Chapter 194: Found the Real Opponent
Ashley glared at him, her voice shaking. "All this time we've been together, how did you manage it? Watching me like a fool, being played by you? Do you find it thrilling or amusing? Enjoying me being toyed with in your hands?"
Her tear-filled eyes locked onto his through the surveillance camera. She painfully closed her eyes, and the tears flowed even more uncontrollably.
Ashley had sworn to herself she wouldn't cry for him anymore, but the thought of everything he had done made shame and sorrow overwhelm her.
She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and laughed coldly. "Do you need to see me break with my family, send them to prison, to feel satisfied, Mr. Hearst?"
The last two words were spoken with a mix of crying and laughing, in a very light tone.
Damian couldn't bear to keep looking at the woman on the screen. A storm raged inside him, tearing him apart. When it finally subsided, it left behind a wreckage beyond repair.
Finally, Damian said, "You can withdraw from this case."
Withdraw?
How could she withdraw now? Where would she go? She had long since been unable to back out.
When Ashley joined this team, she swore to protect KM Group's interests no matter what. After arduous evidence collection and cross-border tracking, they finally saw the dawn of victory.
Who could have known that this dawn would come at the cost of her betraying her family?
Ashley was completely trapped with no way out.
Even if she walked away now, Uncle Fred's identity would still be exposed, and she would have no place to stand.
The external judgment, the internal torment, the inquiries from her parents... Just thinking about these things made Ashley almost unable to breathe.
She wiped the tears from her face haphazardly and said coldly, "Mr. Hearst, you have a ruthless heart and brilliant methods. I've heard that you are vengeful, and today I've experienced it once again."
After saying that, she hung up the phone.
The screen went silent, and Damian could no longer hear Ashley's crying. He could only see the silent image of her hugging her knees, burying her face in them, her slender shoulders trembling slightly.
After a long while, Damian threw the phone on the table.
Ten minutes later, Ashley stood up shakily, took a few deep breaths in the night air, tidied her clothes and hair a bit, walked toward the car, and disappeared from the camera, leaving only a row of green plants in Damian's view.
Damian gazed at the blank screen as if his mind and heart were voids that could never be filled.
After a moment, Damian's phone rang.
Dante said, "Mr. Hearst, I just got news that the person who transferred the funds is Fred. He was the former CFO of Astor Group, Todd's..."
Damian said, "I know."
The name Todd had long disappeared from Damian's world, so he felt unfamiliar with it. But he wouldn't forget that the person hiding in Sylvania was his former father-in-law.
Dante's tone became cautious, each word spoken with extreme care. "What should we do now? Continue?"
Damian coldly retorted, "What do you think?"
The question took Dante aback. Previously, he thought Ashley intervened in the case of the KM Group to seek revenge and suspected she was in contact with the defendant to disrupt things. Now it seemed the real avenger was Mr. Hearst.
From Mr. Hearst's words, it seemed he had long known about Fred's actions. He involved Ashley and pushed her to lead the case as the trial lawyer, clearly wanting to see them fight each other in court.
Dante didn't dare to speak too bluntly. "Should we still let Ashley handle it? Janet conveyed the message that Ashley and she were on their way back."
Damian asked, "How is she?"
Dante paused, realizing he was asking about Ashley. "She doesn't seem to be doing well."
Damian said, "Don't take any action for now."
Dante replied, "Yes, Mr. Hearst."
Ashley calmly got out of the car, said "Thank you" to Janet, and walked into the hotel lobby.
Janet didn't know what was wrong with her. Since seeing the person they were tracking, she had been silent and low-spirited, not saying a word on the way back.
Janet, who had never been in a relationship, didn't get why Ashley was acting this way. Was this a breakup?
Ashley, looking like a ghost, took the elevator, got out, and pulled out her room card.
Cheryl had been waiting for her and finally heard movement next door. She called out just in time. "Ashley..."
Ashley's face was blank, her eyes still bloodshot. "What's up?"
Cheryl's words caught in her throat when she saw Ashley's face. "Ashley, are you sick?"
Ashley figured she looked pretty bad—red eyes, pale skin, a face that screamed disdain for the world. "Maybe I have a cold. It's nothing serious. What's up?"
A cold? Everyone had been super busy lately, so it made sense if she was run down.
Cheryl continued, "The second court session is coming up. Dante asked if we should change our prosecution plan."
Since Dante knew it was Fred, he must have told Damian. But now why did he ask her opinion?
It felt like he was dumping the problem on her, making her responsible.
Typical cunning lawyer move.
Ashley gripped the door handle tightly, the smooth metal edge digging into her skin. "I'll talk to him later. You should rest."
With that, Ashley entered her room and locked the door.
The next day, Ashley got up early, washed up, and saw her swollen eyes in the mirror.
She applied light makeup to cover the dark circles and put on bright red lipstick to liven up her complexion.
When changing clothes, she saw the suit hanging on the rack, and her calm heart was once again stirred.
Thinking of his care when she was injured, his gentle and noble smile, the clothes he thoughtfully and mischievously prepared, his deep and unfathomable schemes, his invisible killing techniques...
Ashley yanked the clothes off the wooden hanger, rolled them into a ball, and threw them into the large trash can outside the door.
Then, she sent a notice to the workgroup: [Meeting at 8:30 A.M. Attendance is mandatory.]
Dante stared at the message, stopping mid-bite. Kevin, sitting across from him, laughed, "Dante, what do you think Ashley will do? Her uncle is the defendant, and she's the plaintiff's attorney. The court will be lively."
Dante put down his knife and fork, squinted his eyes, and mocked, "Mr. King, what do you hope she will do?"
Kevin stopped joking. "I'm sorry, I misspoke."
Dante wiped his hands, stood up, and moved his chair. "Aren't you worried that targeting Ashley might lead to her retaliating against you one day? Do you really think Mr. Hearst has no feelings left for her after breaking up?"
Kevin's face darkened, and he asked anxiously, "Mr. Moretti, do you mean Mr. Hearst will still help her?"
Dante strode out and said to the person following him, "Don't ask me. I don't get involved in Mr. Hearst's personal feelings."
In the conference room, everyone was present, either observing or working quietly. Since the team was formed, the meeting atmosphere had never been this tense.
Ashley hadn't arrived yet, and Kevin whispered to Jerry, "What do you think she'll do?"
Jerry was vague. "Not sure, maybe she'll withdraw, maybe she'll continue."
That was as good as saying nothing.
Kevin said, "She signed a contract. If she withdraws now, the compensation will be in the billions."
Jerry just smiled.
That explained why Mr. Hearst offered ten million dollars. Because the corresponding liquidated damages were high enough that Ashley could not afford them.
It seemed Mr. Hearst's hatred for Ashley hadn't completely dissipated.
Jerry then said, "I heard the Bezos family has been in frequent contact with Mr. Anthony Hearst these days, and Mr. Anthony Hearst has even provided a lot of convenience to Emperial Avenue Group."
Kevin picked up his coffee and smiled, "I see."
Not long after, Ashley walked in wearing a professional suit. She sat at the head of the table, opened her folder and laptop, and her gaze swept over everyone, pausing for a second on Dante's face. "Everyone, I think you've more or less heard about today's meeting topic. Yes, we have identified the real enemy hiding behind the scenes."
