Home / To Trust the Council or the Comments / Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

All Chapters of To Trust the Council or the Comments: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

9 Chapters

Chapter 1

"Truth or dare?" my stepsister, Giselle Chatham, asked as she looked at me with a half-smile.In my mind, the stern, aged voice that called itself the Council boomed, "Choose truth! Giselle is testing you! She's about to ask if you stole her ruby necklace. You must admit it in front of everyone! Your father values honesty above all else—confessing will prove you're a forthright young lady!"My hands on my knees tightened. Her ruby necklace? I had never even seen it before!Then, before my eyes, a flood of red bullet comments scrolled past frantically."Don't listen to the old fart! Whatever you do, don't admit it!""If you admit it, you'll be branded a thief!"The voice in my head and the words before my eyes clashed, making my temples throb."Addy?" Giselle tilted her head and asked in a sweet and innocent voice, "Why aren't you saying anything? Are you really hiding an unspeakable secret?"The Council in my mind grew furious. "You fool! Why are you hesitating? You've utterly

Chapter 2

The maids glanced sideways, and Giselle smirked, waiting to see how Maxwell would humiliate me.But the next second, a soft sigh came from above me. A pair of warm, large hands gently cradled my wrists.Maxwell crouched down. Those almond eyes that always carried a mocking glint now held nothing but heartache. "How could I possibly let you do something like this?"He firmly helped me to my feet and, in front of everyone, bent down to brush the dust off my knees. "You're the heiress of the Chatham family, and more than that, you're my fiancée. You should never be on your knees."Giselle's smile froze instantly, her eyes full of disbelief.The Council exclaimed excitedly in my head, "See that? That's meeting strength with gentleness! Men really fall for this! The moment you show weakness, it'll tug at his heartstrings!"I lowered my eyes. "Yes, Mr. Hudson."The bullet comments went wild."He's acting! The look in this man's eyes is off!""Adriana Chatham! You've fallen into a tr

Chapter 3

The day before the banquet, James had an evening gown made specially for me, and he even hired the best stylist in the city for me. Giselle was so jealous that she spent the entire afternoon smashing things up.At dinner, her eyes were red-rimmed as she said, "Dad, I want an art studio. I've looked everywhere, but I just can't seem to find a suitable place..."James frowned. "There are plenty of empty rooms at home. Just pick one."Giselle looked at me. "That's not it. I've got my eye on that vacant plot downtown. The lighting and environment there are great, but... the land is in Addy's name."My movements paused. My maternal grandfather had left that plot of land to my mother, and she had legally signed it over to me. It was also the only core asset I had in my hands, with a market value of at least a billion dollars.The bullet comments exploded instantly."Isn't that...? Ugh, I can't remember!""Whatever you do, just don't give it to her! This is your last card!"James was

Chapter 4

I pushed through the crowd and walked toward the main stage. The crowd automatically parted for me.Giselle rushed up, pretending to be concerned, and grabbed my hand. "Addy! Don't act impulsively! If you lose, your whole life will be over! Let me do it!"Although she offered to sign it, she made no move to approach the document."Get lost!" the Council roared. "That bitch is putting on a show to steal the credit! Push her away!"I flung Giselle off, with enough force to almost knock her over. "Gigi, if you're afraid, then just stand back and watch!"I broke into a light run and charged onto the stage. James, moved to tears, hugged me and patted my back hard. "Oh, my child! Only you are a true child of the Chatham family! Gigi has been spoiled rotten! Trust you to step up to save the family!"The audience below offered only scattered applause, most of them whispering among themselves."Has the heiress lost her mind? Will she really sign a doomed agreement like this?""James is

Chapter 5

Everyone followed my gaze and stared fixedly at the agreement.My signature was now fading at a visible speed, turning pink, then becoming transparent.In less than ten seconds, the signature column was blank again."What... What's going on?" Giselle shrieked. She lunged forward to snatch the agreement, frantically rubbing her fingers over the blank space as if trying to make the writing reappear.She looked up at me, her eyes bulging. "Where's the name? Where's your name, Adriana? You clearly signed it!"James was equally stunned. He seized the agreement and examined it repeatedly, even holding it up to the light. Still, it remained blank."Disappearing ink..." Maxwell, who was clearly more exposed to the world, muttered. His expression darkened, and he said, "Mr. Chatham, this fine daughter of yours plays a rather clever magic trick."I unhurriedly pulled a fountain pen out of my clutch. "Dad, weren't you the one who taught me that we had to be honest? So what's the story wi

Chapter 6

The red wine ran down James' face. He stood there frozen, probably never suffering such humiliation in his entire life. Giselle shrieked and charged at me, intending to strike. "Adriana Chatham, you mad bitch!"I backhanded her with a slap. Putting all my strength into it, I sent her spinning on the spot. "This is for ruining my mom's topaz pendant."Before she could steady herself, I kicked her in the stomach. "And this is for all those snide social media posts of yours!"Giselle let out a scream and collapsed to the ground, clutching her stomach, unable to get up.Maxwell stood to the side, his expression shifting. He had dropped the act, no longer pretending to be infatuated with me.He adjusted his cuffs, trying to maintain his last shred of dignity. "Ms. Adriana, I do sympathize with your situation, but this is your family's internal affair. Since the collaboration can't be reached, we'll just leave it at that. However, the transfer agreement for that plot of land has alrea

Chapter 7

The banquet was completely ruined, but the real show had only just begun.James' phone also started ringing nonstop—all from banks and shareholders."Mr. Chatham! It's terrible! Our stock price has crashed 80%! It's already hit the limit down!""Mr. Chatham! The banks say they're pulling all our loans! They demand immediate repayment!"James answered the calls with trembling hands, and cold sweat poured down his forehead. "How could this happen...? How could it be so fast...?" Then, his gaze fell on me, and he demanded, "Was it you? You did this?"I sat in the main seat, idly turning the maxed-out black card between my fingers."Dad, did you forget? This is Chatham Corporation's corporate credit card, linked to the company's pool of liquid funds. To make the act convincing, you gave it the highest spending limit and waived the secondary verification requirement."With this card, I leveraged my position 50 to one in the overseas market and shorted the company's stock. Then, usi

Chapter 8

Maxwell stiffened when I called him. He turned around, and that face which had once been arrogant beyond measure was now plastered with a fawning, insincere smile. "Add... I mean, Ms. Adriana."He even tried to straighten his disheveled tie. "It was all a misunderstanding before. I was deceived by that bitch, Giselle. You know, deep down, I've always admired you. I think you're an exceptionally resilient young lady.""Admired me?" I walked up to him, my gaze landing on those polished leather shoes of his. "You admired me so much that you made me get on my knees and change your shoes for you?"Maxwell's expression changed. With a thud, he dropped to his knees. His movements were so practiced that it was almost pitiful. "I was wrong, Addy! I should have known better!"He began frantically slapping his own face. "I'm the bastard! I'm despicable! For the sake of the long-standing friendship between our two families, please spare the Hudson family!"The livestream's revelations had s

Chapter 9

Three months later, in the CEO's office on the top floor of Chatham Corporation, I stood before the massive floor-to-ceiling window, looking down at Silverlake City beneath my feet.This place had once been an unattainable dream, but now, it had become something that rested in the palm of my hand.My secretary, Bella Ludins, knocked and entered. "Ms. Chatham, here is the financial report for this quarter. Also... there's news from the care facility."I turned around, took the report, and flipped through it casually. "Carry on.""James suffered a stroke and is now paralyzed. I heard that while he was in the detention center, he kept shouting at the air about some council every day. His cellmates got sick of the noise and beat him up, and the sudden shock and rage caused him to..."I raised an eyebrow. "What a pity. What about Giselle?""She was sentenced to 12 years of imprisonment. She behaved badly in prison, often going berserk and claiming she was an heiress to a prestigious f

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