Chapter 13
Cole and Carter could hardly process what they were hearing. “Doctors Without Borders?”
Carter’s pulse faltered, then quickened. He couldn’t hide his panic. “That’s dangerous! Has she lost her mind?”
Cole’s eyes reddened with unease. He shot Quinn a cold look and walked away.
As he walked, he was already on the phone. “Find Maya’s flight now. I want to know where she went!”
He had just hung up when his father called. “Cole, you and Carter had better get home immediately!”
At the Hale residence, Robert Hale and Lydia Holmes sat stone-faced on the couch beside their eldest son, Ethan Hale.
The room felt ten degrees colder.
Robert slammed his palm on the table. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done? Hale Group’s shares are plunging because of what you did!
“Have you forgotten your upbringing? Who gave you the right to treat a woman like that?”
Disappointment weighed on Ethan’s face. “Cole, Carter, you two went too far. You hurt that woman and wrecked Hale Group’s reputation.
“Public opinion is against us. If we don’t handle this properly, our image will suffer for a long time.”
Robert cut in, “There’s only one option. You two need to apologize sincerely. You’ll keep apologizing until she forgives you. And you’ll place all the blame on Valerie!”
Ethan nodded. “The Cross family is already scrambling. Valerie isn’t getting out of this.”
He narrowed his eyes at his brothers. “Don’t tell me you two still have feelings for her.”
Cole raised his bloodshot eyes and spat out with gritted teeth, “Absolutely not! Just thinking about what she really is makes me sick! She played us for years! I could wring her neck with my bare hands!”
Carter agreed. “We know we were wrong. We’ll cooperate with PR.”
“Good,” Ethan said with a nod. “The first thing is earning Maya’s forgiveness, and if possible, getting her to
make a statement. Where is she right now?”
Silence fell over the room.
After a beat, Cole slumped. “She’s gone. She signed on with Doctors Without Borders. We don’t know
where they sent her.”
“Oh?” Ethan’s eyes glinted with interest. “Impressive. She survived years of bullying, learned what you
planned, and turned it back on you in a single night. She’s capable!”
Lydia, who had been silent until now, set down her teacup. “I agree. If you can earn her forgiveness, I won’t oppose her marrying into this family.”
Cole and Carter traded a quick look, a spark of hope passing in between them.
Robert put an end to it. “Enough. Even if she’s gone, you still need to apologize. Coordinate with PR,
record a video, and release a written statement today.
“Once this matter is settled and the damage is controlled, I won’t police your personal lives.”
Lydia added, “One more thing. You’re brothers. Don’t turn against each other because of a woman.”
Two hours later, Hale Group’s formal apology topped the trending list.
On camera, Cole and Carter looked wrecked. They said they had been misled by Valerie and made
inexcusable choices.
Cole’s eyes were red-rimmed. “Maya, I’m sorry. After three years, I was moved by all the good in you. I wavered more than once about going through with that plan. But Valerie cried to me again and again, and I believed her. That was why I chose to drop the truth on you at the wedding.
“Maya, I know I was wrong, and I know you don’t want to see me. I’ll still try to find you and ask for your forgiveness in person…”
The internet didn’t buy it. Most people kept a clear head and flamed the Hale brothers without mercy.
When that failed to move the needle, Hale Group posted another notice. Cole and Carter’s ownership
stakes were cut, and both were stripped of succession and operating authority.
