Chapter 365: I Just Lost My Job

“Uncle?”

Riley’s expression changed again. He had been certain that mentioning Sienna’s father would finally force Zachary to take him seriously. Yet Zachary still looked completely unfazed.

For the first time, Riley did not know what to say.

Zachary looked at him for several seconds before his expression softened slightly.

“Riley, before you go any further down the wrong path, I’m going to give you some advice,” he said. “Stop now, before you sink any deeper into this. If you keep going, there will come a point when you won’t be able to take back what you’ve done, and you’ll regret it.”

Riley remained silent, staring at him.

There was no anger in Zachary’s voice, and no need to raise it. He was not trying to intimidate Riley. He was simply making it clear that Riley’s threats had failed to move him and that he understood exactly what kind of person Riley was becoming.

Zachary turned his attention to Logan, who sat behind the wheel. ⅇ𝒃𝚗ℴ

“You can drive now, Logan.”

“Yes, sir.”

Logan started the car and pulled away from the house. Riley remained standing where he was, watching the vehicle disappear from sight. His face was filled with disbelief and frustration. He had revealed Zachary’s secret, and even brought Sienna’s missing father into the conversation, yet none of it had produced the reaction he wanted.

Zachary, meanwhile, remained silent as the car moved down the road. The moment Riley was out of sight, the calm expression on his face slowly darkened.

He could not stop thinking about what Riley had said.

Sienna had told him that her father had gone missing, and at the time, her family had been desperately searching for him. Zachary remembered that he had offered to help find her father, but Sienna had turned him down. Since then, he had respected her decision and hadn’t brought it up again.

But Riley’s words had changed things.

If Riley truly had detained Sienna’s father, then he needed to know how Riley had captured him. And more importantly, what was his plan?

Zachary reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He opened his messages and texted Hunter.

“Find out where Sienna’s father is right now.”

After sending the message, Zachary lowered his phone and looked out through the window. His expression remained cold and controlled, but his thoughts had already shifted completely from Riley to Sienna and the mystery surrounding her father’s disappearance.

…

At night, at Lakeside Garden, Sienna had just returned from her son’s room when she noticed light spilling from beneath the door of Zachary’s study.

She paused in the hallway. It was already nine o’clock, and Zachary was still in his study. She had expected him to be waiting for her in their bedroom, so she turned toward the study with a curious expression.

“Why is he still working at this hour?” she murmured, then walked over and knocked twice.

“Yes, come in,” Zachary’s voice came from inside.

Sienna opened the door and stood in the doorway. She saw Zachary sitting behind his laptop, his back resting casually against his chair as he looked toward her.

“Is Sky asleep?” he asked.

“Yes, just now.” Sienna stepped inside and closed the door behind her. She glanced at his laptop, then looked back at him. “Do you still have work to do?”

Zachary didn’t answer.

Instead, he stood from his chair and walked toward her. His expression was more serious than usual, and that immediately made Sienna concerned.

Since returning home that afternoon, Zachary hadn’t said much about work or his family. He had spent most of the afternoon with their son, Skylar, and hadn’t mentioned what had happened during the family meeting.

Now, seeing him approach without a word, Sienna couldn’t help but wonder if something had gone wrong.

“What is it?” she asked, confused as he stopped only a step away from her. She reached for his hands and held them gently. “Is there a problem at work?”

Zachary gave her a faint smile, then pulled her into his arms and held her tightly.

Sienna looked up at his face. “Zach, are you all right?”

He shook his head slightly, but his faint smile remained.

“Sienna, I just lost my job.”

His words caught her completely by surprise.

Sienna pulled back slightly so she could see his face clearly, trying to understand what he had just said. Zachary’s expression hadn’t changed at all, which only confused her more.

“W-What do you mean you lost your job?” she asked. “How did you lose your job?”

“Let’s sit down first.”

Zachary took her hand and led her toward the sofa.

Once they sat side by side, Zachary finally told her about the family meeting that morning. He explained everything, from Riley being dismissed from his position at Sterling Tech to Riley exposing his identity as the owner and major shareholder of the Cresswell Group. He also told her how Riley had asked him to stop the legal proceedings between Cresswell and Sterling Tech.

Sienna listened carefully, her expression becoming more serious as Zachary continued.

She had never expected Riley to discover the truth. As far as she knew, only a handful of people knew about Zachary’s shareholding in the Cresswell Group, and he had always kept that part of his business life private.

“How did Riley find out?” she asked, still unable to believe it.

“I don’t know,” Zachary answered calmly. “But he found out.”

Sienna frowned. She knew how carefully Zachary handled his private investments, so Riley discovering such a secret made her uneasy.

Before she could ask anything else, Zachary continued.

“Riley also threatened me.”

Sienna immediately looked at him. “What did he threaten you with?”

Zachary’s expression became slightly more serious.

“Your father.”

Sienna’s eyes widened in shock. “What? He threatened you using my father?”

“Yes.”

“Wait! What did he say?”

Zachary explained that Riley had threatened to expose her father’s situation if he refused to stop the lawsuit. Riley claimed he knew where Sienna’s father was and could make him appear on social media to publicly say Sienna had married Zachary without his permission.

Sienna stared at him in disbelief.