Maverick gazed up at her, a flattering smile playing at his thin lips.

Gwendolyn cast a deep, meaningful glance at the man.

Indeed, he was due to be taught a lesson that night, and Gwendolyn's anger simply would not subside until the man was crying and pleading for mercy.

She extended her hand toward him. "Belt."

Without hesitation, Maverick swiftly unfasted the metal buckle and obediently handed the belt to her. Then, he turned around and faced away from the woman.

Gwendolyn felt a shiver course through her entire being. She folded the belt in half, her eyes glinting with resolution and intensity. Lifting the belt high into the air, she readied herself to strike the wounded back before her.

However, before she could swing the belt in her hand, her gaze involuntarily landed on the palm-sized burn on the man's back.

The vividly crimson flesh and the gruesome wound provoked unease. It was so strikingly conspicuous that it was hard to ignore.

Besides, he'd sustained the injury by shielding her. Otherwise, it would be her face that was bearing such agony.

As Gwendolyn pondered on this, she experienced a surge of conflicting emotions. It felt as though an unseen force held her wrist, preventing her from lowering it no matter what.

She released a silent sigh and seemed to have deflated all of a sudden, for she realized, much to her vexation, that she actually started to feel sorry for him.

This feeling made Gwendolyn very unhappy.

The three years she had spent in the Wright residence were akin to enduring a living hell, devoid of any semblance of warmth. Following the divorce, she had observed some changes in Maverick and his growing sincerity. It would be disingenuous if she said she remained unmoved.

Nevertheless, Gwendolyn refused to tread upon that familiar path again.

No matter how much she attempted to sever the ties between him and herself, in the end, she would be the one to wind up hurt.

At that thought, she tightened her grip on the belt, trembling as though she had made a momentous decision.

Maverick remained motionless, not uttering a single word nor furrowing his brows.

Besides the involuntary tensing of his muscles throughout his body, it seemed as if he was impervious to pain.

Gwendolyn examined the red mark she had inflicted, her gaze unconsciously shifting to the center of his back, where the bloody, blurred wound pained her eyes.

Suddenly, her heart was thrown into turmoil, and despite everything, she couldn't bring herself to follow through.

"Put on your clothes and get out!" She gave the man a ferocious kick on his shoulders and threw the leather belt back at him. "Hurry up and get lost. I'm exhausted, so we'll settle this tomorrow." After uttering those words, Gwendolyn lifted the quilt and, with her back turned to Maverick, nestled herself within it.

Caught off guard, Maverick staggered slightly from the unexpected kick.

He leisurely fastened his belt, then rose to retrieve the shirt and suit from the dressing table.

Since the bandage had been removed, he refrained from wearing the clothes directly to avoid soiling them. Instead, he simply held them in his hand.

As he turned his head, he beheld Gwendolyn lying on her side on the bed, her back facing him. She hadn't even changed her attire; how could she possibly appear as though she was ready to sleep? "Gwendolyn, you're still wearing your coat. It won't be comfortable to sleep like this."

Gwendolyn secretly clenched her teeth and replied, "I don't care. Just go away!"

Maverick remained stationary at the foot of her bed, his gaze fixed on her the entire time.

Gwendolyn could sense it, a surge of anger rushing to her head. Suddenly, she sat up abruptly, her face inflated with irritation. Seizing the pillow next to her, she hurled it at Maverick.

"Get out!"

Maverick caught it steadily and placed it on the dressing table for her.

She then grabbed another pillow and threw it.

Maverick caught it once again, and a gentle smile hung on his lips.

Gwendolyn was truly furious, launching everything within reach from the bedside table-tissue boxes, ornaments, books, and more-directly at him.

Remarkably, the man caught each item effortlessly, never missing a beat. He then helped her place them on the dressing table.

The faint smile on his face brimmed with tenderness.

However, in Gwendolyn's eyes, it felt like a challenge.

She was so enraged that she felt as if she could burst at any moment. She searched on the bedside table for a while but found nothing. When she looked down, she realized that she had already thrown everything away, except for the table lamp.

And so, she extended her hand of guilt toward the table lamp. The lamp was still plugged in, yet instead of disconnecting the power first, she forcefully attempted to yank it out.

Witnessing her actions, Maverick swiftly raised both hands in surrender, saying, "Stop! I was wrong. I'll leave immediately."

Gwendolyn glared at him fiercely until he closed the door and vanished from her sight. Only then did she place the table lamp back in its original position.

As she gazed at the assortment of items on the bedside table, she quietly got out of bed, retrieved her pillow, and took several deep breaths to calm herself before heading to the bathroom to freshen up. Before long, the next morning dawned.

During breakfast, Gwendolyn remained silent, not uttering a single word. Regardless of what Maverick said, she completely disregarded him.

She then headed to Angle right after finishing her breakfast in silence.

She had already handed Charles over to Maverick, so all she had to do was await the outcome.

Upon arriving at the office, Gwendolyn first made a phone call to her eldest brother, Asher.

She repeated the name of the potion that Maverick mentioned last night to Asher.

Asher's response was essentially the same as Maverick's.

Gwendolyn got in contact with someone from Shadow Bell once again and searched for images of skin damage caused by the potent S40 strong corrosive potion. Since it was a laboratory chemical, it couldn't be found through regular searches.

Ten minutes later, Shadow Bell sent the picture to her on WhatsApp.

She carefully examined it and indeed, the wound bore a striking resemblance to the one on Maverick's back.

Could it be that he's telling the truth this time? But if it wasn't life-threatening, why would Charles claim that he helped me deal with Maverick?

Gwendolyn always had a nagging feeling that she had missed some crucial detail, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

She summoned Elven and instructed him, "During this period, I want you to secretly follow Maverick, and report to me his every move after he leaves the villa. Also, without revealing your presence, listen to his conversations."

Although Elven couldn't comprehend the reason behind her request, he nodded in agreement.

After Gwendolyn departed, Maverick washed the dishes and tidied up the villa. Subsequently, he ventured to the suburbs to check on Charles.

Nico spotted his arrival and hastened over with a servile grin on his face.

"Good morning, Boss."

Maverick glanced at him and asked, "How is it going?"

Nico shook his head. "He refuses to divulge anything. After all, he climbed his way up to become the director of the Central Intelligence Agency. He's truly a tough nut to crack."

Maverick cast a cold and ruthless gaze in the direction of the cabin.

"No matter how unyielding the obstacle, you must shatter it. By tomorrow at the latest, you must extract something from his mouth."

"Understood," Nico respectfully responded, then leaned closer to Maverick's ear and whispered, "Boss, your suspicions about Justin were correct. Yesterday, he drove to the suburbs of town and disappeared for over ten minutes after getting out of the car and running away. It wasn't until Ms. Shalders arrived in her car that he calmly returned."

Maverick furrowed his brow and asked, "Do you know where he went?"

Nico shook his head and replied, "This kid is quite cunning. Our people couldn't keep up with him."

Maverick pressed his lips together, appearing deep in thought for a moment, then said, "Very well. You take care of things here. I'm heading back to Bay Villa."

Upon arriving at the villa, instead of going straight upstairs, Maverick went to the backyard.

That day

When he

Maveric

Justin ga

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