To Love a Shadow, To Be the Sun novel Chapter 192

His remark drew laughter from the group of CEOs.

Elara didn't seem bothered in the slightest. She strode straight up to Zane.

"Whether Ignition Dynamics turns out to be a flop or a golden goose, only time will tell."

As she spoke, she pulled a crisp new men's dress shirt from her bag.

"Sorry for the trouble the other night—your clothes got soaked. Consider this a small apology. Since I'd rather not have any more private contact, I'm giving it to you here."

Zane stared at the shirt in its box, making no move to take it.

The expressions on the other CEOs' faces shifted dramatically.

Slept together?!

So the mystery man in that censored tabloid photo was him?

Quincy Shelton quickly stepped in, realizing Elara had just blindsided his boss. He took the shirt with a practiced smile.

"Director Jules, you're too kind. It was just a wet shirt—dry it out and it's as good as new."

Elara let out a dry laugh, her gaze flicking to CEO Shepherd, refusing to let her off the hook.

"Ms. Shepherd, as one of the few female entrepreneurs in the renewable energy sector, I expected you'd understand how hard it is for women to build something from scratch. I never thought you'd be even better than the men at tearing down your own."

With that, Elara turned on her heel, her coat sweeping a sharp arc behind her as she left, leaving the room stunned and speechless.

She hadn't been gone long when Quincy Shelton leaned in, speaking in a low voice.

"A woman tried to sneak in just now, pretending to be a server. Security stopped her. We found this on her flash drive."

He pulled out his phone and played a video.

Zane's eyes darkened.

"We've already thrown her out. We wiped everything off her drive and planted a virus—when she plugs it back in, even her backups will be destroyed."

Zane nodded, signaling his approval.

"Miss Jules is trouble—too much drama. She's not the kind of woman you keep around on the sly. Keeping your distance is the right move," Quincy advised.

Zane clicked his tongue and shot him a look.

As she was nearing Celestial River Estates, Elara eased her car toward the curb.

She was about to check Summer's message when two men rushed up, pounding on her window.

Her car was custom—fully bulletproof.

No matter how hard they hit it, the glass didn't even dent.

Elara sat calmly inside, debating whether to call the police.

Suddenly, one of them pressed a phone against her window.

Onscreen, Stella Knightley was tied to a chair, her legs stretched out, suspended in the air.

Nanette sat perched on Stella's knees, pinning her down and making her cry out in pain.

Nanette's bloodless face loomed into the camera, expression twisted, her eyes wild and ghostly.

"Elara, do you still want this pawn?"