Crises in Love (Zora and Jaylan) novel Chapter 132

A look of loathing crossed Addrion's face as he continued, "I was the last one they targeted. Marissa demanded I hand over my contacts for the external liaison, harbor, and the crucial players in transportation. I was crystal clear and unwavering in my response. They couldn't interfere with any of this because these were my personal networks. Particularly Harbor, I knew this had to be handled meticulously. I was determined to hold the line, no matter what."

I could fully empathize with how Addrion felt at the time. It was our lifeline, after all.

"Jaylan was fairly decent to me. He didn't dispute my refusal. Instead, he valued my role. After a one-on-one chat with me, not only did he give me a raise but also assigned me an assistant. To convince me, he let me choose who I wanted. I picked a smart lad named Nathan."

I nodded, "I remember him!"

"This lad was exactly what I wanted, bright, competent, and hardworking. Marissa also showed me respect, often referring to me as 'Bro Adri'. Jaylan always had Marissa contact me, saying that I could just discuss certain matters with Secretary Marissa. I had already sensed that Marissa was no simple character and wanted to warn you, but all my calls went unanswered."

"Maybe our downfall started with those unanswered calls. I was so ill at that time, barely hanging on. Jaylan, and sometimes Marissa, controlled all the communication. I was practically a walking corpse. Jaylan even managed to get my nanny on his side and had me under surveillance. Even my own children started to avoid me."

"That makes sense!" Addrion said, as if a light bulb had just been turned on. He sighed and continued, "That's when Marissa's hassles started to pile up, creating all sorts of problems for me. But what shocked me the most was finding contraband in our shipments. They conveniently pinned all the blame on me.

Marissa insisted she had no idea about that particular set of orders, claiming it was only signed by me and she never saw it. The inspection procedure forms were indeed signed by me, the handwriting was unmistakably mine!

Only Nathan and I knew about the shipment records that day. Nathan insisted that I told him to pick up the goods and not to report to Secretary Marissa. This left me with no room to defend myself. I was arrested."