Free Web NovelChapter 144: Chapter 144
Nathan’s POV
It has been at least a couple of hours since I joined Sophia at this cafe. Even though I kept my gaze lowered, I could feel her eyes linger on me a moment too long.
She set her utensils down and chirped, “Nathan, company matters are more important. Shall we go back to the company together?”
I placed my knife and fork beside her plate, cutting her steak because she insisted on “liking it that way.”
“Are you full?” I asked.
She shook her head, then flashed her sweet smile. “After we’re done with our work, I’ll punish you by making you have a nice meal with me again!”
The word punish slid across the table like a cold blade. For a quick second, my wolf flinched but I smothered it instantly.
I raised an eyebrow. “You’re that confident?”
She blinked, then caught the implication. Color rushed to her cheeks as she straightened her posture, lifting her chin.
“Of course. I’m the lead attorney at Hemsworth Group. I won’t let you down!”
Upon hearing those words, I didn’s any longer. I left for the company with Sophia.
By the time I pushed open the conference room door where I would have a meeting with my executives, the tension inside was thick enough to choke on. Dozens of anxious eyes snapped toward us.
“Alpha Nathan, Ms. Darvin...you’re finally here!”
Collins rushed forward to pull out our chairs.I dropped into mine and let my expression harden, immediately going into business mode.
Sophia, however, looked a bit scared as she saw everyone’s face.
The researchers spoke, one droning on with frantic technical explanations. Finally, I cleared my throat.
“So?” I asked. “Any leads?”
Sophia blinked as if taken aback and asked. “What?”
The researcher repeated everything, clearly annoyed by Sophia’s absent mindedness. He spoke in great detail. Someone stole Hemsworth Group’s trade secrets. Since most of the designs revealed by Hemsworth Group were almost identical to those, it caused a huge uproar online
The room fell silent.
Everyone stared at Sophia with hope.
Her fingers went cold, I smelled the sudden drop in her body temperature. My wolf tilted its head, confused.
This... is not like her.
Or rather, it isn’t like the Sophia I thought I knew.
“Hm?” I frowned. “Don’t you have any ideas?” As the company’s lead lawyer, everyone expected her to think of a solution...Aria always did when she held that position.
Collins stepped in gently, “Ms. Darvin, don’t worry. Alpha Nathan is contacting the original technical staff who designed the first version.”
He explained the timelines, the complexity, the staff who had moved abroad.
Sophia’s throat bobbed. Her eyes darted
She looked panicked and lost.
“Well... let’s wait for the first-version technicians...” she finally managed.
The room stiffened. Dozens of glances were exchanged. Quiet judgment rippled like a silent storm.
My mind darted back to Aria...I bet I was thinking the same thing every other person was.
Aria never froze in the face of difficult problems. She always fought like a wolf even before she had me...always solved problems with the speed of lightning and the cleverness of a fox.
My wolf growled softly in my chest.
Sophia might be famous, but Aria had been competent.
When I looked at Sophia’s troubled, helpless expression, something in me soured.This wasn’t the confident attorney I’d relied on for a year. This was someone folding under pressure.
Suddenly, Collins shot upright, nearly dropping his phone.
“Alpha Nathan—we’ve made contact!”
Hope flared through the room like wildfire. Even I felt my chest tighten.
Francis Murray.
The damn genius behind the first patent draft.If anyone could save us, it was him.
I took the phone from Collins, lifting it to my ear.
“Francis, I need your help.”
A soft laugh drifted through the speaker. “Alpha Nathan, you must be joking. I left your company ages ago. What help could I possibly offer?”
I gave him the situation in a few clipped sentences. My voice came out harsher than intended, my wolf pacing at the rising tension.
Francis listened, then sighed.
“...I’ve already resigned.”
His tone was gentle, but the resolve in it was like steel. The conference room fell into dead silence around me.
Without his preserved drafts, we were trapped...cornered. Exactly the feeling my wolf hated the most.
My jaw tightened.
“Francis,” I said, my eyes narrowing, “Hemsworth Group treated you well. We helped you settle abroad. All I ask is that you come forward with your original draft and testify. That’s all.”
“Alpha Nathan ,” he replied smoothly, “that’s what I earned. Why bring that up now?”
The sarcasm beneath his politeness made Collins flinch. I felt my wolf’s fur bristle.
“Find someone else,” Francis continued. “If that’s all, I’ll hang up—”
“Aria is out of prison.”
The words slipped out of my mouth, edged with irritation.
The line went silent.
Around me, confusion thickened in the room. No one understood why I brought her up except Collins.
Aria and Francis had been close, closer than anyone else in the company outside our immediate circle. When Aria went to prison... Francis vanished the same night. Resigned, disappeared overseas, cut all ties.
Everything led back to her.
My lips thinned. I hated dredging up the past, hated how my chest tightened whenever Aria’s name crossed my mind.
Hated how my wolf lifted its head every time like it was hearing its mate’s call.
I forced the words out.
“She’s out. She has a child. She’s... doing well.”
There was more silence. Then Francis’s voice, cold and sharp:
“Alpha Nathan... did you ever imagine things would turn out this way?” freewebnoveℓ.com
A heartbeat passed.
“I’ll be returning to Asterfell in a few days. If you want the first draft, have Aria contact me.”
Click.
The line went dead.
