Chapter 436: A Possible Mistake

After exchanging theories about each other's paternity, Mina decided to do something that she had not done with anyone, ever. She walked into her bedroom and picked up one of the only notebooks she had brought with her from President Lee's mansion. In it, was the single photo she had of her sister, and it was taken just months before her accident.

Looking at the picture always depressed Mina, but when she returned to find out that President Lee had shortened her lifespan by an unspecified amount of time, she suddenly had the urge to look at her sister's face again. It was then that she noticed why Cylus' words reminded her so much of her sister; it was because their faces were extremely similar. She handed the photo to Cylus, and the man stared at it, his face full of uncertainty.

"Who is this?" Cylus asked, already knowing the answer, but wanting to hear it.

"Her name was Sadie." Cylus felt a huge wave of emotion crash into him. "How do we move forward?" Mina asked in a soft tone. She had rested a hand on Cylus' arm because she could only imagine the pain he was feeling. Suspicious from the beginning, Mina had a lot of time to consider the possibilities and process the turmoil it caused, but for Cylus, everything was new. "If we test our DNA and the information gets out, whether your father knows or not would be irrelevant; Rouge would take a loss." He looked up at Mina and suddenly that familiar feeling made sense.

Cylus was largely raised by his maternal grandmother, because at the time his parents were working hard to build upon the company that his grandparents had started. They had the same goals, so it was easy for them to work together, and eventually Rouge was born. It took years of dedication, mostly on his mother's end, to solidify the company's brand, and Cylus did not want to see that stripped from his mother because of a possible mistake she may have made.

"Would you do that for me? Keep this a secret?" Mina nodded slowly, before anything else Cylus was her friend, and she knew the implications. "Then let's never confirm it." That was an idea that Mina agreed with wholeheartedly, especially because she did not have much time left, and she did not need any more drama. "Now," Cylus handed Mina back her notebook and fished out a pen from his breast pocket. "Start writing."

"Writing what?" Mina looked at the man curiously.

"Write down every person who has ever offended you." Mina closed her book and put it down.

"It would take me one hour, forty-two minutes and twenty-three seconds to compose that list, and you would also be on it." Cylus cringed remembering what he had said about Mina at his charity event. He was also amazed that Mina knew that information off hand, and he wondered if she made notes on it somewhere.

"Okay, okay, stop bringing up gross stuff." Cylus became serious and Mina could sense the tension that he felt. "I can protect you from him." Mina smiled warmly because she knew Cylus meant his words, but she did not want protection; she was done.

----

Zane sat in a quiet middle-tier restaurant waiting for Olivia to show up. She was always late, so he had not come on time, and his decision was a good one because he only had to wait a few minutes before she finally joined him. He watched the young woman walk toward him with a hint of fascination in his eyes. She was wearing uncharacteristic clothing that looked like she had taken fashion advice from Mina, and she also wore flats, something that he had not seen even from the first time they met.

"You look good," Zane admitted, being honest with the woman, because she did.

"You can thank-"

"Mina?" Zane interjected and Olivia smirked with a nod. Mina had given Olivia a lot of the clothing from her closet saying that it was too tight or not her style. At first, Olivia did not wear any of them, because she did not need them, but now that she could only wear flats, Mina's clothing was the only thing that suited them.

"So, what did you find?" Olivia asked. Not wanting to draw out the evening and make her cousin worry. She had never met with Zane alone, and if Cylus found out, he would kill her. She had mentioned Zane as a potential suitor to Cylus once, and his reaction was beyond poor.

Zane opened his briefcase and Olivia looked at him, trying to hold back her laughter. He looked like a proper private investigator in his suit, and the file folder he handed her made him look like a movie character. She composed herself as she took the paperwork, because she caught a glimpse of a photo that startled her.

"Did you know that almost every bad article about you has been written by the same person?" Olivia shook her head from side to side. She had not noticed, but then again that was the nature of paparazzi, they usually found a target and stuck with the person.

Olivia flipped through the various headlines Zane had pulled together and was surprised by the sheer amount. There were many she had never seen, and she knew that it was probably because Cylus had gotten to them first. As if he could hear her thoughts Zane confirmed that many of the articles she was holding only made the tabloids for a few minutes.

"I was able to figure out who, but I can't tell you how he gets his information, and as you can see from that last photo, he is obviously working with help."

The image Zane was referring to was of Olivia standing in a room full of shirtless men. The angle at which the photo was taken made it look as if she were alone, but in reality, there were many other women around. Olivia suddenly had the answer to the mystery of how Cylus knew what was going on when he was on the other end of the cabin that night.

Olivia listened to Zane speak, and she offered helpful information when she could. She decided to trust the man fully and tell him about the last incident where she ended up almost completely nude in Bastien's bed. Zane made a sound that made Olivia think he did not believe her, but when she looked at his face, there was disgust written on it.

"When you said that Vanya woman wanted to have you and Mina hurt, I did not think you meant it in that way," Zane growled.

"I don't have proof, but I don't trust Bastien at all. I'm almost positive that I heard his voice, but I don't remember what he was saying." Zane liked Olivia, and he hated that someone was targeting her in any way. Of all the women that Mina had collected as friends, Olivia was the one who stood out to him as someone who wanted nothing from Mina but friendship. It was not as though he got any other impression from the others, but while the others tried to change Mina, Olivia tried to emulate her.

"I can help you find out, if you want." Olivia nodded. She filled Zane in on some of her and Willow's plans, but the man disagreed with the method, warning Olivia that too much could go wrong.

"But with your help, it could be better," Olivia added, and Zane narrowed his eyes at the woman who had expertly stroked his ego.

"Fine, but I need time to work out the details, until then stay away from him, and keep Mina away from him too." Zane was not naïve enough to think that any man who would drug and sleep with Olivia would not try the same with Mina as well.