Madly Yours (Nora Reed) novel Chapter 574

But what if he couldn't be saved?

Then wouldn't the sports car be gone, too?

Cade stared at the box in his hand for a long time before finally clenching it tight and shoving it into his pocket.

"Someone help! The old man fainted!"

Chaos erupted in the ancestral hall.

A cold gust of wind blew past, snapping Cade out of his thoughts.

He shivered, tightened his grip on his car keys, and hurried back to his room.

...

Meanwhile, on the other side of the property.

The man who had taken the Ivory Pill navigated through the corridors, bypassed the screen wall, and quickly vanished outside the crimson doors of the Whitman estate.

A black sedan sat quietly in the shadows at the end of the alley.

He opened the door and slid into the backseat. Pulling the plastic box from his pocket, he unscrewed the lid and stared down at the snow-white pill resting inside.

He tapped his fingertips lightly against the edge of the box before slipping it away.

"Let's go. Back to San Francisco."

...

Three days later.

The news of the Whitman Family's bankruptcy swept through Northampton like a hurricane.

First, a few partnered banks simultaneously restricted their credit lines. Then, several core projects were abruptly halted. Debt collection notices from suppliers flew into the Whitman estate like a blizzard.

Cade's phone rang off the hook from morning to night, every single call demanding money.

At first, he answered, trying to explain and beg for extensions. But the voices on the other end grew increasingly impatient until they stopped giving him a chance to speak at all, simply threatening to drag him to court.

The fair-weather friends who used to crowd around him vanished overnight.

Cade threw his phone onto the sofa and collapsed in the middle of his wrecked living room.

The coffee table was piled high with uncleared takeout containers and empty liquor bottles. The curtains were drawn shut, letting in barely any light.

He looked down at his grease-stained cuffs, feeling a sudden wave of disorientation.

Just three days ago, he was the untouchable young master of the Whitman Family.

He was up to his neck in debt. The estate was the only thing he had left.

If they took the house, he would be sleeping on the streets!

Desperation took over. Cade collapsed to the floor, grabbing at Liam's pant leg. "I'm begging you! Please, please put in a good word for me with Mr. Lancaster! I know I messed up! Ask him to spare me, please let me go! I'm begging you!"

He wept uncontrollably, his face a mess of snot and tears, looking utterly pathetic.

"I told you that you would regret this. The moment you swallowed that Ivory Pill, the Whitman Family was finished. You brought this entirely upon yourself."

Cade froze, then shook his head violently. "I didn't take it! I didn't eat the Ivory Pill! It was just an act for you! I swear I didn't swallow it!"

Liam's expression shifted. "What did you say?"

Like a drowning man clinging to a lifeline, Cade babbled his explanation. "Someone told me to do it! He said if I pretended to eat the pill in front of you so you'd give up, he'd give me a limited-edition global supercar. I lost my mind for a second and believed him..."

Liam's gaze darkened. "Who was it?"

"I... I don't know."

Panic consumed Cade's features. "I just know the men around him called him the Second Young Master. He didn't sound like a local. He had an accent, like he grew up overseas... He... he had a really pretty face, prettier than a woman's. The first time we met was at a club. He came to me and said he wanted the Ivory Pill, and he was willing to trade the supercar for it."

He spoke faster, terrified Liam wouldn't believe him. "I'm telling the truth! You can check. The transfer contract for the car is still in my room... I really didn't eat the pill!"