The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate

"You gotta find a way to stop Brandon from digging deeper," Dennis said.

Marian looked at him in disbelief, "How on earth am | supposed to stop Brandon? I'm nothing to him; why would he ever listen to

me?"

"Why not? You're the daughter of the Frost family. The Frosts and the Crawleys are both blue-blooded families with tight bonds. You

and Brandon were childhood sweethearts, heck, didn't he look for you for like nearly two decades? His folks are fond of you too.

These are all cards in your hand, you gotta play them."

Dennis couldn't help but grab Marian's arm; leaning in to lock eyes with her, he slowly said, "Marian, your dad's raised you for

twenty years, never expected anything in return, never wanted to mess with your happiness. So even after you recognized the

Frost family these past years, | never thought about using you to get back at Brandon. But this time, I'm truly out of options; only

you can helpnow."

"l can't, Dad. | just can't."

Marian stepped back in panic, trying to shake off Dennis’ grip, but she couldn't budge him. Dennis kept pressing, insisting she help

him.

This was supposed to be a foolproof part of his plan.

Jerry would shove the man into the foundation pillar, and right on his heels, the news was leaked by someone Jerry asked. The

project was officially under Brandon's name, and he was bound to take the fall for this mess, dragging the Starlight Group's rep

through the mud. The company's image would plummet.

Without Brandon to steady the Starlight ship, coupled with the media onslaught, it was sure to flounder, and then he could swoop

in for the kill.

He'd waited two years for a golden opportunity like this. It was rare for any project under Brandon's direct oversight to hit a snag,

and he hadn't seen this curveball coming.

Last night, because of signal jammers at the construction site, everyone inside was cut off from the world. He had someone

watching every move through binoculars from a distance, waiting for someone to fall into the river before stirring up the media

frenzy with a hefty sum. Little did he know it wasn't the homeless guy who fell.

It was too dark, too rainy, and too far to see clearly who took the plunge. All he knew was someone did, right on cue according to

their plan, so he didn't think twice. He jumped on the chance to stir the pot before the Starlight PR team could wake up to manage

the crisis, never guessing it would be the lead architect who'd end up in the drink.

By the the realized things had gone south, it was too late to squash the story.

Now he was in a real pickle, not only failing to get Brandon behind bars but also risking blowing his own cover.

Dennis knew what Brandon was capable of; he had crossed swords with him before. As long as Brandon stayed out, he could be on

Dennis’ trail at any moment. He was seriously on edge.

Watching Dennis squirm like an ant on a hot pan, Marian finally let out a sigh, her demeanor softened.

"Dad, did you personally get in touch with Jerry?" Marian asked.

Dennis replied, "No, | had someone else handle it."

Marian pressed, "Who?"

Dennis admitted, "Gordon."

Gordon was Dennis' right-hand man, in his forties, been with Dennis for over a decade, a country boy who had climbed up the

ranks through sheer grit. He had two young kids at home, with a stay-at-hwife.

Marian knew Gordon's situation well. She looked at Dennis and said, "It's tto sacrifice the pawn to save the king."

Dennis frowned at her.

"Give Gordon a chunk of change; let him take the fall for you." Marian said, utterly calm, "As far as | know, Gordon loves his wife

and kids to bits, but they're all from the countryside with little help from either side of the family. His wife's a homemaker, and it's

all on him to bring hthe bacon, plus he's drowning in mortgage debt. Money's a big deal to him."

"The victim isn't the drifter, so as long as you all keep your lips sealed, there's no evidence of murder. Last night was just an

accident due to a power outage, nobody's fault. If Gordon takes the heat, at worst, he's out of a job in the country. But if your offer

is juicy enough, he might not be able to resist trading work for a cushy life abroad with his family," Marian added.

Dennis looked at Marian, surprised. He was so blindsided by panic he hadn't thought of this. He hadn't expected his daughter,

whom he always saw as pampered and headstrong, to be so cool-headed and rational.

Since Marian had laid it all out, she didn't mince words, still looking at Dennis squarely, "I can't be tied to this with you. | was in the

dark before, and | sure as hell need to stay that way. Otherwise, | won't last a day in the Frost family, and ties with the Crawley

family will be toast. If you ever need the Frost family's daughter in the future, | won't be able to lift a finger to help you if I'm

dragged into this. So don’t count onto go to Brandon. It won't save you, and it'll just dragdown too."

Dennis nodded relentlessly, swayed by her words, "You're right. | was just panicking and didn't think it through."

Marian bobbed her head, not saying much, just seriously reminding him, "You've got to solve this with cash; don't be stingy. As long

as it doesn't get legal, Brandon can't touch Gordon. So when it's tto be generous, don't pinch pennies."

Dennis nodded vigorously, "Got it."

Marian glanced at her watch, "I gotta go. Wasn't at the office today; can't give people anything to talk about."

With that, she turned to leave. At the door, she paused, and looked back at Dennis, "Dad, remember, | know nothing about this."

Dennis figured she was just scared of getting dragged down with everything, and he didn't want Marian to get caught up in the

mess either, so he quickly nodded and said, "I got it, my lips are sealed. Won't spill the beans to anyone."

Marian breathed a sigh of relief and took off. She hit the road solo to Zion City.

She had said she'd go to Zion City with Don and they both headed out together, but since she didn't return to the office, she really

had to show face in Zion City. If she didn't, and they traced it back to her, she'd have a tough texplaining her whereabouts.

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