Chapter 268
Lucia tumed to see who it was. She recognized Yann’s driver. He walked up to Audrey and said respectfully, “Mrs. Wasifred, i
Ax Audrey stood to leave, Lucia quickly grabbed her wrist, panic flashing in her eyes. “Audrey, be reasonable. Just let it go this time?
Audrey pried Lucia’s fingers away from her arm, her expression cold and distant. She neither agreed nor refused, but something about her silan muda
Lucia’s heart race with anxiety.
Lucia’s voice grew more desperate as she said, “Talia made mistakes, but her compisty is already failing. Besides, Mr. Turner compensated you for everything. Don’t be ungrateful.
“The Price family and the Turner family are connected through marriage now. If you keep pushing this, you’ll just make more enemies. That’s not good for you or for the Winifred family.”
“Mrs. Lucia Winifred, my business is my own concern.” Audrey dropped those words and walked away.
Watching Audrey’s stubborn figure walk away, Lucia pounded her chest in frustration. This little brat is just like her father stubborn as hell and won’t listen to reason. It’s dining me insane!‘ she thought.
When Audrey got into the car, Yann was reviewing documents. He immediately reached for her hand without looking up
Audrey said nothing, so Yann set his papers aside and turned to face her. “You don’t have to deal with people you don’t want to deal with,” he said, clearly referring to Lucia
Audrey had never experienced real maternal love as a child, and later Lucia had used her as leverage to get money from George. There was virtually no mother–daughter bond between them
If Audrey hadn’t married Yarn, she wouldn’t had to face the person she found most imitating.
The Windred family’s public harmony didn’t need to be maintained at the expense of Audrey’s comfort.
Audrey squeezed his hand tighter and fidgeted with the ring on his finger, nodding to show she understood, “I see this through to the end, will it affect you and the Winifred family?”
Regardless of whether Yann said yes or no, it wouldn’t change the decision Audrey had already made. She’d never intended to destroy Talla completely, but since Talia had struck first with deadly intent, and Audrey now held the advantage, she absolutely wouldn’t show mercy
She knew better than to let a dangerous enemy walk free–that always came back to bite her
Still, Audrey wanted to ask. She needed to know Yann’s position on this matter. Wealthy families were deeply interconnected, their business interests forming an invisible web of relationships, especially given tann’s connection to Keith.
If Yann chose to plead his friend’s case, Audrey could understand that, but she wouldn’t compromise.
From that point forward, they could still have their romantic relationship, but she would prioritize securing her own interests.
However, if Yanin supported her unconditionally, she could be certain that marrying Yann had been the right choice
Yann barely hesitated before giving her his answer. His response came so quickly that Audrey didn’t have time to process it. Her expression froze for a moment, her lips parting slightly as she stared into his deep eyes.
“If my wile g
gets pushed around and forced to do things against her will, that’s my failure as a husband,” Yann said.
Audrey’s heart began to race. She could hear her own heartbeat.
Chapter 268
Yann lightened his grip on her hand, his warm palm giving her all the security she needed with his barking, she could tackle
confidence
can accompanied Audrey to meet with Malcolm, where they had an in depth discussion about confrming! demands
Three days later, Talis received a count summons. The Ashbourne Police Department hadn’tjent opened a case
hey’d fed charges in court–e
“What is this supposed to mean?” Talia demanded, storming into Reith’s office and slamming the summons doen in front of him “She took your da why is she still pressing charges?”
Talia had assumed the whole thing was behind them and had been making high profile appearances at event
Wendy over the past few days.
Everyone in their circles knew about the Price and the Turner families‘ marriage alliance, and several business projects were in negotiation, if fallegat prosecuted now, it would damage both families‘ reputations.
The worst part was that she’d been completely caught off guard, unprepared and without even a decent lawyer lined up.
Keith was equally frustrated, but when he saw that Talia was being charged with legal theft of trade secrets,” his headache she’d be looking at seven years minimum.
Keith immediately tried calling Yann, but when the call wouldn’t go through, he contacted the office instead.
The chief secretary, Freya, answered. “Mr. Winifred is mountain climbing with his wife today. He’s not discussing business matters.”
Keith understood the message Yann was sending loud and clear. He wouldn’t accept any appeals based on personal relationships and was backing Audrey’s decision one hundred percent.
“Well! What did he say?” Talla asked anxiously, watching his face.
Keith’s expression was grim. Audrey’s lawyer was Malcolm, who could probably get Talia sent to prison even if she’d only attempted the crime, let alone when Audrey had solid evidence to guarantee a conviction
Keith wanted to protect Talia, but he didn’t want to tum against Yann either.
“Why did you steal her presentation materials in the first place?” Keith asked. The whole scheme had backfired spectacularly
If Talia had competed fairly, even if she’d lost, she could have found ways to partner with one of the other top five companies. She would have taken some losses, but at least she wouldn’t be facing prison time.
“What’s the point of saying that now?” Talia’s face turned pale with panic. “I offered her an olive branch first, asked her to merge with my company, and she refused. That’s when I decided to take action.”
“Given StellarCore’s condition, she’d have to be crazy to agree to that,” Keith blurted out. As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized he’d hurt
Talia’s pride.
Talia’s lips went pale, and she stared at him in disbeliet “So you think I’m not as good as Audrey either!”
“That’s not what I meant.” He reached for her, but Jalia pulled away.
Her eyes welled up with tears, and she turned her head slightly to hide her distress. “Everyone knows about our engagement. If I go to prison, it damage the Turner family’s reputation.
“You should release a statement saying we’ve called off the engagement. It was just for show anyway–there’s no need to take it seriously.”
With that, Talia grabbed her bag and headed for the door.
Chapter 268
Keith quickly caught up and grabbed her arm. “I never said anything about calling off the engagement
“If we don’t call it off, do you want people mocking the Turner family because your future
aiste?” Talia’s voice cracked with emolien.
She tried to hold back, but couldn’t stop hersell – a single tear rolled down her cheek. Talia quirkly wiped it away and composed herself again. never liked me anyway, Don’t let the Turner family’s reputation suffer because of me, and don’t let it damage your relationship with Yanı
“Let go, i said let go of me.” Talia walked away without looking back.
Keith paced in circles for a moment, then decided he needed to find a way to reach Yann
When Lucia learned that Audrey had ignored her advice and pressed charges against Talia anyway, her scalp went numb with panic. “ had no idea, I really didn’t know.
“If Audrey won’t let me go, I won’t let you go either,” Talia warned coldly. “You have one day. If Audrey doesn’t drop the charges, m exposing your relationship.”
Lucia panicked. She couldn’t lose her status as Logan’s wife–absolutely couldn’t. Losing her luxurious lifestyle might not be the worst part, What teritied her was the thought of Yann discovering her schemes, which would make her life a living hell.
Logan was playing golf with a client when his assistant told him Lucia had arrived. He was surprised. Except for special occasions, he rarely brought Luna to meet clients
“Mr. Winifred, if you have business to attend to, let’s reschedule our game,” Logan’s client said.
“No need. She’s just a relative,” Logan told his assistant. “Take her to the lounge
