Chapter 195

Chapter 195

Thanks to Octavia's counterattack, Imogen found herself facing Joseph's fury once again.

"Didn't you say it was foolproof?" Joseph's voice boomed loud enough to echo through the entire hallway. "Didn't you say Octavia couldn't make a comeback? Well? Marshall's in prison. Who's next? Me or you?"

Imogen leaned back in her chair, watching him with an unchanged expression.

"Mr. Foster, you need to calm down."

"Calm down?" Joseph let out a bitter laugh. "You want me to calm down? Imogen, do you have any idea how much Marshall knows? If he spills everything about what happened back then, your father and I will both end up behind bars!"

Imogen stood, walked around her desk, and closed the office door.

She turned to face Joseph, her voice dropping to an icy tone.

"Mr. Foster, does yelling at me in my office solve anything?"

Joseph faltered at her tone. The muscles in his face twitched, but he lowered his voice.

"Octavia's been investigating the Obelon Group's acquisition of this company. If she digs up those contracts and uncovers what was going on behind the scenes, my career in this industry is over."

Imogen returned to her desk, her smile relaxed.

"Marshall's in prison because of his own actions. He broke the law. It has nothing to do with the Obelon Group's acquisition back then. Stop scaring yourself."

"Nothing to do with it?" Joseph's voice rose again. "You think Octavia will stop here? She investigates her uncle, she'll trace where the money went, she'll trace it to the Obelon Group, she'll trace it to me!"

Imogen set down her coffee cup and looked at him.

"Even if she traces it to the Obelon Group, so what? The acquisition contract was legal. All the proper procedures were followed. No matter how capable Octavia is, can she overturn a signed contract?"

Joseph opened his mouth, wanting to argue, but found he had no rebuttal.

Imogen's tone softened slightly, taking on a reassuring quality.

"Mr. Foster, listen to me. Marshall was arrested because he broke the law—he killed someone. You weren't involved in his criminal activities. As long as you keep your head down and don't draw attention to yourself right now, no one will notice you."

Joseph looked at her, his eyes full of doubt.

"You're sure?"

"I'm sure." Imogen said. "The Obelon Family isn't like Marshall. They're not easy to take down. No matter how capable Octavia is, she's just one person. She can't win."

Joseph fell silent for a moment. The expression on his face shifted from anger to unease, then from unease to resignation.

"You'd better be right," he said. "If something goes wrong, I'm not taking the fall alone."

Imogen smiled, though her eyes held no warmth.

"Mr. Foster, don't worry. Nothing will go wrong."

Joseph glanced at her once more, then turned and left.

Imogen sat behind her desk, listening to the dull thud of the door closing. The smile on her lips slowly faded.

She had an ace up her sleeve, which was why she wasn't as panicked as Joseph. But his words had still left her uneasy.

More importantly, the Seymour Group had remained silent this entire time. What was Leopold's attitude toward Octavia, really?

After a moment, Imogen picked up her phone, scrolled to Monica's number, and dialed.

The phone rang for a long time before someone picked up.

"Hello?" Monica's voice carried impatience, with noisy background sounds suggesting she was in a mall.

"Monica, it's me, Imogen." Imogen's tone was soft. "It's been a while. Are you free this afternoon? We could grab dinner?"

"No." Monica's answer was blunt, without a moment's hesitation.

Imogen's fingers tightened slightly, but her voice remained friendly.

"What about tomorrow? Or the day after? I recently discovered a new restaurant. Great atmosphere. You'd love it."

"Imogen, what do you actually want?" Monica's voice grew more irritated. "Do you think I'm stupid? I haven't forgotten what Emily did to me. Stop pretending to be nice."

Imogen took a deep breath, suppressing her irritation.

"Monica, Emily is Emily, and I'm me. I've never done anything to hurt you. Why are you so hostile toward me?"

Monica laughed coldly. "Obelon Media signed Octavia and turned her into a big star, which got me and my family trending on social media. And you're saying you haven't done anything to hurt me?"

Imogen replied, "Monica, Octavia is Octavia, and you're you. What does her trending have to do with you?"

"Of course it has something to do with me!" Monica's voice grew louder. "Haven't you seen what people are saying online? They dug up Claire's background, calling the Seymour Family out for marrying some trashy nobody, and dragging Leopold into it too. Leopold hasn't even come home these past few days because he's been dealing with this mess!"

Imogen's brow twitched slightly.

"Mr. Seymour hasn't been home?"

"None of your business!" Monica's voice carried a note of wariness. "Stop asking about Leopold. I'm telling you, Leopold and Claire are doing just fine. Don't even think about taking advantage of the situation. Not a single woman in your family is any good."

The call ended.

Imogen stared at the phone screen, watching the 'call ended' notification. A slow smile curved her lips.

So it seemed Leopold didn't trust or care for Octavia as much as everyone thought.

She'd found her opening.

She picked up her phone, scrolled to another number, and sent a message.

[We can move to the next step.]

---

Meanwhile, at Seymour Group headquarters.

In the top-floor CEO's office, Leopold sat behind his desk. On the computer screen in front of him was a chart showing the Seymour Group's stock performance over the past few days.

The line trended downward. The drop wasn't dramatic, but the direction was clear.

His expression remained calm, though he appeared to be looking at the stock price while actually thinking about something else entirely.

Nearby, John stood in the corner holding a document, waiting for Leopold to sign.

But he'd been waiting for quite a while, and Leopold still hadn't moved.

"Mr. Seymour?" John called out.

Leopold snapped back to attention and glanced at him. "Yes?"

"This document needs your signature." John approached and placed the document in front of him.

Leopold picked up a pen, scanned the document's contents, signed his name, and set the pen down.

He didn't continue looking at the computer. Instead, he picked up his phone from the desk, unlocked it, and opened his conversation thread with Octavia.

It had been several days. He hadn't replied to Octavia's message, and Octavia hadn't sent another one.

He wasn't trying to give her the cold shoulder. He genuinely didn't know how to respond.

There was actually something in this world that Leopold didn't know how to handle.

He stared at that line of text for a long time, his finger hovering over the screen, never quite touching down.

"John." He spoke up.

John walked over from the corner. "Mr. Seymour?"

"Did you find the flight information?"

John hesitated for a few seconds before answering. "Still nothing. Mrs. Seymour apparently hasn't booked a return flight yet."

Leopold was silent for a moment before saying, "Never mind."

John stood there, unsure whether to leave or stay.

He glanced at Leopold and noticed his expression was colder than usual, his brow slightly furrowed, his lips pressed into a tight line.

Having worked by Leopold's side for so many years, John knew this expression all too well.

Leopold was unhappy.

John didn't ask questions. He retreated back to the corner.

Leopold looked at his phone screen again. Octavia's profile picture was still that landscape photo she'd casually taken—a gray, overcast sky. He couldn't tell where it was from.

He remembered that night in the hotel room, the things he'd said to her. But the truth was, when he'd said those things, he'd been angry with himself—angry that she wouldn't rely on him, and even angrier with himself for making her feel like she couldn't.

It was because he hadn't done enough, hadn't made Octavia comfortable. He'd never done enough to earn her trust.

Remembering the expression on Octavia's face that day, Leopold's heart softened.

For the first time, Leopold—a man known for his unwavering decisions—decided to back down.

He was contemplating what to say to Octavia, what tone would make him seem gentler, when suddenly a commotion erupted outside his office.

Someone was hurrying down the hallway, high heels clicking rapidly and sharply against the tile floor.

The receptionist's voice carried through from the doorway, tinged with panic. "Mrs. Seymour, you can't go in. Mr. Seymour is handling important business—"

When Octavia had played Claire, she'd appeared in the media as Mrs. Seymour, so the receptionist recognized her. If she wanted to come up, the front desk couldn't actually stop her.

The corner of Leopold's lips curved upward involuntarily.

He was about to stand when John hurried over.

John held his phone, his expression troubled. "Mr. Seymour, there's a new development."