Chapter 400
Chapter 400:
In the Yates family, Goodwin held the final word on everything. If Kristine could get close to him — close enough to engineer a marriage — Colton might resist, but he would ultimately have no choice but to comply with his father’s decision. If that was what she was doing, then Kristine was far more calculating than she appeared, staging a convincing exit from Colton’s life while quietly positioning herself beside his father.
Unable to sit still with the thought, Devin picked up his phone and called.
Colton answered on the second ring. Devin didn’t give him a chance to speak. “Colton, there’s a problem. Kristine is here in Raskor. I think she found out your father was in town and followed him deliberately p>
A silence. Then Colton’s voice came back, cold and flat. “Devin. Kristine is dead. I told you before — don’t bring her up again p>
𝗔𝗱𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗼𝗻
Devin sat motionless.
Dead? Since when? How was it possible he had heard nothing — no funeral, no announcement, nothing?
He shook the thought away and focused. He had seen her with his own eyes, standing outside that restaurant, not twenty meters from where he now sat.
“Colton,” he said carefully, “I am telling you I saw her. She was right there with Asher. I know what Kristine looks like. How could I possibly be wrong about that p>
Colton’s expression darkened instantly.
He ended the call without a word, then dialed Bobby’s number — and thought better of it before it connected. He hung up and walked out of the room alone.
Bobby stared at his phone, completely baffled.
Colton drove straight to the Edwards Group building. The lobby guards knew exactly who he was and had no intention of testing him. They stood aside and watched in silence as he stepped into the elevator. The moment the doors closed, one of them raised his radio. “Mr. Cole — Colton Yates is in the building p>
Nathan’s hand tightened around his phone. “Understood p>
Danica was standing close enough to hear every word. She felt the panic rise in her throat. “Does he know? Has Colton figured out the truth?” Before Asher had left the country, she had learned that Kristine’s death had been a carefully staged deception designed to mislead Colton. If he was showing up unannounced like this, it could only mean the lie had unraveled.
Nathan looked far more composed, though something dangerous was building quietly behind his eyes. “We’ll see how it plays,” he said, and moved toward Asher’s office with long, deliberate strides.
He had barely reached the door when a staff member’s voice rang out from down the corridor. “Mr. Yates, this is a restricted area — you need to leave immediately p>
Nathan turned. Colton was coming down the hall, his expression set like carved stone, his pace unhurried but utterly unstoppable. Something in his bearing made every person in his path instinctively step aside.
Nathan’s jaw tightened almost imperceptibly.
Colton didn’t look like a man there to have a conversation. He looked like a man who had already decided how this would end.
“Mr. Yates,” Nathan said, planting himself in front of the door.
Colton’s eyes settled on him — cold, completely empty. “Move p>
“I can’t do that. Mr. Edwards left specific instructions p>
“I said move p>
“Mr. Edwards said p>
Colton’s hand shot out and closed around Nathan’s wrist.
A sharp, sickening crack split the air.