Mr. CEO, You Look Strangely Familiar

Holly Wood put her phone down and said, ”The author isn’t going to pay any attention to someone who reads pirated copies and then complains. They work themselves to death all day just to get cursed out by readers like you. Give it a rest, will you?”

June Walsh scoffed. ”What does her working to death have to do with me? We read the same novels, so how come you get to be the heroine of a romance, and I can’t even land a supporting role? Holly, teach me how to snag a rich guy like Leon Lynch.”

Holly looked at her. ”You’ve been wanting to ask me this the whole time we’ve been sharing a bed tonight, haven’t you? But I really don’t have any secret. I didn’t even intentionally try to get close to him.”

”Impossible,” June Walsh said, unconvinced. ”If you weren’t trying to get close to him, would you have gone to work at his company? And here I thought we were best friends. You find yourself a rich guy and won’t even tell me the secret.”

Holly was at a loss for words. ”I never lie, you know that. I don’t even know how we started dating. He’s my first boyfriend. I’ve never been in a relationship before. I’m not lying to you.”

June Walsh could only say, ”Fine, let’s go to sleep.”

Holly hummed in agreement and turned off the light.

The next morning at work, while cleaning Leon Lynch’s private lounge, Holly took the opportunity to ask him, ”I was wondering if you’re free tonight?”

Leon looked at her with a smile. ”Why? Planning on getting a room?”

Holly’s face instantly flushed. Leon found her bashful reaction especially charming.

”I told my family about us. My mom wants to invite you over for dinner tonight, but I don’t know if you’re...”

”Okay.”

”Really?” Holly looked up, her eyes sparkling.

”Of course.”

Holly nodded. ”Okay.”

She was in high spirits all day.

She couldn’t wait for the day to be over.

When it was finally five-thirty, Leon drove her to the Prosperity District in Westgate.

The car stopped downstairs from her building.

Leon had bought a lot of gifts, which made Holly feel a little embarrassed. ”I didn’t bring anything when I went to your house.”

”It’s fine. My family has everything; you don’t need to buy anything.”

”I’ll make it up to you next time,” she said with a laugh as they went upstairs together.

When she pushed the door open, Holly was surprised to see June Walsh was still there.

”Holly, you’re back?” June stood up and walked over. ”Wow, you bought so much. Here, let me get that.”

She took the gifts. Leon recognized June. Although they had only met once, her bizarre behavior at the movie theater had left a lasting impression on him.

Holly’s parents immediately stood up. ”Leon, you’re here! Come, have a seat.”

Leon nodded. ”Mr. and Mrs. Wood, please, don’t stand on ceremony.”

The moment Mrs. Wood saw Leon, she thought her daughter was truly lucky.

The man exuded an air of refined elegance, from the inside out. One look was enough to know he was no ordinary person.

Mrs. Wood had prepared a table full of dishes early on, just waiting for Leon to arrive.

Now that he was here, the family all sat down together.

June Walsh was being especially attentive. ”President Lynch, I’d like to propose a toast to you.”

Leon raised his glass, turning to Holly’s parents. ”I’d like to toast you both.”

”Of course, of course.” Mrs. Wood and Mr. Wood quickly raised their glasses to toast with him, leaving June holding her glass up awkwardly.

Everyone seemed to enjoy the meal.

Leon didn’t drink much. As he was leaving, he remarked to Holly how warm her parents were.

He rolled down the car window and beckoned to Holly, who was standing outside.

She leaned in. ”Drive safe.”

He let out a low hum, then wrapped his arm around her neck and gave her a light kiss on the lips. His voice was a little hoarse. ”Good night.”

”Good night.”

He sat up straight as the window rolled up, then turned the car around and drove away.

Back upstairs, Holly saw June sitting on the sofa with a sour expression.

Holly walked over, but as she reached out to touch her, June shot to her feet, shrugging her off. Without a word, she stormed out the door.

Mr. Wood was puzzled. ”What’s wrong with June?”

Mrs. Wood spoke up at once. ”I saw it a mile away. Something’s not right with her. She’s just jealous of our Holly. She used to not even visit once a month, always making Holly meet her downstairs because she thought our place was dirty. Then yesterday she comes over to sleep here, and tonight she’s back for dinner. Didn’t you see how she was fawning all over Leon this evening? Her intentions are as clear as day. Heh.”

Mr. Wood looked thoughtful but said nothing more.

Holly returned to her room, opened the window, and looked down. The sky outside was void of any light, pitch-black like the end of the world.

She didn’t know if the future would hold a guiding light for them to continue on their path together, but she would pour her heart and soul into making it work. Because she wanted to be with him.

That was the biggest reason of all.

「A week later」

A full week passed, yet Quentin Grant had still not given Toby Dalton any kind of response regarding the photos.

This greatly surprised Toby Dalton.

He’d had Quentin Grant’s movements monitored and found that aside from going to the office and back home, he wasn’t doing anything suspicious.

He was completely baffled.

So, he had no choice but to mail another photo to Quentin Grant. On the enclosed note, he wrote: *If you do not come to Grestin in person to negotiate within one month, I will make my move on Nora Ainsworth’s biological mother. You won’t even get a body back.*

After sending the package, Toby Dalton waited confidently in Grestin for Quentin Grant to arrive.

But another week passed with no reaction whatsoever.

The April weather was already starting to heat up.

The air in the dungeon was stuffy and stagnant, and the smell was foul.

Toby figured Quentin Grant probably thought the woman wasn’t Nora Ainsworth’s real mother, but Claire Sinclair in disguise. So, he personally took a voice recorder to the dungeon entrance.

Standing at the main entrance, he felt reluctant to go in.

But after a moment’s hesitation, he stepped inside.

He wound his way through several passages before arriving at an iron door.

Toby Dalton uttered three words. ”Open the door.”

His subordinate immediately took out a key and unlocked the door.

He ducked inside.

The woman sitting on the tattered mattress was as filthy as ever, her hair matted. When she heard the door creak open and someone enter, she didn’t even lift her head.

Toby Dalton crouched down, took out a photograph, and placed it in front of her. ”Do you know who this is?”

She glanced at it, then looked away.

”Perhaps you can’t tell from just a photo. Fine, I’ll tell you myself. Her name is Nora Ainsworth, a celebrity in Fravia. She was thought to be Joel Chaucer’s daughter, but Joel isn’t her biological mother. She’s the baby girl Joel Chaucer took from a Grant family banquet twenty-five years ago...”

Faye Sinclair’s head snapped up, and she finally spoke, her voice trembling with emotion. ”What did you say? She’s... She’s my daughter!”

Toby Dalton laughed with abandon. ”That’s right. She’s your eldest daughter. If you don’t believe me, take a look at this.”

He handed her the newspaper containing Mr. Ainsworth’s public statement. ”It’s all over the papers, so it must be true.”

Faye Sinclair clutched the newspaper to her chest with both hands. She closed her eyes as two streams of tears flowed down her cheeks.

Finally, she broke down, sobbing uncontrollably. ”My Nina is alive... my Nina...”

Toby Dalton said, ”She is indeed alive. She even has twin sons with the Grant family’s eldest son, Quentin Grant. I sent your photo to him, but the couple remains unmoved. They don’t have the slightest intention of saving you.”

Faye Sinclair was silent. At last, she said, ”I won’t blame them even if they don’t save me. Leave now. I want to be alone.”

”I sent them a message, you know. There are twenty-one days left. If they don’t come for you by then, I’ll have no choice but to send you on your way.”

He stood up, turned, and walked out the door.

He then turned off the voice recorder, returned to his room, and sent the audio file to Quentin Grant’s private email.

Afterward, he closed his laptop, leaned back complacently in his chair, and shut his eyes.

Catherine Callahan gently pushed the door open. Toby’s eyes snapped open, his gaze sharp. ”Who let you in?”

Catherine Callahan flinched before saying, ”I came to ask a favor of you, Mr. Dalton.”

His expression was alert. ”What is it?”

”My face was disfigured. I want to get plastic surgery. Can you help me find a good hospital, Mr. Dalton?”

Toby stood up, shoved his hands into his pockets, and walked over to her, raising an eyebrow. ”You want plastic surgery?”

”Yes.”

”You’ve had work done on your face once before, haven’t you?” he asked, scrutinizing her.

”I... had it done once before,” Catherine Callahan admitted.

”Since you’ve already had work done, and it’s been ruined, reconstructive surgery will be very difficult.”

Catherine grew worried. ”Is there any good solution?”

”There is a solution, but you have to promise me one thing first.”

Catherine blurted out, ”You want me to get surgery to look like Nora Ainsworth?”

Toby sneered. ”You think getting surgery to look like her makes you her? Don’t be so naive. Quentin Grant isn’t a fool. He’s not as stupid as he was with Luna Ainsworth, to the point he couldn’t even recognize his own wife. I guarantee it. Let’s not even mention that plastic surgery isn’t advanced enough to make you a perfect double—this isn’t cloning. Even if you were absolutely identical, Quentin would see through you in less than an hour, and he’d tear you to shreds.”

Catherine’s face fell. ”Then what’s the one thing you want me to promise, Mr. Dalton?”

”What I want you to do is use your new face to go to the Ainsworth family.”

Catherine was confused. ”You want me to go back to the Ainsworth family? They’ll recognize my voice.”

”Not the Ainsworths in Valeria. The Ainsworths in Fravia.”

Catherine instantly knew who he meant. ”What do you want me to do at the Ainsworth family’s home?”

He smiled, his eyes narrowing. ”Mrs. Grant was the one who had your face disfigured. The Grant family is responsible for everything that’s happened to you. Wouldn’t you like to see the Grant Group utterly destroyed, to see it fall into new hands?”

Catherine was startled. ”You want to...”

”That’s right,” he admitted freely. ”The Grant Group is a very fat prize. An ordinary tiger couldn’t swallow it whole, but if you gnaw at it slowly, one day you’ll devour the entire thing. So, if you promise me that from now on, you’ll do whatever I ask without objection, I’ll pour money into giving you a brand-new face and a new identity.”

”Okay.” ’As long as I can get rid of this ugly face, I’ll do anything.’

Toby’s lips curved into a smile. ”Good. I’ll arrange the hospital for you this afternoon.”