Free Web NovelChapter 94: Chapter 94: Each with Ulterior Motives, Pretending to Be in Love
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK—
"Mr. Lockwood, I have the information you asked me to look into."
The office door was ajar. The secretary knocked lightly three times before entering with a file folder in hand.
Ethan Lockwood paused the video on his computer and nonchalantly raised a hand.
The secretary understood, quickly opening the folder and taking out the three pages of documents inside. He presented them to Ethan Lockwood with both hands.
"Mr. Lockwood, the one who sent that family to cause trouble for Sonia Quincy was..."
"Who was it?" Ethan Lockwood had just taken the documents, his gaze still fixed on the first page.
"..." The secretary bit his lip, glancing at him with a troubled expression, unsure how to break the news without making him too angry.
"Speak." Ethan Lockwood looked up at him suspiciously. "Who sent them?"
"..." The secretary’s back was hunched, his body stiff with nervousness and fear.
"It was... Miss Cecilia." Speaking Cecilia Quincy’s name was like pulling a thorn; it drained the secretary of all his courage.
"...What?" Ethan Lockwood’s face darkened instantly, a storm clouding his handsome eyes.
The secretary lowered his head and repeated what he had just said in a trembling voice, "The one who sent that family to cause trouble for the Preston family was Miss Cecilia. Half a month ago, Miss Cecilia had Ramona Lawrence find the deceased old woman’s grandson and strike a deal with him."
SMACK!
Ethan Lockwood slammed the documents on the desk, glaring at the secretary as he asked in a frigid voice, "What kind of deal?"
The secretary’s heart gave a violent lurch. "Miss Cecilia had Ramona Lawrence give the grandson a sum of money. In return, he was to take the old woman to see Sonia Quincy’s house and find a way for her to die there."
"The old woman was riddled with illness and didn’t have much time left anyway. Her grandson figured it wasn’t a bad deal for his grandmother to earn him some money before she died, so he did as Miss Cecilia said and took his whole family to make trouble for Sonia Quincy."
"Sonia Quincy couldn’t stand the harassment, so she’s already had the agent delist the house."
"Delisted?" Ethan Lockwood frowned. "She’s not selling anymore?"
The secretary replied, "No, she’s not. She won’t sell it for any price. She’s decided to keep it and live in it herself. I heard Felix Preston’s mother has already started helping her move. Their whole family is going to move into that house together."
"...Hah." Ethan Lockwood laughed, a sound devoid of humor, born from pure rage. The whole situation felt absurd and ironic.
’Cecilia Quincy. It was actually Cecilia Quincy. My innocent, kind-hearted fiancée... actually has such a vicious, cruel side.’
He detested Sonia Quincy, but his idea of revenge was just sending people to harass her at home for a few days. Yet Cecilia, with her very first move, had caused a death.
’We’ve been in love for nearly a year, but it seems I’ve never truly known my own fiancée.’
"What did you say?"
Outside the Lockwood Group headquarters, Cecilia Quincy was hiding in a deserted corner, talking on the phone with Ramona Lawrence.
Ramona Lawrence’s hesitant voice came through the phone.
"Cecilia, I think Mr. Lockwood was the one who got rid of those people you hired. The day after the incident, the old hag’s grandson saw Mr. Lockwood go see Sonia Quincy. The two of them went downstairs alone. No one knows where they went or what they talked about."
"...Damn it." Cecilia Quincy cursed in frustration. "That bitch Sonia Quincy! She’s five damn months pregnant and still won’t behave herself, still trying to seduce my Ethan!"
Ramona Lawrence said, "Cecilia, I don’t think you should be worried about that right now. Mr. Lockwood is a very cautious person. Since he helped Sonia Quincy solve this problem, he must have sensed that something was off. If he decides to investigate further, there’s a one-hundred-percent chance he’ll trace it back to you."
"...I know." With a dark expression, Cecilia Quincy irritably hung up the phone.
She let out a long breath.
Tossing her phone into her purse, she closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths, forcing down the turmoil in her heart. Then, she curved her eyes and lips into her usual sweet smile and turned to walk into the Lockwood Group building.
"Ethan."
Just as Ethan Lockwood was stewing in his frustration, Cecilia Quincy’s cloyingly sweet voice sounded unexpectedly from outside his office.
"Take these documents and leave." He pushed back his chair and stood up, warning the secretary with a grim face, "Remember, this has nothing to do with Cecilia. It was all Ramona Lawrence’s plan."
The secretary quickly packed the documents away. "I understand. Don’t worry, Mr. Lockwood."
Ethan Lockwood said, "Get out."
"Ethan?"
Just as the secretary reached the door, he came face-to-face with Cecilia Quincy, who was about to enter. Cecilia politely took a step back to let the secretary exit first.
"Thank you, Miss Cecilia." The secretary kept his head down, muttered his thanks, and hurried away.
"Ethan." Cecilia Quincy skipped into the room and closed the office door behind her.
"Cecilia, you’re here." Ethan Lockwood’s eyes curved into a slight smile as he strode out from behind his long desk and intimately pulled Cecilia Quincy into his arms.
Cecilia Quincy nestled against him, her demeanor soft and delicate. "Ethan, it’s been a whole day. Did you miss me?"
Ethan Lockwood caressed her small face and answered gently, "I did. Of course I missed you."
Cecilia Quincy asked, "Then... then do you love me, Ethan? Do you think I’m a good person?"
Ethan Lockwood paused for a moment, then answered firmly, "Of course I love you, Cecilia. In my heart, you’re the best, most perfect person in the world. No one can replace you."
"Mm." Having received the answer she was hoping for, the anxiety in Cecilia Quincy’s heart finally subsided a little.
Ethan Lockwood lowered his gaze to the top of her head, but the smile in his eyes gradually turned to ice.
...
The rideshare car stopped in front of Mina Jennings’s studio. Sonia Quincy unbuckled her seatbelt, got out, and had just paid the fare when she received a call from an unknown number.
"Hello?"
She carefully navigated the steps, walking slowly upward.
"Sonia Quincy, it’s me."
On the other end of the line, Renee Sinclair’s hoarse, urgent voice came through.
"Miss Sinclair?" Sonia Quincy’s tone instantly turned cold. She asked with a humorless smile, "Is there something you need?"
"Sonia Quincy, I’m begging you. Please, I’m begging you, let Felix see me just once!" Renee Sinclair growled into the phone, but there was no threat in her voice, only pure desperation.
"Why?" Sonia Quincy didn’t understand.
’Renee Sinclair had vanished for a while. Why would she reappear now, acting so pathetic?’
"Because I’m going to die! I’m really going to die!" Renee Sinclair’s voice was one of undisguised breakdown, and it made even Sonia Quincy’s heart tremble.
"My... Felix Preston’s favorability score for me has dropped to negative one hundred! Negative one hundred is a very dangerous number. If it drops any lower, the system will erase me! Sonia Quincy, I’m begging you, save my life! Just let Felix see me, please?"
’Erased by the system...’ It certainly sounded dangerous and tragic, but Sonia Quincy had no intention of helping her. Sonia could guess what Renee Sinclair’s mission was. If she took pity on Renee and helped her, it would be no different from handing Felix Preston over on a silver platter.
’She couldn’t do it.’
"I’m sorry." Instead of rushing into the studio, she found a deserted corner to stand in.
"Felix Preston is mine. I won’t help you."
