Chapter 509
She crashed into a rock-solid chest. Without even looking up, she let out a breath of relief. “Lance p>
A low chuckle filled the tight space. “You were that sure it was me?” The light clicked on, revealing Lance’s face.
“It wasn’t hard to guess. You’re close with Mike. There was no way I’d be at this gala without you showing up. Since I didn’t see you in the main hall, I knew you had to be hiding somewhere. I came looking for you.” She hadn’t even realized how absolute her faith in him had become.
Lance smiled warmly. “Thank you for trusting me. I’ve already spoken to Mike. He’s going to pressure Barnard about your father. Even if that doesn’t work, I have backup plans in motion. Don’t be afraid of him, Camilla. By tomorrow at the latest, I’m getting you out of his hands p>
“But my mom p>
“Don’t worry. I’ve already got men stationed at Elise’s house. Even if he had the power of a god, he wouldn’t be able to touch her,” Lance assured her.
The crushing weight finally lifted off her chest. She wrapped her arms tightly around him, burying her face against his chest. “I’m so glad I have you p>
With Lance, she was never fighting alone. He never stopped her from making her own choices, but he was always there, quietly paving a safe path for her, giving her a profound sense of security.
By the time Camilla returned to Barnard, ten minutes had passed. Not wanting to raise any suspicion, she had to pull away from Lance far sooner than she wanted.
Barnard eyed her with immediate suspicion. “What took you so long? Where were you p>
“I told you, the restroom. If you don’t even believe that, do you want to stand outside the stall with a stopwatch from now on?” she fired back.
A flicker of embarrassment crossed his face. “I didn’t mean it like that. There’s no need to be so hostile. We’re going to be spending our lives together. We can’t be at each other’s throats all the time p>
Camilla gave him a look of pure disgust and looked away.
“It’s just a shame you missed the show,” Barnard continued smoothly. “Look around. Half the room is gone p>
She scanned the hall. The crowd had thinned drastically, and those remaining looked manic. Driven by greed, all pretenses of brotherhood had vanished as they viciously fought to claim each other’s territories. Mike sat quietly at the front, watching the bloodbath with a blank expression. But when Camilla met Mike’s eyes, a chill ran down her spine. There was no such thing as a free lunch. Mike had merely tossed a piece of meat into a pit of wolves to let them weed out the weak. He had a million ways to take those territories back whenever he wanted.
“Aren’t you going to jump in?” Camilla asked.
“Please,” Barnard scoffed haughtily. “I only crushed Zachary because of my father. As for the rest of them, they might be useful allies later. I have no interest in wading into this mess and looking like a backstabber p>
Camilla sneered internally at his sheer hypocrisy.
Barnard leaned in closer, about to say something else, but suddenly frowned. “Who did you go see p>
“Who would I see? You brought me here. I don’t know anyone p>
“No. You smell like someone else.” He grabbed her wrist, leaning in closer like a bloodhound. “Is it Lance? Did you go see him p>
“Are you out of your mind? Lance isn’t even here. As for the smell, I probably brushed past someone,” she snapped, pulling her hand away.
Barnard thought about it for a second and nodded. “True. This is a private syndicate meeting. Lance couldn’t get in p>
At that moment, the snitching frenzy paused. Mike handed control of the room to his subordinates and summoned Barnard to a private room.
Barnard looked slightly surprised but didn’t dare refuse. When he entered, his heart skipped a beat—Zack Lennox was standing there. Panic flashed across his eyes before he forced it down into a calm mask.
Mike walked in, his gaze sweeping over Barnard and Camilla. “If I remember correctly, this lady used to be Lance’s girlfriend. You’ve got some nerve, Mr. Carter, stealing from my friend p>