The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate

Brandon didn't utter a word, not even a muscle moved; he just sat in the car, motionless, staring at her.

Marian didn't dare to make another move either, standing rigidly on the spot. After she had been brought to the brink of death by Brandon three times, her fear of him had seeped deep into her bones.

Brandon's presence was merely a reminder that the gwas far from over. The wheels of justice ground slow, demanding hard evidence. Criminal law also adhered to the principle of "innocent until proven guilty".

Therefore, with insufficient evidence, her freedom wasn't in jeopardy. But he wasn't law enforcement; he didn't need all that jazz.

Just like he said last night, if she was betting on the cops having no evidence, he was gto fight fire with fire. And she better not even dream of skipping town.

Brandon watched Marian, pale as a ghost and cemented in place, his gaze alone screaming, "Don't even think about running." He didn't have to say a word; just one look from him sent her already downcast mood into total panic.

Brandon saw the fear in her eyes and didn't bother to waste more ton her. After a cold glance, he drove off.

Marian felt so weak; she couldn't take another step. Tpassed, and then the familiar ringtone of her cell phone brought her back to reality.

Fumbling, she dug out her phone and hurriedly answered the call. It was her mom Beverly, on the other end.

As soon as the call connected, Beverly's tearful voice cthrough from the other side of line, "Marian, I heard you and your dad are in trouble. Your dad's been locked up. What's going on? Wasn't he on a business trip, dealing with the branch office? How did he suddenly get nabbed? What trouble has he gotten himself into?" Marian wanted to say Dennis was suspected of attempted murder, but overwhelmed by fear and sorrow, she choked up at the sound of her mother's voice and couldn't speak.

Beverly, heartbroken, kept telling her not to cry, until she mentioned having her brother head over to the West district to help her handle things. That was when Marian quickly interjected, "No, don't let hime." Beverly was startled by Marian's reaction, "Why not? I'm worried about you dealing with all this alone in a strange place. If your brother goes there, at least you'll have someone to help you out. Plus, the family business just set up shop there, and without an effective management team, with your dad and Gordon in trouble, the branch will probably fall apart. Someone needs to take charge." "It's fine; I can handle it." Marian softly reassured her, "I'll manage the branch office. It's perfect since I'm kinda sick of my current job, and it'll givea chance to change the scenery." Beverly wasn't entirely convinced, "Are you sure?" It wasn't that she doubted Marian's capabilities; it was just that Marian had never shown any inclination toward such work. Before joining Star Dempsey Architects as a designer, she had been living the high life every day.

"I've got this, Mom. Trust me." Marian said quietly, "With dad in such a mess, it's tforto grow up." Her wordsforted Beverly, "Alright, then I'll talk to your brother and let you give it a shot." Marian nodded, "Okay." But she couldn't stop herself from insisting again, "Just don't let hover." Beverly found Marian's caution a bit odd, but she didn't think much of it and agreed, "Alright." After a few more bits of advice, Beverly hung up. Marian went hand handed in her resignation to Don.

Her reason for quitting was straightforward: Brandon had a bias against her, her personal safety was at risk, and she couldn't stay at thepany any longer.

Don didn't dare approve her resignation on his own and passed it to Brandon, who immediately rejected it and sent back a lawyer's notice of a lawsuit accusing Marian of leaking trade secrets.

? The lawsuit notice turned Marian pale again. Brandon was clearly cutting off any chance she had to leave the country.

Even though Brandon had rejected her resignation, Marian took the risk and left on her own. She didn't return to Star Dempsey Architects but went to the Barlow Group branch in the West district as soon as she felt better, taking the position of heiress and general manager.

On the day she reported to thepany, sheanized a senior management meeting and officially took charge of the Barlow Group - something Dennis would have never allowed her to be involved with.

In Dennis's eyes, a woman's only worth was to marry and bear children.

During the meeting, before Marian could finish her introduction, Dennis's assistant Kevin from the branch office entered with a grave expression and informed her that the branch had been fully acquired, and the new parentpany would be sending someone to take over.

Marian was stunned at first, and then her face turned cold, "Who told you thepany's been bought out? Who signed off on it?" "The chairman," Kevin replied softly.

"That's impossible," Marian retorted without hesitation, knowing that Dennis was still in custody and couldn't possibly have the chance to sign anything.

"It was indeed President Barlow's signature," a familiar male voice sounded from the doorway of the meeting room.

Marian instinctively glanced towards the door as Kent strolled in, ve clutching a contract and wearing a polite smile, "Ms. Barlow, your dad just personally signed this acquisition deal with the lawyers at the detention center. As of now, Starlight Group is the proud parentpany of your firm, taking the reins of all Barlow Group operations on hturf. The management team is due for a shake-up as well." Marian was speechless.

Kent had already pivoted to the rest of the office crew, rolling out the new team lineup and the updated rulebook without giving a hoot about Marian's alternating shades of red and white. Having dropped the bombshell, he left the Barlow Group's branch office without looking back.

Brandon was still buried in work at the office. Kent reported back to thepany ASAP and filled Brandon in on the situation. Brandon just grunted in response, not the type to sweat the small stuff.

"There's one more thing." Kent - brought up after his work debrief, touching on the topic Brandon had him snoop into earlier - the scoop on Marian's lackeys, "Did sdigging and turned out Marian doesn't have any obvious suitors buzzing around. But her brother seems to have a soft spot for her that's a bit out of the ordinary." Brandon stopped in his tracks, looking up at him. Kent continued, "Dennis and his wife can't have kids, and Marian's brother is another adopted child in the Barlow family."