After a moment's hesitation, Celia Sterling answered, "Declan Nash."
The background on his end was a noisy, chaotic mining site. Declan Nash still had that same roguish, devil-may-care look about him, but his flamboyant, deep-brown layered hair was as messy as a bird's nest. He had a woolen overcoat thrown haphazardly over his rock-and-roll style t-shirt.
It was a sweltering summer in Metropia, but on the screen, it looked like a harsh winter.
"Babe, you haven't wanted to see me for the past few days. You're not answering my texts, and you won't pick up my video calls." Declan Nash's voice was clearly agitated, yet also laced with an obvious attempt to suck up. "If you keep ignoring me, I'm going to fly back and camp out at the front gate of your villa to wait for you."
Celia Sterling's tone was distant. "Where are you?"
"Solisia." Declan Nash panned his phone around, revealing several tall, powerfully built Black men. "One of our family's mines over here ran into a small problem, and I don't know what got into my dad, but he sent me out here to hold down the fort."
At this, Declan Nash started playing the victim. "It was a twenty-hour flight, I almost went crazy. Then I get here and there's a huge mess waiting for me. I can't get used to the food, and I've already lost a couple of pounds in less than a day."
He was nagging and clingy, just as he'd always been.
'But how could things between them ever be the same?'
Celia Sterling gently cut him off. "Declan Nash, there's something I need to tell you. I'm not sure if the Norwood Family has informed you yet."
Declan Nash leaned lazily against a large rock, casually toying with the skull necklace around his neck. "Go ahead, babe. I'm all ears."
Celia: "We've already called off—"
BEEP— The video call abruptly ended.
Celia: "..."
'He hung up so fast.'
'Does that mean he already knew, or did he not?'
「Nightfall in Port Sovereign.」
The highly private Wyvern Bay Villa.
Kian Sterling had changed into a vibrant, imperial purple shirt with a subtle pattern. The fashionable ties at his collar intertwined with a flamboyant, luxurious amethyst-gold snake-chain necklace. Under the deliberately dimmed crystal lights, he exuded an aura that was both bewitching and oppressive.
He sat elegantly on the living room sofa, flipping through a stack of documents.
Beside him, his assistant, Evan Rhodes, was brewing tea.
"Ninth Master, from the information we've gathered, Miss Sutton was being frequently tailed by men working for Brian Sutton, the second young master of the Sutton family, around the time of her scandal with Eldest Young Master Norwood."
There was a lot of information, so Evan Rhodes concisely summarized the key points for his boss. "However, there are also suspicious details regarding Young Master Declan Nash. Before he gave Miss Sutton the necklace, that group of rich wastrels from Port Sovereign slipped a small amount of something... stimulating... into his drink."
Kian Sterling's long, elegant fingers toyed with the file. "Who was behind it?"
"It was also the Sutton Family of Port Sovereign—the 'Crown Prince,' Wyatt Sutton," Evan Rhodes said softly. "As the long-lost, legitimate eldest daughter of the Sutton family, Miss Summer Sutton received a significant portion of the company's shares. This makes her a threat to the inheritance rights of the family's illegitimate children. And since she has your support, they wanted to use this incident to ruin her reputation and make her lose you, her powerful backer."
Kian Sterling sneered. "Just what I'd expect from the nanny's offspring. All they know are these shabby, underhanded tricks."
Evan Rhodes hesitated, as if wanting to say more.
Kian Sterling shot him a look. "Speak."
Evan Rhodes hesitated. "However, Miss Summer Sutton checked the club's high-profile client reservation list in advance. Her visit to Eldest Young Master Norwood's private room couldn't be called a mistake. Her drink was also tainted, but it seems she was aware and never touched it."
Kian Sterling scoffed, "Heh."
Evan Rhodes respectfully offered him tea in a gilded cup and continued, "Furthermore, Miss Sutton was the one who paid to get that topic about Young Master Declan Nash trending online. It's just that Young Master Declan Nash discovered it in time and had it removed quickly. It was only up for a little over ten minutes."
Kian Sterling swirled the shimmering, iridescent teacup in his hand, saying nothing. His gaze was glacial, making the already prominent beauty mark at the corner of his eye seem all the more vivid.
The villa's housekeeper personally brought over a plate of exquisite desserts.
"Ninth Master," the housekeeper said, both solicitous and cautious. "Miss Sutton made these herself this morning. Knowing you enjoy sweets, she found the best pastry chef in Port Sovereign and learned to make dozens of different kinds. She didn't know you were coming today; she makes a fresh plate every morning, just hoping you might stop by and be able to enjoy them."
Kian Sterling said nothing.
The housekeeper continued effusively, "Ninth Master, you haven't been to Port Sovereign to see Miss Sutton in three months. She misses you terribly. She's had a whole collection of clothes and jewelry custom-made, all with your and her initials on them. Several times I've seen her pick up her phone, wanting to text you, only to put it down, afraid of being a bother. She gets so conflicted her eyes turn red."
"I'm aware," Kian Sterling said, his voice faint and utterly unmoved. "You're dismissed."
The housekeeper acknowledged the dismissal, arranged the colorful desserts on the table, and withdrew, looking as though she had more to say.
Flipping through the documents, Kian Sterling slowly asked Evan Rhodes, "When did Butler Coleman start working here?"
"You personally selected her for Miss Sutton when she was six," Evan Rhodes replied. "She has been working at the villa for sixteen years now."
Kian Sterling hummed. "So, she's been with Summer Sutton for that long."
Evan Rhodes knew his boss had more to say, so he waited in silence.
Kian Sterling continued, "Her loyalties lie completely with Summer Sutton now. She's forgotten who signs her paychecks. Replace her."
Evan Rhodes knew that the housekeeper's words, whether intentional or not, had been an attempt to pave the way for Summer Sutton, and they had angered the mercurial master before him.
He bowed his head. "I will arrange for a new housekeeper to replace Butler Coleman within three days."
Kian Sterling tapped his fingers on the armrest. "Also, arrange for four bodyguards to watch Summer Sutton around the clock. Don't let that pack of rats from the Sutton family find any openings."
Evan Rhodes couldn't tell if his master cared about Summer Sutton or not. All he knew was that his boss was more unpredictable than the Port Sovereign weather. "Understood, Ninth Master."
He then recalled another matter. "An hour ago, the Norwood Group sent over their latest marriage alliance proposal. A digital copy is in your email. But given that Young Master Declan Nash was clearly set up, is it still necessary to switch fiancés?"
"Switch? Of course we're switching," Kian Sterling mocked. "He couldn't even avoid a pathetic little scheme like that. A man like Declan Nash can't give my Cece the security she needs."
'That Silas Norwood, on the other hand... given his status, he must have faced countless honey traps over the years, yet not a single scandal has ever stuck to him.'
'Cece would have far less to worry about with him.'
'It's just... a man like that, worth hundreds of billions, an aloof and unattainable prize... offering himself in marriage for mere family interests just doesn't add up.'
"Those dozen or so major projects that Justin Norwood brokered back then... given Silas Norwood's cautious nature, he didn't try to block any of them?"
"He didn't," Evan Rhodes answered truthfully, though he didn't know why Kian Sterling had suddenly asked about it. "They went through the normal channels. However, likely because it concerned Young Master Declan Nash's marriage, everything was greenlit. The approval process was significantly faster than for other major projects at the Norwood Group."
'That accelerated approval timeline didn't fit with Silas Norwood's usual way of doing things at all.'
Kian Sterling grew pensive but didn't discuss the topic with his assistant any further.
'There's plenty of time.'
'What is unclear now will eventually be revealed.'
The sky had turned completely dark.
A car slowly approached the villa's main gate. Moments later, the elegant click of high heels echoed in the foyer.
His assistant, Evan Rhodes, had already tactfully withdrawn. The understatedly luxurious wall sconces cast a faint glow. On the sofa, Kian Sterling sat with his long legs casually crossed, his handsome face half-hidden in the backlight, his expression unreadable.