Chapter 179

Chapter 179

Adrian looked up at her, crossed his arms over his chest, then turned his gaze back to Betty's face. "Mrs. Stanton hasn't seen that video yet, has she?"

Layla certainly knew which video he was talking about. Her eyes flickered slightly. "Who knows if the video you have is real or fake?"

Adrian let out a light scoff but didn't bother answering her question.

Seth walked in and pulled her to his side. He took the contract from her hand, glanced at it, then tossed it back onto the coffee table.

Seeing his action, Layla grabbed his arm and demanded, "What are you doing?"

Seth gave her a reassuring look before turning back to Adrian. "Mr. Evans, you certainly have a ruthless heart."

Even after confirming that Paxton was the one who killed his parents, he still wanted Betty to have his child.

He was truly ruthless.

Adrian tilted his head slightly and smiled, as if being modest.

"Probably can't compare to your methods, Mr. Stanton." As he finished speaking, he glanced meaningfully at Layla.

But Layla's entire focus was on Betty and that contract, so she didn't notice at all.

Layla moved away from Seth's arm and crouched down in front of Betty, taking her hand. "Betty, are you sure you want to marry him?"

Betty knew Layla was worried about her, so she gave her a small smile to reassure her. "Don't worry, it'll be fine."

"What do you mean fine? Don't you know that being in a hopeless marriage where you'll get hurt is the most painful thing?"

Adrian looked at them both with a half-smile. "Mrs. Stanton, you seem like have quite some experience with that."

Layla bit her lip and turned to glare at him.

Seth also gave him an equally cold look.

Layla added, "Betty, you really don't need to sacrifice yourself for the company. Your parents definitely wouldn't want to see you do this. But if it's for something else, he doesn't have evidence..."

"Layla!" Betty called out to her in time, stopping her from continuing.

Last time she angered Adrian was precisely because she said he had no evidence.

Seems he really hated it when they threatened him with the lack of evidence.

Layla had to shut her mouth and look at her. She pressed her lips together and said, "Anyway, I don't agree. I've already hidden your documents. You can't get married."

After speaking, she shot Adrian a cold look.

She would absolutely not let Betty jump into this pit of fire.

Layla gripped Betty's wrist tightly. "You just can't marry him."

Adrian narrowed his eyes at Betty and Layla, his slender fingers tapping on the armrest of the sofa. "Do you two need some space to discuss this further?"

Hearing this, Layla stood up and looked at Adrian. "What if Betty doesn't marry you?"

Adrian's lips curved up, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. "Mrs. Stanton, of course, I can't do anything to you, but..."

"You want to threaten us with the Wright Group, don't you? If you're capable of taking it, go ahead and take it!"

Even if Adrian really had that capability, he would still need time to execute it.

"Of course it's not just that." He took out his phone and swiped the screen a few times, revealing a photo.

Of course, he was facing away from Seth's line of sight.

But Betty and Layla could see it clearly enough.

It was a compromising photo of Betty.

Layla's face immediately changed, including Betty's. The disgust in her eyes surfaced again.

"You!" Layla was so angry at Adrian's despicable tactics that she couldn't speak. She could only turn to look at the person beside her.

But Betty was much more composed and calm than her.

Adrian remained unmoved, his expression cold as he looked at Betty and Layla. "I also said that if Betty doesn't marry me, I'll do everything I can to destroy your company. I know Mr. Stanton definitely won't stand by and watch. We'll each use our own methods, but I wonder how long Mr. Stanton, as your backer, can hold out against the facts."

Adrian slowly stood up from the sofa and looked at Seth again. "Mr. Stanton, since you've investigated me, you should know some of my methods. They're really not what you'd call honorable."

In Veridian, people with completely clean hands could never reach the top.

To get where he was today, he had fought his way up step by step. How clean could he be?

These methods really weren't worth mentioning.

He was indeed somewhat restricted and couldn't fully deploy his tactics domestically.

Seth looked at him. "Mr. Evans, care for a smoke?"

Adrian's lips curved up. "Of course."

So Seth and Adrian left the office one after the other.

The lawyer also breathed a slight sigh of relief. To be honest, he had been extremely nervous the whole time.

Who could have expected this situation?

"Ms. Wright, are you really going to go through with this marriage?"

Betty's face was cold and hard. "Yes!"

"No way!" Layla immediately objected.

Betty's expression really didn't look good. Who could remain calm after seeing compromising photos of themselves?

Seeing her so stubborn, Layla was so anxious that she was almost spinning in circles.

"You saw it—Adrian is not a good person at all. Seth investigated what he did abroad. He stops at nothing to achieve his goals. Someone even committed suicide by jumping off a building because of his business manipulations. How can you marry such a terrifying person? Aren't you just walking into a trap?"

Betty closed her eyes and held her hand. "Layla, listen to me. Right now, no matter what I do, the outcome won't be good. If I agree to marry him, it means he's willing to give me time to investigate what happened to my parents back then."

"But if we push him too hard now, he'll definitely come after us, come after the Wright Group. Even if he doesn't have evidence, just that video alone is enough for people to make up a story. In this day and age, spreading rumors doesn't cost anything. Do you want to see my parents get cursed at? I'm scared!"

"I..." Layla was scared too; she didn't want that either.

"But what about you?"

Betty shook her head. "Don't worry about me. I'll try not to provoke him. He won't do anything to me."

"Can you trust him? On his phone..."

"That was taken on the island last time, but he's had many opportunities to take those kinds of things over the past two years, and he didn't."

Layla suddenly didn't know what to say.

Just then, her phone buzzed. It was a message from Seth.

Seth: [Don't forget what I confessed to you in the study that time.]

What words?

He said so much that night—which sentence was he referring to?

Seth: [Why would a man be willing to marry a woman?]

Layla's pupils contracted as she stared at those words for a long time.

Because her phone screen had a privacy filter, Betty couldn't see it.

"What's wrong? Who sent you what?" Betty asked.