Chapter 17
In the CEO's office on the top floor, Jasper's face looked grim.
He sat on the sofa, his earlier anger suppressed, just staring at his phone screen, deep in thought.
Aiden pushed open the door and saw this scene.
He walked inside, somewhat confused, "Dad, you called me over so urgently—what happened?"
Since he had to leave his lover's embrace, naturally, there was a trace of irritation in his expression.
Seeing him like this, Jasper felt even more frustrated at his son's failure to meet expectations.
"See for yourself! If this thing gets leaked, it won't just damage your reputation—it'll harm the Smith Group's reputation too. When you do these things, can't you use your brain a little?"
He let out a cold laugh, pulled up the audio recording on his phone, and placed it in front of Aiden.
Jasper closed his eyes in anger, not wanting to look at this useless son anymore.
Completely confused, Aiden lowered his head, picked up the phone on the table, and pressed play.
A familiar voice echoed through the empty office, making his eyes widen involuntarily.
Victoria!
Aiden gritted his teeth, his face contorting with rage.
He'd actually been set up by Victoria!
He should have been more ruthless back then, and made sure she could never recover.
Jasper didn't know what he was thinking, just frowned slightly, "You need to handle this. I'm giving you two days. Don't let this affect the Smith Group's reputation, or else..."
His expression was cold, eyes narrowing slightly.
Aiden was waiting for him to continue, but Jasper stopped talking.
"I'll take care of it," Aiden said, still unable to swallow this humiliation, a vicious look flashing in his eyes, "But I'm only letting her off temporarily."
Jasper didn't care about Victoria's situation, just nodded indifferently.
Suddenly, he remembered something. "A few days ago, I accidentally learned something from your grandmother."
Jasper leaned back, his words pointed, "A year ago, your grandmother made a will, planning to pass her shares to Yara. Did you know about this?"
"What?!" Aiden frowned, "Grandma's lost it. How can she just give away shares so casually? And Yara, she..."
Before he could finish, Jasper interrupted him.
"Either way, the will is real. If you don't have custody of Yara, you'd better think carefully about what that means for you."
After leaving this meaningful statement, Jasper got up and left the office.
Aiden stood there frozen, his expression very complicated.
That evening.
Night fell, darkness covering everything, broken only by scattered lights and the moon's glow.
Victoria sat on the bed, eyes lowered, staring at the words on her phone screen.
After a long moment, she finally looked away.
—It was a message from Aiden.
Jasper really did care about appearances.
She'd only sent that message a few hours ago, all told.
But in that short time, her debt had already been cleared.
Victoria smirked mockingly, not surprised at all.
Aiden's text was just one short line.
[Tomorrow afternoon at 3, come here.]
Followed by an address.
Victoria sent a brief reply and turned off the screen.
She looked at the sky outside the window and let out a long breath.
She had no choice.
Even if it was for Yara, for herself.
She had to go!
A dreamless night.
The next afternoon, Victoria arrived at the agreed location right on time.
To her surprise, Aiden actually showed up on time, with a document in front of him that seemed related to the debt.
"You asked me to come here—besides the debt, what else is there to talk about?"
Victoria sat down across from him, glanced down at the document, and spoke calmly, "As long as you resolve the debt issue, the recording I have won't be useful. You don't need to worry about me going back on my word."
Her words were pointed, and she could clearly see Aiden's face instantly darken.
Yesterday's events had completely disappointed her—she couldn't trust him anymore.
Aiden suppressed the disgust and irritation in his heart.
"I'll let this one slide—my mistake."
He frowned threateningly, "Don't think you've won. I'm telling you, I will get custody of Yara!"
Yara?
Victoria's brow furrowed, her emotions rising, "You haven't cared about Yara at all during this time. What gives you the right to fight me for custody? Yara is all I have left. Why do you have to take her away?"
Whenever Yara was mentioned, she couldn't control her emotions.
Aiden laughed coldly, "Think about what you're like right now. Yara would have a better life with me. And you don't want Yara to stay in the hospital forever, do you?"
He left her with a meaningful statement, "We'll see about this!"
Aiden left.
Victoria sat there, staring blankly at the table.
Why?
Why was Aiden suddenly so interested in Yara?
She vaguely remembered that time at the hospital, Aiden's eyes had held hidden disgust, and even his concern was only superficial.
What changed him?
Victoria didn't know.
Her mind was extremely chaotic right now, her lips pressed tightly together, slightly pale.
No... she wouldn't allow it...
What could she do to stop Aiden?
Meanwhile, on the other side, Chase raised his hand and carefully knocked on the office door.
"Come in."
Chase pushed open the door, holding a file, "Mr. Windsor, here's the investigation file you requested."
He placed it on the desk nearby and lowered his head, stepping aside.
Edward put down his pen and rubbed his aching temples, "Summarize it."
His voice was cold, carrying some fatigue.
Chase was perceptive and stood to the side, beginning his report, "Ms. Spencer's previous identity was the famous designer Q, but in a car accident, her right hand was severely fractured. After that, she stayed with the Smith family until..."
Chase had no talent for storytelling—he recounted everything calmly and plainly, but the content was heartbreaking.
Even though he didn't know much about design, he'd heard of Q's reputation.
For such a talented person to end up like this...
Chase continued filling in the rest of the story.
Throughout, Edward showed no change in expression, just looked down at the file on the desk.
His eyes narrowed slightly, an indescribable emotion flashing through them.
Designer Q?
That slender figure appeared in his mind, and his emotions became extremely complicated in an instant.
So that was her identity.
Victoria flashed quickly through his mind, stirring subtle ripples.
After Chase finished recounting everything, he stole a glance at Edward's expression.
"I understand." Edward's expression was cold, "You can go."
He paused, adding, "Leave the file."
Chase felt relieved and quickly responded, turning to leave.
The office returned to silence once again.