Chapter 41: Surprise for wife

"The news about our family broke recently and it’s still fresh in people’s mind, so the fire hasn’t died down," Daniel Qing’s expression grew grim.

"Seth and I have already tried to have the reports pulled down, but they keep resurfacing. No matter how many articles disappear, another one takes their place. It’s almost as though someone is deliberately making sure people don’t forget," the man added.

Kira’s eyes flickered.

"Do you think..." She hesitated before asking softly, "Do you think sister has something to do with it?"

Daniel fell silent.

Kira watched him for a moment before giving a small, almost innocent smile, "But Sis doesn’t have that kind of power, does she? So it couldn’t be her."

Daniel looked at her. After a moment, he sighed, "Regardless of who’s behind it, I’ve made some arrangements to help repair your reputation."

He reached for a thick envelope on the table and handed it to her.

Kira opened it and pulled out the invitation. Her eyes brightened, "An auction gala?"

Daniel nodded, "It’s in two days. Seth will accompany you."

Kira looked up.

"You know what you need to do, right?"

A smile slowly spread across her face, "Daddy, I won’t disappoint you."

...

At Hawke Corporation, Callahan sneezed once without lifting his eyes from the phone in his hand.

On the screen, the messages he last sent to Sienna were visible, seen and ignored promptly.

While his gaze lingered on the sad screen, the office door opened.

Leon walked in, "I have sent your wife’s surprise to the Magnolia Crest."

Callahan finally looked up from the phone.

Leon stopped in his tracks when he noticed the man’s slightly reddened face.

His gaze then trailed down to Callahan’s hands, where the skin around his knuckles and wrist was visibly red.

Leon sighed and walked over, placing a pill beside him, "You’re still like this even after the shot?"

Callahan glanced at the pill but didn’t take it.

"There are plenty of apology gifts you could send her. Why are you making this so difficult for yourself?" Leon was exasperated, "This... marriage of convenience is not looking very convenient to me right now."

Callahan shot him a brief look and then looked away, "She won’t like a random gift."

Leon stared at him, unable to comprehend exactly what was cooking in the man’s head.

Then he seemed to think of something.

"Oh, I almost forgot." His expression changed as something dawned on him, "Did you tell my brother that I don’t have any work next week?"

"Yes," Callahan did not spare him more than a word.

Leon stared at him in disbelief.

"Of course you did," Leon laughed in anger, "When I asked for a day off, you made me work like a cow, and now that I actually need some work to protect myself, you conveniently go and tell my brother I’m free?"

Callahan nodded once.

Leon was so angry that he felt his liver throb, "You know I can’t meet my brother. Every time I see him, the things he says haunt me in my sleep."

Callahan finally looked at him, "Deal with it."

With that, he rose and walked toward the door, completely unbothered.

"Wait, that’s it? You’re just leaving?" Leon watched him disappear and muttered something under his breath before dropping into the nearest chair, "Just you wait. Every dog has its day!"

At this moment, a member of the administrative staff entered carrying an invitation, "Vice President Hawke’s invitation to the auction gala."

Leon took it from her and glanced at the embossed card.

"Will the Vice President be attending alone as usual, or should we arrange a date for him?" the person asked.

Leon looked at the invitation and a slow smile spread across his face, "You don’t need to arrange a date."

The staff member nodded and reached for the invitation. Leon casually pulled it back, "But he won’t necessarily be going alone," a crafty look flickered in his eyes.

...

When Sienna walked out of the Qing Horizons property, the sky had already turned dark.

She had barely reached the road when a familiar sedan pulled up beside her.

The rear window lowered, revealing Daniel Qing, "Get in. I’ll drop you home."

Sienna paused for a moment before opening the door and getting inside.

For the first few minutes, the car moved in complete silence.

Then Daniel spoke, his voice gentler than usual, "I don’t blame you for claiming your shares."

Sienna glanced at him.

"Those shares belonged to you. Your mother left them for you, and you have every right to them," The man sighed, "Like they say, daughters grow up in the blink of an eye."

There was something almost nostalgic in his expression as he continued, "When you were little, you used to insist on sitting beside me whenever I went through company reports. You wouldn’t understand a word of them, but you’d sit there with your little notebook and pretend you were helping me."

Sienna’s expression softened despite herself, "I remember that."

During that time, she had already made up her mind that she would top in her classes, get in the best business school and help her father one day.

A small smile escaped her.

Daniel laughed softly, and for a moment the years between them seemed to disappear as the man talked about a few other memories from her childhood.

Soon, the car turned silent again before Daniel spoke, "Your mother knew quite a few people in the media when she was alive. Have you kept in touch with any of them?"

The warmth disappeared from Sienna’s face, "So that’s what this is about."

Daniel’s expression tightened, "Sienna."

"You don’t want to know how I’m doing. You want to know whether I can make the news disappear."

"Your sister is already under enough pressure," Daniel Qing frowned, "Don’t be unreasonable."

Sienna looked at the man, "Am I being unreasonable?"

Daniel Qing sighed, "She made a mistake by getting involved with Seth while you were dating him, but you should be more gracious about it. You are a year older than her, you should be more mature and let it go. You could at least give her a way out!"

Sienna’s eyes turned cold.

"Give her a way out?" Her voice was quiet enough to make the silence inside the car heavier, "The way my mother gave a way out to your mistress?"