Dead at Heart (Ariel and Jayson) novel Chapter 743

As soon as Lucas left, Morgan felt like he had fallen into an ice cellar. He stood there, dazed, and his face grew paler by the second.

He knew what Lucas was like. Back in the company, Lucas' methods had a reputation for being ruthless.

Lucas knew every shady move Morgan had ever made in business. If any of it came out, Morgan wouldn't have a way to survive.

Forget the law; even the companies he had screwed over in the past wouldn't let him off the hook. His life would be watched—and hunted—by everyone he'd crossed.

Lucas wanted to crush him completely.

"Dad, what do we do? Let's go to Ariel. She can't just ignore us, right?" Lori's teeth chattered as she stared in the direction Lucas had gone. Her eyes were filled with helpless frustration.

Morgan stared at the hand Lucas had ground down so mercilessly. Pain made his lips tremble. "It's over… Jayson was the one pulling the strings behind the scenes. Lucas probably has more tricks up his sleeve."

Those two were both gunning for him.

He had never imagined that the money he received from Jayson that day would lead to his company's collapse, ultimately forcing it to be bought out at rock-bottom prices.

Morgan's eyes flashed with a mix of terror and rage. "We're going to your mom. Go get prepared! We can't drag this out any longer!"

…

Not long after, Jayson's fever broke. Ariel was naturally gone by then. He still didn't feel great, so he got up and took a shower.

When he came downstairs, Georgia was busy in the kitchen. A bowl of chicken noodle soup sat on the table.

Jayson instinctively scanned the room, looking for Ariel.

Georgia came out, wiping her hands. "Mr. Larkin, I heard you were up, so I made this for you. Want to try it?"

Jayson looked at the bowl, catching the familiar aroma. It had been a long time since he had smelled or tasted anything like this.

Georgia had watched him push himself endlessly, worrying over countless things. No one could withstand that kind of stress forever.

She had also heard a little about Ariel's cancer from Larkin Manor, but she hadn't asked too much. After all, she was just an employee.

Still, it pained her to see Jayson so troubled by it, sometimes sitting in the nursery for hours at a time.

Jayson thought Georgia was right. He stood and pulled out his phone to call Ariel.

But before that, he noticed a notification from Instagram. He tapped it and saw an invite from Matt, which he ignored.

Scrolling back through the notifications, he noticed Ariel had accepted his follow request.

He checked the timestamp. It was three hours ago—exactly when she had just left.