Chapter 144

Leo Miller stood before the CEO's office door, his palms damp with sweat.

He took a deep breath and lightly knocked on the heavy wooden door.

"Get in."

The voice inside was colder than ice. Leo's back stiffened instantly. He pushed the door open cautiously, as if disarming a time bomb.

The office was at least ten degrees colder than the hallway.

Andrew Lucas sat behind the expansive desk, his slender fingers signing documents. Sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, yet it only cast a frosty glow around him.

"Boss..."

"Speak."

The pen tip tore through the paper.

Leo swallowed hard. For the past month, Lucas Group had been walking on eggshells. Since the fire, Andrew had become a walking volcano, ready to erupt at any moment.

Last week, the marketing director had been demoted to the African branch for submitting a report ten minutes late.

"I... I saw Ms. Thompson."

The pen snapped in half.

Andrew slowly looked up, his dark eyes swirling with a terrifying storm. "Say that again."

Leo quickly handed over his phone.

On the screen, Susan Thompson stood in sunlight wearing a white dress, smiling softly as she held a perfume bottle. The headline beneath read: "Nation's First Love Susan Thompson Goes Viral Overnight—Netizens: The True Definition of an Ethereal Beauty."

Andrew's fingers trembled slightly.

A month ago, he had personally prepared her body, watched her cremation, and carried her urn home. Every night, he woke from nightmares of her being consumed by flames.

Yet now, she was alive in this photo, radiant as ever.

"Find her," Andrew's voice was hoarse with barely restrained fury. "I want to know where she is now."

Before Leo could respond, a new notification popped up: "King's Glory Endorsement Battle: Nation's First Love Susan Thompson vs. A-List Actress Nicole Capra."

The air turned to ice.

Andrew stared at the notification, his gaze darkening dangerously. A cold smirk twisted his lips as he tossed the phone back to Leo.

"Get the car ready."

"Where to, boss?"

"The King's Glory audition." Andrew stood, his suit jacket cutting through the air like a blade. "I want to see for myself how this 'Nation's First Love' came back from the dead."

Watching his boss stride away, Leo silently pitied Susan. This wasn't a reunion—it was the beginning of a warzone.