Free Web NovelChapter 48: Chapter 48: Secret Crush on Him
"What serious business?"
"Damian Morgan is one hundred percent having an affair, and I want to get proof. He’s a con man who got those shares from me for nothing—they were originally mine. I’m not going to buy my own shares back from him. I can’t just let him walk away with them."
"You definitely can’t let that Social Climber get away with it."
"As long as I have something on him, he’ll obediently hand the shares back over."
’Compared to those few shares in Heart of the Ocean, Damian would definitely prioritize his long-term meal ticket, Vianne Kane.’
’He knows how to weigh his options.’
Anne thought about it for a moment. "Your plan isn’t the problem," she said, "but isn’t it too dangerous?"
"Dangerous?"
"Damian Morgan is a shameless and unscrupulous person. If he finds out, I’m afraid he’ll do something to you. To be safe, you should just hire someone to watch him."
Sophie Shaw thought Anne had a point. Besides, her wedding with Alaric Blackwood was just around the corner, and she really couldn’t spare the time.
At this thought, she asked Anne, "What time does your flight get in tomorrow?"
"It lands at ten in the morning."
"Okay, I’ll pick you up from the airport."
"Did you get the car back?"
"I’m already driving it."
Anne was thrilled. "Then you have to take me for a spin in the Cayenne tomorrow!"
"Okay."
...
Their entire video chat was being watched by Alaric Blackwood, all the way from his CEO office at the Blackwood Group.
Alaric Blackwood had moved into the Maplewood Estate residence after returning to the country. Surveillance cameras had been installed long ago, but Sophie Shaw hadn’t discovered them.
He had originally just wanted to see if she had gotten up to eat breakfast, but instead, he witnessed her confrontation with Vianne Kane. After Vianne left in a huff, Sophie had casually flopped onto the sofa and started a video chat with her bridesmaid.
They mentioned him several times during their conversation.
Especially when he heard Anne’s line— "A man as gorgeous as Alaric Blackwood? You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone comparable even in the entire entertainment industry. You two are already legally married, so why don’t you put in a little effort and win him over for real?"
He laughed right then and there.
’This friend of hers is not bad. She knows what to say, has good taste, and is very perceptive.’
’I’ll have to find some time to reward her properly.’
As he was staring at the surveillance feed on his phone, there was a knock on his office door.
Lydia Wynn pushed the door open and walked in. She was carrying a pot of freshly brewed green tea. After placing the teapot and cup on the desk, she asked curiously, "Mr. Blackwood, why the switch from coffee to tea today?"
Alaric Blackwood lightly tapped his phone screen to exit the surveillance feed, then placed it facedown on the desk. He glanced up at Lydia Wynn. "Felt like a change of pace."
Lydia Wynn nodded and handed him a report.
He took the report and began to flip through it, and Lydia Wynn tactfully excused herself.
Back at her workstation, she happened to receive a message on her phone from a private investigator. It was a file on a young woman, complete with a photo. The name was Sophie Shaw.
It was indeed the woman she had seen at the hospital before.
The file stated that Sophie Shaw was Bianca Kane’s stepdaughter. Her father, Joseph Shaw, was Bianca Kane’s second husband.
"So she’s the baggage that came with the man who married into the family."
She muttered under her breath.
’No wonder I’d never heard of the Kane Family having another daughter besides Vianne Kane.’
Sophie Shaw wasn’t related by blood to the Kanes. For events and banquets, Bianca Kane always brought Vianne Kane, and she never publicly revealed that she had a stepdaughter like Sophie Shaw.
’A mere stepdaughter. Logically, someone of her status is not worthy of Alaric Blackwood.’
Lydia Wynn patiently read through the file. She remembered Quentin Blackwood saying that this marriage had been arranged by Alaric Blackwood’s mother.
’She immediately felt that Sophie Shaw was unworthy.’
She was the same age as Alaric Blackwood and had even attended the same high school. That was also when she began receiving financial support from the Blackwood Family.
It was a bit embarrassing to admit, but she was an orphan. After being adopted by a kind family, she had a stroke of bad luck: her adoptive parents both died in a car accident. She was left to fend for herself with only her elderly grandmother.
Since her adoptive parents were fully at fault for the accident, the family’s entire savings were paid out in compensation.
She was an excellent student, but her grandmother was too old to work and couldn’t scrape together her tuition fees. To keep her in school, her grandmother went to the school on her crutch and knelt, crying and begging the school administrators.
The incident caused a huge sensation and spread like wildfire throughout the school. Reporters even caught wind of it and came to interview them.
The Blackwood Family had sponsored many students from poor backgrounds, and she was just one more. Alaric Blackwood had probably mentioned the matter to his family, because Quentin Blackwood took an interest in her story and sponsored her without hesitation.
She had always remembered Alaric Blackwood’s kindness. She’d had a crush on him ever since high school.
To become someone worthy of him, she studied desperately, vowing to escape her tragic fate and rise above the rest.
But after all her hard work, she was losing to an unexpected rival who had appeared out of nowhere.
’How could she be resigned to this?’
"Assistant Wynn, what are you looking at?" frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
Secretary Golding was passing by and glanced at the phone screen Lydia was staring at so intently. She couldn’t make out the text, but she caught a glimpse of Sophie Shaw’s photo.
"Hey? I’ve seen this woman before."
Lydia Wynn froze for a second, then looked up at Secretary Golding in surprise. "When?"
"She’s been to our company."
"What for?"
"I’m not too sure about that, but the president himself brought her in that day. He even let her use a computer and the printer."
Lydia Wynn looked thoughtful and asked casually, "Which computer did she use?"
"The unused one in the printing room."
"Oh."
"Why do you ask?"
"Just bored. Nothing to do, too much free time."
Lately, Lydia Wynn’s workload had indeed become much lighter. Most of her duties were being handled by Preston Chase, who would only assign tasks to her when he couldn’t manage them all himself.
Secretary Golding smiled and patted her on the shoulder. "Isn’t it nice to have less work? We’re all so jealous. You have Assistant Chase to share the load. We’re all so busy our butts are on fire. It’s a good thing you took over bringing coffee to the president for me, otherwise I’d be even more swamped."
Lydia Wynn smiled. "If you need help with anything, just let me know. I’m free anyway."
"Then I’ll leave bringing the president his coffee and ordering his meals to you from now on?"
Lydia Wynn couldn’t have been happier. "Great, no problem."
...
During the lunch break, everyone went out to eat. Only Lydia Wynn remained at her workstation.
She ordered takeout and, seeing that she was the only one left on the entire floor, got up and slipped into the printing room. She turned on the computer that Sophie Shaw had used.
This computer wasn’t used often. From what Secretary Golding had said, only Sophie Shaw had used it recently. With a few simple clicks, she easily found Sophie’s usage history.
A USB drive had been inserted, a word processor had been used, and something had been printed.
She opened the word processor. The history showed "Marriage of Convenience Agreement," and that two copies had been printed.
’A marriage of convenience agreement?’
Since she could only see the history and couldn’t view the original file, she was intensely curious about the contents of this so-called agreement. However, she could be certain of one thing: Sophie Shaw and Alaric Blackwood’s marriage was not based on love.
"So it’s a marriage of convenience."
A smile tugged at the corners of her lips. After deleting her browsing history, she shut down the computer and left.
Her takeout arrived. She sat at her workstation, happily digging into her pig’s trotter rice.
Meanwhile, Alaric Blackwood had already driven back to Maplewood Estate.
