The Temporary Boyfriend

Chapter 177: Following the trail

​"Mark?"

"Yes! Yes," Alaric stammered. "He approached our firm yesterday. He said he was trying to help you, and that someone was trying to sabotage your company. I swear it’s true."

Lyvana’s eyes narrowed.

"Mark..." she repeated slowly.

....

Catalina arrived at the apartment building, her heels clicking sharply against the marble floor of the lobby.

She had done unspeakable things in her life. Lied without blinking. Manipulated people without remorse. Destroyed lives simply because it benefited her.

Fear was not an emotion she allowed herself to feel.

And yet, as the elevator climbed higher and higher, a cold knot tightened in her stomach.

What if something went wrong?

The elevator doors slid open and she stepped out slowly, gripping her purse tighter. The building was old, dark, and creepy. It looked like the kind of place where someone could jump out at any minute.

​Maybe it was just the bad neighborhood that made her nervous.

​She walked down the long hallway and opened the door to the room at the very end. Mateo was already inside with another man. They were looking through a telescope towards the warehouse.

"Are you in position Marcus?" the man was asking through a speaker.

On the table beside them were scattered gadgets, burner phones, maps, and detailed blueprints of the industrial area.

Static crackled through a speaker.

"Are you in position, Marcus?" the man repeated.

A distorted voice answered through the speaker. "In position."

"Is everything ready?" she asked them. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm

Mateo turned to her.

"Yes, Cat," he said smoothly. "The bait is set. Any minute now, Lyvana will walk straight into the trap." A slow smile spread across his face. "And once this is over, she’ll finally be out of the picture and no one would blame you. They will simply say she was trying to cover up her bad sales."

Catalina forced herself to stay calm.

"What if she doesn’t fall for the bait?"

The room went quiet for a second.

The other man glanced at her oddly.

Mateo let out a faint chuckle.

"What’s this?" he teased lightly. "You’ve been acting strange all day. Usually you’re the optimistic one."

Catalina crossed her arms tightly.

"I just have a bad feeling, and this nasty building is making me nervous."

Mateo smirked and took a sip of his drink. "Well, don’t say things like that in here, killjoy."

The men laughed softly.

But Catalina didn’t.

The bad feeling in her chest only grew stronger.

Then suddenly... Sirens filled the air.

Everyone in the room froze.

"What was that?" the man beside the telescope said quickly.

Catalina turned toward the window. Her eyes widened.

Police cars were rushing into the street below. Red and blue lights flashed everywhere. More cars followed behind them... Then more.

Within seconds, the whole area around the warehouse was full of police.

"Oh my God," Catalina whispered. "I knew something would go wrong."

The speaker suddenly exploded with panicked shouting. "There are cops everywhere! We’ve been exposed!"

"Run Marcus!" The man said to him, looking nervous now.

"They’re surrounding the warehouse," he said. "Every exit is blocked. They are checking all the buildings including this one."

​Mateo jumped to his feet so fast that his glass flew from his hand, shattering into pieces on the floor.

"Calling the cops ruins her own company. If they raid that warehouse, they find the fake goods, and her credibility is dead! Why would she do that?" Mateo asked.

"Maybe Alaric messed up," Catalina replied.

They scrambled to find a hiding place.

....

Meanwhile, ​Mark was back at his family home. He was standing in the living room with a glass in his hand, staring blankly ahead.

The sound of heels approaching broke the quiet. A moment later, Susan entered the room.

Elegant as always, though concern lingered faintly across her face.

"Mark," she said softly, "Elena told me you arrived. Where did you disappear to?"

Mark took another slow sip before answering. "I went to see Clarisse."

Susan looked at him surprised, her brows furrowing.

"Clarisse? Mark, you shouldn’t be running over there right now. Not with everything that’s happened."

​Mark took a heavy sip from his glass, the liquid burning his throat.

"I needed to get away for a while."

​"You need to be careful," Susan warned, walking closer to him. "People are talking. The internet is full of pictures of Lyvana with her new boyfriend. If the press catches you making a mess with Clarisse, they will blame you for the breakup and it won’t help your political ambition."

​Mark’s grip on his glass tightened. "Let them talk!"

"No, no. She got together with that man too soon after you two broke up. Isn’t it obvious they were sleeping together? That’s what we will tell the press. That’s why I sent Clarisse away for now."

​He set his glass down on the table with a loud clatter. "I am not interested in talking about Lyvana right now."

Susan’s eyes narrowed. "What’s wrong with you?"

"Nothing, just leave me alone."

She crossed her arms, her face turning cold. "Leave you alone? Mark, look at yourself. You are hiding in this living room, drinking by yourself, while your ex-fiancée is the biggest story in the country. If she was cheating on you, we need to use that. We can fix your reputation."

Just then, a maid walked quickly into the living room.

​"Sir," the maid said, looking a little nervous. "Ms. Lyvana is outside. She says she wants to talk to you."

​Mark froze and his eyes went wide. For a second, he thought he hadn’t heard right.

​"Lyvana?" Susan asked, her voice filled with surprise. She immediately looked over at Mark, her eyes narrowing. "What is she doing here at this time of night?"

​

​"Let her in," Mark ordered the maid, who turned and left the room quickly.

​Susan frowned at him. "Why do you want to see her?"

​"Because I want to hear what she has to say," he said, straightening his shoulders.

​A second later, Lyvana stepped into the room, followed closely by Marco.

​"Nice to see you, Liv," Mark said, stepping toward her with a smile. "I have missed..."

​"Mark, I will go straight to the point," Lyvana interrupted, her voice ice-cold. "Why did you send that lawyer to my office?"

​Mark’s smile died instantly. His heart skipped a beat. "The lawyer?"

​"Don’t act dumb," she said, crossing her arms.

​Mark forced himself to sigh, trying to look calm. "Alaric told you, then. Look, I was only trying to help."

​"Explain it to me," she demanded.

​"I was trying to save your company," Mark said, his voice desperate. "Someone is trying to sabotage your image, Lyvana. I found out about it, and I wanted to warn you."

​"I know you’re such good friends with Catalina," she shot back, her eyes cutting right through him. "Is she the one behind this? And how exactly did you find out about it?"

​"She is not my friend," Mark said quickly. "Look, Catalina called me. She told me about her plans. I hated the idea, and so did the other guy who was with her. He’s the one who gave me Alaric’s number and the photos. I paid Alaric a lot of money to go to your office and warn you before the news broke tomorrow morning! I did it for you, Liv."

​Lyvana let out a short, cold laugh. She looked coldly.

​"It didn’t even occur to you that you were being used to set me up?"