In the dark portion of the balcony, she found him, standing alone by the baluster. He was probably taking a breather from the loud noise and the maddening crowd.

In his left hand, he held his favorite tobacco, unlit, lazily tucked between his fingers. On his right, nestled a half-filled champagne flute, cold, bubbly, and sweet.

Ironically, for such a powerful and dangerous man, he never dared to light his cigarette, seemingly afraid of the repercussions that might follow.

"What do you want, Hazel?" The imposing man suddenly asked, probably sensing her presence as she stood behind him in the shadows.

The man in his tailored-made suit didn’t bother to move from his place. He didn’t even turn to look at her.

Somehow, he knew that it was her. It was as if he had eyes even at the back of his head, and ears everywhere.

But that was just how he had always been.

Always in control.

Always one step ahead.

"Max, he is still my son." She glared at the old man, who had clearly turned against her. "Why are you keeping me away from him?" Since her son had been confined to the hospital, she had not seen him. Her son’s private resting area had been off limits to her.

Before the divorce, Max used to be on her side, but now, it seemed the tides had turned as he favored that bitch over her. Admittedly, it was her fault. She had prioritized her career over their family.

But then, she was not about to take all the blame. If Oliver had only loved her, she would not have left in the first place.

"I deserve to be by his side." She walked further into the balcony, standing side by side with him, with only a foot apart. "No matter what happened, I’m still Caleb’s mother."

She knew Caleb was her only ticket back to the Morton family’s good graces. Therefore, she could not let go of her only connection with him.

For a minute, she wondered if Maximus had any idea who Sophia truly was. With his deep connections and resources at his disposal, she could not help but speculate if he had already uncovered Sophia’s secrets.

However, as she stared into his eyes, she could not tell. But whether he knew or not, she guessed it didn’t matter.

At the end of the day, what mattered was how she would use that information to her advantage, destroy her enemies, and achieve her goal.

"Is he really yours?" Max’s unexpected question caught her by surprise, forcing a gasp to escape her lips.

As she shifted her eyes to him, his eyes darkened, giving her a frightening death stare.

Condemning, Contemptuous. Accusatory.

Even at his age, he was still a very dangerous man to mess with, since he still had people working under him, ready to obey all his commands.

But unlike before, she had stopped being afraid of him. At this point, she was fighting for her family’s survival. Losing was not an option anymore.

"Your son?" His voice was doubtful as he repeated his question. His eyes watched her like a hawk, as if anticipating that she would slip or give him a hint of her lie.

But she was not the same person who would tremble at his feet at the sound of his voice. She was not his puppet anymore, dancing to his tune every time he controlled the strings.

Still, what did her former father-in-law know about Caleb? Why was he acting all suspicious?

"I have no idea what you’re talking about, Max. You’re either talking in riddles or drunk." She even said jokingly, with a mild chuckle to lighten the mood.

But deep inside, she could sense the turmoil that was raging inside her. What if they had already uncovered that Caleb was not actually her son, but Amelia, or AKA Sophia?

Still, she tried to keep her composure. Unless she admitted it, there was no way they would suspect that Caleb was not her child.

"Of course, Caleb is my son. I’m here to be a good mother. To make it up to him." This time, she had placed her emphasis on the last statement, sounding reproachful, regretful, and sad.

"I’m here to renegotiate my deal with you. Grant me some visiting rights to my son, and I will..."

"You will what?" It was definitely not a question, but a threat, as his eyes bore into hers, with a menacing intensity. It was obvious. She had burnt every bridge that connected them.

Now, this old man had his eyes fixed only on Sophia.

With Sophia still in the picture, remarrying Oliver was non-existent, and even getting Caleb back on her side would be impossible.

"I will tell you a secret that you’ll thank me for." She knew it was her only bargaining chip at the moment, but its worth was as good as a truckload of gold. "But first, I need your word for it."

She definitely caught his attention as he drank the remaining gold liquid in his glass and put the cigarette back in his jacket pocket.

"Hmm!" For a few minutes, she watched him grow quiet as he stared into the empty space. But his next words left her stunned into silence.

"I don’t think I’m interested in anything you’re selling," Maximus said in a definitive voice before he turned and walked straight back into the party, not even glancing back once to see the anxiousness in her face.

She watched the man throw her like she was yesterday’s trash before he walked away, leaving her in the dark, plotting her next move.

"You and your son will pay for this." She swore as she watched the retreating back of Maximus. "And you, Sophia." Picturing the face of that woman who had always been the thorn in her side. "I will make sure that this time, you’ll be gone for good."

But before she could return to the lively party, she noticed two figures appear from the shadows. The dim light barely illuminated their faces where they stood, but she easily recognized them.

"I told you. I will have the money soon." It was the loan sharks that had been stalking and harassing her, demanding payments for debts she didn’t even owe.

After careful evaluation of their financial crisis, she only realized that their company had been suffering from major setbacks for years. But her parents had chosen to keep that from her.

Now that she was about to inherit the company, she had discovered that their liquid capital had already drained. She was actually inheriting a soon-to-be bankrupt company.

The only way she could save her family was by allying with a powerful family.

So far, the most powerful family in the city was the Morton family. They had vast resources and almost unlimited financial capacity.

The next was Don Enrico, but she doubted whether she could ask for help from them. That family had been loyal to the Mortons for decades.

Then, immediately after Don Enrico was the Ricardo’s Cartel. The syndicate to which these two monsters belonged. The same organization that held her throat by the hand.

"Don Ricardo is not happy with the way you’ve been handling things. He thought you might need our help." One of the men spoke up, his voice gravelly as if he had just woken up.

Well, well, well.

That was a welcome surprise. Just when she thought that a door had closed shut, a new window opened.

"I think you two are exactly what the doctor had ordered." She said as the wheels in her head began turning and new plans emerged. "If you execute my plan to perfection, I’ll even give you guys a handsome bonus."

In the silence of the night, underneath the cold shadows, she whispered her plans to them, hoping that they were not just damn sexy bodies, but someone who also had a brain.

After offering them a substantial amount of money, the two agreed to their new arrangement. "If you do this successfully, I will even put in a good word for you to Don Ricardo."

Although she had never dealt personally with that old man, Don Ricardo, she had already heard that he was dominating, inconsiderate, and absolutely an asshole.

But if there was someone who could rival the Morton name, they were it.

"Consider it done as soon as possible." The silent one said. "But make sure that you won’t double-cross us, or we will hunt you down like a lost puppy."

"Just get it done." She muttered in a low voice, hoping no one was around to hear their plans. But thankfully, the entire garden seemed to be covered in darkness. Not a peep. Not a sound could be heard for miles.

Inside the mansion, she knew Sophia was there just waiting for her to move. But this time, she would have the upper hand.

"I want it clean, and make sure nothing will be traced back to me."