Free Web NovelChapter 128: Chapter 128: Double Identity
"What do Miss Sterling’s parents do for a living?"
Preston Chase asked the question abruptly.
Claire Sterling froze, her gaze shifting to the assistant who had been unusually quiet since he walked in. ’He’s just an assistant,’ she thought. ’With all these big shots here, what right does he have to speak?’
So she ignored him, pretending he hadn’t spoken.
She draped herself over Oscar Lynch’s shoulder and whined, "Mr. Lynch, my head’s a little dizzy. I’m not good with this liquor. I need a moment."
Oscar Lynch patted the delicate little hand on his shoulder and chuckled. "As I recall, you can hold your liquor quite well."
"That depends on what we’re drinking. I really can’t handle liquor like this."
"Mr. Lynch, you have no class, making a woman take your drinks for you." Jaden chimed in at the perfect moment, his voice dripping with mockery.
He was trying to drink two people under the table by himself, which was already a daunting task. Oscar Lynch playing dirty by bringing someone to take his drinks for him only made it harder.
He raised his glass to toast Oscar Lynch, but the sly bastard just nudged Claire Sterling’s waist with his elbow. "Can’t you see Garland is offering a toast?"
Claire Sterling was helpless. She had no choice but to raise her glass and drink another round with Jaden.
Jaden had already drunk a fair amount and was starting to feel the alcohol go to his head. He shot Alaric Blackwood a look for help. Alaric received the signal, took a liquor glass with his long-fingered hand, placed it in front of himself, and grabbed the bottle of Maotai to pour a drink.
Alaric Blackwood raised his glass and looked at Oscar Lynch. "Mr. Lynch, here’s to a successful collaboration. How about a drink?"
He could have snubbed Jaden, but with Alaric Blackwood personally offering a toast, Oscar Lynch couldn’t very well refuse him.
Oscar Lynch raised his glass. "Mr. Blackwood, I should be the one toasting you."
While he was drinking, Claire Sterling quickly sent a text to Lydia Wynn, asking for help.
Oscar Lynch had just put his glass down, before it could even be refilled, when Claire Sterling’s phone rang.
She answered the call at top volume, making sure Oscar Lynch could hear her. "Hello? Is it urgent? Okay, I’m on my way."
After hanging up, she said with feigned urgency, "I’m so sorry, Mr. Lynch. Something’s come up with a friend of mine. I have to go."
Without waiting for his permission, she had already grabbed her bag and stood up.
She glanced at the others at the table, her face a mask of apology. "I’m so sorry, everyone. Something’s come up, so I have to leave first."
She fled the private room and hurried downstairs.
Lydia Wynn’s car was already parked in a temporary spot across from the restaurant. Claire quickened her pace, crossed the street, and slid right into the car.
Catching the strong smell of alcohol on her, Lydia Wynn frowned. "How much did you drink?"
"At least half a bottle of liquor. That bastard Oscar Lynch can’t even handle a single woman, and he still has the nerve to drag me along to take his drinks for him."
"He didn’t manage to get Sophie Shaw?"
"He was on his way with her last night when Alaric Blackwood intercepted him."
Lydia Wynn’s expression darkened. "Shouldn’t you switch targets? Mr. Lynch is too stupid."
"He’s stupid, sure, but at least he’s rich—a bona fide second-generation heir. I laid low at The Nocturne Club for three months and finally locked onto a handsome, wealthy target, only to find out he’s gay. Luckily, I have Oscar Lynch as a backup. If I can land him, I’ll be set for the rest of my life."
Claire Sterling had two identities: one was the orphan Ava Sterling before her plastic surgery, and the other was the fake socialite Claire Sterling.
She often used makeup and disguises to make herself look "ugly," like she did before her surgery. She would then use her old identity to work at various bars and nightclubs, all for the sake of hooking a rich man.
Once she set her sights on a target, she would transform back into the ’socialite’ Claire Sterling and wait for an opportunity to get close to him or the people around him.
This time, she’d spent time befriending Stella Yarrow, and through her, she met her target, Evan Ford.
Unfortunately, Evan Ford was arrogant, cold, and, as it turned out, gay.
"Gay?"
Lydia Wynn was skeptical. "You’re saying Evan Ford is gay?"
"Isn’t he? All that work for nothing."
Claire Sterling leaned back against the seat, pulled a cigarette from her bag, and lit it. As she exhaled a cloud of smoke, she couldn’t help but complain, "I could have worked at The Nocturne Club for a while longer. The pay and benefits were good, and I could have kept looking for prospects on the down-low. But it’s all your fault. You just had to make me drug Alaric Blackwood’s drink. In the end, he still made it to the wedding the next day, and I lost my job there."
"I can find you another job."
"Forget it. My academic credentials are all fake. If someone found out, my reputation would be ruined."
She and Lydia Wynn had grown up in the same orphanage. Claire’s grades were poor; she’d only had a few years of schooling and was practically illiterate. She wasn’t lucky like Lydia, who not only got adopted but also received full financial support from the Blackwoods after her adoptive parents died in a car accident.
Lydia Wynn had a good education and was naturally more confident. If Claire wanted a better life, her only option was to rely on a man to change her fate.
"Who told you Evan Ford is gay?"
Lydia Wynn found that hard to believe. Evan Ford seemed perfectly normal, just a bit cold.
"Mr. Lynch."
"And you believe him?"
"Who else?"
"I don’t think Evan Ford is gay. Why don’t you try getting close to him again?"
Claire Sterling’s expression turned impatient. "You have no idea what a sourpuss that Evan Ford is. He’s so high and mighty, acts like everyone owes him a million bucks."
"Either way, Mr. Lynch is not a good choice. His private life is a mess, and he’s surrounded by women. Your chances of marrying into the Lynch Family are slim."
"You think so little of me?"
"There are plenty of other rich men out there. The fact that Mr. Lynch made you take his drinks for him today shows he doesn’t take you seriously at all. You should contact him less from now on."
"I’m not cutting him off. Even if I don’t contact him proactively, I’m keeping him as a backup."
Lydia couldn’t persuade her, so she dropped it.
She started the car. "I’ll take you home first. I have to work this afternoon." ƒreewebηoveℓ.com
Claire Sterling rolled down the window and tossed her cigarette out. "You said Sophie Shaw and Alaric Blackwood have a contract marriage," she asked curiously, "but from what I see, Alaric is very protective of her. Are you sure about this contract marriage thing?"
"I’m sure."
She had personally seen the marriage contract on a computer and was certain that Sophie Shaw had used that same computer to print two copies of it.
Why else would someone draw up a contract like that before a wedding, if not for a contract marriage with Alaric Blackwood?
"He’s just trying to save face. It’s not like he actually likes that woman."
Claire Sterling sneered. "Even if he doesn’t like her, she’s still the official Mrs. Blackwood."
"She won’t be for long."
"What’s the plan?"
Lydia Wynn focused on driving. When she pulled up to Claire’s apartment building, she said, "We need an ally."
"Who?"
"Damian Morgan."
"A Social Climber? A man who married into his wife’s family? Can’t you find a more reliable ally?"
"He and Sophie Shaw don’t get along. In my opinion, that makes him very reliable."
Lydia Wynn had already had someone secretly observing Damian Morgan for a while. He had gone from having nothing to marrying into the Kane Family, and now he had successfully joined the Kane Group. The man clearly had some skills.
She had high hopes for this potential ally.
"Suit yourself."
Claire Sterling unbuckled her seatbelt but didn’t get out right away. Instead, she extended a hand toward the driver’s seat, palm up.
Lydia Wynn’s face fell. "What?"
"Give me some spending money. I lost my job, I’m broke."
