Chapter 372: You Treat Him as a Good Brother

Chapter 372: Chapter 372: You Treat Him as a Good Brother

At that moment, Arabella Donovan had no idea that the person she had snapped at before had actually helped her land a piece of "business."

In fact, the way things had developed with Cassandra Lynch was also far beyond Arabella Donovan’s expectations. Mainly because...

’Even though I knew this female lead had no integrity or morals, I’m still a little shocked now that I’ve actually encountered her and learned about all the terrible things she’s done.’

Everyone at the dinner table secretly exchanged a glance, then went back to eating and drinking as if nothing had happened.

Arabella Donovan didn’t notice their strange reactions. She took out her phone and scrolled through the latest online chatter, chewing on her chopsticks thoughtfully.

’The plot has gone so far off the rails even the author’s own mother wouldn’t recognize it. The female lead’s career imploded before it even got started, and she’s already earned herself a lengthy stay in jail before she could do any real harm to my cousin’s family. As for her pack of simps, number one is toast, number two is halfway there, and the rest are still wet behind the ears and don’t amount to much. At this point, the only one who could possibly bail her out is probably the male lead, Ian Jennings.’

The hands reaching for food all froze mid-air. Oh, right. Besides Cassandra Lynch, there was still her boyfriend, Ian Jennings. He wasn’t going to start causing trouble too, was he?

’As for Ian Jennings, reason has always trumped emotion for him. His relationship with Cassandra Lynch was always more about mutual exploitation than genuine feelings. It was already surprising enough that he didn’t cut ties with her after she was kicked out of the Lynch Family. If he still tries to bail her out at all costs, even with a homicide investigation and criminal charges on the table, then I’ll have to admit I have terrible judgment. It would mean I completely misread him, and that the two of them are actually in true love!’

However, compared to the possibility of them being in true love, Arabella Donovan was more inclined to believe that Cassandra Lynch had some dirt on Ian Jennings, or that she possessed something that made it worth his while to protect her.

The truth wasn’t far from what Arabella Donovan had guessed. The reason Ian Jennings was still entangled with Cassandra Lynch was twofold: she did have dirt on him, but he also saw value in the large "pool of fish" she was cultivating. If managed properly, they could potentially help him at a critical moment.

To put it bluntly, it was all about mutual interests. Ian Jennings just never imagined that Cassandra Lynch could screw up this badly.

While Cassandra Lynch’s livestream was going viral, Ian Jennings had been called back to the Jennings family home to deal with some matters. By the time he left, the incident had already exploded online. Even people loosely connected to Cassandra Lynch were being doxxed by netizens.

In the ensuing chaos, many people were targeted by false rumors, and a slew of shocking sex scandals began to emerge one after another.

After seeing all this, Ian Jennings could only feel relieved. Although he and Cassandra Lynch had gotten together early on for mutual benefit, they had tacitly agreed to hide their relationship for the sake of future collaboration and to ensure they both had an exit strategy. Not even their closest family and friends knew they were secretly a couple.

This meant that even with Cassandra Lynch’s entire public persona imploding online, the impact on him was practically negligible.

As Ian Jennings breathed a sigh of relief, he also learned the specific reason for Cassandra Lynch’s downfall. His patience with her finally ran out, and he cursed in disgust, "Idiot!"

’Things have gotten this far. It would be useless even if I wanted to save her. Not to mention she’s a public enemy now. Those "fish" who were fooled by her act have probably all come to their senses. She’ll be lucky if they don’t come after her for payback, let alone stick up for her or be used by her.’

’This pawn, Cassandra Lynch, has completely lost her value. So why should I waste my time and energy on someone so useless?’

’As for the so-called leverage she has on me... when a villain becomes public enemy number one, leaving everyone with the impression that she’s a compulsive liar who twists the truth, no one will ever believe a word she says. That leverage is as good as gone.’

Arabella Donovan had no idea that because the plot on Cassandra Lynch’s side had collapsed, the situation for the male lead, Ian Jennings, had also become precarious.

But even if she had known, she likely wouldn’t have given it much thought.

The two main culprits behind Melody Lynch’s tragedy were now out of the picture—one in the hospital, the other in jail. Seeing as neither of them would be getting out anytime soon, Arabella Donovan could finally rest easy.

She wasn’t as concerned about the target of Melody Lynch’s budding romance, as indicated by the Red Simurgh Star. In any case, as long as it wasn’t Howard Gallagher, she was fine with it.

However, it was a classic case of that old saying: the flower you plant with care might not blossom, but the willow you plant by chance might grow into a forest.

Just as Arabella Donovan was thinking about heading home with Mr. and Mrs. Donovan, an uninvited guest she had never seen before appeared in the Lynch family’s living room.

"And you are...?"

"Oh, this is my good friend, Sean Ellison. He heard about the car accident you and Melody were in, so he wanted to stop by and see how you were doing."

Arabella Donovan managed an awkward yet polite smile. She pointed at Sean Ellison to confirm, "Your... good friend?"

Zane Lynch’s heart skipped a beat. He instinctively glanced at his sister, finding it hard to believe. His own trusted friend had a problem, too?

The next second, they heard Arabella Donovan’s slightly gloating thought.

’Oh, cousin, dear cousin. You think of him as a good friend, but he wants to be your brother-in-law.’

"What?!" several of the Lynches exclaimed in unison. Melody Lynch in particular glanced back and forth between herself and Sean Ellison before her gaze finally settled on Eloise Donovan.

Eloise Donovan felt her older cousin’s gossipy stare on her, and the corner of her mouth twitched.

’I’ve never even met this guy before, let alone had any romantic involvement with him. It’s a no-brainer who she meant by ’brother-in-law,’ right? And cousin, have you forgotten who Serena predicted was about to have a fated romance? It’s not a good look to keep deceiving yourself!’

"Wha... What’s wrong?" Arabella Donovan asked, startled by the jumpy reactions from Zane Lynch and the others.

’I didn’t say anything that shocking, did I? Why does my cousin look like he wants to murder someone?’

"I..." Before Zane Lynch could come up with a plausible excuse, he was interrupted.

"He bought a stock a few days ago. Bad luck, it hit its limit down yesterday. He’s been a bit out of it for the past two days, unable to accept reality. Just ignore him."

Having just caught the "live broadcast," Caspian Rhodes shot Zane Lynch a warning glance. Zane stiffened and laughed awkwardly. "Right, right, my stock hit its limit down. It was nothing, really, but seeing my cousin just now reminded me of it and gave me a jolt, so I didn’t catch what you said. What were you saying just now? Oh, right! Sean Ellison is my good friend. We started a business together after graduating from college. It’s been two or three years now, I think? We’ve always been very close."

But Arabella Donovan wasn’t listening to him. She sized up Sean Ellison for a long moment, and then her eyes suddenly widened.

’Wait a minute, this guy is actually...’