chapter157

A chill ran through Connor.

Did she just say... don't move?

"They're still close by," Lydia whispered, worried Connor would get the wrong idea. This hiding spot was just as uncomfortable for her as it was for him.

Sure enough, only a few moments passed before Peter came back, shining his phone's flashlight around the area. He paused for a long second at the locked warehouse door, then finally seemed satisfied and walked away for good.

He really was paranoid.

Once Peter was definitely gone, Lydia quickly slipped out of Connor's arms and stepped into the open.

Connor let out a deep breath. If they'd stayed like that any longer, he probably would've lost his self-control. He was only human, after all.

Lydia stopped in front of the warehouse door, which had a modern keypad lock. She flicked on her phone's flashlight, entered a rapid sequence of numbers, and the door beeped open.

Connor stared in disbelief. Was she for real?

What other secrets was she hiding from him?

Could you crack a bank vault too?" he asked, half teasing, half in awe.

How was his girl this amazing?

Lydia gave him a look. "Never tried."

A bank vault? Leave it to him to think of that.

A small smile played at Connor's lips, soft and warm.

He followed her inside. Lydia handed him her phone so he could hold the light, and

he took it from her, looking at her the way you look at someone you'd do anything for.

With the light, Lydia started checking out the warehouse.

All around them, piles of fabric were stacked high.

She stopped in front of one, ran her hands over the material, and frowned. A second later, she let out a cold little laugh. "Just what I thought."

The fabric felt rough. Even without the overhead lights, she could see the colors looked off, cheap and dull.

It's nothing like the smooth, high-quality material she remembered from her visits to the production floor.

Which meant Parker had teamed up with the production and finance directors to swap in cheap materials and line their own pockets.

The company was using low-grade fabric to make overpriced clothes. With the design department stuck in the past and no fresh talent, it was no wonder the company's performance kept tanking.

Now that she was here, Peter was scared she'd figure things out. He wanted to get rid of the evidence tonight, so even if she found a clue she wouldn't have anything concrete

to prove their guilt.

to'

"Brazen. They really thought no one would ever catch on," Connor said, shaking his head.

Lydia took back her phone and recorded everything.

"The Parkers only pulled this off because my mom trusted them. That's why they acted like they owned the place."

She'd seen the company's financial reports. Since the very beginning, the annual losses had slowly shrunk from fifty million.

They knew exactly how her parents thought. Fifty million was nothing to the country's richest couple, and with Rose being such a close friend to her mom, of course they keep Parker in charge.

So, Parker made the numbers look a little better every year, just enough to seem

like they were making progress. Her mom saw their effort and had even less reason to take the company back.

Right before Lydia was transferred

here, Parker promised that this year, the company would finally turn a profit. By then, they'd already taken what they wanted and were planning to make it look like things were finally working out, then walk away with everything.

They just hadn't counted on her parents sending her in. That move ruined all their plans.