Chapter 35: Chapter 35: Which Genius Came Up With This Idea?
The shout was earth-shattering, and the room fell instantly silent.
A moment later, Arabella Donovan looked surprised, Caspian Rhodes was lost in thought, and Nathan Collins pushed up the glasses on his nose, his eyes narrowing dangerously.
Only Zane Lynch was completely dumbfounded, not quite understanding what Eloise Donovan was saying.
"Straight? What’s straight?"
Eloise Donovan choked, only then realizing that in her surprise, she had blurted out what she was thinking.
"Er... I meant, just say what you mean. I don’t like it when people beat around the bush with me."
Any suspicion that had just begun to form in Arabella Donovan’s mind was immediately dispelled by Eloise Donovan’s forceful comeback.
’Wow, my fourth sister really says whatever’s on her mind, no holding back. She’s completely different from that little green tea Cassandra Lynch, who’s always playing the damsel in distress, clutching her heart like a tragic beauty to manipulate others into fighting her battles for her!’
Seeing that Arabella Donovan wasn’t suspicious, Eloise Donovan breathed an imperceptible sigh of relief.
Zane Lynch hadn’t expected Eloise Donovan to be so blunt either. But perhaps because he was already seeing her through the "little sister filter," the rebuffed Mr. Lynch wasn’t angry at all.
"My mom wants to hold a small, private banquet next week. I was wondering if Miss Donovan would be interested in attending?"
Once these words were out, everyone was stunned again.
"Your mom is hosting a banquet, and you’re inviting me?"
Zane Lynch didn’t explain, simply asking back with a smile, "Mhm. Is there a problem?"
Eloise Donovan: "..."
’A problem? There’s a huge problem, okay? Is this cousin of mine always this forward with people? If I didn’t know the real story, I’d think he had a crush on my fourth sister! His little assistant must be green with envy. After all this time working for you, he’s never even met your family, and here you are, about to introduce my fourth sister to the parents on the first meeting. Tsk, tsk, tsk...’
’Too bad for him, he’s definitely barking up the wrong tree for a love rival. Zane Lynch’s true love is his first love, from whom he’s been separated for years. They dated for a year and a half before breaking up over a misunderstanding. But even so, Zane remained devoted to her for years after the breakup, never forgetting her.’
’And that first love of his was a true Lover. Even though she mistakenly thought Zane Lynch was a two-timing scumbag, she gave birth to their son and raised him all by herself. If I remember correctly, their son should be in kindergarten by now, right?’
Caspian Rhodes’s expression changed slightly. Just now, Arabella’s words had been vague, and he thought he’d misheard.
Now, hearing her mention his cousin’s first love again, Caspian Rhodes could finally confirm it—his cousin had apparently become a father without even knowing it!
Eloise Donovan was also stunned by this major revelation. Heaven knows she had only come today to meet her legendary blood relatives, so how did she end up stumbling upon such a colossal secret?
’Do you people in the entertainment industry just love discovering children left and right? Even the company’s CEO isn’t an exception!’
The reason Arabella Donovan knew so much about Zane Lynch and his first love was that later in the story, when Cassandra Lynch and Ian Jennings wanted to take over Radiant Entertainment, they had considered using a honey trap on Zane Lynch.
The two arranged for several beauties of all shapes and sizes to get close to Zane Lynch, but not a single one succeeded.
It got to the point where they both suspected Zane Lynch might be the reincarnation of a monk, completely uninterested in women.
Just when the two were at their wits’ end, Cassandra Lynch accidentally learned the truth about Zane Lynch’s breakup with his first love from one of his old classmates, and from there, she started investigating and found out about the secret child.
In the end, they used the child to get a hold on Zane Lynch, effortlessly seizing the majority of the main family branch’s assets.
At this thought, Arabella Donovan’s expression darkened.
’Those two are so low. If you’ve got the guts, fight it out head-on, fair and square. If you win then, you can at least say ’to the victor go the spoils.’ But what’s this about using a child? It makes me suspect the author intentionally left this kid in as a bug for these two lowlifes to exploit.’
’The little guy was frail from birth. Even though his mom took meticulous care of him, he was still weaker than other kids. After they put him through all that, I wonder if he’ll have lasting health problems.’
It wasn’t just Arabella now; the expressions on both Caspian Rhodes and Eloise Donovan’s faces had also turned quite grim.
This was especially true for Caspian Rhodes. He already had a poor impression of the menace that was Cassandra Lynch, and right now, he wished he could make her disappear from the country entirely.
Zane Lynch saw that Eloise Donovan hadn’t said a word for a while and that her expression was growing uglier by the second. He was suddenly at a loss for what to do.
"Is the timing inconvenient?"
"Shut up!"
Caspian Rhodes and Eloise Donovan turned and yelled at him at almost the exact same time. After shouting, they looked at each other and saw the surprise in the other’s eyes.
"...Oh." Zane Lynch was taken aback and obediently shut his mouth.
Eloise Donovan, thinking about the information Arabella had just revealed, still felt a surge of anger. She shot Zane Lynch a furious glare but offered no explanation.
Caspian Rhodes felt a sense of exasperation toward his cousin, who didn’t even know he’d been made a father. However, Eloise Donovan’s reaction also reminded him of Hector Donovan, who had recently been guarding her so defensively against him. A glint flickered in his eyes, but he ultimately chose to remain silent and observe.
"It’s just a small, private banquet, a get-together for some close friends and family. Besides a few friends our age, it’s mostly close relatives. If Miss Donovan can help Zane solve his problem today, you’ll be a mutual friend of both our families. That’s why Zane wanted to invite you to come along and meet everyone. It’ll be good to have familiar faces to look out for each other when we’re out and about."
Caspian Rhodes’s reason still sounded a bit forced, but it was at least much better than Zane Lynch’s blunt invitation just now.
Arabella Donovan glanced at her fourth sister but didn’t agree right away. "We need some time to think about it. For now, let’s take a look at the company first."
Perhaps feeling like he’d lost face from being yelled at, Zane Lynch finally stopped causing trouble for the rest of the way, leading the group to the nearest finance department downstairs.
The moment she walked in, Arabella Donovan was stunned by the giant hourglass decoration placed next to the front desk.
’This is just priceless. What genius came up with the idea to put an hourglass at the entrance to the finance department? Look at the sand pouring down—doesn’t it look just like banknotes flowing away? The head of this finance department isn’t an assassin in disguise, is he?’
Caspian Rhodes shuddered. He felt as if he’d just taken a stab for Zane Lynch, and his eyes shot another dagger-like glare at his cousin.
"..." ’I don’t even dare to speak anymore. Who did I offend this time?’
Zane Lynch’s eyelid twitched violently. He turned to Arabella Donovan with an eager-to-please look. "Master, is there a problem with this front desk?"
"A huge problem. Who put this hourglass here? Sand, like water, is fluid. When used in Feng Shui arrangements, the factors you have to consider are extremely particular. A single misstep, and living water can become dead water. What should be accumulating wealth will instead be leaking it."
Arabella Donovan pointed to the department sign above them. "Your finance department is supposed to be the place where the company’s wealth accumulates. Your Feng Shui layout should be focused on how to create and protect wealth. But you? You go and put a giant hourglass here. Are you afraid the money in here *won’t* flow away?"
