Chapter 17 Chapter 17: Secret Glances
Of course, Selena knew who he was. He was the butler of old Mr. Sterling. If he was here, then old Mr. Sterling must also be around.
Uncle Victor waited for Selena's response, but he couldn't recall ever meeting her before. She was so beautiful, perhaps a girlfriend of one of the young masters?
Without explaining, Selena turned and walked away. Uncle Victor found her behavior odd but didn't pursue her, as he needed to take his grandson to buy some snacks before returning to the park to meet his boss.
Meanwhile, Selena didn't get back into the taxi but headed towards the nearby park. Her instincts had been right—old Mr. Sterling was indeed there.
She slowly made her way towards him, her heart filled with conflicting emotions. She wasn't sure if she hated him or not, because during her years as the Sterling family’s daughter-in-law, he was the only one who had treated her kindly.
Yet, this kindness had inadvertently pushed her into the flames.
Out of gratitude, old Mr. Sterling had granted her certain privileges, thinking it would make her life easier in the Sterling household. But in reality, he had little time to oversee the family's affairs. She had been given privileges but no protection, making her a prime target for the wolves who tore her apart.
They coveted what the old man had given her, and out of jealousy, they made her life a living hell.
If only old Mr. Sterling hadn’t forced his grandson to marry her and had instead given her family money to live, or if only he had paid more attention to his own descendants, her life wouldn’t have turned into such a tragedy.
At that moment, old Mr. Sterling sat on a park bench, speaking on the phone with a rather angry tone.
"I told you before, but you wouldn’t listen. You have to teach the kids about gratitude and loyalty. Money isn't everything. How could you just throw money at your benefactor like that?"
"Look at me. Years ago, someone saved my life, so I married their daughter. It's a shame the girl left. If she hadn’t, she'd have given me grandchildren to cradle by now."
He spoke with pride in his voice, but the more Selena listened, the more her entire body trembled with rage.
"Is that so? Gratitude and loyalty? Loyalty to the point of destroying an entire family—this is how you teach your children and grandchildren?"
Selena nearly screamed. She couldn’t understand how he could feel so proud of himself after having indirectly shattered a family.
Startled, old Mr. Sterling turned around to look at her. After a moment, his face contorted with anger.
"Who are you? How dare you speak to me like that?"
Selena, unable to keep her composure any longer, her eyes red with fury, gritted her teeth and said:
"Before questioning me, you should ask your children and grandchildren how they’ve treated their benefactor. There are no secrets in this world that can’t be uncovered, unless you don't want them to be."
With that, Selena turned and walked away. old Mr. Sterling banged his cane on the ground and shouted:
"Stop right there! Cough cough cough…"
Selena looked up to see Uncle Victor running over, carrying a little boy. She glanced at old Mr. Sterling, who was clutching his chest, then at Uncle Victor storming in angrily, and finally decided to quickly turn away from the scene.
With Uncle Victor there, her grandfather-in-law would be fine.
At that moment, Uncle Victor reached old Mr. Sterling and hurriedly asked: "Are you alright, boss? What did that girl do to you? I’ll call an ambulance... and the police too, we need to arrest her."
Before he could dial for an ambulance, old Mr. Sterling stopped him.
"No need, I’m fine."
Old Mr. Sterling sat down on a nearby stone bench. Initially, he was furious at having been berated by a mere child, but now, having calmed down, something didn’t feel right.
The girl seemed to be particularly upset about what he had said regarding repaying favors. Could she be someone Selena knew?
Old Mr. Sterling turned to Uncle Victor and said: "Go check on Selena’s family for me. See if they’re in need of anything, and if possible, find her father a job."
"This..."
Uncle Victor suddenly stammered, causing old Mr. Sterling to grow suspicious.
"What happened? You need to tell me the truth!"
As expected, his intuition wasn’t wrong—something must have happened to that family.
"Sir, Selena’s father... passed away a month ago."
"What?"
Old Mr. Sterling asked in shock: "How did he die?"
Uncle Victor then explained how Selena’s father had been searching for someone and suddenly passed away. Old Mr. Sterling furrowed his brow deeply as he listened, already forming his own suspicions.
A wave of guilt washed over him, making his old face burn with shame. He had just lectured someone about how to repay kindness, and now his own grandchildren had disgraced him. It was enough to make him furious!
"Investigate the cause of Selena’s father’s death thoroughly. If my family was responsible, I will punish them severely."
...
At the Winning Edge Enterprises headquarters’ conference room.
The meeting had just concluded. Balthazar personally escorted his business partner to the door. Before leaving, the partner smiled and asked: "It seems like you’ve got a girlfriend, Balthazar? That’s a shame, I was going to introduce you to my niece."
Balthazar smiled and replied: "I’m still single, where would I have a girlfriend?"
The partner looked surprised and said: "Well, you’re impeccably dressed, and you’ve even swapped cologne for essential oils—everything about you screams ‘taken’. Did I guess wrong?"
Balthazar was taken aback. Had he really changed so much in just one day? That morning, his staff had been gossiping about the same thing, but he thought they were just idle and had nothing better to do. Now, even his partner was saying it.
It only confirmed how attentive that woman must have been...
"Ridiculous!"
Balthazar blurted out, startling his partner, before quickly explaining:
"No, I didn’t mean you. Let’s not discuss this further. Here’s to our future collaboration."
After seeing his partner off, Balthazar stormed back to his office.