Chapter 138

Several hours earlier, Ariana sat in a car nearby, waiting for the vehicle Lily was in to burst into flames. She had arranged for her people to plant a small device in the car that would cause it to crash and ignite. The plan was simple: Lily would either be killed or suffer severe injuries.

As she watched from a distance, the car sped along the road and then, as expected, it erupted in flames.

Earlier that morning, using an untraceable phone, Ariana had called Lily, who answered immediately.

"It’s time we meet face-to-face, don’t you think?" Ariana had said.

Lily smiled, as she had been anticipating this moment. "I agree. It’s time we settle things. Only one of us will walk away from this, either you or me."

"Exactly, and I intend to be the one standing in the end," Ariana responded confidently.

Their conversation took place around 5 AM.

After the call ended, Lily told Jacob and Micheal about the conversation. They left their hiding spot and headed to where Lily was to meet Ariana. She also informed her grandfather, who was awake at that hour, and although he didn’t want her to meet Ariana on her terms, Lily reassured him that everything was already in motion, and Ariana’s plot wouldn’t succeed.

Though Caleb was uneasy, he let his granddaughter proceed with her plans.

Lily prepared to leave the house after kissing her daughter, Viola, who was still sleeping. She got into a car with two bodyguards, and just as she did, Jacob called her.

Meanwhile, Ariana watched the vehicle Lily was in crash and burst into flames, her heart filled with satisfaction.

"Ma'am, what do we do next?" her associate asked.

"Make sure she's dead," Ariana replied.

Samson, who had been sitting with her, stared at the fiery wreckage in disbelief. He had tried to dissuade Ariana from going through with the plan, but his efforts had been in vain.

"I'll go check," Samson volunteered.

Ariana nodded. "I’m coming with you."

"It’s unnecessary. There’s no way she survived that," Samson insisted.

"I have to see it for myself," Ariana said firmly. "She escaped last time, so I need to be certain she’s gone this time before moving on to the next phase."

Seeing that he couldn’t change her mind, Samson and Ariana approached the burning car. Once they were close, it was clear that no one could have lived through that.

They had been tracking the vehicle from the Blake estate, so they were sure it was the one Lily had entered.

"It’s time to celebrate," Ariana said, her excitement barely contained.

"Let’s get out of here before the police and reporters arrive," Samson advised.

Ariana agreed, and they left the scene.

***
Back in the present…

Alexander raced to the scene and jumped out of his car. The fire had been put out, and investigators were already searching the wreckage for any signs of life.

He sprinted toward the vehicle, frantically shouting Lily's name, but Ethan quickly grabbed him.

"Get a hold of yourself. They need to confirm if she was in there first," Ethan said.

Realizing the truth in Ethan’s words, Alexander calmed down, though his anxiety was still high. He freed himself from Ethan’s grip and headed back to his car.

"Where are you going?" Ethan asked.

"I need to confirm for myself."

"The investigators are already on it. Let them do their job," Ethan urged, but Alexander got into his car without replying and sped off.

Ethan followed closely behind in his own vehicle.

Before long, Alexander arrived at the Blake estate and was immediately let inside. He wasn’t going to sit around waiting for the police to tell him whether or not Lily had been in that car—he needed answers now.

The moment the guards saw him, they bowed and stepped aside to let him through.

Victor came down the stairs to greet him.

"Where is Lily? Is my daughter with her?" Alexander demanded, his voice full of desperation.

"Viola is still sleeping in her room," Victor replied.

"Is Lily with her?" Alexander couldn’t bring himself to believe what the media was reporting—that Lily had been in that car.

Victor shook his head. "She left with bodyguards around 5 AM. She said she had somewhere to be."

"What car did she take?" Alexander asked, holding his breath.

When Victor described the car, Alexander collapsed to his knees, gasping for air, as the reality set in. It was the same car that had caught fire.

"Mr. Kane, are you alright?" Victor called for the head maid. "Julian! Get the family doctor immediately!"

Hearing the commotion, Caleb rushed downstairs. "What’s happening?"

He had heard Alexander had arrived but had no idea why Victor was shouting for the doctor. Victor rarely panicked, and for him to react this way meant something serious had occurred.

When Caleb saw Alexander’s condition, he asked, "What’s wrong with him?"

"I told him Lily left this morning, and he just collapsed."

"Get him to one of the rooms and lay him down until the doctor arrives," Caleb instructed.

As they moved to assist Alexander, he suddenly pushed them away, his strength surprising given how weak he had seemed moments ago.

"I… need… to find her," Alexander said between labored breaths and turned to leave.

"Shouldn’t we stop him, Master?" one of the staff asked.

"No," Caleb replied, suspecting there was more to Alexander’s reaction than met the eye.

"Victor," Caleb called, "find out what’s going on."

"Right away, Master."

"Something must have happened to Lily for Alexander to be in such a state," Caleb thought to himself.

Later, Caleb received the grim news and was shaken to the core, nearly losing control. He was on the verge of ordering assassins to go after Ariana, but his phone rang.

It was Lily.

"Grandfather," she said, her voice calm.

Stunned, Caleb shot to his feet. "Is it really you, Lily?"

"I had to call before you did something drastic," Lily explained.

Caleb exhaled deeply, thanking the heavens. "I’m relieved you’re okay. I almost made a terrible mistake."

"Where are you?" he asked.

"I’m safe."

"Have you seen the news?"

"Yes, I have."

"Then you know how devastated Alexander is right now."

"I know," Lily said, her voice heavy with emotion.

"He came here to the house and nearly collapsed after finding out you left this morning."

Lily was taken aback. "He was here? Is he alright?" she asked, her worry evident.

"We almost called the doctor, but he refused."

Tears welled up in Lily’s eyes. "Where did he go? You should’ve stopped him."

"He said he was going to look for you. I don’t think he believes what’s being reported."

Everything had happened so fast. Lily hadn’t anticipated that Ariana would take such extreme measures. At the last minute, Jacob had informed her that something felt off about the meeting spot Ariana had suggested. The location was miles away from where the GPS tracked her car. That’s when Lily made the decision to get into a different vehicle that looked identical to the one Ariana had targeted.

The other car was on auto-drive, and with its tinted windows, it was impossible for anyone to tell that no one was inside.

Lily had witnessed the crash with her own eyes.

"Very soon, the media will report that no one was in the car. Alexander will know I wasn’t inside."

"That’s true," Caleb agreed.

"Please look after Viola for me, Grandfather."

"Of course."

"Thank you," Lily said, relieved.

"What’s your next move?"

"I’m going to face her directly. This ends today."

"I’ll send help."

"Thanks, Grandfather."

"Be careful," Caleb said, still concerned.

Had it not been for Lily’s quick thinking, she would have perished in that fiery wreck. He couldn’t bear to experience the anguish he had felt when he initially believed she was gone. His heart ached for Alexander, who was still in the dark about what had truly happened.

"I will, and one more thing," Lily added.

"What is it?"

"Father’s been away for months, and you said he doesn’t know anything about what’s going on, right?"

The last thing Lily wanted was for her father to find out and rush home.

"No, there’s no network where he is."

Peter was working on the new branch in a remote area with little to no connection to the outside world and had no idea what was unfolding back home.

Lily sighed in relief. "Thank you, Grandfather," she said, ending the call.

She looked around at her surroundings—a secluded spot with towering trees, leaves rustling in the wind, and birds chirping in the distance. This was the place where she would confront Ariana, just the two of them.

Taking a burner phone from her pocket, Lily dialed Ariana’s number.

Ariana, in the middle of celebrating, answered a call from an unknown number.

"Hello?" she said, her voice brimming with excitement.

"Enjoying yourself?" Lily asked calmly.

The color drained from Ariana’s face as she recognized the voice.

"You had your turn. Now it’s mine," Lily said.