In the Lap of Luxury

Chapter 546 Suspicious

Grace glanced over Willow's statement, which closely aligned with their plan. This belongs © NôvelDra/ma.Org.

In it, Willow had taken all the responsibility upon herself and revealed that Matthew had been unaware of the situation. But upon learning the truth, he had fulfilled his paternal duties.

To express her regret, she chose to retire indefinitely.

Esme had managed to take down Willow in less than two hours.

Grace breathed a sigh of relief.

At that moment, Esme called, "I've taken the child."

"Congratulations, Mrs. Thorne. You've gotten what you wanted."

"I've done what you asked. With my influence, Willow will never show her face in society again. You can rest easy."

Grace smiled, looking out over the cityscape from the floor-to-ceiling windows.

"How did you persuade Willow?"

Esme sounded almost bored as she explained, "A mother's greatest weakness is her child. I told her that if Matthew fell from grace, her child would have no future.

"Faced with two ends, she naturally knew what to do. Of course, I gave her a sum of money enough for a lifetime, on the condition she never sees the child again."

"A win-win situation. Mr. Thorne would be very grateful to you."

Grace paused and added, "I trust you will be compassionate and won't be too harsh on the child."

Esme chuckled. "What do you take me for? Ms. Lewis, it might seem like I helped you, but really, you helped me. If you ever need anything in the future, just ask."

Grace agreed and hung up.

Puzzled, Ashley asked, "Ms. Lewis, why would Mrs. Thorne say that?"

"Now that she has the child, she's got a hold on Matthew for life. No matter how powerful he becomes, Esme holds the strings. Doesn't she owe me some thanks?"

Ashley nodded in understanding and answered, "Indeed."

…

Downstairs, traffic bustled as a Porsche drove away from Amirate Corporation. Grace watched it disappear into the distance, feeling utterly indifferent.

She wondered why she had ever been so obsessed with Benjamin, who clearly wasn't worth it. Now, all she felt was disgust.

The scandal with Byte Technologies was quickly resolved, and the public moved on to other news. Everything returned to how it had been before, and Matthew was overjoyed.

…

Late that night, Grace lay in bed, chatting with Lydia and Emily.

Still, something felt off. Benjamin might be cunning, but such lowly tactics weren't his style.

Emily was the first to object to that. "Really? Benjamin and his family are capable of anything."

Zoey seemed to agree. "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

That was true.

Just as Grace was about to say something, Lydia added, "Perhaps."

The group went silent for a while before Zoey messaged Grace privately. "Did I say something wrong? I forgot Lydia's …"

Lydia, who had grown up under the Lewis family's sponsorship due to her poor background, was understandably sensitive.

Grace reassured Zoey that it probably wasn't a big deal. Then, she saw that Lydia had sent a text in the group chat.

"There's always a reason behind his actions. The collaboration between Amirate Corporation and Byte Technologies doesn't hinder Hawkins Group, so why make things hard for you? Don't you find it suspicious?"

That hit the nail on the head.

Grace finally understood why she had been feeling so uneasy.

She began to type, "Yeah, why would Benjamin do this unless he's …"

Before she could send the message, an incoming call from Frenda interrupted her.

Joyfully, she answered, "Xander!"

Hearing her lively voice, Xander chuckled and asked, "You're still up?"