Winning Her Heart Back

 Once and For All

William walked away, uninterested in negotiating and unfazed by Vanessa's threats.

Ashton advised, "Mrs. Middleton, you should be cautious. Mr. Middleton is the backbone of both the Middleton family and the Cloudex Corporation. If something happens to him, you won't get anything." Ashton briefly paused and added, "Also, Ms. Hoven is alive."

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"That's impossible!" Vanessa blurted out.

Ashton elaborate any more and followed William with the others.

Vanessa stood there frozen as she pondered what Ashton had said. Alive? Emelie wasn't dead?

How could that be? She had seen it herself.

"Mrs. Middleton..." Vanessa's confidant steadied her wavering body.

Vanessa clenched her teeth. "It can't be true! I saw him throw Emelie's body into the sea with my own eyes. He's just bluffing!"

He must be trying to frighten her.

"But Ms. Jones is right. If something ever happens to Mr. Middleton, the Cloudex Corporation will be in chaos. The Middleton family will fall, and we'll be worse off," her confidant tried to reason with Vanessa.

However, a fierce glint crossed Vanessa's eyes. "It's better if the Cloudex Corporation falls into chaos. That's the best way for me to reclaim everything that rightfully belongs to me and my daughter!"

The confidant realized Vanessa was planning to go after William. "So, what should we do, Mrs. Middleton?

Vanessa lifted her head, looked up at the hallway security cameras, and scoffed. "William, you'll see what I'm capable of soon."

Fabian got her hands on the security footage of the hospital room and hallway. To her surprise, the hallway cameras mysteriously lost power. It happened half an hour before Henry's death, and the camera captured nothing.

The ward camera also malfunctioned, showing only a black screen with captured audio.

In the car, Fabian played the footage.

The audio gradually became clear in the enclosed space. There were weak calls from Henry and beeping sounds from the medical equipment. Then, the sound of high heels clicking down the hallway was heard.

William was sitting in the back seat, and his lips pressed into a thin line.

Though the woman's voice wasn't audible, Henry's breathing became noticeably labored, erratic, and fearful. The woman must've leaned in and said something to Henry.

Then, beeping came from the alarms of the machines. There were frantic noises of doctors and nurses attempting to resuscitate Henry. That went on for several minutes, and the alarm continuously beeped.

"Turn it off!" William commanded, and Fabian immediately turned the footage off.

Fabian and Ashton exchanged glances, then cautiously turned around to look at William. His eyes were tightly shut, and his brow furrowed deeply.

Fabian said, "Mr. Middleton, someone must've gone in to see Mr. Middleton Senior. I can check the elevator footage..."

However, William rejected Fabian's offer. He already had an idea of who it was. His throat bobbed as he swallowed hard.

"Let's focus on the funeral arrangements for now," William said with a hoarse voice.

"Yes, sir," they said as the car pulled away from the hospital.

Capebatt City was already shrouded in the darkness of the night. As they drove, the streetlights casted fleeting patterns across William's face.

He kept his eyes closed, his fingers clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white. When he finally released his grip and opened his eyes, his gaze was dark and cold.

Alright. Since she had returned, it was time to settle everything once and for all.

The next morning, the Cloudex Corporation announced the news on its social media accounts and website. They stated that Henry Middleton had passed away because of illness.

Given the Cloudex Corporation's prominence, their announcement garnered many comments once it was posted. People left candle emojis in the comments to express their condolences.

Initially, the news didn't cause much of a stir. However, later that day, a trending topic emerged: # HenryMiddletonPasses Away, StepdaughterAndStepmotherFight ForPower.

The juicy, drama-filled nature of the headline quickly caught the public's attention, and many people tapped into it to find out more.

The thread was attached with several surveillance photos. The pictures showed when William ordered the bodyguards to restrain Vanessa the previous day in the hospital hallway.