Harrison remained seated in the interrogation room long after Ashley walked away.
He lowered his head and pinched the bridge of his nose, releasing a long, frustrated sigh.
He couldn’t believe what had just happened.
He had been played and he hated being played more than anything.
Yet despite his anger, one thought kept returning to him.
Valentina.
He couldn’t allow her to suffer because of the Whitmore family’s problems.
She was innocent and she had already been through enough.
Harrison had no idea why he cared so much about a woman he had known for barely a day but somehow, he couldn’t bring himself to abandon her.
Outside the room, Julian watched Ashley leave the station with her usual confidence.
His eyes narrowed.Something had happened.
Something serious.
He knew Harrison well enough to understand that his friend’s silence wasn’t normal.
Julian walked toward him.
“Harrison…”
Harrison slowly lifted his head.
“What did she say to you?”
Harrison stared at him for a moment.He wanted to answer but he didn’t have the energy.
“Nothing you need to worry about.”
Julian frowned.
“That doesn’t sound like nothing.”
Harrison looked away.
“Julian, please.”
His tone wasn’t angry,it was simply exhausted.
Julian studied his face and immediately understood.
Harrison wanted to be left alone.
He reluctantly stepped back.
“Fine.”
But as Julian watched him, his concern only grew.
Whatever Ashley had said, it clearly wasn’t in Harrison’s favor.
A few minutes later, Harrison summoned his assistant.
“Go to the Whitmore Villa”
“Yes, sir.”
“Check on Valentina.” His expression hardened.
His assistant nodded and turned and left the station.
Harrison watched him disappear through the doorway.He couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.
He just didn’t know how wrong things really were.
Meanwhile, inside the police station, Ashley had already made arrangements before leaving, she quietly approached one of the officers.
“If Harrison agrees to my condition,” she said calmly, “have him sign the agreement confirming that he will follow his father’s instructions.”
The officer nodded.
“Understood, ma’am.”
Ashley smiled.
“Then release him.”
She turned and walked away.Her plan was unfolding exactly as she wanted.
Whitmore Villa
While all of this was happening, Valentina sat quietly inside the small basement house behind the main Whitmore Villa.
She had been told that the woman who claimed to be her mother had come forward.
And according to the evidence shown to her, it was true.
At least, that was what everyone wanted her to believe.But deep inside, Valentina couldn’t shake the strange feeling in her chest.Something wasn’t right.
First, she had believed Harrison when he told her they were boyfriend and girlfriend.
Then she discovered that wasn’t true.
Now another woman had appeared and claimed to be her mother.
Who was telling the truth?
Who was lying?
And why couldn’t she remember anything?
Valentina pressed her fingers against her temple.Nothing.
Her memories remained completely blank.
She neither could remember her own family nor where she had lived.
She couldn’t even remember what had happened before she was thrown into that muddy street and that frightened her.
But there was someone looking after her.
An elderly woman named Daisy.
Daisy had worked for the Whitmore family for more than a decade.
She had joined the household around the time Carter Whitmore and Harrison’s late mother, Camilla Whitmore, had newly married….years before Harrison was born.
She had watched Harrison grow up.
She had been there when he was a child and after Camilla’s death, Daisy remained one of the few people Harrison still trusted.
Sometimes, when life became difficult, Harrison would seek her advice.
To him, Daisy was more than an old family servant.
She was someone who had known his mother.Someone he trusted.
And now, unknowingly, Daisy had become responsible for Valentina.
She gently placed a warm meal in front of her.
“Eat a little,” Daisy said kindly.
“You need your strength.”
Valentina gave her a small smile.
“Thank you.”
Daisy sat beside her.
“You should rest.
Everything will become clearer with time.”
Valentina lowered her eyes.
“I hope so.”
She wanted to believe those words.
But something inside her continued to whisper that she was being lied to.
What Valentina didn’t know was that Daisy was not her mother.
The woman who had claimed to be Valentina’s mother had been acting under Ashley’s instructions.
The photographs presented as evidence had been manipulated and carefully arranged.
Ashley had orchestrated the entire story.
She didn’t care about Valentina.
To Ashley, Valentina was simply a pawn,a weakness she could use to control Harrison.
Ashley knew exactly how stubborn her stepson was.
Harrison had spent years refusing to obey his father, especially when it came to marriage.
But now Ashley had discovered something different.
Harrison cared about Valentina,perhaps more than he realized himself.And Ashley intended to use that weakness.
If threatening Harrison’s reputation wasn’t enough, she could threaten Valentina’s safety.
Her ultimate goal was simple.
She wanted Harrison to listen to his father.She wanted him to marry.
And most importantly, she wanted to prove to Carter Whitmore that she could control the stubborn son who had always resisted them.
Night slowly approached.
The sky outside the police station grew darker.
Harrison was still sitting inside the interrogation room, his hands tightly clasped together.
Fury burned inside him.He was a man of principles, a man who hated being manipulated.
He hated being caught off guard and yet that was exactly what had happened.
For the first time, Harrison began to question his decision to help a stranger.
Why had he gone that far?
Why had he lied for her?
Why had he taken responsibility for someone he barely knew?
And most importantly…Why did her suffering hurt him so much?
Harrison closed his eyes.He couldn’t explain it.
There was something about Valentina that reached a part of him he didn’t understand.
Something about her reminded him of his mother.
Something that made walking away impossible but he quickly pushed those thoughts aside.
“This is ridiculous,” he muttered.
He had a company to protect,a contract waiting to be signed and reputation to maintain.
And now a woman he barely knew had somehow become the center of a battle within his family.
Harrison slowly opened his eyes.
He knew what he had to do.
He couldn’t allow Valentina to become another victim.
He couldn’t risk his reputation being destroyed.
And he couldn’t lose the contract he had worked so hard to secure.
His jaw tightened.
Reluctantly, Harrison reached for the document placed before him.
The agreement Ashley had demanded.His eyes scanned the words.
He was being forced to promise that he would listen to his father.
It was everything he had spent years refusing to do.
For several seconds, he simply stared at the paper then he picked up the pen.His hand paused above the signature line.
Harrison took one final breath and finally…
He signed.
The moment the ink touched the paper, Harrison knew one thing.
He had just surrendered to his stepmother’s game but he wasn’t going to let her win.
Not completely.
Because if Ashley wanted to use Valentina against him…
Then Harrison would find out exactly why she had chosen that particular woman.
And he would uncover the truth himself.