My Fiancé's Scandals Never End, So I Married His Uncle Instead

Chapter 176: Courting Death

The assistant replied in a low voice, "I’ll arrange it right away."

He paused. "Young Master Wyatt, what about Miss Anly? Should we probe a little more? We might get something else out of her."

Wyatt Sutton had already run a background check on the woman he’d only been seeing for a few days. She was an opportunistic and selfish person who’d had a hard life. After entering the workforce, she became obsessed with finding a rich man to live a life of luxury. His status as the eldest son of the prestigious Sutton Family had her on the hook in less than a day.

But this woman wasn’t easy to handle. Even while watching him and Sutton the Second fight tooth and nail, she had held out hope that she could do nothing and still swoop in to become the chairman’s wife. It wasn’t until Sutton the Second took over and he was forced out that she finally panicked. Even then, she only coughed up a few little secrets. Wyatt Sutton knew that with her methods, she definitely had more information than that.

"I don’t have time to waste on her." Wyatt Sutton’s voice was cool, laced with a faint cruelty. "As for her remaining value, have your men see to it that she’s squeezed dry."

With that, he got into the car and lit a cigarette.

’The name ’Celia Sterling’ drifted through his mind.’

’Summer Sutton’s signature wasn’t on her own stock transfer agreement, but Celia Sterling’s was. Interesting.’

He still remembered that girl.

At the banquet at Sterling Manor in Metropia, the bright and captivating eldest daughter of the Sterling Family had been an arresting presence, even among a crowd of dazzling socialites. He hadn’t been standing far away. He watched as Kian Sterling, a man notorious for doting on his sister, stood chatting with Celia Sterling. The eyes of the cold and unfeeling Ninth Master held only her.

Yet, that girl was also the treasured wife of Silas Norwood, the man in charge of Metropia’s Norwood Family.

Both Kian Sterling and Silas Norwood were people Wyatt Sutton couldn’t afford to provoke. Because of this, he had to tread carefully and couldn’t investigate the matter too brazenly.

"Be discreet." He blew out a smoke ring, his brow furrowed as he gave the order to his assistant. "It’s better to find nothing than to alert Kian Sterling and Silas Norwood."

While Wyatt Sutton schemed in the shadows, the newly appointed puppet chairman, Brian Sutton, wasn’t idle either. The moment he finished the handover of the group’s operations, he started to settle old scores.

"Are you sure Summer Sutton has been cast aside by Kian Sterling?" he asked his assistant again, needing confirmation.

"Our people have been investigating in Oakhaven for several days," the assistant confirmed. "Kian Sterling has revoked all the resources he gave Summer Sutton and has had no further contact with her whatsoever. A couple of days ago, she was injured in a wire-harness accident, and Kian Sterling’s side completely ignored it. They must have had a complete falling-out."

"That bitch Summer Sutton!" Without Kian Sterling as his backer, Second Young Master Sutton immediately got cocky. "Get me all the media outlets in Port Sovereign. And set up a meeting with the chairman of her old company, Star Sovereign Entertainment. I want her so utterly ruined and discredited, with nowhere left to turn, that she’ll come begging me with her shares."

That very night, gossip about Summer Sutton flooded the media in Port Sovereign:

[Kenneth Sutton, Chairman of Sutton Group, Passes Away; Eldest Daughter Summer Sutton Skips Funeral]

[Popular Starlet, A Cold-Blooded and Unfilial Daughter?]

[Absent for Father’s Death? A Look Back at the Ungrateful Wretch Summer Sutton’s Past in Port Sovereign]

[Innocent and Inspiring Persona Crumbles? Defiant and Unfilial, Scammed Shares and Fled Port Sovereign, Now Backstabbing Her Own Brother]

[Former Company Majestic Entertainment Personally Joins the Fray, Ripping Off Summer Sutton’s Vile Mask]

...

Summer Sutton, who was still on location filming a night scene, received the news from Anne Lowell immediately. She sat down in her spartan dressing room, opened the various media apps on her phone, and was met with a deluge of malicious reports about herself. Her expression stiffened slightly.

Anne Lowell was frantic. "You’ve had such bad luck these past few months. With your emotional intelligence, it shouldn’t have come to this, but somehow you’ve ended up with a series of missteps. Now that The Ninth Master is no longer involved in your affairs, the people in Port Sovereign have seized on it. They’re throwing all sorts of mud at you, and public opinion is completely on Second Young Master Sutton’s side. What are we going to do?"

Summer Sutton closed her eyes. "I’m going to call The Ninth Master right now."

"You think that will still work with The Ninth Master?" Anne Lowell was skeptical. "Ever since you came back from Port Sovereign, he’s obviously been treating you like a complete stranger, with no contact at all..."

Since returning from Port Sovereign, Summer Sutton seemed like a different person in Anne Lowell’s eyes. Before, with Kian Sterling backing her, she wouldn’t even glance at anything less than the absolute best resources, being incredibly picky. Now, however, she had suddenly become grounded, taking on any difficult or exhausting role, turning herself into a complete workaholic. When asked, she would only reply faintly:

"I no longer have the luxury of being willful. I have to rely on myself for everything. It’s time to be sensible."

Anne Lowell realized that the person who used to mention The Ninth Master at the drop of a hat hadn’t brought him up once in all the days since she’d returned to Oakhaven. It was easy to imagine how distant their relationship had become.

’Would The Ninth Master still confront the high society of Port Sovereign for her?’

"He will," Summer Sutton answered with certainty. "He doesn’t care about me as a person, but he will absolutely not tolerate the ’Summer Sutton’ identity being tarnished."

Anne Lowell didn’t fully understand. But Summer Sutton was recalling her last meeting with Kian Sterling at the villa in Port Sovereign’s Blackwater Creek. She didn’t know why Kian Sterling needed a stand-in, but she had seen in his attitude how much importance he placed on the ’Summer Sutton’ identity. ’That’s right. If he didn’t need me to be a stand-in, why would the cold and unfeeling Kian Sterling have spent so much effort on me all these years?’

「Metropia.」

「Sterling Group.」

As before, it was Evan Rhodes who answered the phone. "Miss Sutton, there is no need for you to worry. The Boss is already aware of this matter and will handle it accordingly."

"In that case, please thank The Ninth Master for me, Assistant Rhodes," came Summer Sutton’s polite voice, after which she sensibly hung up.

Kian Sterling was lounging in his office chair, a cigarette held between his long fingers. The smoke blurred his features slightly, but his eyes emanated a bone-chilling cold.

"Boss." Evan Rhodes had been on speakerphone, so he didn’t repeat Summer Sutton’s words, simply asking respectfully, "What do you need me to do?"

Evan Rhodes knew who the real Summer Sutton was.

So naturally, he knew there was no way Kian Sterling would ignore this.

"Get me a list of all the partners for Port Sovereign Sutton Group’s recent major projects, and of the media outlets spreading these rumors." Kian Sterling slowly stubbed out his cigarette. "Arrange a flight. I’m flying to Port Sovereign tomorrow morning."

"Yes, sir."

「Jade Orchid Manor.」

Silas Norwood held Celia Sterling in his arms as they fished by the lake, both of them holding the same fishing rod.

While waiting for a fish to bite, Celia Sterling scrolled through her phone, her brow furrowing slightly. "How did so much negative news about Summer Sutton pop up overnight?"

Silas Norwood glanced down, scrolling through a few pages with her.

"The Sutton Family is so shameless! Those bastards abandoned their wife and daughter!" Celia Sterling snorted coldly.

Silas Norwood hummed in agreement but said nothing more. He fished with her for a little longer before they both stood up. "It’s getting late. Let’s go back to our room."

Back in their room, Celia Sterling took her bathrobe and went into the bathroom.

Silas Norwood walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, listening to the enticing sound of running water from the bathroom as he slowly dialed a number.

"Take down the trending topics about Summer Sutton."

He paused. "And have the chairmen of the media outlets that spread those rumors come to Metropia to have morning tea with me personally."

To make it in time for morning tea, they would have to set off overnight.

The entertainment industries of the mainland and Port Sovereign were different systems, but for someone of Silas Norwood’s stature, the entertainment world was just one of many resources under his control. Extending his influence into the Port Sovereign media was as easy as lifting a finger.

On the other end of the line, Theo Chambers hesitated. "Is this about Summer Sutton? Boss, I heard Chairman Sterling is already handling it. You don’t have any connection to Miss Sutton. If you act rashly, I’m afraid the Madame might get the wrong idea."

"Are you telling me how to do my job?"

Theo Chambers immediately fell silent.

After hanging up, an inscrutable light flashed in Silas Norwood’s light-colored eyes.

’Anything connected to my wife must not be sullied. Not even an identity she has cast aside.’