After I Died, the Scumbag Went Mad

Chapter 128: Chapter 128: The Mysterious Person Erin Whittaker Wants to Curry Favor With

A woman like Erin Whittaker appears fragile and kind in the eyes of any man. She’s the type to stir a man’s protective instincts, making them trust her unconditionally.

Back then, Julian Fletcher, Jake Abbott, and the others all chose to believe Erin Whittaker, not me.

However, her Magic seemed to have no effect on Asher.

Asher didn’t buy any of her fragile expressions.

In Asher’s eyes, she was like a demon.

For some reason, I felt a sense of satisfaction. Someone had finally seen through Erin Whittaker’s facade to her true nature.

Even if Asher was the ”madman” everyone claimed he was.

But in this world of truths and lies, who’s to say who the truly mad one is?

And who gets to define what ”normal” is, anyway?

”Don’t provoke Asher. If he loses control and kills you, you’ll have it coming,” I reminded Erin Whittaker coolly.

Erin Whittaker was clearly afraid of Asher. She took two steps back to a safe distance and lowered her voice. ”Silvia Lynch, are you sure... you don’t want to talk with me about Cecilia Caldwell?”

I patted Asher’s hand. ”Wait for me here. Be good.”

Asher seemed reluctant, but seeing my insistence, he nodded and let go.

I moved to Erin Whittaker’s side. ”Let’s go.”

Asher frowned and glanced at a bodyguard watching us from a short distance away. ”Follow her.”

”But what about you...?” the bodyguard asked quietly.

”Don’t worry about me.” Asher was sending the bodyguard to protect me.

Before entering the stairwell, I glanced back at Asher. He was sitting quietly on the bench, looking like he was waiting for me to take him home.

Once inside the stairwell, I looked at Erin Whittaker. ”If you have something to say, spit it out.”

”I don’t recall saying I’d tell you for free,” Erin Whittaker said, her voice hoarse.

What happened to Julian Fletcher had clearly hit her hard.

”What do you want?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

”Something happened to Julian. I want you to use your connection to the Lancaster family to guarantee my safety.” ’She really has some nerve,’ I thought.

Her audacity made me laugh. ”Hah? Who the hell do you think you are? You want me to use the Lancaster family’s name to protect you? Are you an endangered species? Or do you take me for some bleeding-heart animal lover?”

Erin Whittaker gritted her teeth. ”Silvia Lynch, you can be as sharp-tongued as you like. I may not have direct evidence linking you to a murderer, but this business of you imitating Cecilia Caldwell, studying her every move just to seduce Sebastian Lancaster... the truth will always come out!”

”Don’t worry, your skin is so thick that even my sharp tongue can’t bite through it,” I retorted flatly.

I angered Erin Whittaker so much that her carefully crafted persona almost shattered. She lost control and blurted out, ”Cecilia Caldwell and Asher were the ones who were dating! Cecilia lost part of her memory. The person she loved was never Julian Fletcher—it was Asher!”

I frowned, my heart tightening. But how much of what Erin Whittaker said could be trusted? ”What’s your goal in telling me all this?”

”Since you’re so set on imitating Cecilia Caldwell, then stop haunting Julian Fletcher and trying to seduce him. Julian is mine... You can’t be so greedy. You can’t have both Sebastian Lancaster and Julian Fletcher.” She sounded jealous.

She probably never expected that after getting rid of Cecilia Caldwell, another woman—Silvia Lynch—would suddenly get in her way.

Now, with this unexpected wrench in her plans, Julian Fletcher still refused to marry her.

After all, the Whittaker family was her adoptive family. They had raised her, yes, but they weren’t about to give her much in the way of assets or inheritance. She had to fight for everything herself.

Her desperation to marry Julian Fletcher was all about latching onto his power and marrying into a wealthy, influential family.

”Spit it out or don’t. If you’re not going to talk, then forget it. What’s your problem?” I cursed under my breath, frowning as I turned to leave.

Erin Whittaker probably didn’t expect me to be so blunt. She quickly reached out and held the stairwell door shut. ”Silvia Lynch!”

Her face was ghastly pale, completely drained of color.

I knew she was getting desperate. Julian Fletcher was in trouble and still hadn’t woken up. Ash had been caught, but several other assailants were still at large... There was no one left to protect her.

”Erin Whittaker, I’ve never seen someone ask for a favor so arrogantly,” I sneered, leaning against the door. ”Since you’re here to beg for my protection, you’d better start acting like it.”

Erin Whittaker gritted her teeth. ”What do you want?”

I raised an eyebrow. ”If you’re begging, then why aren’t you kneeling?”

My voice was low and cold as I stared at her.

I still remembered how, before my death, Erin Whittaker had framed me for pushing her down the stairs, and Julian Fletcher had forced me to kneel before her.

There had been so many people in that hospital room, watching...

Erin Whittaker glared at me furiously. ”Silvia Lynch!”

I snorted. ”If you can’t do it, then you’re on your own.”

I pushed her aside. I didn’t believe a single word of her so-called secrets, so why was I wasting my time with her?

”Silvia Lynch! I’ll kneel! But the Lancaster family isn’t the only one in Meridia who can protect me. You’ve heard of the president of Astraeus Group in Cygnus, haven’t you?” She was clearly cornered, probably not having expected that with Julian Fletcher out of commission, no one would be there to help her. ”He’s been helping Julian for years. If I go and beg him, he’ll help me too!”

She seemed quite confident.

She was smart. Across the entire business world, aside from Astraeus Group, which had suddenly risen to prominence in Cygnus years ago, the Lancaster family was practically unrivaled.

Although the Fletcher Group’s value had skyrocketed after Julian Fletcher took over, his personal net worth still only ranked fifth.

Still, Julian Fletcher was already a legend in the business world; after all, he was the youngest person in the top ten of the wealth rankings.

The Lancaster family, on the other hand, had dominated the top of that list for nearly a decade, only to be suddenly surpassed by Astraeus Group three years ago. Since then, the family patriarch has remained in second place.

The founder behind this abruptly rising corporation was a complete mystery. There were no media reports on him, and no industry insiders knew him personally. Erin Whittaker was well aware that with her current means, landing a man like Julian Fletcher was her absolute peak. She had thought she could use this opportunity to marry into the Fletcher family, becoming Mrs. Julian Fletcher, the wife of the president of the Fletcher Group.

Unfortunately for her, even with Cecilia Caldwell dead, she still couldn’t get her wish.

Now that something had happened to Julian Fletcher, Erin Whittaker knew that both the Lancaster family and the president of Astraeus Group had the power to protect her.

However, the president of Astraeus Group was currently far beyond her reach.

”I heard you’ve been using your connection to Julian Fletcher to ask around about the president of Astraeus Group. I have to say, I’m also quite interested in this god-like figure.” I sneered. ’I used to think Erin Whittaker was so in love with Julian, but now I’m finally seeing her true colors.’ ”A distant well can’t quench a present thirst. If you could really get him to help you, you wouldn’t have come to me.”

Once she realized Julian Fletcher might not marry her, she started using him as a stepping stone.

Too bad for her, the president of Astraeus Group was famously mysterious.

It was impossible for Erin Whittaker to get in touch with him; even Julian Fletcher himself had been turned away at the door.

When Julian Fletcher first took over the company, Astraeus was on the rise and was exceptionally supportive of the Fletcher Group. You could say Julian met a powerful benefactor, which is how he was able to stabilize his position and lead the Fletcher Group to where it is today.

His benefactor was the mysterious president of Astraeus Group.

Everyone speculated that Julian Fletcher must have some kind of connection to the president of Astraeus Group, and many people deliberately tried to get on Julian’s good side in the hopes of building a relationship with the president.

But only I knew the truth: the president of Astraeus Group refused to even meet with Julian Fletcher.

Julian Fletcher had once personally gone to Cygnus to pay him a visit, only to be turned away at the door. He was in a foul mood for a long time after that.

He didn’t know who the mysterious president behind Astraeus Group was, or why the man would help him but refuse to meet him. That’s why whenever someone deliberately got close to Julian, only to subtly inquire about the president of Astraeus, his mood would turn absolutely foul.

I, too, had once been incredibly curious. Who on earth was this president of Astraeus Group? In just three short years, he had surpassed the Lancaster family to become a titan of the business world.

He was a legendary figure, nothing short of a business prodigy.

Every move he made seemed to ride the winds of progress. He was the one setting the trends in the business world. Several of the most popular, household-name apps today were all developed by him. Sunrise Pharmaceuticals and Starlight Media were also his. Then, in less than a year, he acquired the nation’s top domestic car brand. Real estate, pharmaceuticals, food, entertainment—he was in a league of his own, leaving everyone else in the dust.

Erin Whittaker’s face was pale as she stared at me. ”The president of Astraeus Group is a mystery. No one has ever seen him... Are you trying to get in with him, too?”