Chapter 553

Chapter 553

A man in a baseball cap was holding up a camera. The moment he realized he'd been spotted, he turned and ran.

Aline cursed and immediately chased after him.

But the guy was clearly prepared. He ran like crazy and disappeared into the stairwell after a few turns.

Aline came back out of breath, her face looking terrible.

"He got away."

Elsie's brows furrowed tightly.

From that angle, with her and Bruce standing side by side—one looking determined, the other full of pain—who knows what kind of dramatic love-hate story the media would get from it.

Meanwhile, at the Glover Group Building.

In the CEO's office, Harold had just hung up a call. His fingers tapped the desk twice before he dialed another number.

The screen in front of him glowed dimly. In an encrypted email, the flow of funds from overseas accounts clearly pointed to a single name.

The call connected quickly.

"Cecilia, it's me."

"Aren't you busy? Missing me?" The woman's voice on the other end carried a laugh, her relaxed tone.

"Need a favor." Harold got straight to the point.

"What?"

"Put on an act."

The other end went quiet for two seconds, then came a soft laugh.

"Sure," Cecilia agreed readily, "but I need to deal with some family trouble first."

"That new private restaurant in the south district—I've already arranged for all your favorites. I'll pick you up after work this afternoon."

"Okay."

After hanging up, Cecilia snapped her files shut, grabbed her bag, and left work.

She'd just reached the company lobby when someone blocked her path.

The person was covered in flashy logos, chin raised high as he looked down on everyone around him—it was her good-for-nothing brother, Drew.

"You've got some nerve, Cecilia. How dare you mess with my people?" He came at her with an accusatory tone right off the bat, two lackeys following behind.

Cecilia didn't even bother to lift her eyelids, just walked around him.

"Stop right there! I'm fucking talking to you!"

Being ignored only made Drew’s anger flare. He rushed forward in a few steps, reaching out to grab her shoulder.

Before his hand even touched her clothes, his wrist was suddenly seized by a hand.

That hand looked delicate, but its strength was terrifying.

Cecilia twisted it back.

The sound of the wrist bone breaking was clearly audible in the lobby.

Drew's piercing scream cut through the silence.

His whole body arched, cold sweat instantly breaking out.

Cecilia released her grip, like she was dropping something dirty.

She calmly pulled out a wet wipe from her bag and carefully cleaned the fingers that had just touched him.

"First, don't touch me with your hands."

"Second," she finally lifted her eyelids, "I'm from the countryside, have got rough hands, you don't know my own strength. Next time it might not be just one broken wrist."

The employees sneaking glances around them instinctively took a step back.

Drew was shaking with pain, couldn't even speak properly.

"You... what the hell are you! Some country bastard, and you dare to act up in the Green family!"

Cecilia let out a light laugh.

"That's exactly why I told you to stay away from me."

The used wet wipe traced an arc through the air, landing neatly in a trash can ten feet away.

"So next time, it might not be just my hands that get dirty."

With that, the sharp click of her heels echoed across the floor as she headed for the revolving door, never looking back.

The entire lobby was so quiet you could hear the central air conditioning.

Drew hunched over, cold sweat plastering his hair to his skin. He suddenly whipped around and swung his palm across his assistant's face.

A sharp crack.

"Useless!" His voice trembled with pain. "A bunch of useless idiots!"

"Go check for me!" Drew pointed at the door, his face twisted in pain. "Check all the projects she's working on! She thinks she's so capable? I'll make sure she can't even move a single brick on any construction site!"

The private restaurant in the south district.

When Harold pushed open the private room door, Cecilia had already ordered and was absently scrolling through her phone.

"Perfect timing, I'm starving." She pushed the menu toward him.

As soon as Harold sat down, Cecilia's phone flashed an entertainment headline. She casually clicked on it.

The photo was taken from a misleading angle. Under the harsh hospital lights, Elsie and another man stood at the end of a corridor. The man's face showed undisguised pain, while Elsie's profile was cold and resolute.

The headline was even more sensational - "Former Glover Group CEO Elsie Forbes' Night Meeting with Old Flame, Five Years of Love Unforgotten!"

"Old flame?" Cecilia raised an eyebrow and turned her phone toward Harold. "These paparazzi really know how to spin stories. They'd love to make up 800 ridiculous love stories about Olivia every day. How are you planning to handle this?"

Harold's expression darkened.

"Look at the comments below." Cecilia scrolled up with her finger.

"I knew it, Mr. York marrying her was bad luck. Such a promiscuous woman!"

"Feel sorry for Mr. York, she's just a slut."

"I heard Bruce Valois was just attacked a few days ago, and now he appears with her again. Really makes you think..."

Filthy language, unbearable to read.

"Someone's stirring things up behind the scenes." Cecilia put down her phone, making her judgment. "From her identity being exposed, to Jacob breaking his contract, to today's headline - it's all connected, one step after another. The timing is too perfect."

Harold's fingertips tapped lightly on the table. He said nothing.

"If you don't clear this up, once the mud sticks to her, it won't wash off." Cecilia picked up her utensils. "A woman already has it tough in business. If her reputation is ruined, she won't be able to move forward."

"Why did she fake her death five years ago?" Cecilia suddenly asked, seemingly casual.

Harold's movement paused.

"To hide from some people, some things."

"Ronald?" Cecilia hit the nail on the head.

Harold didn't deny it.

Cecilia smiled knowingly and said, "I'd advise you to look into him."

"Right now all the arrows point to Missy, but she doesn't have that kind of power or that kind of careful planning. Ronald is different." She analyzed methodically. "If he wants to destroy someone, it's easier than crushing an ant."

The York Group, top floor office.

Ronald stared at the news popping up on his computer screen, his hand gripping the mouse so tight his knuckles turned white.

Bruce in the photo—he was the one who'd had him beaten.

But he hadn't expected Elsie to go see Bruce.

One second she was admitting to his face that everything five years ago was manipulation.

The next second, she couldn't wait to go comfort her old lover?

His heart felt like it was being squeezed by an invisible hand, suffocatingly painful.

"Mr. York." The secretary knocked and entered, reporting carefully, "The PR department is asking if this news needs to be handled?"

"Suppress it." Ronald's voice was ice cold. "Any media outlet that published this news—all future cooperation with the York Group is terminated."