Chapter 1131: Scruples

Chapter 1131: Scruples

The two drove back to Franklin Bay. Camille subconsciously glanced at

the neighboring villa. Although it wasn't very late, Sienna was probably

already upstairs, right?

Camille looked at Ayan beside her and said, "Sienna actually received

a call from Mario today. He wanted me to convince Sienna to join

tonight's dinner party, but Sienna refused. I'm worried that Mario might

reprimand Sienna for this. If you're going to collaborate with Mario, you

must have some scruples, right?"

"Want me to speak up for Sienna?"

"Can you?"

Camille looked expectantly at Ayan. Ayan didn't say yes or no; their

eyes remained locked.

After a pause of nearly a dozen seconds, Camille said lightly, “If you

don't speak, I'll take it as a yes."

After Camille finished speaking, without waiting for Ayan's answer, she

had already pushed open the car door and got out.

Watching her figure, Ayan couldn't help but smile. There was a clear

smile on his lips, and his gaze followed Camille's figure until she

walked into the villa.

Regarding speaking up for Sienna, even if Camille didn't mention it,

Ayan would still do it for Rex's sake.

But it wasn't the right time now. After all, the collaboration hadn't

officially begun, so he wouldn't make any interfering moves.

The news of Ayan collaborating with Mario was captured by the media

that had been keeping an eye on Ayan and quickly made it to the top of

the trending list in business news the next day.

This news naturally caught the attention of the entire business

community in Hance City. Some enterprises had already begun

speculating on what project the two powerful figures were going to

cooperate on. With both being formidable figures, their collaboration

was bound to create a significant wave.

But as the saying goes, one man's joy is another man's sorrow.

Preston saw this news as soon as it came out. He was already very

dissatisfied with Mario's rejection, harboring a deep anger towards

Mario. Little did he know that Mario would collaborate with Ayan the

next moment.

So, he subconsciously attributed Mario's actions to Ayan. He felt it was

Ayan's influence that led to Mario's decision. After all, Sienna was a

member of the King family, and with the relationship with Camille, Ayan

could undoubtedly persuade Mario to make certain decisions.

With this thought, Preston's mood sank.

He slammed the office desk heavily, his eyes full of hatred for Ayan. He

said coldly, "Ayan, you're really like a lingering ghost. You have to

interfere in everything I do. Do you just love meddling in other people's

affairs?"

Preston's face was filled with icy disdain, and he looked at Quintus

indifferently, saying, "Keep an eye on Ayan. Find out if he has any

recent issues. I've been too busy lately to pay attention to him. He's

been living too comfortably, not even knowing his own last name. That's

why he acts so recklessly and arrogantly!"

Preston became more and more emotional as he spoke. He couldn't

tolerate Ayan for even a second.

After hearing this, Quintus quickly nodded but also expressed his

doubts, "Mr. Walker, is it possible that Ayan doesn't know you've met

Mario, and this decision is solely Mario's?"

“Impossible. You don't understand Ayan. I know what kind of person he

is. He can't stand to see me do well and is afraid I'll surpass him. So,

he's on guard against me all the time. He wants to suppress me every

moment. But in this vast world, does he really think he can dominate

everything? Huh, wishful thinking!"

Preston snorted coldly, a strong sense of coldness in his eyes.

He had completely lost his rationality. All thoughts in his mind followed

his own narrative, and he couldn't listen to anyone's advice. He

believed only in his correctness, considering others’ words as nothing

more than attempts to deceive him.

With a stern face, Preston's expression grew increasingly ugly. He

squinted, stayed silent for a brief moment, and then spoke to Quintus,

"Why hasn't Ayan's secretary, Kian, been seen these days?"

Quintus was also taken aback and quickly responded, "I'm not entirely

sure, but Kian indeed hasn't shown up for several days. Perhaps Ayan

assigned him to other tasks?"

The coldness in Preston's eyes intensified. He looked at Quintus

indifferently, not entirely willing to agree with Quintus's explanation but

unable to think of another reason or excuse at the moment.

He said, "Keep an eye on Ayan. Let me know immediately if there's any

leverage.”

"Yes, Mr. Walker. You can count on me!”

Preston waved his hand, signaling Quintus to leave. He sat alone in the

not-so-large office, with two small windows that felt entirely different

from the floor-to-ceiling windows he used to have. This fueled more

anger in him, and he directed all of it toward Ayan, blaming him for

everything.

Well, in Preston's eyes, Ayan was an unscrupulous scapegoat.

Ayan, of course, had no knowledge of Preston's thoughts and

intentions. He didn't have the luxury of time to keep an eye on Preston

every day like Preston did to others.

His time was precious, and every moment counted.

Not long after finishing a meeting, Kian's call came in.

Upon receiving Kian's call, Ayan immediately wore a serious

expression. He asked, "Has there been any progress with the

investigation?"

Kian responded in a hushed voice, "Mr. Simpson, I arranged for

someone to investigate based on the information Elijah provided. We

have results. A former servant who worked for the Armstrong family

provided information. Mrs. Armstrong hasn't been at the Armstrong

family for nearly a year. No one knows where she went. When Mrs.

Armstrong returned, she brought back a baby, who is Mrs. Simpson.

According to the servant, Mrs. Armstrong and Mr. Armstrong didn't take

care of Mrs. Simpson. The old Armstrong arranged for the servant to

take care of her. The old Armstrong took full responsibility for Mrs.

Simpson. Later, when Mrs. Simpson grew up, there's the part about

being sent back to Flento City. After that, no one in the Armstrong

family, except the old Armstrong, mentioned Mrs. Simpson."

Kian spoke cautiously, relying on his instincts to gauge Ayan's current

emotions since he wasn't in Ayan's presence.

After a while of silence from Ayan's end, Kian, not knowing Ayan's

mood, cautiously asked, "Mr. Simpson, are you there?"

Only then did Ayan emit a low voice, "Yes."

Kian breathed a sigh of relief. He said, "The information provided by

Elijah is mostly accurate. I've already given a sum to the elderly person

who provided us with the information, asking her not to casually talk

about this matter. If anyone else inquires about it, she should just

fabricate a lie to deflect their questions.”

Not entirely trusting, Kian had someone test the old woman. She

seemed to have some sentiment toward the old Armstrong and the

Armstrong family, so she kept her mouth shut. As for how Kian

managed to get her to talk, it wasn't solely about money. More

importantly, Kian mentioned that there were some minor issues with the

old Armstrong's inheritance that needed clarification to be resolved.

That's when the old woman readily opened up.

Kian went through his arrangements in detail with Ayan, who only

responded with a simple acknowledgment and nothing more.

The atmosphere briefly quieted down. Ayan's mood wasn't good, his

face extremely dark. After a while, he spoke lightly, “Have you obtained

any results on your end?"

In a hushed tone, Kian replied, “The Bill family is keeping a tight lid on

information, so currently, there isn't much useful intel."

"For now, don't bother about the Bill family. Come back. Mario is in

Hance City, planning to collaborate with us on the Nores Group land.

Put aside the matter with the Bill family for now. We'll address it once

this project is stable.”