Chapter 23 That's right . Fortune had an only son , now forty , who'd moved in with his wife's family in Silverhaven years ago . These days , he still lived with his in - laws . Back when Fortune first found Caitlin , he'd intended for his son and daughter - in - law to raise her ! But things didn't go as planned . Neither his son nor his daughter - in - law wanted the responsibility . They insisted that " children should be your own , " and , " no matter how much love you give someone else's child , it never feels the same . They even joked that " hair should grow on its own " -meaning you should have your own kids , not take in someone else's . Fortune , however , couldn't bring himself to leave Caitlin at an orphanage . So , he raised her himself - and kept her close all these years . " Sure " Caitlin nodded . From the scattered memories of her former self , she hardly remembered her uncle or aunt . Until she was fifteen , she'd lived with her grandfather in the countryside , and her uncle and aunt barely visited - maybe once every few years . Even after she'd moved with her grandfather to Silverhaven , she'd only seen them once or twice . After dinner , Caitlin got back to assembling her new computer . She worked straight through until nine that evening before finally checking her phone Opening WhatsApp , she found ten friend requests from strang strangers . ! That's when she remembered - she had business to attend to . She accepted the requests one by one , then created a small group chat and pulled everyone in . Her first message was simple : ( Hi everyone , I'm Caitlin , Looking forward to working together ! ] [ Hello , Miss Kensington , I'm Amy . If there's anything you need , just message me here on WhatsApp J Hello , Miss Kensington , I'm Lucy … ] [ Hello , Miss Kensington , I'm Major 18 A round of introductions followed Once everyone had checked in , Caitlin posted the group's assignments . Just send me your work by 4 p.m. tomorrow . Thanks , everyone . ] Meanwhile - 0 Inside the cubicle maze on the third floor at Apex Game Studios . Amy spun her chair toward her neighbor . " Lucy , who do you think this Miss Kensington really is ? Does she honestly have what it takes to pull us back from the brink ? " Lucy took a sip of her iced coffee , eyes narrowed . " Hard to honestly . " Jen , sitting across from them , leaned in and lowered her voice . " Did you guys hear ? Mr. Barrett and Mr. Blake have both left the company . Not just them - the Chandler Group even poached Mr. Lockwood from our Triple A project team ! I'm telling you , things are really falling apart this time . " Lucy and Amy stared , wide - eyed . " What ? Mr. Lockwood's gone ? " Jasper Lockwood was practically the backbone of the Triple - A team . Losing him was a crushing blow , not just for Apex Game Studios , but for Victor , too . " Shh Jen pressed a finger to her lips . " Keep it downl Lucy swallowed hard . " Mr. Lockwood really left ? " % Jen nodded . " Swear to God . " Lucy let out a heavy sigh . " He was our last hope . Now that he's gone , there's nothing left for us here . Competition's brutal out there - if we lose this job , how am I ever going to find coworkers like you guys again ? " Amy glanced at Jen , skeptical . " That's so sudden . I saw Mr. Lockwood working just yesterday on the fifth floor . Are you sure you're not mistaken ? " Jen scanned the room , then whispered , " My roommute is Mr. Lockwood's assistant . She told me herself ! Even she was caught off guard . There was no sign of it - he was at his desk yesterday , then this morning called in and quill Honestly , Mr. Winslow should've had him sign a massive penalty clause when he recruited him . Now look - he just walks out without a second thought ." Army frowned . " That's so unfair of Mr. Lockwood . How's Mr. Winslow supposed to handle this ? " " it's not entirely Mr. Lockwood's fault , Lucy said . " He's just an employee , and with the company in shambles , he can't be expected to go down with the ship ." She sighed again . " Let's just hope Miss Kensington can live up to Mr. Winslow's trust and restore Apex Game Studios to its former glory Jen snorted . " Don't get your hopes up . " " Why not ? " Lucy asked , puzzled Amy watched her , just as cunous.X Jen leaned in 1 saw Miss Kensington yesterday when I went to see Mr. Winslow . Guess what ? She looks super young - like , fresh out of high school . She's pretty , sure , but more the type you'd expect to see in show business , not running a game studio . Frankly , I think Mr. Winslow's just clutching at straws . " A pretty face running a studio ? Who was he kidding ? Amy and Lucy exchanged a look , their confidence in the mysterious Miss Kensington evaporating on the spot . It seemed Apex was truly doomed . Seventh floor . Victor stood by the window , phone pressed to his ear . He was so anxious that sweat beaded on his brow Ring … ring .. The call was picked up quickly . ! " Hello - 1 Victor wasted no time . " Miss Kensington , are you busy ? There's something important I need to discuss . " K " Go ahead " Caitlin answered cris crisply . Victor took a breath . "We'll have to push back our timeline . Jasper from the Triple - A team was poached by The Chandler Group . I can't find anyone to replace him on such short notice . " He couldn't help but curse . " That bastard Jasper - what the hell is wrong with him ? Back when he was overseas , he was a nobody just breaking into the industry . If it weren't for me , he'd be nowhere ! And now he stabs me in the back at a time like this ! " Everyone knew Jasper was Victor's overseas recruit . What they didn't know was that Jasper had been a complete unknown when Victor found him . In those early days , they'd built things together from scratch , step by step . That shared journey was the foundation of Victor's trust - and why he'd never made Jasper sign any binding agreements . That trust had just given Jasper the perfect chance to betray him .