zachary's head buzzed. Cold sweat ran down his neck as his finger hovered over Axel's number, debating whether to call him. By then, Cora was already in Axel's car, speeding toward the airport.