Mr. CEO, You Look Strangely Familiar

"Why...?"

"Life isn’t a TV drama. You don’t just get forgiven that easily. Besides, I think my mom’s heart has been worn down. How can a heart riddled with wounds ever heal? It’s an outcome that’s impossible to accept, deep down."

"Then doesn’t that mean your dad will...?"

Nora Ainsworth answered calmly, "That will depend on my mom’s own decision..."

Nicholas Ainsworth arrived in Grestin and was led to see Toby Dalton.

When Toby Dalton saw him, he asked, "What are you doing here?"

"I haven’t been able to contact you for the past few days. I was getting worried."

Toby sounded weak. "Worried about what? The plan is proceeding as usual. It’s just... going to be delayed, I’m afraid."

"Why?"

"I have more important things to take care of. Besides, dealing with Quentin Grant isn’t something that can be done overnight. You just need to wait for the right opportunity."

Nicholas Ainsworth nodded. Seeing how pale Toby was, he asked, "Are you... all right?"

"I’m fine. If there’s nothing else, you should head back. We can’t risk being seen together and having the plan fall through."

Nicholas Ainsworth agreed. "Alright. By the way, were you behind what happened to Quentin Grant’s child?"

Toby’s eyes flickered. "Yes. And that’s not all. I was also the one who spread the news about Jean Grant becoming a nun. The moment I did, two people from the Grant family died. It proves our methods are effective. When Jean Grant was married to you, you really handled things poorly. If you had just brainwashed her and turned her into one of us, she would have been somewhat useful, instead of just using a scandal to put you on the defensive."

"She... wasn’t as stupid as I expected. I underestimated her."

Toby waved his hand impatiently. "Leave for your country now. Don’t linger here. Once Quentin Grant finds out we’re working together, he’ll definitely attack and try to catch us off guard."

Nicholas nodded. "Alright. Just one thing, Young Master Dalton... don’t always trust women. There are too many examples of them screwing things up."

Toby didn’t say anything, just let out a stifled grunt.

’He knew that lesson all too well now. Saphira Sutton had cost him his manhood!’

’He was letting her off easy by not killing her on the spot. Even though she was a woman he liked, he still hated her guts.’

Nicholas Ainsworth rushed here, and then rushed back. He spent the entire day on a plane.

By the time he arrived in Alveria, it was already dark.

When he returned to the Ainsworth estate, he found that Mr. Ainsworth, who was usually in the living room watching TV, was uncharacteristically absent.

"Sharon, where’s our dad?"

"I don’t know. I haven’t seen him all day."

Nicholas sat on the sofa and crossed his legs. "Is he upstairs?"

"No, I already checked."

Nicholas took out his phone and called Mr. Ainsworth, but the call just kept ringing without anyone picking up.

He glanced at the clock on the wall. It was only eight o’clock, so he decided to wait.

The clock went TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK, all the way to ten, but there was still no sign of him. Nicholas suddenly remembered what Mr. Ainsworth had said before he left that morning.

He shot to his feet and hurried outside.

He drove to an upscale neighborhood and, just as he suspected, saw his father’s car parked in front of Quentin Grant’s house.

He took a deep breath, walked up to the main gate, and rang the doorbell several times in a row.

The gate opened. "I need to see Nora Ainsworth and Quentin Grant."

"We’ve certainly had a lot of visitors looking for our Young Master and Young Madam today. It’s the middle of the night; they’re already asleep. Come back tomorrow."

Nicholas blocked the gate. "I have to see them tonight. Let me in!"

"Young Master Ainsworth, this is not the place for you to cause trouble. If you know what’s good for you, come back tomorrow!"

The gate closed. A cold, sinister light flickered in Nicholas’s eyes, looking all the more eerie in the dead of night.

He had no choice but to return to the Ainsworth estate.

Sharon saw his terrifying expression and immediately asked, "Brother, what’s wrong?"

"Dad’s car is at Quentin Grant’s house."

Hearing this, Sharon was confused. "What would Dad be doing at Quentin Grant’s house?"

"It’s because of Miss Callahan. Quentin Grant had her killed."

"What!" Sharon found it utterly unbelievable. "Why would they kill Miss Callahan? What kind of deep-seated hatred would make them kill someone?"

"There’s a reason, obviously. I just went to Quentin Grant’s house, but I couldn’t get in. I’ll have to wait until tomorrow."

"Brother, I’ll go with you first thing tomorrow morning."

Nicholas was agitated. "Okay. Go to bed for now."

Sharon turned to leave, but Nicholas asked, "Sharon, how are things between you and Martin lately?"

"They’re... just okay."

Nicholas nodded. "Alright, go get some sleep."

「The night was pitch-black, so dark you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face.」

Toby Dalton got out of bed.

After several days of recuperation, he could finally walk again.

"Someone, come here."

The door opened with a CREAK, and two men entered. "Young Master Dalton, what are your orders?"

"Bring me the key to the room Saphira Sutton used to stay in."

"Yes, Young Master Dalton. One moment."

Two minutes later, a set of keys was placed in his palm.

Feeling their slight coolness, he clenched the keys and left his room.

He walked to the room where she used to stay. Saphira had returned a while ago, but Toby had rarely let her stay in his own room. To think, the one time he did... it resulted in him losing his manhood.

His steps were heavy as he walked, one after another.

He opened her door, reached out to flip on the light, and saw that the bedding was a mess.

He walked to the bedside, his gaze falling on the trash can.

The box for a pack of birth control pills was lying inside.

He bent down, reached out, and picked it up. Just as he’d thought. It confirmed his suspicions.

Clenching the box tightly, Toby’s eyes grew colder. He turned and strode out of the room.

He went straight to the place where she was being held captive.

It was a well-appointed guest room.

Even though she had destroyed his manhood, and even though he hated her for it, he still hadn’t mistreated her.

Saphira Sutton, who had been asleep, woke up immediately at the sound of the door.

The light was a bit blinding. When she saw Toby, she excitedly got out of bed.

"Toby, are you here to let me out?"

Toby walked up to her, and with a single slap, he used all his strength, knocking Saphira straight to the ground.

She let out a shriek and slowly picked herself up off the floor.

Clutching her face, she looked at him. "You... you hit me again..."

"What a fucking bitch!"

He turned, pulled out his phone, and quickly dialed a number. "Is this Dr. Lawrence? Send someone over to pick up a person."

Hearing this, Saphira had no idea why he was calling a doctor or what he was planning to do.

Her usual arrogance instantly crumbled into a desperate plea. "Toby, what are you going to do? Don’t do this to me. I told you, I have no memory of it at all. Why won’t you believe me?"

"Right, you have ’no memory of it.’ You asked me to remove the security camera in my room before, wasn’t that just so you could use ’I have no memory’ as an excuse? If the camera was still there, wouldn’t the truth have come to light by now?"

"Saying you didn’t want what we did in bed to be made into a video..." He practically spat the words through gritted teeth.

The series of events was too coincidental. Toby couldn’t believe it wasn’t intentional. It was all too obvious.

"I asked you to get rid of the camera because I didn’t want to feel like I was being watched all the time! Is that wrong?"

"Stop making excuses, Saphira. I trusted you again and again. Not only did you do this to me, but you also kept saying that if I helped you, you would show your determination to be with me forever by having my child. Heh. Then what is this?" He threw the birth control box from his left hand at her face.

Saphira flinched. She looked down and saw the empty box. A wave of regret washed over her. ’I should have hidden it better.’

"Do you have anything else to say?"

Saphira lifted her face. "I have nothing to say. That birth control box is mine, and I’m the one who took the pills."

"Young Master Dalton, the people Dr. Lawrence sent are here."

"Good. Put her in the car. I’ll go with them."

"Yes, sir."

Two men seized Saphira. She screamed, "What are you going to do to me, Toby Dalton? Are you trying to kill me?"

Toby didn’t speak. He just followed her and got into the car with her.

Because Saphira kept screaming and shouting, Toby sealed her mouth with tape.

The car drove toward the city hospital.

It was late at night, and there were very few cars on the streets.

When they arrived at the hospital, Saphira was forcibly taken to the obstetrics and gynecology department.

"Young Master Dalton." Dr. Lawrence bowed to him.

"What’s the earliest you can test for pregnancy?"

"We can test for it a week after sexual intercourse. An ultrasound won’t be able to detect it this early, so we’ll have to run other lab tests."

"Okay. Test this woman to see if she’s pregnant."

"Understood."

Toby sat in the office and waited. He smoked several cigarettes before the results came back.

Dr. Lawrence spoke as soon as he entered. "The woman is not pregnant."

It seemed to be the expected outcome, but Toby needed to hear it with his own ears to finally give up all hope.

"I see."

He turned and walked away.

As he stepped out of the hospital, thunder suddenly cracked across the sky. It looked like it was about to rain.

Saphira was forced into the back seat of the car, and Toby sat down next to her.

He didn’t speak, so naturally, neither did Saphira, even though the tape had been torn from her mouth.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to speak; she was too scared to.

In that moment, she realized just how terrifying he could be, especially now.

’She had wondered what he was going to do to her, never expecting him to have her tested for pregnancy. He must be so disappointed with the result. After all, he could never have sex again, nor could he have children of his own.’

For a man, could anything be more cruel?

Finally, Saphira couldn’t stand the heart-pounding terror any longer.

"Toby, even though I took birth control pills, I was counting on you to help me get my revenge. I had no reason to do something that would obviously make you hate me. I’ve been thinking it over, and I’m sure I didn’t do it. Someone else is the one who hurt you."

Toby remained silent, seemingly trying to suppress his emotions.

"Toby, it really wasn’t me..."

Before she could finish, his hand shot out and clamped around her neck. In the darkness, his eyes were glacial.