?Chapter 283:


    The moment Dani’s words hit him, Cedric’s shoulders went rigid, his tension palpable. He remained hunched over for an extended period, his heart racing wildly in the oppressive quiet. Then, he gradually straightened, his eyes locking with Dani’s for a brief moment before he could utter a word. Abruptly, the office door burst open.


    Katrina appeared in the doorway, her face buried in her hands, sobbing uncontrobly. Dani’s brow furrowed in response. Out of breath, the secretary burst into the room, her voice trembling.


    “Ms. Harper, I’m so sorry! I tried to stop her, but she pushed right past me!”


    Katrina copsed against the desk, her tears falling uncontrobly as she begged, “Dani, your father is in a dire state! You need to go to him.”


    Shock rippled through Cedric’s face, his features twisting in disbelief. Peering through her handkerchief, Katrina caught Dani’s gaze—cold, detached, her piercing eyes unflinching as they stared back.


    A relentless pounding filled Katrina’s chest, her heartbeat surging with raw emotion.


    “Why are you looking at me like that?” Katrina demanded, her panic barely masked by a sharp edge in her tone. She sensed an unspoken usation in Dani’s steady gaze, an intangible something she couldn’t identify.


    “Oh dear!” Katrina’s distress intensified, her actions bing more theatrical.


    “Dani, you can spew all the nonsense you want about cutting ties, but at the end of the day, his blood still runs in your veins.


    Your father’s about to die, and you act like it’s nothing. What the hell is wrong with you? How can you be so ruthless?”


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    Dani rose slowly, her eyes narrowing, scrutinizing Katrina as if she were a suspect under interrogation.


    “Yes, I am ruthless. Knowing that, why bothering to me?”


    Katrina, taken aback, had not anticipated such calmposure from Dani, nor such a chilling retort. For a brief moment, she was speechless, the thickyers of makeup unable to mask the crimson spreading across her cheeks.


    “You…”


    “Funny how this works,” Dani dered, her voice sharp and emphatic.


    “Caiden was perfectly healthy before. Now, suddenly, when I take over thepany, he bes sick? Katrina, don’t you think it’s a little too convenient to be a coincidence?”


    At her words, Cedric red at Dani, his mind racing. She had the chance to destroy the Harper family and turn thepany inside out, but instead, she only took 51% of the shares.


    Katrina’s heart raced, yet she managed to maintain aposed facade.


    “Dani, what exactly do you mean by that? Are you implying I harmed your father? Even if you refuse to acknowledge me as your stepmother, my devotion to your father is genuine. I couldn’t possibly want any harm toe to him just for some minor profit. If you truly doubt his condition, perhaps you should verify it yourself.”


    Dani’s gaze was icy as she fixed it on Katrina.


    “Harper Group means more to you than a ‘minor profit,’ doesn’t it? You’d stop at nothing to get what you want, right?” A luxury vi and offshore assets—how could anyone reduce those to minor profit?


    Dani turned and made her way downstairs, Cedric on her heels. As she approached the car, she swung the door open and found Cedric already waiting inside. Dani tilted her head slightly, a faint, amused smile ying on her lips.


    “Cedric, honestly, you don’t have to follow me around like this. They wouldn’t dare touch me.”


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