Chapter 201: I Knew It Was Her

After all the commotion, Wyatt Wynn accompanied Damien Vaughn out of the room.

It was rare to see him at the hot spring hotel, and he had even changed into one of the hotel’s robes. Wyatt Wynn was extremely curious.

"Vaughn, what brings you here today? And getting mixed up with those scumbags. How did they piss you off?"

"You didn’t even give me a heads-up you were coming. I would’ve set you up in a VIP suite. There’s no way I would’ve let your good mood be ruined."

Damien Vaughn ignored him, and Ryan interjected.

"President Wynn, could I trouble you to take me to the security room? I need to look for someone."

"Look for someone? Who? Did someone else piss off our President Vaughn tonight?"

"I’ll go too." Damien Vaughn glanced coolly at Wyatt Wynn. "Less talk. Lead the way."

A moment later, the three of them were in the security room. Wyatt Wynn personally pulled up the surveillance footage for them to see.

Soon, Damien Vaughn saw the scene he had witnessed at the hotel entrance.

"Stop. Zoom in here. Show me this woman’s face."

Cecelia Archer was shorter than the men and somewhat obscured in their midst, but when magnified, her features were vaguely discernible.

Wyatt Wynn moved the mouse, and as he did, he jumped in shock.

’Why does she look so familiar? Isn’t that...’

’Isn’t she supposed to be dead? Why is she at my hotel, and with so many men?’

He finally understood why Damien Vaughn had shown up tonight and why he was so furious.

If even Wyatt Wynn recognized Cecelia Archer, how could Ryan not?

He stared at the screen in disbelief. "President Vaughn, this is..."

Damien Vaughn’s expression was dark. "Isn’t this your failure? Get to it. Investigate."

’Shane Grant is actually pulling tricks right under my nose!’

’I thought it was a bit cruel to make him go bankrupt in his middle age, but now it seems I’ve been far too merciful.’

Seeing such an outrageous thing happen within his scope of responsibility, Ryan panicked. He turned to leave and investigate, but Damien Vaughn suddenly stopped him.

"Wait."

"Slow down the acquisition of that land by the international airport."

He would give Shane Grant another chance.

He wanted to see just how Cecelia Archer planned to turn the tide for Shane Grant while he was stuck, helpless, in a hospital bed!

「The Grant Residence.」

When Cecelia Archer got back, she put the children to bed and was consumed by endless regret.

’How could I have been so confident? Believing I could convince those old real estate sharks to invest with just a few words, when even Shane Grant couldn’t manage it?’

No wonder Zeke Walton had told her not to get involved. Things were far more complicated than she had imagined.

The disgusting scenes from tonight made her want to vomit. She was too agitated to sleep, but things had reached this point; she had to try, even if it seemed impossible. She couldn’t just stand by and watch the Grant Group collapse.

Cecelia Archer carefully reviewed the list of companies she had compiled from top to bottom. Finally, she resolved to pull herself together and try again tomorrow, starting with the oldest and largest company: Apex Estates.

The owner of Apex Estates was Henry Sterling, a Veridia native over sixty years old. He had a good reputation in the industry and no major scandals to his name.

’He’s an old man,’ she thought, ’he probably won’t get any funny ideas about me, right?’

With a plan in mind, Cecelia Archer showed up at Apex Estates at eight o’clock the next morning.

Learning from her previous experience, she didn’t recklessly ask the receptionist for a meeting with the president.

Based on their attire and demeanor, she identified a few administrative staff members, blended in with them as they headed to work, and found the president’s office.

Henry Sterling was quite dedicated, having arrived at the office early.

However, he was not in a good mood, roaring with rage in his office first thing in the morning.

Cecelia Archer had just snuck to the doorway when she heard his shouts.

"What? She ran off again? What kind of watch were you keeping? You can’t even handle one simple thing! I swear..."

"Alright, alright, stop crying! What’s the use of crying? Haven’t you been the one spoiling her since she was a child? Now you know how to cry? Where were you before?"

"I know, I know! I’ll send people to look for her right now! Nothing will happen, don’t worry! Oh, just stop talking like that. I’m busy! Can you please not cause trouble for me all day long?"

After his tirade, he hung up the phone and yelled toward the door.

"King, come in here!"

Cecelia Archer glanced around. No one was there.

Henry Sterling yelled again, "King, come in here!"

Still no one.

Cecelia Archer steeled herself and pushed the door open.

Without looking up, Henry Sterling snapped at her.

"My daughter ran away from home again. She just had an episode a few days ago. The doctor repeatedly warned us not to let her go out, but she still managed to run off. It’s infuriating! She must have gone to chase after that Julian Shaw guy again. Go, find her and bring her back to me, now!"

The man was clearly dealing with a personal crisis, and she knew she shouldn’t be intruding at a time like this. But she had finally made it inside... Cecelia Archer bowed respectfully.

"Hello, President Sterling. My name is Luna Linden. I’m not King."

Startled by the unfamiliar voice, Henry Sterling spun around.

When he saw the face of a strange woman, his expression turned even uglier.

"Luna Linden? Where did you come from? Who let you in? What are you doing here? You’ve got a lot of nerve! Get out!"

Cecelia Archer bowed again apologetically.

"I’m truly sorry, President Sterling. I have urgent business with you, which is why I had to resort to this. Please don’t be angry. Just let me finish."

"I’m the special assistant to President Shane Grant of the Grant Group. I’ve come to discuss a partnership. Could you give me just a few minutes of your time?"

’Shane Grant’s special assistant snuck into my office first thing in the morning?’

Henry Sterling waved his hand impatiently. "Go, go! I’ve never had any dealings with Shane Grant, so what kind of partnership is there to talk about? You are incredibly rude, barging into someone’s office like this! Now get the hell out!"

Cecelia Archer didn’t leave. In fact, she took another step forward.

"Pardon me, President Sterling. I just overheard you talking about your daughter running away. How about we put the partnership talk aside for now, and I help you find her?"

Henry Sterling froze.

He hadn’t expected her to overhear his private family matters. His expression was a mixture of anger and resentment.

"Who the hell do you think you are? Our family business is none of your concern! Didn’t you hear me? I told you to get out! Now, scram!"

Unfazed, Cecelia Archer calmly met his gaze. "I don’t mean any harm. It’s just that I happen to know the Julian Shaw you mentioned. Perhaps I can help."

Hearing that she knew Julian Shaw, President Sterling’s expression finally softened a little.

"Isn’t he some hugely popular star? How would a mere assistant like you know him?"

He was indeed a hugely popular star, which was why Cecelia Archer had seen news about him online.

In order to gain Henry Sterling’s trust and smooth the way for their future cooperation, Cecelia Archer boldly bluffed.

"He and our President Grant are good friends. I even got tickets to watch a live taping of his show a while back. President Sterling, if you’re willing, our President Grant can personally help you with this."