Chapter 129: Is Cecilia Caldwell Also a Lunatic?

Chapter 129: Chapter 129: Is Cecilia Caldwell Also a Lunatic?

"You must have found something out, right?" I smiled.

Erin Whittaker wasn’t the only one who needed this connection. I did, too.

Instead of waiting to be attacked, I had to go on the offensive. With Julian Fletcher badly injured, I needed to help Sebastian Lancaster solidify his position at the Lancaster Group.

Otherwise, we would end up in a very passive position.

Even though it seemed like someone was protecting me from the shadows, as long as Master Lancaster and his son hadn’t given up, I would always be on pins and needles in The Lancaster Family.

Erin Whittaker was reluctant.

"If you don’t want to talk, then forget it." I turned to leave.

"I heard... the CEO of Astraeus Group will be in Meridia on the first of next month for a Chamber of Commerce charity gala. It’s a fundraising event for orphanages from various cities." Erin Whittaker gripped my wrist tightly. "Silvia Lynch, that’s all I know. The man is a legend in the business world, with a status no one can touch. No one dares to cross him. Let’s compete on our own merits. Don’t... ruin my chances."

Erin Whittaker’s voice trembled.

’She was afraid I’d sabotage her.’

"Ha, it’s a question of whether you’ll even be alive by the first of next month." I pushed her arm away. "How much confidence do you have in that face of yours? Do you think all men are as blind as Julian Fletcher? A man who has reached the pinnacle of Astraeus Group isn’t just high in status; he can’t be young either. I heard he’s some old man in his sixties or seventies. You really are ruthless, willing to stomach anything."

I looked at Erin Whittaker with scorn.

’It seemed like playing the femme fatale was the only card she knew how to play.’

She definitely didn’t get her secretarial job at the Fletcher Group with Julian Fletcher based on merit back then.

’Would a legendary figure like the CEO of Astraeus Group really fall for Erin Whittaker?’

’Surely he isn’t as undiscerning as Julian Fletcher, right?’

"Silvia Lynch!" Erin Whittaker nervously grabbed my wrist, stopping me from leaving. "Help me. If I can successfully connect with the CEO of Astraeus Group, I can help you too, can’t I? As long as you agree to protect me..."

"Julian Fletcher isn’t dead yet, is he? If he saw you so eagerly looking for your next meal ticket before he’s even gone, how heartbroken do you think he’d be?" I asked in a low voice.

Erin Whittaker gritted her teeth. "Don’t slander me! I’m doing this for Julian... Connecting with the CEO of Astraeus Group will help Julian, too."

I couldn’t be bothered with her feigned innocence. "If you want my protection, fine. I’ve told you before: kneel for me."

I had already walked out of the stairwell.

’Erin Whittaker wanted to kneel to me where no one could see, enduring the humiliation for her own ambitions.’

"Don’t kneel here. When you made Cecilia Caldwell kneel to you, there were plenty of people in that hospital room." I sneered, walking over to Asher and sitting down beside him. "If you’re going to kneel, do it right here."

Erin Whittaker glared at me, looking like she wanted to eat me alive.

’She knew I was humiliating her.’

Asher sat obediently on the bench. He only seemed to relax when I returned, taking my hand. "Cece, she’s not worthy of kneeling to you."

I smiled at Asher. "She won’t kneel. Let’s go home."

"Silvia Lynch!" Just as Asher and I stood up to leave, Erin Whittaker suddenly shouted my name. Her eyes were red as she humiliatingly dropped to her knees on the floor. "I’m begging you. Julian is badly hurt, and you’re the only one who can help us."

’She was publicly trying to guilt-trip me.’

Many people in the hospital were watching, pointing and whispering.

"Erin Whittaker, when you framed Cecilia Caldwell and forced her to kneel, did you ever imagine this day would come?" I looked down at Erin kneeling in public and almost wanted to laugh...

Erin Whittaker clenched her fists tightly.

’I knew she was resentful.’

’This kind of woman is the most dangerous—able to bend and stretch. She could endure my endless humiliation now because she was confident she could climb to the very top in the future and repay today’s shame a hundredfold.’

’That’s why her ambition was running wild, making her want to bypass Julian Fletcher and connect with the CEO of Astraeus Group.’

’Because she knew that the only person who could overpower The Lancaster Family was the CEO of Astraeus Group.’

’After all, I was now Sebastian Lancaster’s wife. Even without any real power, I was still the wife of the Lancaster Group’s executive CEO.’

’And what was she? Julian Fletcher still refused to give her an official title.’

’If she didn’t fight her way to the side of the Astraeus Group’s CEO, what would she use to protect herself? What would she use to suppress me? How could she possibly compete with me?’

"Silvia Lynch, I’ve already knelt to you in public... What more do you want?" Erin Whittaker said through gritted teeth, her expression pitiful enough to move anyone.

The people around us began to murmur amongst themselves.

Erin Whittaker seized the opportunity and started crying. "Silvia Lynch, you told me to kneel, and I did! Please, just help me. You’re the only one who can save me..."

’Erin Whittaker feared Sebastian Lancaster, believing him to be a murderer, yet she also knew she had to use her connection to The Lancaster Family for protection.’

"Asher... I know you hate the others from the orphanage, but we all grew up together. We were just kids back then; it’s inevitable that we made mistakes. Can’t you just forget the past and let us go?" Erin Whittaker turned her gaze to Asher.

Asher frowned, pulling me closer with one arm. "Don’t try to guilt-trip me. I don’t have any morals."

Erin Whittaker bit her lip in anger and spoke again. "Asher, must you be so petty with us?"

"Yeah, what’s going on? Why force this poor girl to kneel?"

"You’re being too aggressive. Look at her, what could she have possibly done?" On the side, a few ’well-meaning’ old women started to lecture us.

I glanced at them. "She, along with a group of animals, locked my husband in a small room with barred windows, set it on fire, and caused the deaths of over twenty people, with more than ten others seriously injured."

The moment the words left my mouth, everyone was stunned. They all stared at Erin Whittaker as if she were a demon.

Erin Whittaker stared at me in shock, trying to explain. "Silvia Lynch, I wasn’t involved in the orphanage fire back then..."

"Whether you were involved or not, you know the truth in your heart. A murderer doesn’t kill innocent people, and you don’t seem very innocent." I walked up to Erin Whittaker and lowered my head to speak again. "Erin, back then, the people who were burning alive, struggling in the fire... they all saw you through the iron bars. *He* saw clearly... You were there."

Terrified, Erin Whittaker collapsed to the floor and scrambled backward. "You’re lying... You’re lying..."

I sneered. ’Judging by her reaction, she was definitely involved.’

"Silvia Lynch! Asher is a lunatic! He’s been a lunatic since he was a child! The person he loves is Cecilia Caldwell! Cecilia Caldwell was his girlfriend, and she was a lunatic too!" Erin Whittaker shrieked as if she’d suddenly been terrified by a new thought.

Her terrified gaze seemed to look straight through me, fixed on Asher.

"The one he loves is Cecilia Caldwell, and Cecilia Caldwell is dead! You’re just a replacement, a puppet, a decoration! Do you think he loves you? Once he gets tired of you, he’ll kill you without a second thought and trap you in a glass case! You’ll die! You’ll die too!" she screamed at me.

Equally stunned, I turned to look back at Asher.

’In my lost memories, did I once have a relationship with Asher? But because of my amnesia, I forgot him?’

Asher just looked at me, aggrieved, his eyes slightly red-rimmed. He forced a smile. "Cece... I don’t blame you."

’I don’t blame you for forgetting me.’

’He always says he doesn’t blame me.’

’But I was growing more and more panicked.’

’Asher didn’t refute what Erin Whittaker said, which meant she was right about this.’

’I had forgotten my former lover, Asher. And after losing my memory, during all those years Asher was trapped in Hell, I had fallen in love with Julian Fletcher.’

’When Asher finally managed to escape his cage and came to find me, did he discover that I had already forgotten him and fallen in love with someone else?’

’Why does my heart ache so much?’

’Is this really the truth?’

’If it is, then I owe Asher far, far too much.’