Imprisoned While Pregnant, She's Back for Payback novel Chapter 45

Chapter 45 A Threat and a Warning

Chapter 45 A Threat and a Warning

Charles sat down carefully, his voice coming out small and unsure.

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Finn did not say anything right away. He leaned his head on one hand, those dark, icy eyes scanning Charles’s young, clueless face.

The longer he stared, the colder his eyes got.

So Tess wanted to dump me so she could run to this

guy,

huh?

The thought made the chill in Finn’s stare almost impossible to hide.

And that kid…

Finn’s jaw tensed, the air around him dropping to freezing.

Zane, standing to the side, felt the cold so strongly he shivered.

Charles shifted in his seat under that stare. He shot Zane a look, hoping for a hint, but Zane just avoided his eyes completely, clearly wanting no part of this.

“I heard you opened up a private law firm on the side?”

Finn finally spoke, his tone so cold it felt like ice cracking under boots.

Charles froze.

Wasn’t this old news? Finn had known about it forever, and he had even given him the green light by not saying no.

Charles looked at him in confusion but still nodded. “Yeah…”

“So I’m not accusing you of anything you didn’t actually do,”

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Finn cut him off flatly and tossed a fat stack of papers onto the table in front of him.

Charles grabbed them, flipped through them, and felt the blood drain from his face the moment he read the last page.

“Got anything to say? Want to settle up or get your lawyer?”

Finn shot Charles a sidelong look, his fingers tapping the table in a slow, casual rhythm.

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1. f.

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Chapter 45 A Threat and a Warning

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Yet, to Charles, every tap felt like a ticking time bomb counting down right over his heart.

He bit down on his lip, his voice shaky with disbelief. “Mr. Lock, this has to be a misunderstanding. There’s no way our firm messed up a Lock Group case–there has to be some other reason.”

“You lost a case you should’ve easily won. That payout? Just me protecting my own interests.”

Finn’s tone sounded casual, but the weight behind it made the air feel like lead.

The whole room fell into a thick, awkward silence.

“Figure out how you’re gonna fix this.”

Finn clearly had no patience left. He stood up and walked toward the door.

However, when he passed by Charles, he stopped and clamped a strong hand down on his shoulder, pressing hard enough to hurt. “Maybe think real hard about what you’ve been up to lately.”

A threat–plain and simple.

And a warning too.

Once Finn’s footsteps faded down the hall, Charles realized he was drenched in cold sweat, his shirt sticking to his back.

What did he do to tick Finn off like this?

He looked down at the file in his hands, his mind spinning.

He had been Lock Group’s go–to lawyer for years. Yet, ever since his mentor, Tess, got locked up, things between him and the company had gotten awkward. That was why he had started his own firm.

Finn knew this and had even thrown him cases to help him get by.

This one was big, sure, but losing it should not have made Finn flip the table like this.

So what was really going on?

His thoughts spun faster and suddenly Tess’s face popped into his mind.

No way…

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Even now, remembering it, Charles could still feel that hidden thrill, that burst of happiness he had tried so hard to keep under wraps.

Now Finn was using this case to push Tess out place to stay.

Tess

rand pinning the blame on him for giving her a

Finn had always made things difficult, but right now, Charles could not help muttering curses under his breath.

He stuffed the file into his briefcase and headed home, face dark as a storm cloud.

“What’s wrong?”

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Chapter 45 A Threat and a Warning

The moment she opened the door, Tess was startled by how pale he looked.

“Did something happen at work? Is it really bad?”

She asked, her voice full of worry and concern.

Charles looked like he was somewhere else entirely.

Tess paused, then said softly, “If you want… I could take a look?”

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She had been his mentor once, and her legal mind was still sharp. If it was a legal mess, maybe she could help fix it.

Charles had helped her so much, so she wanted to do something for him too.

“It’s fine.”

Charles looked at Tess’s worried face, and the gentle concern in her eyes made his heart stutter for a second.

He blinked, forced himself to snap out of it, and gave her a smile.

However, it was so stiff that it only made him look worse.

Tess could see he did not want to talk about it, so she bit her lip and did not push it.