Lady billionaire's husband

John knew Tony not to be shaken easily hence his confusion when he showed a sudden interest in her niece's personal life, especially when everything was going according to their plan. Soon, they would divorce and he was finally going to get Global Tech while Tony got his hands on the galleries. Who cares what Linda does - when victory is upon them? Besides, ever since their last conversation, he hadn't paid much attention to her movements, he had quite a lot to deal with.

He beamed with pleasure, "I think we can stop worrying about those two-", he explained, "I saw how smitten they were with each other - she's not going anywhere. Your nephew did the impossible...you must be proud."

He was visibly happy while innocently blind to the storm inside Tony caused by the young couple, and how could he know? When only plots of betrayal were the only thing in Tony's dark mind and it was not something he could just declare to his long-term friend. He needed to find a way to make John understand the potential danger of the sudden change in Linda's behaviour without raising alarms. Truth is, his heart hadn't been at ease...his antennas could sense danger lurking in the air. Ever since his nephew fell for that woman, his gut has been churning anxiously, he was certain of the storm approaching - his instincts have never failed him. Someone is definitely plotting something - after all, a Jeremy in love is uncontrollable - he's dangerous. 

He sighed heavily, "John, are you sure you don't know what your niece is plotting? When was the last time you spoke to her?? It doesn't make sense why she would suddenly be interested in military training-"

John could see the genuine concern on his face which only puzzled him further.

"Tony, what is going on? Why are you suddenly so interested in what Linda is doing in her spare time? I thought monitoring her was my job and yours is Jeremy-"

"Just answer my question goddamned!", Tony snapped. The fear of not knowing where the next attack was going to come from was driving him mad, on top of that, he had to deal with John's naivety - he was losing his patience, 

He gritted his teeth in annoyance, "I just want to know if you know what she's planning or not...nothing more or less.."

Sensing the seriousness of the situation, John became even more suspicious, but he needed to get rid of this angry unstable mafia in front of him before things got out of hand and he decided to go to Linda himself - he needed to protect the plan, especially now that Tony was showing signs of paranoia. 

He exhaled heavily, "Don't worry about it. Linda is preparing for the wedding, I heard her tell her grandmother on Sunday that she feared she was adding too much weight..."

"Are you sure that's all it is?", Tony asked suspiciously, 

Without hesitation, John sustained his lie, "Yes, I am sure. That girl has been so obsessed with looking perfect for her wedding day that she's on a no-carb diet. If it helps, I can call the man I have following her to explain more in details-". As much as he felt bad about lying to him, he needed to ease his mind - for the sake of Global Tech. Besides, how could he explain her sudden change in behaviour without exposing the fact that he was now cleared of any doubts leading to his sister's death? After all, that twisted-dark truth is the only reason Tony is even helping him.

Tony silently eyed him suspiciously - he could just sense that he was not telling him the entire truth but to avoid any concerns, he decided to let it go. He was going to find out himself, besides, even if something was happening, John would most likely not know, 'I mean he is not even aware that the plan he so raves about is no longer in action - this gullible man', he smirked in his mind.

 "Hmmm", Tony breathed, releasing all anger, "I guess that makes sense." He said calmly appeasing John. Deep inside, something was telling him it was more than that - John was hiding something too. 

'and who was plotting against me because everyone was occupied with the wedding?, this was based on the information from the people he had tailing Jeremy, 'Could I be going crazy? No, I need to hire more people to watch every single one of them....'. He stood up to take his leave, "We will talk soon.", and he left just as he came.

The moment his car cleared the driveway, John called his mother, "Can I come over for a talk?", and Lilly agreed pleased on the other line. This was the first time he reached out ever since their conversion, and hearing the gentle tone of his mother as she answered the phone, was something he found unusual and uncomfortable - he never thought a day would come when his call could be answered with such love and anticipation. He didn't waste time and called the driver to take him home.

Meanwhile, with the help of Jin Ae, Jeremy set up a meeting with Maggie at his restaurant and he was astonished by her eagerness to meet before the hotel appointment, 'Is this another Tony's scheme.' he wondered seeing the trembling woman in front of her. For the first since she came back, Maggie appeared agitated and frightened and had nothing to say. She was ecstatic to receive the call from Jeremy, she needed a way to get out of Tony's grasp before she ended up in real trouble and she needed Jeremy, hell, even Linda if she could help her escape.

She shakingly picked up the glass of water in front of her to calm her nerves, and that's when Jeremy noticed her chipped nails, he rushed to grab her hand, "What the hell Maggie", he asked worriedly, "What have you gotten yourself into??"

She anxiously put the glass down and her eyes began to well up, "Jeremy, please help me...I need to get away. Please, help me escape. I promise I won't come back..", tears streaming down her pale cheeks, her heart had been heavy from all the anxiety brought up by Tony. She just couldn't do it - she felt trapped and only Jeremy could set her free her.