Chapter 1130:

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“What?” Carrie froze mid-step, whirling around to face Reece with wide, incredulous eyes.

She had buried her hatred deep within herself after Lise received her prison sentence, but hearing about Lise’s death now struck her as utterly surreal. She had battled against Lise for months, employing every conceivable strategy, and despite possessing ironclad evidence, imprisonment was the harshest punishment she could secure. Yet mere months later, Alethea had orchestrated her release.

Just as Lise had reclaimed both wealth and freedom, preparing to rebuild her life on foreign soil, news of her fatal cliff fall arrived without warning.

The notion of karma finally catching up with Lise brought Carrie no satisfaction whatsoever. Instead, suspicion crept through her mind—perhaps Lise had staged her own death to vanish completely.

Her brow furrowed as she pressed. “Did anyone actually see her body?”

“Let’s move away from this hallway. Join me in the dining room where you can eat while I walk you through everything,” Reece suggested, his perpetual concern for her welfare evident in his tone.

“Fine,” Carrie agreed with a slight nod.

Reece picked up his explanation. “I completely understand your suspicions. We explored the possibility that she fabricated her death and disappeared, particularly given her ten-million-dollar fortune. That sum would sustain a comfortable lifestyle anywhere in the world. However, I’ve scrutinized all her financial accounts, including the one I transferred funds to, plus her private overseas holdings. Not a single transaction has occurred. The entire ten million remains completely untouched.”

They moved into the dining room as he spoke, where an elaborate breakfast spread awaited them across the polished table.

Rich aromas wafted toward Carrie, immediately capturing her attention and awakening a gnawing hunger she hadn’t noticed before. Reece drew out her chair, and she settled into it, unable to resist the enticing display of food. She began eating with genuine appetite.

𝖁𝖊𝖗𝖎𝖋𝖞 𝖘𝖔𝖚𝖗𝖈𝖊 𝖍𝖊𝖗𝖊: 𝖌𝖆𝖑𝖓𝖔𝖛𝖊𝖑𝖘[․]𝖈𝖔𝖒

Several bites later, she suddenly realized she had completely lost track of their conversation about Lise.

She reached for her water glass, taking a measured sip, then admitted with slight embarrassment, “I became so absorbed in this meal that I completely forgot our main discussion.”

Reece selected choice portions and transferred them to her plate, his gaze drifting to her belly with tender affection. “Your hunger isn’t driving this—it’s your baby. You might choose to skip meals, but you cannot allow the baby to go without nourishment.”

The baby, of course.

Carrie’s eyes dropped to her abdomen, her hand settling gently over the barely perceptible curve, imagining she felt the faintest flutter of movement within. Terror seized her heart as memories flooded back—the agonizing, suffocating darkness that had consumed her after losing her previous child.

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