CHAPTER 94: THE OLD BUILDING

Daisy stared at the ring in her hand. She didn’t know what was on her mind, but she decided to keep wearing it, even though she wasn’t sure the ring was meant for her.

"Madam..." the driver called. "We have arrived."

"Oh, thanks!" She blinked and quickly turned to the driver, probably the one who had been instructed to bring her here. Theo had probably ordered it after the incident with George the other day, and she, still shaken from that encounter, felt a small sense of relief.

"I’ll wait right here in the parking lot, Madam."

She smiled and nodded before slipping out of the car.

Daisy stepped out onto the cracked pavement, her heels clicking against the ground as she took in the sight before her. The building stood like a faded memory, once proudly bearing her father’s company name, now stripped of its signage, Its glass panels were clouded with dust, a clear sign of months of neglect.

Her gaze wandered across the empty lot until it caught on the faint reflection of her own face in the dusty glass—only, for a split second, she swore she saw someone else standing behind her.

A blink, and the figure was gone.

She let out a quiet laugh at herself. "Great... six months away and I’m already seeing ghosts."

Still, her feet carried her closer to the entrance, the air thick with that stale, forgotten smell. She had no reason to be here anymore, except for one thing. She needed to know, once and for all, whether Theo had played a role in the downfall of her father’s company.

She headed toward the stairs, knowing the elevator had long stopped working. But just as she lifted her foot for the first step, the driver’s sudden voice cut through the silence. She flinched so hard she nearly lost her balance, her heart dropping to the pit of her stomach.

Even now, deep down, she was still afraid George might somehow find her again.

The driver rushed forward, stopping just short of touching her, his hands hovering awkwardly as if unsure whether to steady her.

"I’m sorry, madam," he said carefully. "But I believe it would be better if I accompanied you..." His gaze swept the dim, hollow corridors of the building. "Or perhaps... you should come later. With Mr. Kingsley."

She frowned. ’Hell no’. Come here with the very man she suspected? Not a chance.

But then her gaze snagged on something, the slight bulge beneath the side of the man’s blazer. Not a wallet. Not a phone. Something that sticks out so much.

"What’s your name again?" she asked, her voice casual but her eyes fixed on that telltale outline.

"Alex, madam." His posture was too rigid, too alert, not the easy stance of a driver.

"Oh, Alex... are you a bodyguard?"

"Yes—No, madam." His eyes flickered, and his mouth pressed shut as if he could shove the words back in. Too late. The slip was made, and Daisy had already clocked the outline under his jacket — definitely a gun.

Daisy tilted her head, letting the silence stretch just long enough to make him squirm. "Uh-huh," she murmured, her lips curling in something that wasn’t quite a smile. "And that thing under your blazer... is it just for show?"

Alex’s jaw tightened. "It’s a stun gun, madam. For precaution only."

"Ah..." She nodded. "How many of you are there?"

"Sorry?" Alex looked confused.

"How many of you did he send to guard me?" she asked, craning her neck to check their surroundings.

But Alex didn’t slip this time. "Only me, madam."

She gave a small pout, partly because she was touched Theo still cared, but mostly because disappointment settled in. One person? Against George?

"So... he thought you alone were enough to protect me?" she asked quietly, the faint downturn of her lips betraying her thoughts.

Without waiting for his reply, she started up the stairs. Alex followed, clearly confused.

"But, Madam," he said earnestly, "I have a black belt in taekwondo, I’m a Silat master, and I hold a judo certification."

Daisy kept walking until she reached the second floor, ignoring Alex trailing a few steps behind.

Standing in the middle of the floor, a wave of heaviness settled in her chest. She still remembered how, just last year, she had come here with a surprise cake for her father’s birthday. The office had been loud with laughter, the staff’s voices blending into a cheerful birthday song.

Her legs carried her forward until she pushed open the glass door to her father’s office. She turned, scanning the room for anything left behind. Crossing to the desk, she pulled open a drawer and found a single name card—her father’s.

Daisy picked it up, her eyes lingering on the familiar letters.

"How’s Theo for you?" she asked suddenly.

Alex, still by the door, looked at her in surprise. He raised his brows slightly, unsure where the question had come from.

"I mean..." she continued, turning the card over in her fingers, "how is he at his job? Cruel? Ruthless? The type who’ll do anything to make sure he gets what he wants?"

Alex took a few seconds before answering. "Hmm... I’m sorry, madam. My job is to protect you from any harm. Answering your question isn’t part of that."

Daisy blinked in surprise. "Sorry?"

Alex adjusted the earpiece in his ear, eyes scanning the corridor as if the walls themselves might attack. "If I start chatting, I might miss something important. And I take my job very seriously, madam."

Daisy let out a soft scoff. "Right. Heaven forbid the bodyguard commits the crime of small talk."

"That," Alex replied without missing a beat, "would be unprofessional."

She rolled her eyes and continued walking, deciding it wasn’t worth the effort to argue with a man who looked like he’d swallow a grenade before cracking a smile.

"But," Alex said suddenly, breaking his own rule of silence, "if I were to answer your question... no. He’s not the type to do anything just to make sure he gets what he wants."