Chapter 3

3

With the little money I had left, I found a cheap motel on the outskirts of town.

After settling in, I dialed a number I hadn’t called in a long time.

“Mr. Evans, I’m so sorry to disturb you this late.”

“That overseas R&D director position you mentioned before... Is it still open?”

Because of my injuries, my voice was barely above a whisper.

There was a brief silence on the other end, followed by sheer excitement.

Once I gave him a firm confirmation, Mr. Evans was thrilled beyond words.

He immediately instructed his assistant to expedite my paperwork and visa process.

“Lucas, you told me before that you only wanted to stay local to be with your girlfriend. What made you change your mind?”

Out of curiosity, Mr. Evans couldn’t help but ask.

“I’m still young. Building a real future for myself matters far more than settling down.”

My answer pleased him immensely.

Mr. Evans and I had met at a national tech expo during my college years.

He had been thoroughly impressed by the security software architecture I designed.

He had offered me a seven-figure salary to head his overseas tech division.

Back then, I had blindly turned down that golden opportunity just to stay near Lauren.

Looking back now, I had been an absolute fool.

The next morning, I planned to buy some painkillers from a small clinic.

My wounds had throbbed all night, making it impossible to sleep.

Right now, I couldn’t even afford a proper hospital visit.

All I could do was rely on cheap pain relief to pull through.

Just as I walked out of the clinic, my phone buzzed.

I assumed it was my father calling to curse at me.

To my surprise, the caller ID showed Lauren’s name.

“Lucas Crawford, come meet me right now. I have something critical to tell you in person.”

Even though I wanted nothing to do with her anymore, her voice sounded unusually frantic.

After a moment of hesitation, I agreed.