Liam, James’ personal bodyguard and most capable assistant, questioned Tessa as he sat in the back seat of the car, “You know Mr. Fullerton?”

A hint of mockery flashed in Tessa’s eyes. “How could I not know him? I nearly died because of him.”

Liam fell silent for a moment before saying, “Since you know who he is, I might as well be frank. Your boyfriend targeted us and caused us significant losses. So, we had no choice but to retaliate by hurting his girlfriend. It’s only fair, don’t you think?”

“What are you talking about?” Tessa’s lips curled into a sardonic smile. “Surely you’re not implying that Stephen’s my boyfriend? Don’t you know we’ve ended things? If you’re looking for his girlfriend, then I’m afraid you’ve got the wrong person. Lord knows I have had nothing to do with him since then.”

Liam sneered. “Who else could his beloved be but you?”

“Haven’t you seen the headlines recently? He’s gone galavanting with some actress! Are you blind? Why come after me?” Tessa snarked.

There was a pause before Liam replied coldly, “Do you not know that Stephen deliberately dumped you and broke his engagement with you to prevent you from getting involved in his mess?”

Tessa scoffed. “Please. You’re giving me far too much credit. His scandal with his latest beau has been plastered all over the news. Are you illiterate or something?”

Liam’s lips tugged into a smirk. “Ms. Yates, are you truly unaware of what’s going on, or are you just pretending? The actress involved in that scandal with Stephen is actually his cousin.”

Tessa’s expression froze upon hearing this, and her eyes widened in disbelief. “What did you just say?”

Liam let out a bark of mocking laughter. “At this point, I’m not sure whether I should praise you for your award-worthy acting skills or commend Stephen for protecting you so well, Ms. Yates.”

Tessa was beyond confused. “What are you getting at?”

James had ordered Liam to abduct Tessa. Now that she was in his grasp, his task was complete.

He had bound Tessa’s limbs at the first opportunity, and she was also severely injured. Besides, she had lost all contact with the outside world. Therefore, there was absolutely no possible way she could escape by herself.

It was unlikely she would survive once she fell into James’ hands.

Since she was as good as dead,

Liam figured it wouldn’t hurt to tell her the truth. “Judging by your reaction, you truly don’t know anything at all. Back then, you Rearly lost your life while dating Stephen, and your father nearly died at our hands.

“Stephen feared that if you stayed with him, you might not live to see another day.

So, he staged a scandal with an actress and broke up with you.”

Liam was telling the truth. Initially, both he and James had been deceived by Stephen’s parlor trick.

They genuinely thought Stephen had had a change of heart. After all, it wasn’t unusual for Stephen to get himself involved with a celebrity, especially with his status as a rich heir.

Plus, the Jacobson family had been very cautious-enough to keep their adopted daughter, Jacqueline, in the dark.

Thus, even Jacqueline was unaware of the true reason behind Stephen and Tessa’s breakup.

The waters became murkier when

the authorities arrested Cayden, who had been handling a task for James. That was the result of Stephen’s subordinates somehow getting their hands on some substantial evidence against Cayden.

With the Jacobson family’s support, the cops promptly investigated all of the companies under Cayden’s control.

Although Cayden seemed to be managing these companies, those businesses were actually James’ money-making tools.

Consequently, Cayden was now

facing multiple charges for his

crimes and had been arrested. It was only a matter of time before he would be sentenced. Even if he wasn’t given the death penalty, there was no doubt he would be facing a lifetime of imprisonment

As a result, James suffered significant losses and could no longer afford to stay in Orkford.

They were already making plans to return to Arcton.

Nevertheless, James wanted to exact revenge before returning to Arcton.

Hence, James sent waves of assassins to assassinate Stephen. Unfortunately, they all failed to eliminate their target.

He was at a loss for what to do. That was when he remembered Tessa.

James had always been a suspicious man. So, he reviewed the entire situation once more and eventually found something fishy about Stephen and Tessa’s breakup.