Chapter 354: It Was A Success

In one of the luxury cars heading toward the private airport, Zachary had just slipped his cell phone under his suit jacket when it vibrated. He pulled it out and looked at the screen, seeing Hunter’s name.

Zachary quickly answered. He had been waiting to hear from Hunter ever since he left the Imperial Hotel a few minutes earlier.

“Hunter, how is it?” he asked, not waiting for Hunter to greet him properly.

“It was a success, as usual, of course!” Hunter replied immediately. “Vanessa successfully swapped Jessica’s keycard undetected right before she got into the elevator to the top floor. She went undercover as one of Jessica’s avid fans. And through the corridor CCTV, I also saw Jessica enter Riley’s hotel room,” he reported proudly.

Zachary’s hand tightened around his phone at the news. Although his field personnel had gone undercover as Jessica’s fans and successfully swapped the room keycard, something still bothered him: their plan would fail if she noticed Riley on the bed before drinking the wine they had prepared.

If that happened, Jessica might run away before everything went according to plan.

“How long has she been in there?”

“About thirty minutes.” As if sensing Zachary’s concern, Hunter quickly added, “Don’t worry. They won’t leave the room until morning. We’ve made sure the plan goes off without a hitch.”

A faint smile appeared on Zachary’s lips as he gazed out of the car window at the passing streets. He listened silently while Hunter explained the next phase of their plan to teach Riley Sterling, his own nephew, a lesson.

Zachary had never wanted to take things this far with Riley. At first, he had only wanted his nephew to step down from Sterling Tech. But Riley had crossed the line. That good-for-nothing kid had conspired with Jessica to drive a wedge between him and Sienna.

Not only that, but Riley and Jessica had also come up with a reckless plan to drug him and create a situation where Zachary would sleep with her. If Hunter had not obtained a recording of a phone conversation between Jessica and Riley a few days earlier, Jessica might have ended up in his bedroom, leading to an incident that could have caused him lifelong regret and deeply hurt his wife.

That’s why Zachary made sure Riley would never suspect he knew about the plan. Earlier, during the dinner party, Zachary had taken his wine as expected. However, once Riley left his table, he secretly injected the antidote so he would remain conscious and unaffected by the aphrodisiac.

Zachary had already planned everything. He had arranged for his people to knock Riley out and move him into his bedroom, making sure he was heavily affected by the drugs before Jessica entered the room.

And now his foolish nephew was getting a taste of his own medicine. The hunter had become the prey.

“Good job, Hunter. I’m impressed. You are worthy of getting a nice increase on your end-of-year bonus,” Zachary said.

His words were enough to make Hunter practically whistle with joy. Zachary smiled and shook his head as he listened to his hacker celebrate on the other end of the call.

“All right, I have to end the call now. We’re arriving at the airport.”

“Safe flight, sir.”

“Thanks. And make sure those media reporters get pictures of Riley and Jessica.”

“I’ll make sure they become a trending topic for the entire month.”

Zachary chuckled. He knew that if Hunter said he would make it happen, then it would happen.

After the call ended, Zachary hurried toward his private jet. He needed to return home and surprise his beautiful wife.

…

Several hours later, the plane finally landed in the capital.

Logan, his driver, was already waiting for him at the private airport. Zachary hurried out of the plane, and Logan was standing beside the car, ready to take him home.

“Sir,” Logan greeted respectfully as he opened the car door.

Zachary simply nodded, settled into the back seat, and closed his eyes. It was nearly midnight, and he was certain his wife was already asleep. The thought made him smile faintly. He hadn’t told her he was coming back that night because he wanted to surprise her.

However, Zachary was mistaken.

When he arrived home and quietly entered their bedroom, careful not to make enough noise to wake Sienna, he was surprised to see her emerging from the bathroom. She looked pale and exhausted, and the sight immediately erased the relaxed expression from his face.

For a moment, they simply gazed at each other.

Sienna looked genuinely shocked to see him, while Zachary was immediately concerned by her unusual appearance. She looked as though she had barely slept, and there was something about her expression that made him uneasy.

“Am I dreaming?” Sienna asked, staring at him as though she still could not believe he was standing in front of her. “How could I be seeing you here when you’re supposed to be in another city?”

Zachary did not rush to answer. Instead, he quickly crossed the short distance between them and stopped only a step away. He raised both hands and gently cradled her face between his palms, his eyes moving over her features with concern.

“Why do you look so unwell? Are you sick?” he asked.

Sienna blinked, still trying to process his sudden appearance. She could hardly believe her husband was back. They’d spoken by phone earlier, and he’d said he wouldn’t return until the following day.

“I thought you were coming home tomorrow,” she said quietly, her voice still carrying her surprise.

“I changed my plans,” Zachary replied, keeping his hands against her cheeks. “I wanted to surprise you.”

His voice softened as he studied her face. The surprise he had hoped to give her suddenly felt unimportant compared with the way she looked.

Sienna lowered her eyes for a moment, then looked back at him. Despite her exhaustion, the sight of him standing in front of her brought a small sense of relief. She had been expecting another night alone, but now he was home, close enough for her to feel the warmth of his hands.

“You should have told me,” she murmured.

“If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise.”

A faint smile touched her lips, but it disappeared almost as quickly when Zachary noticed how tired she looked.

“My love, you still haven’t answered me,” Zachary said gently. “Are you feeling all right?”