Chapter 345
His words were so sincere and resolute, making them incredibly convincing
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Everyone just stood there, watching as Thiago smiled and coaxed Ashton and Briar off the yacht like he was comforting two poor children who had been terribly wronged outside.
But as they drove out of sight, accompanied by Frank and Connor, everyone saw the smile on Thiago’s face. instantly disappear.
The change in his expression was flawless.
Everyone was speechless. Yes, this intimidating aura felt right. This was the Director Wade they knew.
Thiago’s sharp gaze swept over the crowd. Seeing their reactions, he gave a cold smile that didn’t reach his
eyes.
He said, “Everyone, I hope what happened on this yacht tonight stays tonight. What do you think?”
Everyone nodded in unison.
“Of course! We didn’t see anything tonight.”
“That’s right! We just came for the party tonight.”
“The wine the Wilson family served tonight must be pretty strong. I’ve only had two glasses, and I’m already so dizzy.”
“You’re drunk too, man? What a coincidence. I’m really drunk too. I can’t even see people clearly.”
“Someone help me! I’m so dizzy I can’t stand.”
Everyone scrambled to make excuses. And Thiago was very straightforward, letting anyone who could come up with an excuse leave the yacht.
The others followed suit, racking their brains for an excuse to get off the yacht.
By the time it was the last person’s turn, all the good and bad excuses had been taken by those who had already left the yacht. He couldn’t think of any excuse.
Then, in a desperate move, he fell to the ground and faked a seizure. With his mouth twisted, he drooled, writhed, and crawled his way off the yacht.
The scene was just painful to watch.
Thiago was speechless.
The secretary standing beside him was trying so hard not to laugh that his face was about to cramp. “Director Wade, it seems your formidable reputation hasn’t diminished at all!”
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Thiago glared at his secretary irritably. “Is that my great reputation? Scaring people into crawling on the ground like maggots?”
The secretary burst out laughing. “I’m sorry. As you know, I’m a highly trained professional. I don’t normally laugh.”
Unless he really couldn’t help it.
Thiago ignored his laughing secretary, waved over another man, and ordered coldly, “Take a team and search every inch of this yacht. Don’t leave a single spot unchecked.”
“Understood.” The man immediately led his team to begin a thorough search of the yacht.
Although they all knew that with Ashton’s skills, he wouldn’t have left any key evidence behind.
But still, they could never be too careful. If they overlooked in the rush, they might miss some piece of evidence that could tie the Wilson family to the crime.
***
On the way back, Connor was driving, and Frank sat in the passenger seat.
In the back seat, Briar and Ashton were glaring at each other.
“Honey, let’s be reasonable. We should share this stack of documents and bills. What’s wrong with giving me my share?” Ashton tried to reason with a stubborn Briar.
But he forgot that a man who tried to reason with his wife was fighting a losing battle.
“What’s wrong? You sound quite unhappy about this!” Briar’s eyes widened. “What? Are you looking for a fight?”
Ashton was at a loss for words. She had mastered the art of being unreasonable.
The moment she said that, all of Ashton’s reasons became invalid.
Ashton knew what was good for him. “I’m sorry. My tone was off. I was wrong.”
When it was time to yield, a man should yield fast and naturally. As for saving face, that was not important. Not at all.
After holding Briar and soothing her for a while, Ashton carefully tried again. “Sweetheart, can I ask where Ian took the documents and bills?”
If she wouldn’t let him read them, maybe she could at least say where they’d gone.
Briar smiled. “I’m sorry. No comment.”
Half an hour ago, Briar received a special text from Ian, one that only internal members of the DDC Vanguard mercenary base would understand.
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[Briar, the files are about Mr. Wade’s secret parentage, but they need to be deciphered first. Please stall Mr. Wade as much as possible. Don’t let him find out where the files went.]
This text was why Briar started acting so unreasonably with Ashton after they got in the car.
Ashton didn’t know this was why Briar was suddenly being so difficult, so he was still patiently trying to soothe her.
By the time they got home, Briar had nearly thrown a full–blown tantrum just to keep him distracted.
To stall Ashton and buy Ian time to decrypt the data, Briar sacrificed too much.
She gave it her all. She even went along with positions she usually resisted.
In the end, she had almost been “done to death” by an overly enthusiastic Ashton.
Briar rubbed her sore body and glared at the peacefully sleeping, deceptively innocent Ashton. “You monster. You were really trying to kill me!”
Grumbling as she might, her goal had been achieved. She had successfully lulled him to sleep.
For Briar, those four–plus hours felt like falling into a paradise of pain and pleasure.
After waiting a while longer to make sure Ashton was sound asleep, Briar slowly and carefully climbed out of bed.
She was afraid that the noise from getting clothes from the walk–in closet would wake Ashton.
Briar didn’t even dare to put on her own clothes. Instead, she grabbed Ashton’s long robe, draped it over herself, and then left the room.
Five minutes after she tiptoed out of the bedroom, Ashton, who had been sound asleep, slowly opened his
eyes.
He ignored his naked body, which was covered in scratches, and walked to the window. Watching Briar sneak out, he tightened his grip on his phone.
Finally, he resisted the impulse to drag Briar back and called Connor.
He said, “Stay with her, protect her, and don’t let her get hurt.”
Connor’s voice was very low. “Understood.”
After leaving the villa, Briar took a winding route and circled around a couple of times. Once she was sure no one was following her, she scaled the wall to leave the community.
Connor stared at the community wall, which was over 15 feet high. He was astonished, thinking about how he had just watched Briar effortlessly scale it from a distance without a running start.
Fortunately, he had secretly recorded a video.
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He then dropped the video into their four–person group chat with the caption: [How many more surprises does she have in store for us?]
The moment the video was posted, Xavion, who was always glued to his computer, was the first to comment. [Wow, that’s our young mistress! Who wouldn’t be impressed by those moves?]
Morton: [So cool!]
Brandon: [Good luck.]
Connor was speechless.
