Chapter 125 Destiny

Chapter 125 Destiny

Vivian had been bracing herself for Brenda to scold her too, but this was completely unexpected. Her eyes lit up. "Grandma, are you saying..."

Brenda waved her hand dismissively. "Shawn's just blinded by what happened to Ruth right now. Once he calms down, he'll naturally realize what really matters. You're carrying his child—he won't just throw you aside without a second thought. I trust you know what to do?"

Vivian nodded eagerly, overjoyed. Finally, God was giving her a break.

The next morning, Vivian dressed carefully and headed to Rosewood Estates.

Standing at the door, she felt unusually nervous. She took a deep breath before pressing the doorbell.

The door opened.

Shawn stood there, and the moment he saw her, his expression darkened.

"What are you doing here?"

Vivian put on her sweetest smile. "Shawn, I heard you haven't been sleeping well these past few days. I was worried about you..."

"Get lost."

His voice was cold as ice.

Vivian hadn't expected such hostility. She immediately looked hurt.

"Shawn..."

"I said, get lost." Shawn's eyes turned vicious. "You'd better pray she's still alive, Vivian. Because if anything happens to her, I won't let you off."

Vivian stood frozen at the entrance to Rosewood Estates, stunned by his harsh dismissal.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she asked in disbelief, "Shawn, are you actually suspecting me? You think I caused her accident?"

Shawn said nothing, but his bloodshot eyes were filled with undisguised scrutiny and coldness.

The look sent chills through her entire body. Her voice rose. "How could I possibly do something like that? I may not like her, but I never wanted her dead! Besides, I was in the ballroom that whole night. So many people saw me—when would I have had the chance to tamper with her car?"

Shawn still didn't respond.

Seeing his stubborn silence, Vivian's emotions spiraled out of control. "Shawn, have you ever considered that maybe she doesn't love you anymore? That she doesn't want to be with you? All that coldness, all that indifference—didn't you notice any of it? Maybe this whole thing was something she herself..."

"Shut up!" Shawn cut her off sharply, his expression fierce. "Say one more word and I'll have you sent to some deserted island where you'll spend the rest of your life."

Vivian stumbled back two steps, terrified. She knew he meant it.

Shawn turned to the servant at the door. "Get her out of here. From now on, without my permission, she's not allowed to set foot in Rosewood Estates again."

Two security guards immediately stepped forward. Though polite, they moved without hesitation.

"Lady Vivian, please."

Vivian was half-escorted, half-pushed out the door. She looked back at the gate slowly closing behind her, her nails digging into her palms.

After everything she'd done, all she'd earned was Shawn's deepening disgust.

Why?

Why did Ruth still occupy his every thought, even when her fate was uncertain?

Meanwhile, William had made progress on his end.

He sat in his office, staring at an encrypted investigation file on his computer screen.

As he read through it line by line, his frown deepened. He rubbed his temples.

So that's how it is.

The phone was answered after two rings. Ruth's voice sounded drowsy. "What is it?"

William got straight to the point. "I found out who's been pulling the strings behind all this."

Ruth went quiet for a moment. "Who?"

"Brenda."

Ruth's breath caught.

William continued, "The reason Vivian kept showing up around Shawn—it was orchestrated from the start. Brenda's been directing it all from behind the scenes. She always thought your background wasn't good enough, and also..."

He trailed off, but Ruth already knew.

"Because I can't have children, right? She decided I wasn't worthy of the Grey family, so she either allowed or actively encouraged Vivian to get close to Shawn?"

William didn't deny it.

Ruth was silent for a long time.

She thought of Brenda's face, always wearing that kind smile. How the old woman would take her hand warmly at every meeting and say, "Ruth is such a good girl." The gifts Brenda sent every holiday. All that gentle, loving behavior had been hiding this kind of calculation.

"How ironic," Ruth said mockingly. "I actually thought she was the only one in the Grey family who genuinely cared about me..."

A moment later, William told her about Brenda investigating her, planning to destroy her reputation to pave the way for Vivian.

"Is that so? Looks like Brenda's backed herself into a corner now."

William agreed. "Indeed. Oh, and I have documentation of her behind-the-scenes manipulation over the years. Should I send it anonymously to the senior shareholders at the Grey family company? It's not a huge amount, but at least it'll show them what kind of person Brenda really is."

After the way they'd treated her, Ruth wasn't inclined to be merciful anymore. She agreed.

"By the way, those people who were following Caleb back then... was that Brenda's doing too?" Ruth asked.

"No, actually. Still investigating that. Don't worry, Ruth. We'll find out."

"Alright."

Ruth suddenly realized that from their very first meeting, William had been helping her, asking nothing in return.

Whatever feelings they'd had in their youth should have faded long ago, shouldn't they?

In the end, she didn't ask.

Two days passed in a flash. The senior shareholders of the Grey family company all received an anonymous file at almost the same time.

The emails contained records of Brenda's years of secret contact with the Dong Corporation, her interference in company decisions, her arrangement of Vivian's approach to Shawn...

The shareholders were furious after reading through it all.

When Shawn learned about this, he was in his office dealing with mountains of paperwork.

The assistant at the branch office was too swamped to help with matters here, and the new assistant wasn't familiar enough with operations yet. He'd been forced to handle things that normally wouldn't require his attention. He no longer looked as sharp and confident as before—stubble shadowed his jaw.

As Shawn looked at the forwarded anonymous file, turning page after page...

He'd thought his meeting with Vivian had been fate... that though Grandma had some issues with Ruth, she'd at least genuinely wanted the best for them. Now he discovered it had all been orchestrated.

Shawn sat alone in his office, flipping through the file.