Chapter 197: The Woman is Just Spoiled
"Get away from me!" Evelyn exploded, swinging her hand and slapping Ryan across the face.
Slap!
The sharp crack filled the room with a deathly silence. Camilla covered her mouth, but her eyes glittered with excitement.
"Ryan, I’m done." Evelyn panted, pointing a finger at his face as tears streamed down her cheeks. "If you’re going to protect her like this, then we’re finished!"
She shoved past him and ran out of the room, sobbing. Ryan turned his head back slowly, his expression terrifyingly dark.
"Ryan... are you okay?" Camilla edged closer. "She went too far. How could she hit you?"
"Don't worry about her." Ryan spat out a breath and straightened his tie. "Some women are just spoiled rotten."
That night, at the Lawrence family dinner, the long table was packed with core members, including Camilla’s father, the energy tycoon Covington. Ryan sat at the head of the table, a faint red mark still visible on his cheek. Camilla sat to his right, cutting his steak for him and whispering intimately.
Evelyn sat alone at the very end of the table, as far from Ryan as possible. She didn't say a word. She didn't even pick up her fork. She just stared at her wine glass, radiating a cold aura of isolation.
"So, Ryan, I heard there was some unpleasantness this afternoon?" Covington swirled his wine, a smirk on his face. "Young people clash. It’s normal. If someone isn't a fit for the family, it’s better for everyone to part ways early."
Ryan’s hand paused as he cut his meat. "It was embarrassing. Evelyn’s emotions are unstable. She needs more time to learn the rules."
It was a public slap to Evelyn’s face. She slammed her napkin onto the table, her chair screeching against the floor. "I’ve had enough." She stood up and walked out without a single glance at Ryan.
Ryan didn't even look up. He simply leaned over to pour Camilla more wine. "This is a good vintage. Try it."
Under the watchful eyes of the family, the golden couple had officially shattered. Several elders exchanged looks. Those who had supported Julian saw a glimmer of opportunity. The unstoppable Ryan had finally traded love for leverage.
Back in her temporary room, Evelyn leaned against the door. Only when the footsteps in the hallway faded did she let out a long breath. Acting was exhausting. It took everything she had to suppress her love and pretend she wanted to kill him.
But she knew this was the only way to lure the moles out of the shadows.
Her phone buzzed on the nightstand. It was an encrypted number. She swiped the screen. There was no image, just a short text that made her pupils shrink.
Want the notes? I know where they are. Midnight. The old clock tower in the East District.
Evelyn gripped the phone. The fish had taken the bait. The sender had clearly been watching the dinner, convinced she had been "discarded" and was desperate for the notes to get back at Ryan.
The abandoned clock tower stood on the edge of the slums. The clock face had long since stopped, its hands broken at half-past six. Evelyn pushed open the rusted iron door.
Creeeeak—
The sound echoed through the hollow tower, startling a few crows in the rafters. "I’m here," Evelyn called out. Her hand was in her coat pocket, her finger pressing the button on a micro-recorder.
A sound of leather shoes on broken glass came from the dark. "Punctual. I like a woman who keeps time."
A thin man with a jagged scar near his eye stepped into the light. He was fiddling with the familiar tin biscuit box. It was Cain—a legman Marcus had used for years to handle the dirty work.
"Give me the notes," Evelyn said.
"Don't be in such a hurry." Cain grinned, showing yellowed teeth. He stopped two yards away and shook the box. "The things in here could cost a lot of people their heads. If you want them back, you have to show some sincerity."
"You want money? The Lawrence trust is frozen, but I have a million in my personal account," Evelyn offered.
"Money? Hahaha!" Cain laughed like it was the funniest thing he’d ever heard. "Marcus is down. We’re being hunted like rats in D.C. by Bernie’s men. What good is money? We want a way out!"
His laughter vanished, replaced by a vicious glare. "Listen. I want Ryan’s full schedule for the next week, especially the location of his private meeting with the Secretary of Energy. And I want you to withdraw the freeze on Marcus’s offshore accounts. If you cooperate, I’ll give you the book and arrange for you and your kid to disappear to South America."
Evelyn felt a cold sneer in her heart. The fox’s tail was showing. They weren't after money; they wanted to stage an attack or a kidnapping during Ryan’s high-level government meetings.
"How do I know I can trust you?" Evelyn pretended to waver.
Cain scoffed and pulled a document from his coat, tossing it at her feet. "You think Ryan really cast you aside for Camilla? Look at this, you poor woman."
Evelyn looked down. In the moonlight filtering through the broken windows, she saw a few printed pages. The header read: Secret Agreement Regarding the Covington-Lawrence Merger and Asset Restructuring.
The terms stated that once Ryan officially took over the family, he would marry Camilla and hand Evelyn over to the Inspection Committee as a "corporate spy" in exchange for the Covington family’s full support in the energy sector. At the bottom was Ryan’s signature and his private seal.
"See? He sold you out long ago. You’re just a rag to him. That humiliation at dinner was just the start. Once he has the power, you and your kid are dead."
Evelyn knelt to pick up the agreement. If this were the old Evelyn, she might have been devastated. The signature was a perfect match. But now, it was almost funny. The seal was an old design Ryan had discarded three years ago. These idiots hadn't even done their homework.
"So..." Evelyn looked up, her eyes red and her voice trembling. "You’re saying if I help you, I live?"
"Exactly." Cain, thinking she was hooked, stepped closer. "Just put a tracker on Ryan’s car, and the notes are yours. We can even help you get revenge on that traitor..."