Chapter 642

Chapter 642

Clarence's attitude toward Eleanor was lukewarm at best.

His tone carried more than a hint of dismissiveness. After telling Eleanor to go home and wait for news, he made a move to hang up.

But Eleanor had worked too hard to get him on the line.

How could she possibly let him brush her off that easily?

Before Clarence could disconnect, she let out a soft laugh. "Secretary Fisher, what we need to discuss can be handled perfectly well over the phone."

Eleanor knew her window was closing fast. Clarence didn't have the patience to play games with her.

She cut straight to the point. "I'm calling to tell you something simple: the enemy of my enemy can easily become a friend. Why wouldn't you choose to work with an ally who's already standing right in front of you?"

On the other end of the line, Clarence's breathing seemed to pause.

Eleanor couldn't be certain she had a hundred percent chance of securing this partnership.

All she could do was leverage every chip she had. She pressed on. "Secretary Fisher, you want to push forward with your reforms, and I admire that drive. Society needs people like you—people willing to shake things up."

"But even I get held back by conservative old shareholders in my own company. Your position? I can only imagine the resistance you face."

"I'm sure you don't want to see your beneficial policies crushed simply because they don't align with someone's outdated ideology—or because you haven't been in the game long enough."

She was confident that as a politician, Clarence understood exactly what she was getting at.

In fact, Eleanor understood men like him all too well.

Clarence probably didn't want to keep operating under the shadow of someone like Bodhi—a stubborn old guard who'd been at odds with him for years.

If the two of them worked together and found a way to drag Clarence into the fight as well, Eleanor's odds against Bodhi would improve dramatically.

On the other end of the line, Clarence chuckled a few times before his tone returned to its usual calm composure.

He replied to Eleanor with complete indifference. "Eleanor, I understand what you're saying. I get that you're grasping at straws right now. But you need to ask yourself—why would I work with you?"

He shook his head, his voice tinged with mock sympathy. "From where I'm standing, you don't offer me anything worth partnering over."

On the surface, this wasn't a mutually beneficial arrangement at all.

It was Eleanor asking him to climb aboard her sinking ship, expecting him to fight her battles while she borrowed his strength without offering anything in return.

Clarence found it almost laughable. His tone turned gentle, almost patronizing. "You're being naive. This isn't the kind of choice a competent politician would make. I'm not sure if you're underestimating my intelligence or overestimating my moral character."

There was no way he'd wade into Eleanor's mess just because he didn't like some of Bodhi's moves.

He'd gain nothing and end up covered in blood that wasn't even his own.

Eleanor understood the subtext of Clarence's words.

From the outside, it did look like she was getting all the benefits.

But then she smiled. "I think you're forgetting the most important card I hold—the one thing your opponent cares about most."

On the other end, Clarence's breathing hitched for just a moment.

He had an inkling of what she was about to say.

Eleanor's voice was steady. "The child."

She admitted it plainly. "I'm just an ordinary businesswoman. I don't have the power to go head-to-head with you, and I can't help you in most ways."

"But here's the thing—that child is my flesh and blood. He was stolen from me by a shameless coward. And if I decide to burn it all down, no one walks away clean."

Clarence fell silent for a long moment.

Finally, he spoke. "But you're forgetting one thing. The child isn't just your weakness—it's Bodhi's Achilles' heel."

"Do you really think that after learning something this valuable, I'd just sit on my hands?"

He continued, his tone sharpening. "I have the same evidence you do. If I want to take Bodhi down, what I've got is more than enough. Why would I bother partnering with you?"

By the end, Clarence's attitude had grown almost arrogant.

As if Eleanor had vastly overestimated the value of her hand.

And yet, despite being dismissed so openly, Eleanor showed no sign of anger.

Instead, she laughed. "I didn't expect you to be this slow on the uptake."

It sounded almost like she was mocking his lack of insight.

Clarence's tone shifted. He seemed unsettled by the confidence in her voice. "Speak plainly. What are you getting at?"

"It's simple, really."

Eleanor's smile came through in her voice. "I said the child is my leverage. That means I'm fully confident that while the child can be used to attack Bodhi, he can also render your so-called evidence completely useless."

Suddenly, Clarence seemed to realize something.

And Eleanor, brimming with certainty, drove the point home. "You want to use the child to bring charges against Mr. Owens. But did you ever stop to think—what happens if I, as the child's mother, refuse to accuse Bodhi? Would your evidence still matter then?"

Clarence had nothing to say.

Eleanor couldn't see his face, but the sound of his breathing through the phone told her everything. He was furious.

Still, she pressed on calmly. "What if, when you try to bring charges against Mr. Owens, I claim that I willingly gave the child to him? That I asked him to help improve my son's genetics and check his health. What then?"

Clarence didn't like that scenario one bit.

If Eleanor did that, it would mean she was siding with Bodhi. Or rather…

She was using Bodhi to threaten him.

If Clarence wanted to climb higher, if he wanted to take Bodhi down, he'd have no choice but to work with Eleanor.

Otherwise, Eleanor had the power to dismantle his entire plan.

If she changed her story at the critical moment, all his evidence—proof that Bodhi had imprisoned someone else's child—would crumble to dust.

After all, the law wouldn't stop a mother from seeking help to improve her child's health.

Clarence listened in silence. After a long pause, he suddenly laughed.

"It seems I have no reason to refuse Ms. York after all."

This time, Eleanor didn't need to extend the invitation. Clarence took the initiative himself. "I wonder if you and Lucas might be free for dinner sometime soon. I think we have plenty of opportunities to discuss."

"Of course. That works for me."

Eleanor smiled faintly. She'd finally achieved her goal.

Though she'd appeared calm and composed in front of Clarence, skillfully navigating his probing questions, her palms had been slick with cold sweat the entire time.

After all this effort, she finally had some good news.

Eleanor immediately dialed Lucas.

This partnership was critical. It would determine how they dealt with Bodhi moving forward. Whether as her business partner or as the child's father, Lucas needed to be there.

The phone rang, then connected. But when a woman's voice came through the line, Eleanor's expression changed.