Chapter 188: Let’s Make a Deal
Madeline Sterling suddenly erupted in a rage. "The night she came back, she was with you! You still like her! Asher Keating, you lied to me!"
Asher Keating’s tone was surprised. "Who told you I was with her that night?"
Madeline Sterling fell silent again. The person who told her Leah Sinclair was with Asher Keating was Tiana Vaughn.
The day after Leah Sinclair returned, Tiana Vaughn had called her, saying she saw Leah. Leah had gone to the Keating Group, and there were hickeys on her neck.
Her suspicious gaze fell on Leah Sinclair. Leah looked back at her and laughed with a hint of mockery. "Madeline Sterling, you’ve been played. The night I came back, I was with my friend the whole time."
"AHHH!!!"
Madeline Sterling screamed and smashed her phone. Asher Keating heard her scream, then the line went dead. His breath caught in his throat. He immediately got in the car, and the group sped toward the G&S Hotel.
Leah’s face was filled with pity. Her voice was weak, yet tinged with a strange sympathy. "Tiana Vaughn is playing you. She likes Asher Keating. She’s been by his side for over two years. How long have I even been with him? Are you an idiot? You believe everything Tiana tells you."
"How can you be so sure the person with Asher Keating that night wasn’t her? Madeline Sterling, she started lying to you a long time ago, all for Asher."
Madeline Sterling’s face flushed then paled. Leah was right. How long had she been with Asher? But Tiana had genuinely been by his side for over two years.
She stumbled out of the room, grabbed another phone, and with trembling hands, opened Tiana Vaughn’s social media feed. Tiana had been posting nonstop for the past few days, with every post about something "Third Brother" had bought her or "Third Brother" had gifted her.
The latest post read: "Third Brother is going to formally introduce me to his friends today. I’m so nervous."
The accompanying photo showed her pursing her lips, but her face was clearly filled with a smile she couldn’t hide.
"That bitch!" The post made Madeline Sterling so angry her entire face turned beet red.
"Baby~ don’t get angry over a bitch. We’re not finished yet. Focus." The man pressed against her again.
Madeline Sterling stared at the face before her, identical to Asher Keating’s, and a dazed smile spread across her lips. "Third Brother, Third Brother..."
The two of them started rolling around together again. The disgusting sounds drilled into Leah’s ears through the open door, and she felt like she was going to be sick again. She had thought that after hearing all that, Madeline would have lost the mood for this.
But she had underestimated the depravity of these two. Leah tried to steady her mind. She didn’t know if Asher had understood what she’d said earlier, or if he could figure out where she was.
Just now, when Madeline had forced her to open her eyes, she had seen the bathrobe torn off the man. There was a logo on the bathrobe’s belt, and she had forced herself to get a clear look.
She could vaguely make out two intertwined letters. Leah remembered it—it was a G&S Hotel bathrobe. The logo had been redesigned previously, and Nathan Grant had sent it to them to look at.
There were currently two G&S Hotels in Riverfall—one was the one where Asher Keating had been drugged before, and the other was where Nathan Grant held his wedding.
Leah gambled that she was in the one where Asher had been drugged. Given Madeline’s twisted psychology, it was even more likely she was in the exact same room. She just didn’t know if Asher would understand her hint.
Everyone converged at the G&S Hotel. Chester Hale and Sheila Hughes had already gone to the security room before the others arrived and confirmed that room 8520 was occupied by a man and a woman, who had checked in a long time ago.
The room wasn’t registered under Madeline Sterling’s name. Chester Hale reviewed a lot of surveillance footage of people entering and exiting that room.
The woman always wore a mask and a hat, but by enlarging screenshots and comparing them to Madeline Sterling’s photos, Chester Hale confirmed it was her. The man was similarly disguised, only more thoroughly, and Chester couldn’t identify him.
And at just past 7 p.m. the day before yesterday, the man had entered the room carrying a woman with a thin blanket over her head. Madeline Sterling had followed them in. So far, no one had come out, except for Madeline, who had opened the door at noon and in the evening to grab takeout.
"What do we do now?" The group discussed their options in the adjacent room.
Asher Keating smoked in silence. He had suggested breaking down the door, but Shawn Grant had shot down the idea. For security reasons, the G&S Hotel had recently completed a comprehensive upgrade of its security systems.
Now, even opening the door a crack from the outside would trigger the alarm. That would definitely alert the people inside. Because of Madeline’s threat to kill Leah, they couldn’t be sure if she had a weapon.
Finally, Asher Keating extinguished his cigarette and said, "I’ll call her. Lure her into opening the door."
"How will you lure her?"
Sheila Hughes asked hurriedly, her eyes swollen like walnuts from crying.
Asher Keating steadied himself and dialed Leah’s phone. After a long time, someone answered. "Third Brother, it looks like you can’t bear to part with this woman after all?"
Madeline had just finished, and her voice was a little hoarse. The moment she saw Asher’s call, she had flown into a rage again. ’Asher is obviously still thinking about Leah!’
"Shawn Grant just called and begged me. I have no choice. You know I’m not yet powerful enough to go against the Grant family," Asher Keating said, his voice cold and detached.
"???"
Shawn Grant, who had been randomly dragged into this, was bewildered. ’He begged me!!!???’
Alright, fine. He had to beg him now.
"Hmph, so what do you want?" Madeline’s voice was laced with sarcasm.
"Let’s make a deal. You’ve always wanted to sleep with me, haven’t you? I’ll spend one night with you, and you let her go. That way, you get what you want, and I can use this to get a favor from the Grant family. It’s not a loss for me."
"..."
Everyone stared at Asher Keating like they were seeing a ghost. ’What the hell kind of deal is this?’
Madeline Sterling fell silent. It was true, she had always, always wanted to sleep with Asher Keating. And the deal he proposed really wasn’t a loss for a man like him. In fact, the Grant family would feel they owed him a huge favor.
Madeline knew just how much Mabel Grant doted on Leah. Back then, the banquet celebrating her return to the family had trended on social media for days.
If Asher Keating humbled himself for Leah’s sake, Mabel Grant would surely remember the gesture, which would bring Asher many benefits.
"I’m only giving you five minutes to think about it, Madeline Sterling. It doesn’t really matter to me whether you agree or not. At worst, I’ll just tell Shawn Grant I did my best. But for you, this is your only chance to sleep with me. Call me back in five minutes and tell me your decision."
Without giving Madeline Sterling a chance to think, Asher Keating hung up the phone.
"Third Brother, are you... sure she’ll agree?"
Ethan Shaw asked hesitantly. While he knew Madeline Sterling had always seemed desperate to sleep with Asher Keating, would she really agree under these circumstances?
"On the phone just now, Leah said something... about ’finding a man like that.’ My guess is Madeline found someone who looks a lot like me."
Asher Keating lit another cigarette. It was only after recalling that sentence from Leah that he’d thought of this plan. In a situation like this, every word Leah said, down to the last syllable, was critically important.
Meanwhile, Madeline, after hanging up, found her heart stirred by Asher’s alluring voice. It sent ripples through her, like ants crawling over her heart, making it itch with anticipation.