Chapter 146: The Child Is Not Mine Alone

Chapter 146: Chapter 146: The Child Is Not Mine Alone

"Did your family mention this to you?" Caroline Whitman wasn’t surprised at all. In fact, she had already guessed as much.

Right now, Adrian Grant was trending online. Next time, it could be her.

The reason she didn’t appear this time was likely because there was no information to dig up on the woman in the photo.

So they had to resort to dragging Luna Lynn into it just to make things messy.

The optimal solution was actually very simple.

If the two of them got married, the child would be legitimate, and the rumors would naturally fall apart.

Marriage...

At this thought, Caroline Whitman unconsciously twisted the ring on her finger. A sideways glance fell upon the matching ring on Adrian Grant’s hand.

’Come to think of it, back when I first took out the rings, what if I hadn’t asked him to be my boyfriend, but to marry me? Would Adrian Grant have said yes then?’

Thinking of this, Caroline Whitman remembered the time she almost asked, "Will you marry me?" but didn’t, and she let out a soft, private huff.

A strange sense of pride suddenly welled up inside her.

’There’s no way I’m going to be the one to propose this time. It would make me look too desperate to get married.’

Adrian Grant didn’t notice the winding detours of her thoughts. He simply nodded in response to her earlier question.

"Yes. They mainly wanted to ask our opinion on whether we should publicly announce Ryan’s existence. They won’t force us on that front.

"Besides, Grandfather already knows the truth. Even if the news about me having a child gets out, it won’t have any impact on me or the group. We’ll just need to handle the external rumors."

Dealing with external rumors was also simple.

Since the matter had reached Gavin Grant, it wouldn’t be hard to find out who was behind it. The truth will always out.

As for the issue of the child, that was even simpler.

This sort of thing didn’t require any proof, nor did it need to be proven.

Thanks to the rapid development of technology, AI-generated images were now indistinguishable from real ones. The era where pictures meant proof was over.

In the world of business warfare, public opinion battles over one’s private life were arguably the easiest to handle.

Hearing this, Caroline Whitman thought, ’Alright, this guy already has a strategy to deal with it.’

’Looks like he doesn’t need me to worry about it at all.’

She asked curiously, "Since you have it all figured out, why even ask me?"

Adrian Grant gave her a deep look. "The child isn’t mine alone."

"..."

Caroline Whitman was left speechless.

Neither of them continued to dwell on the issue.

"By the way, Grandfather said he wants to throw a birthday party for the child."

"Okay." Caroline Whitman paused, a thought suddenly occurring to her. "What about... people..."

"If we decide not to go public, we’ll just invite our two families and no one else," Adrian Grant said.

’Just our two families...’

Caroline Whitman pictured it, nodded, and found the idea acceptable.

But as she thought about it, a scene of their two families gathered together began to form in her mind...

’Honestly, two families who aren’t yet connected by marriage gathering together... it really looks like an engagement party.’

Adrian Grant suddenly got up and went to the study.

When he came back out, he was holding his phone and handed it to her.

"I’ve got the information on Luna Lynn."

Caroline Whitman was surprised. "That was fast."

She took the phone. The screen was dark.

When she looked up, he had already turned and gone to the kitchen to pour some water.

"..."

"How am I supposed to look at it if you give me your phone without unlocking it?"

Caroline Whitman waited until he came out of the kitchen with a glass of warm water before asking him plaintively.

"The passcode is six sixes."

"..."

’How... unique.’

’Wait, is this guy intentionally telling me his phone passcode this way?’

Caroline Whitman just gave him a deep look, then lowered her head, entered the passcode, and successfully unlocked it. Just then, she heard his voice again: "The file is in my email."

This time, she looked up again, genuinely surprised.

Her lips curved into a teasing smile. "An email inbox is a private thing. Aren’t you afraid I’ll see something I’m not supposed to?"

Adrian Grant walked slowly to her side and sat down, casually placing the glass of water on the table. He lazily crossed his long legs and leaned back against the sofa.

"There’s nothing I have that you can’t see. Besides, you already know my phone passcode. A mere email inbox is nothing."

Caroline Whitman joked, "Then it’s a good thing I’m one of the good guys."

She didn’t say any more.

The most recent email in the inbox, already marked as read, had the subject "Luna Lynn." Caroline Whitman tapped it, opened the attached file, and read through it carefully.

’Holy cow.’

’When this guy investigates someone, he starts from their childhood.’

’This is more thorough than a background check.’

Perhaps because Luna Lynn’s early life was so ordinary, it was very easy to dig up a lot of detailed information.

For example, which elementary school she attended, who she sat next to, how many people were in her class, who her teachers were...

All the way up to university.

It included the people she associated with at St. Hector’s High School, and all the drama, love, and hate between the St. Hector’s F4, Wanda Sutton, and her lackeys.

It even included information about the time she, Caroline, had unexpectedly participated in a volunteer club activity with Luna Lynn during her senior year.

That was the only time she had been in close contact with Luna Lynn at St. Hector’s High School.

A cold sweat broke out on Caroline Whitman’s back.

’Even that was recorded in here?’

She glanced up at Adrian Grant. "Back when we first met, you didn’t have someone investigate me like this, did you?"

Adrian Grant gave her a smile.

"..." Caroline Whitman fell silent.

That smile said it all.

"It should be in the inbox. You can take a look," Adrian Grant said.

"...Heh, you’re certainly honest."

"I never lie to you."

"..."

’Should I be moved by that?’

Caroline Whitman quickly scrolled through the summary of Luna Lynn’s life, all the way to her situation after she retired from show business.

It turned out that after Luna Lynn went abroad, she was pursued and brought back by Vincent Fuller.

Last month, she established her own design brand, with no connection to Vincent Fuller.

There was no information about Vincent Fuller investing, nor was there any investment from the Lynch Group.

’So they’re starting their own separate businesses?’

’Design?’

Although the Whitman Group was primarily involved in investment, they had never gotten involved with this kind of niche brand.

Niche brands needed celebrity endorsement, were difficult to make profitable in the short term, and required a huge amount of marketing upfront.

This kind of enterprise required a "gamble."

Of course, this was Luna Lynn, a formerly A-list actress famous for being infamous. The celebrity effect would definitely not be a problem.

As long as they marketed it, there was no fear of it not taking off.

But the problem was, Luna Lynn’s funding was fine. She shouldn’t have needed to come to her for an investment.

Since her cash flow wasn’t an issue, the "collaboration" she mentioned back then must have been a pretext. There had to be a deeper meaning.

Tsk.

She had to admit, Luna Lynn’s sudden move to approach her had certainly piqued her interest.

She was now caught in the middle. On one side was the risk of "curiosity killed the cat," and on the other, the wisdom of "know thine enemy." She felt stuck between the two.

’Oh well, I’ll just let things run their course.’

Caroline Whitman was good at letting things go.

She exited the email, her hand paused, and she looked up at Adrian Grant. "There isn’t really one, is there?"

She was, of course, asking about the background file that had been opened on her.

To be honest, she was also curious to know just what Adrian Grant’s resources could dig up on her.