Chapter 9 In the study of Lowell Manor , rain streaked the floor to ceiling windows . I sat behind the desk , my fingertip scrolling past Brightvale Industries ' bankruptcy announcement on the tablet . The comment section below was flooded with " They deserved it " and " Should've gone under long ago . " A few voices defending Zander were quickly drowned out by condemnation . Maverick entered with a freshly printed document . Miss , the seizure notice for Ashby Commerce came through . Police found extensive fraudulent accounting and tax evasion evidence at their company . Mr. Ashby has been formally arrested . " " Also , Vincent Caldwell suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and is still being resuscitated . Caldwell relatives are already fighting over what's left of the assets . " My gaze didn't leave the screen . Similar news had been arriving daily . Brightvale's suppliers were blocking the hospital demanding payment . Ashby Commerce employees were collectively demanding wages . Everyone who once circled Zander and Clover now wanted nothing more than distance . Maverick added . " Online discussion about you is still escalating . Many elite families are asking about you , hoping to arrange marriages . The young Mr. Ronan Ashford from Ashford Group even personally visited your grandfather yesterday with gifts . " I laughed coldly and tossed the tablet onto the desk . " Tell them I'm not interested . Right now , I have no desire to get entangled with any elite family . " After Zanders betrayal , I felt nothing but revulsion for relationships built on mutual benefit . Those seeking marriage alliances to climb onto Lowell's coattails were , in my eyes , no different from Zander . Over the following days , I duew myself completely into corporate affairs . By day , I shadowed Grandfather , familiarizing myself with Lowell's operations - real estate , finance , technology , logistics - every division required rapid mastery . By night , I stayed in the study , reviewing case progress reports sent by the police . The reports detailed exactly how Clover had manipulated Zander . She deliberately told Jum 1 looked down on her , that I was only using her . She even forged chat records between me and other men to drive a wedge between us . 14:04 His Mistress's ' Billionaire Parents ' ? DEFPEAKED . Mine ? Landing in That Private let Behind You . Surprise ! 11.5 % Chape When she egged Zandes on to teach me a lesson , " she had meticulously planned every step - how to drug me , how to choose the swamp , how to set up the dark web livestream . Every detail dripped with malice . What chilled me most were the photos police had uncovered . Photos Clover had taken of herself and Zander being intimate in the office . In them . Zander leaned into Clover's embrace , smiling sweetly - nothing like the face he showed me . Looking at those images , my stomach churned . Physiological germaphobia and psychological disgust twisted together , nearly suffocating me . So while I was silently supporting him , hiding my identity for his sake , he'd long since moved on with someone else . So the clean , faithful relationship I'd guarded for five years was nothing but a complete lie . That afternoon , I was in a video conference with an overseas branch manager when the internal line rang . It was the secretary's office . " Miss , the detention center called . Zander Caldwell wants to see you . He says he has important information about your father . " The pen in my hand froze . My heart felt like it was being squeezed by an invisible hand . My father's early death was a taboo subject in our family . The doctors said it was sudden cardiac arrest . Grandfather never mentioned more . How could an outsider like Zander know anything about Father ? After the meeting ended , I sat in the study , fingers unconsciously drumming the desk . Zander was now a prisoner . His sudden mention of Father - did he really know something , or was he trying to trick me into dropping charges ? I hesitated for a long time , but ultimately decided to go . Whether he was lying or not , if there was even the slightest clue about Father , I couldn't let it go . I stood "Maverick , prepare the car . We're going to the detention center . " Maverick paused , then nodded " Understood . Would you like me to accompany you ? " I shook my head " No need . I'll go alone . " " Some things I want to ask him myself . " 14:04 His Mistress's ' Billionaire Parents ' ? DEFREAKED Rehwe getting in the car , 1 looked at my reflection in the mirror . Sharp suit , sharp eyes . No longer the fool who could be blinded by emotion . The rar slowly pulled out of Lowell Manor . Rain was still falling , drumming against the windows . I leaned back in my seat , eyes closed , fragments of my father's blurred image flashing through my mind . Him holding me as we flew kites in the garden . Telling me before I went abroad to stay safe and remember to come home . These fragments flickered past like shards , and I whispered silently . " Dad , wait for me . I'll find out what really happened back then . "