Chapter 926 Plotting
Lily frowned, looking at Selene, and walked over. "What are you photographing?"
Selene quickly wiped her hands, taking the opportunity to delete her chat history with Liam. "Nothing special, just pictures of the food I made."
Lily's expression darkened as she extended her hand. "Give me that."
Selene clutched her phone protectively, refusing to hand it over.
"I said give it to me!" Lily snatched the phone and demanded the password.
When Selene refused, Lily turned to Vincent with narrowed eyes. "Have you checked this woman's background? Could she be someone's spy?"
Lily was suspicious of every woman around Vincent, especially someone young and reasonably attractive like Selene. Even a hired chef couldn't be trusted.
"Password." Vincent's deep voice carried an unmistakable threat as he approached, his presence intimidating.
Selene shrank back. "383838."
Lily entered the code with obvious displeasure. The chat messages seemed innocent enough, so she opened the photo gallery.
The gallery was mostly clean, containing food pictures and several surreptitiously taken photos of Vincent—him drinking coffee wrapped in a towel after showering, eating meals from unflattering angles.
Despite the poor photography, Vincent—being naturally photogenic—still looked good in every shot, which only made Selene's motives more suspicious.
"Explain yourself!" Lily demanded.
"I have a friend who has a crush on Mr. Hamilton!" Selene blurted out. "He asked me to take some nice photos!"
Vincent shot her a doubtful look. "Are you sure you're telling the truth?"
"Vincent, we can't keep this chef. Her intentions aren't pure," Lily seized the opportunity. "I know a five-star chef who can start tomorrow."
"I just took a few pictures," Selene protested. "That's not illegal."
"You're violating his privacy and image rights," Lily warned, looking at Vincent. "Better safe than sorry."
After a moment of silence, Vincent glanced at the food on the table. "You should go."
Selene jumped to her feet. "Do I need to pay back the advance?"
"No need," Vincent said quietly.
Selene bolted out the door—hesitating even for a second would have been disrespectful to the three thousand dollars she'd just kept.
Vincent raised an eyebrow at how quickly she fled.
As Vincent sat down to eat, Lily expressed concern. "I don't trust that food. Let me make you something fresh."
Vincent smiled. "It's fine. She wouldn't dare tamper with it. And I'm not marrying you to make you my housekeeper—cooking isn't your responsibility."
Lily smiled and sat across from him.
Vincent tasted Selene's porridge and found it surprisingly good.
Seeing Vincent enjoying the meal, Lily's expression darkened slightly. Good thing they'd gotten rid of that chef.
At the Raymond Group, Liam was in the middle of a meeting when he learned his project had been snatched away. He immediately became agitated.
"Mr. Russell, what's wrong with Vincent? Why would he fight me for the Windflower Community project? It's a small investment with minimal profit!"
Brandon cleared his throat, signaling for the other employees to leave. "Liam, you should ask Ethan about this."
Brandon thought he'd made himself clear.
"Is it just because Vincent has a grudge against Mr. Douglas? Does that mean he can target all my projects?" Liam misunderstood, his face pale with anger.
"This Vincent guy is going too far," Liam fumed.
There were so many other project teams, yet Vincent only went after his. Always his.
His monthly performance bonus would be completely wiped out.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, but there was nothing he could do—he couldn't win in a fight or an argument.
"Liam, Vincent kicked me out," came another piece of bad news. Selene had been expelled from Vincent's house.
Vincent had probably realized keeping her around was a security risk.
Liam gritted his teeth. He refused to believe he couldn't find a way to deal with Vincent.
At Connor's office, Connor emerged from the therapy room to find Vincent leaning against the doorframe.
"No appointment today, so I'm heading home," Connor said, punctual as always and unwilling to make exceptions for Vincent.
Vincent smiled and sat on Connor's hypnotherapy chair. "I just came by for a little rendezvous."
Connor's well-practiced professional expression nearly slipped. "A rendezvous? Here?"
Vincent was already closing his eyes. "You know, it's funny—I've had insomnia for years, never falling asleep until the early hours. But the moment I lie on this chair, I get drowsy instantly. Remarkable, isn't it? Maybe I should buy it for my home."
"Not for sale," Connor replied coldly.
"So stingy. No wonder you're Ethan's friend—cut from the same cloth," Vincent teased with his eyes still closed.
Shortly after, Ethan arrived.
Connor looked between Ethan and Vincent. "Are you two dating?"
Ethan looked at Connor as if he were crazy. "Has Tom's nonsense infected your brain too?"
Connor sighed.
Speaking of Tom, Connor felt quite helpless about the situation. Since his parents' deaths, Tom had become a different person—no longer carefree, but suddenly mature. The abrupt change was actually heartbreaking.
As a psychologist, Connor knew this was the result of trauma and profound loss.
"We just need to borrow your space for a chat," Ethan said. "If you're busy, go ahead. We'll lock up."
"Fine, but don't do anything inappropriate. There are cameras everywhere," Connor warned.
Vincent perked up immediately. "Dr. Hawthorne, you seem quite knowledgeable about 'inappropriate things.'"
"Shut up," Ethan warned Vincent.
Vincent promptly fell silent.
"Let's get to business," Ethan said coolly as he sat down.
"The people trying to kill me are from Moscow. I've been deeply involved in the Moscow black market for years, but I don't allow any contraband in my territory. That's made me plenty of enemies. After Kavi's incident, the person behind him took control of most of the black market," Vincent explained clearly.
The person targeting him was the same one the Cunningham family was investigating.
"This person is hiding well. Who could it be?" Ethan frowned.
"Once we deal with the Murray family and cut off their trade connections with the other party—completely severing the black market's ties to Silverlight City—they'll inevitably turn their attention to the Cunningham family. When that happens, they'll show themselves," Vincent said in a low voice.
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