Chapter 6

She made it sound as though she were worried Sean wouldn't show up.

Sean paused, a slight frown forming between his brows.

"The Wynns raised you, Wendy. You owe them something for that."

Wendy had already reached the stairs. She turned to look at him.

"During my three years abroad, I went through everything the Wynns spent on me. I know they gave me the best of everything growing up, but I never bought any property or expensive jewelry. So I transferred two million dollars to them to repay what they spent raising me. If they want to sue me over it, I'll represent myself in court."

She'd studied law, after all. She could handle her own defense and save herself the legal fees.

There had been a time when Wendy was so emotionally battered that she could barely hold herself together.

She'd cared too much about what those people thought of her. Every cruel word they'd spoken had cut her to the bone.

But she'd finally learned to separate herself from them, no matter how much it hurt.

Two million dollars to settle everything she owed the Wynns.

And a signed divorce agreement to put her past with Sean behind her.

She looked at him and gave a faint smile.

"Sean, I'm really sorry about the way I behaved before. I mistook how much I depended on you for love..."

Before she could finish, Sean turned away.

"Do whatever you want."

His voice was ice-cold.

Even his retreating figure seemed to radiate an unapproachable chill.

Liam quickly picked up the folder containing the divorce agreement and followed him.

He genuinely admired how Mrs. Shaw could stand there smiling and speaking so calmly under that kind of pressure from his boss.

A moment ago, Liam had felt as though two mountains were pressing down on his head.

A chill had run down his spine.

It wasn't until they were outside that he finally dared to breathe a little easier.

Not long after Wendy went upstairs, her phone rang.

It was Grace Grant.

"The news department is having dinner together tonight. We sent you the address ages ago. Didn't you see it?"

Wendy really hadn't.

She checked her messages and found that the address had been sent only ten minutes earlier.

The sender was Susan Hayes, the young woman who'd helped her settle in at the station.

Susan was still an intern.

Wendy should have been informed about the dinner before the workday ended, but the message had only just arrived.

Susan followed up with a nervous explanation.

‘I’m so sorry. I should've told you hours ago. The department head says you absolutely have to come. Would you like me to pick you up?’

It was obvious Susan had been given strict orders.

If Wendy didn't show up, the poor girl probably wouldn't make it through her internship.

That was how cruel the workplace could be.

Wendy had no intention of letting someone else suffer because of her.

She typed a quick reply.

‘I’ll be there in thirty minutes.’

Susan nearly cried with relief.

She immediately turned to the others waiting at the restaurant.

"Wendy said she'll be here in half an hour."

Grace was surrounded by several coworkers.

After storming out of the station that morning, she'd gone straight to a close friend to vent about what had happened.

As it turned out, that friend was Sophie Spencer.

Sophie worked at the same television station, hosting a popular celebrity talk show.

She had more than seven million followers on social media.

She frequently posted pictures of herself with famous actors and musicians, which kept her in the public eye.

Once, a popular celebrity had mocked Sophie for constantly using famous people's names to attract attention to her show.

But that very day, photos of Sophie having dinner with Sean Shaw had gone viral.

Shaw Corporation's public relations team responded almost immediately, confirming that Sophie was Sean's adopted sister.

Why would Sean Shaw's sister need to use celebrities for publicity?

The revelation had left the celebrity and Sophie's critics thoroughly embarrassed.

And thanks to her connection to Sean, Sophie had gained another three million followers.

After that, celebrities who appeared on her show treated her with the utmost respect.

As far as everyone was concerned, Sophie was a wealthy princess pursuing television hosting as a hobby.

With someone as powerful as Sean Shaw behind her, she certainly didn't need to work in front of the cameras.

People assumed she must genuinely love what she did.

Sean himself never agreed to interviews.

In fact, the only television appearance he'd ever made was on Sophie's talk show.

Rumor had it that the ratings that night had gone through the roof.

The episode had made Sophie a household name almost overnight, and she remained one of the station's most sought-after hosts.

Still, plenty of people had questioned why Sean and Sophie had different last names if they were siblings.

Neither side had ever offered an explanation.

That only fueled the rumors.

Some said Sophie wasn't really Sean's sister at all, but a woman he'd taken under his wing.

Offending other people might leave you with a chance of getting away with it.

But offending Sophie meant making an enemy of Sean Shaw himself.

And that was a risk few people were willing to take.

Earlier that evening, Grace had poured out her frustrations to Sophie.

The moment Sophie heard Wendy's name, she'd asked Grace to repeat it several times.

Then she'd pulled up a photo of Wendy.

"Is this her?"

Grace's eyes flashed with resentment.

"Yes! That's her! Who knows which executive she slept with to get the job? With a face like that, I wouldn't put anything past her. And the way she just waltzed in and took my position? Whoever she's hooked up with must have some serious influence."

Sophie had always been popular at the station.

Whenever someone was bullied or treated unfairly, she was the first to stand up for them.

To her coworkers, she was the perfect woman. Kind, approachable, and completely free of the arrogance people expected from someone of her background.

Her only weakness was her poor health.

Her fans saw her much the same way.

To them, she was practically a saint. Humble, generous, and always eager to support charitable causes.

But Sophie had never expected Wendy to start working at the television station.

And in the news department, of all places.

Had Wendy followed her here on purpose?

The thought almost made Sophie laugh.

So Wendy had been pretending not to care about Sean, while secretly being so consumed by jealousy that she'd followed Sophie all the way to her workplace.

How pathetic.

This television station was Sophie's territory.

She'd make sure Wendy regretted coming here.

Sophie gently patted Grace on the shoulder and sighed.

"There's something I heard, but you absolutely can't tell anyone. I was having dinner with your deputy department head a while ago, and someone mentioned he'd recently started keeping a woman on the side..."

She quickly shook her head.

"But of course, I have no idea whether that woman is Wendy."

The deputy department head was the second most powerful person in their department.

He had considerable influence.

He was also nearly fifty, overweight, and thoroughly unpleasant.

He might not have been balding, but everything about him screamed sleazy middle-aged man.

He had a habit of touching women inappropriately.

Unfortunately, he also had powerful connections of his own.

Otherwise, the women he'd harassed would have reported him long ago.

Grace's face twisted with disgust.

"I can't believe she'd stoop that low just to get ahead. She must be desperate to sleep with someone like him. Doesn't she have any shame?"

Sophie quickly caught her hand.

"Grace, I only heard it in passing. Besides, isn't the station about to appoint a new president? You really shouldn't stir up trouble right now. Things could get out of hand."

But Sophie's warning had given Grace an idea.

The station was in the middle of a leadership transition, and everyone could feel the tension.

Senior management had repeatedly instructed staff to hold off on major decisions until the new president was appointed.

And the deputy department head happened to have connections to several of the candidates.

A spark of excitement flashed in Grace's eyes.

She gave a cold smile, as though a plan had just occurred to her.

Sophie's lips curved into a faint smile.

After all, she'd never actually said Wendy was the woman being kept by the deputy department head.

That was entirely Grace's own assumption.

Back in the private dining room, everyone was still waiting for Wendy.

They'd spent the evening expressing their outrage on Grace's behalf, and now they were united in their resentment.

Every hostile gaze was fixed on the door.

That was when Wendy walked in.

It was November, and the weather had begun to turn cold.

She wore a simple cashmere dress with a pale yellow vest layered over it and a hat on her head.

She hadn't dressed up for the occasion.

Even her makeup was minimal.

Yet the moment she stepped inside, her beauty seemed to brighten the entire room.

For a few seconds, everyone was so stunned that they couldn't bring themselves to say anything nasty.

Sophie pressed her lips together in anger.

Of course she knew Wendy was beautiful.

She'd been jealous of that face since they were children.

And tonight, Wendy had clearly dressed this way on purpose, making herself look so soft and effortlessly lovely!

Jealousy surged through Sophie.

She reached over and tugged at Grace's arm.

Grace immediately rose to her feet and pushed three glasses of alcohol toward Wendy.

"Since you're late, you can start by downing three drinks. That's only fair, right?"