He Does Not Deserve My Devotion-Chapter 49: Nina Walsh the Murderer

A crowd gathered around and saw a new photo appear under the trending topic—a woman with short hair wearing a Northgate Women’s Prison uniform, with the word "MURDERER" printed beside her in bold letters!

"Is that her?"

Everyone in the office started whispering, their gazes toward Nina Walsh now tinged with fear.

Nina Walsh hadn’t expected this. Just when she thought her life couldn’t get any worse, it did. The past she most wanted to forget had been callously dug up for all to see.

The online outcry intensified, and the details of Nina Walsh’s "murder" were meticulously unearthed by diligent "netizens."

Five years ago, an 18-year-old Nina Walsh had been driving without a license after drinking. She hit and killed a pedestrian and tried to use her money to cover it up. Ultimately, thanks to the victim’s family’s persistent fight for justice, she was brought to justice.

Nina Walsh was sentenced to five years, but she was released two years early for good behavior.

Her early release became a new focal point for the netizens’ attacks.

Everyone was convinced that a vile woman like Nina Walsh could only have gotten out early through a deal involving money and power. There were even filthier comments, alleging she had "serviced" everyone in the women’s prison—inside and out—to get her sentence reduced.

Leo Lloyd’s hands trembled with rage as he stared at the vile words filling his phone screen.

"That damn Brian Sherman!" He didn’t know the whole truth, but he could guess the gist of it, and the rims of his eyes turned red.

With everyone in the office whispering, Nina Walsh forced herself to speak up. "Everyone, get back to your stations. I’ll handle this online situation as quickly as possible!"

Everyone immediately filed out. Leo Lloyd looked at Nina Walsh with concern. "Miss Nina..."

"Mr. Lloyd, you should go too. I’d like to be alone for a while."

"Miss Nina, if you’ve been wronged, you can tell me. I believe you’re not that kind of person."

"Mr. Lloyd, I need to rest. Please, I’m counting on you to keep things at the company stable."

Since Nina Walsh insisted, Leo Lloyd had no choice but to leave.

Devoid of strength, Nina Walsh collapsed into her chair. The situation was an avalanche, and she was trapped at its center. Someone wanted her dead, and there was no escape.

Nina Walsh couldn’t see a way out. A suffocating sense of powerlessness washed over her, making it hard to breathe.

’What is there left in this world to hold on to?’

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK—

After an unknown amount of time, a knock came at the door. Nina Walsh lifted her head from her arms.

"I’ve been standing here for a while. You didn’t even notice."

Julian Sinclair took off his sunglasses and swaggered in.

Nina Walsh, slumped listlessly on the desk, was too tired to even greet him.

Julian Sinclair teased, "You look like you’re about to die."

"Already dead. The body’s gone cold," Nina Walsh retorted dryly.

Julian Sinclair actually reached out and touched her forehead. "You are pretty cold," he said. "But not completely. You can still be saved."

As if grasping at a lifeline, Nina Walsh straightened up and stared at him.

"Don’t look at me, look at your phone," Julian Sinclair said.

Nina Walsh opened her phone. Her name was gone from the trending topics. All the search terms related to her and Maelie, even the news about Declan Grant announcing his engagement, had vanished.

The online world had returned to normal. It was like waking from a nightmare to find it had all vanished without a trace.

She didn’t know what methods he had used, but he had clearly spent a fortune to get the topics taken down.

Julian Sinclair’s introduction had helped her land the ALLBUY Mall contract last time. Now, she owed him another huge favor.

"Thank you, Mr. Sinclair," Nina Walsh said gratefully.

Julian Sinclair just smiled. Then he added, "Mario is still on a flight out of the country. As long as there are no problems with production, your partnership won’t be affected."

Julian Sinclair’s words were a great reassurance. Nina Walsh’s confidence was rekindled, and her opinion of him improved dramatically.

"Mr. Sinclair, if there’s anything I can do to help you, please don’t hesitate to ask."

"Mm, I’ll keep that in mind," Julian Sinclair said, half-joking. He then got up to leave, as if his sole purpose in visiting had been to solve her problem. Nina Walsh saw him to the door. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

After seeing Julian Sinclair off, she was about to share the good news with her employees when she suddenly received a call from Mario.

Nina Walsh answered, saying apologetically, "I’m sorry, Mr. Mario. I didn’t know you were traveling. I apologize for the earlier disturbance..."

Mario immediately launched into a tirade on the other end of the line. "Nina Walsh, I was so wrong about you! And after I admired you so much! Turns out your work is plagiarized, and I detest plagiarism. I am officially informing you that our contract is cancelled!"

BEEP, BEEP, BEEP—

After saying his piece, Mario hung up.

Nina Walsh rushed back to her office, opened her computer, and quickly found a news article.

An hour ago, the new womenswear brand, "Clara," had released its debut collection on its official website. The collection was credited as being exclusively created by the brand’s founder, Clara Jacobs.

Nina Walsh clicked on it. Every single design was identical to the ones she was currently producing.

She immediately remembered her lost product lookbook. ’Aiden Sinclair must have given it to Clara Jacobs.’

Clara Jacobs had stolen her designs and launched them first, cutting off any path of retreat. Once the plagiarism was confirmed, all the clothes Maelie had poured its resources into producing would be nothing but trash.

...

「Aethel Group.」

"Is everything taken care of?"

Jay Keane nodded. "It’s all been handled as you instructed. Tonight, you still have your meeting with Mr. Young..."

"Postpone it. I have something else to do. You don’t need to come with me."

Aiden Sinclair stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the B1 level. The elevator descended to the underground garage.

Aiden Sinclair got into his car, started the engine, and prepared to pull out.

Suddenly, a pair of blinding high beams flashed on. He squinted, letting his eyes adjust.

He saw a small sedan parked not far away, a woman in the driver’s seat.

Just as he made out her face, the sedan shot toward him like a bolt of lightning.

CRASH—

The two cars collided, and Aiden Sinclair’s body was jolted violently.

He recovered quickly, pushed his door open, and ran to the Volkswagen, dragging the woman out of the driver’s seat.

"Nina Walsh, are you insane?"

Nina Walsh shoved him away, looking utterly deranged. "I’m not insane! I just have regrets. I should have killed you when I crashed into you two years ago!"

Aiden Sinclair froze, a pang of pain shooting through his heart. "What did you say?"

With bloodshot eyes, Nina Walsh stared at him. "Aiden Sinclair, do you hate me that much? Wasn’t it enough to toy with me over and over? Now you have to drive me to my death? You made me give her my blood, give her my kidney, and now you’ve given her all of my designs? You knew that was my last hope, my final struggle..."

"Is the only way to be free from this to die?"

As she spoke, Nina Walsh pulled out a knife and plunged it toward herself. Aiden Sinclair’s reflexes were lightning-fast. He blocked the blade with one hand while his other chopped the back of her neck.

CLANG! The knife hit the pavement. Nina Walsh, her body utterly spent, closed her eyes and collapsed backward.

Aiden Sinclair caught her, carried her to his car, and sped to the nearest hospital.

"Doctor, please help her! She’s passed out!" Aiden Sinclair shouted anxiously.

Two nurses wearing masks came over with a gurney.

"Sir, we need to begin emergency treatment. Please wait outside."

The doors to the emergency room closed, leaving Aiden Sinclair to wait outside.

Half an hour passed, but the emergency room doors remained closed. A bad feeling started to grow in Aiden’s heart. He forced himself to wait another half hour, but there was still no activity. Not a single nurse came out.

Something felt wrong. Aiden Sinclair pushed the doors open and burst in, only to find the emergency room completely empty.

Nina Walsh had been taken.