On the Day I Was Kicked Out of the Wealthy Family, I Had a Flash Marriage with a Tycoon-Chapter 187: Deliberately Spreading the News
Serena Lockwood held her son’s hand and said softly, "You can find a safe place to hide her, but don’t tell her about this. She’ll hate you. Son, you’re still too young. One day, you’ll understand everything I’ve done."
"I understand. I understand now, but I don’t agree." With that, Damian Rivers pulled his hand back and turned to leave.
Serena Lockwood didn’t stop him. She knew Damian Rivers wouldn’t ruin their plan. He was her son; she knew him better than anyone.
Back in the living room, Mrs. Sinclair immediately asked, "Damian left? He won’t..."
Serena Lockwood said, "Don’t worry, he won’t. He knows his limits. Besides, even if he tells someone, it won’t change anything. After all, it’s true that Chloe Sterling is an Alchemist, and her medical skills are real."
Mrs. Sinclair said, "There’s no time to lose! We need to spread the news right now to buy ourselves some time!"
Damian Rivers sped out of the Rivers family home, then slammed to a stop on the side of the road.
He took out his phone and dialed Tristan Sinclair’s number, his voice sounding powerless. "Hey..."
Noticing the strange tone in his voice, Tristan Sinclair immediately asked, "What’s wrong?"
"I’m afraid we can’t stop this fight anymore."
"What do you mean?"
"My parents, your dad, and that stepmother of yours... they’re planning to spread the news that Jasper Lockwood’s secret wife is Lynn Chester. In other words, that Chloe Sterling *is* Lynn Chester. They want the Nocturne Group, the Apex Group, and other powers to go after Jasper."
Damian Rivers didn’t care what happened to the Lockwood family or Jasper Lockwood; he cared about Chloe Sterling. He didn’t want to see her thrown into such a dangerous situation.
Tristan Sinclair’s voice was grim. "I can’t believe they’d stoop to that!"
Damian Rivers said, "I’m taking Chloe away from here. As for Jasper, I’d say you should just stay out of it. There’s no way he can handle this. The Nocturne Group, the Apex Group, and other factions will all be after him."
Tristan Sinclair replied, "You can’t take Chloe away. And you won’t be able to."
Damian Rivers insisted, "No matter what it takes—whether I have to trick her or take her by force—I’m getting her out of here. I can’t just stand by and watch her get innocently dragged into this fight. If those people really believe she’s Lynn Chester, she’ll be in danger!"
"She *is* Lynn Chester!" Tristan Sinclair said grimly. "She’s the legendary top-level pharmacist, Lynn Chester."
"What!" Damian Rivers was utterly stunned. "She... she’s really Lynn Chester?"
"Silas Coldwell of the Nocturne Group has known her identity for a while now; he just hasn’t found a way to take her. What makes you think you can?"
Damian Rivers’s fingers gripped the steering wheel tightly, but he said nothing.
The news was too much for him. He’d never imagined that Chloe Sterling was the legendary Lynn Chester.
Tristan Sinclair added, "Don’t go to Chloe. Just stay out of this for now and let me think."
"Where are you now?" Damian Rivers asked.
"On my way back to Crestfall."
"I’ll head over to you."
"Hold on. I have to take care of something else first. I’ll call you when I get back."
"Okay."
After hanging up, Damian Rivers continued to stare at his phone. He wanted to call Chloe, but he suddenly had no idea what to say.
In his car, Tristan Sinclair immediately called his father, trying to stop them.
But they were dead set on their plan, and there was no way to stop them.
Finally, Tristan Sinclair could only say grimly, "Dad, do you really want to push Jasper Lockwood over the edge? Have you forgotten about your daughter?"
Chairman Sinclair scoffed. "If he really dares to do anything to Phoebe, I’ll make him pay dearly! Tristan, I know you value your little friendship with him, but has he ever cared about you? If he truly saw you as a friend, he wouldn’t have treated our Phoebe and the Sinclair family this way. Besides, there’s no turning back. The news is already out. Jasper Lockwood is finished."
「The Lockwood Residence.」
Chloe Sterling and Jasper Lockwood were having dinner in the dining room when Henry Chamberlain suddenly entered. "Sir, Ma’am," he announced, "President Sinclair is here."
Jasper Lockwood’s hand, holding his wine glass, paused. He glanced at Henry. "Where?"
"Right here."
The words were barely out of his mouth when Tristan Sinclair walked in with a smile. "Hope you don’t mind if I crash dinner?" Without waiting for a reply, he took a seat.
"Set another place for President Sinclair," Jasper Lockwood instructed a servant before turning to Tristan. "When did you get back to Crestfall?"
"It was a last-minute trip back yesterday. I haven’t had a chance to tell you."
After a brief pause, Jasper asked, "How are things being handled?"
Tristan poured himself a glass of wine and said casually, "They aren’t making things difficult for me, but they also refuse to see me, let alone negotiate. They’re just deliberately stalling. It’s very strange."
Chloe glanced sideways at him and spoke up. "So you just came back?"
Tristan smiled. "What else was I supposed to do? They’re doing it on purpose. There was no point in me staying."
Jasper said calmly, "Then we’ll just wait. Maybe something will change in a while."
"Let’s hope so," Tristan said, his voice full of meaning. He paused before taking a sip of wine.
The dining room suddenly fell silent, the atmosphere growing inexplicably strange.
After a moment, Tristan broke the silence with a smile. "It’s really no big deal. What company doesn’t go through some turbulence? But let’s not talk about unpleasant things. It’s been a while. Jasper, here’s to you."
Jasper Lockwood raised his glass, clinked it against Tristan’s, and downed the contents in one go.
Seeing this, Tristan drained his glass as well.
The two of them went on to drink a fair amount more, chatting about inconsequential things.
Chloe, who had always been a woman of few words, didn’t participate much in their conversation. When dinner was over, she set down her chopsticks and stood up. "You two carry on. I have something to take care of upstairs."
Jasper Lockwood nodded.
After Chloe left, only the two men remained in the dining room, each lost in their own thoughts.
Jasper watched Tristan down another glass. "Maybe you should slow down," he said.
Tristan put down his glass, his dark eyes fixed on Jasper, and said suddenly, "Don’t you have anything you want to tell me?"
Jasper’s expression was placid. "What is it you want to hear?"
’He’d known from the moment Tristan appeared. He already knew everything.’
Tristan laughed. "Did you really think you could hide what you were doing from me?"
Jasper pressed his lips together, saying nothing.
Tristan continued, "I don’t blame you. I know how difficult this situation was for you. This is my fault. I should have listened to you, seized control long ago, and shattered a few pipe dreams. Then none of this would be happening."
Jasper said, "Once you have full control of the Sinclair Group, I’ll compensate you for all your losses."
"I’m not apologizing because of the Sinclair Group’s losses." Tristan looked at him, his face filled with guilt. "...I’m afraid Chloe’s identity is about to be exposed. They don’t know her real identity for sure, but they’re deliberately spreading the news that your secret wife is Lynn Chester. The goal is to draw various powers to move against you.
I’m sorry. I couldn’t stop them. But rest assured, I’ll stand with you. Not everyone at the Sinclair Group is loyal to my dad and that woman. I have people who are loyal to me. I won’t let you fight this battle alone."
