I'm Afraid I Won't Be Able to Leave

Mason Grant sat on the sofa, silently watching Liam Peyton. After a long moment, he finally spoke. "Wynn, I just want to know one thing. Regarding those reporters from Kingsford on your opening day—did you know about them beforehand?"

"What do you mean? Are you suspecting I arranged for those reporters?" Liam Peyton’s brow furrowed slightly.

"No."

Mason Grant looked at Liam Peyton, his phoenix eyes—nearly identical to Leah Sinclair’s—filled with a hint of uncertainty. "My parents already looked into it. Those reporters followed you to Riverfall. What I mean is... did you know beforehand that they were going to be waiting for you at the hotel entrance that day?"

Liam Peyton lit a cigarette and spoke slowly. "If you think I knew about it beforehand, do you really believe I would have brought Leah out with me completely unprepared?"

"But you’re in love with my sister. If she and Asher didn’t have such a strong relationship, this incident definitely would have affected them. It could have caused all sorts of misunderstandings, and you..."

Mason Grant didn’t finish his sentence, but he knew Liam Peyton understood his meaning. Liam Peyton laughed.

But his smile was somewhat bitter. "Mason, you’ve known me for so long. Is that really the kind of person you think I am? I do love Leah, it’s true. But as long as she’s happy, the person standing by her side doesn’t have to be me."

Mason Grant stared intently at Liam Peyton, who met his gaze with an open and honest expression. Mason gradually felt that he had gone too far. ’How could I suspect Liam knew, just because of my own uncertainty?’

"I’m sorry, Wynn. I... I shouldn’t have suspected you."

"It’s fine. I know you and Leah are very close. It’s natural for you to be worried about her. If it were me and Cecilia, I would have the same reaction in this situation."

Liam Peyton smiled, which only made Mason Grant more embarrassed. "Well, Wynn, I have to go buy some supplements for my sister. I’ll get going. See you another time."

"Okay. Your sister must be doing much better now, right?"

"Yeah, she’s already able to walk around. She couldn’t sit still today and even went to the office."

As Mason Grant spoke, he stood up. The thought gave him a headache; he figured Leah Sinclair would probably go to the office again tomorrow. Liam Peyton smiled, patted his shoulder, and saw him out.

The two ran into Phoebe Peyton at the office door. Mason Grant greeted her and left.

Phoebe Peyton followed Liam Peyton inside. "Brother, take a look at this document. If there are no issues, just sign it."

Liam Peyton took it and looked it over, asking in a seemingly casual tone, "Cecilia said she had made dinner plans with you yesterday. Why didn’t you go?"

Phoebe Peyton sighed. "Oh, a last-minute important dinner came up. It was with Novus, you know, the one I’ve been trying to schedule a meeting with for ages? They suddenly agreed to have dinner yesterday, so... Is Cecilia upset? It’s my fault, I know. She rarely comes back for a visit, and I bailed on her after promising to have dinner."

"It’s fine. She just mentioned it in passing. It’s signed."

Liam Peyton handed the document back to Phoebe Peyton. Phoebe smiled, promised she would definitely have dinner with Cecilia Peyton today, and then left. After leaving, she quickly returned to her own office and called her assistant in.

"I don’t care what you have to do, you have to lock down that meeting with Novus for tomorrow. Also, if my brother asks, tell him I had dinner with Novus yesterday. Got it?"

Her assistant didn’t understand why, but seeing the serious expression on Phoebe Peyton’s face, they immediately agreed.

Phoebe Peyton sat back in her chair and breathed a sigh of relief. She had been with Morgan Sterling last night. Because of the last incident, Morgan felt he had suffered a heavy loss, and the two had been fighting for days. She knew she was somewhat in the wrong.

She was indeed the one who had brought the reporters from Kingsford, but she hadn’t expected them to be so uncontrollable.

Yesterday, Morgan Sterling had finally agreed to meet. They were entangled all night, and Morgan, as if venting his frustration, was particularly rough, leaving her almost unable to get out of bed today.

But the thought of what she had overheard outside Liam Peyton’s office just now excited her all over again. She quickly sent a message to Morgan Sterling: "Come find me tonight."

"Want more already? I guess I wasn’t trying hard enough yesterday."

Phoebe Peyton thought about all the things Morgan Sterling did last night, how he had whispered "Phoebe" in her ear over and over, and her cheeks flushed slightly. "What are you talking about? I have something serious to tell you."

Morgan Sterling replied after a moment. "The night is long. How long does this ’serious’ business need? I can see right through that little mind of yours. But... Phoebe is indeed very alluring."

Phoebe Peyton scoffed playfully. ’This man really knows how to coax and flirt.’ She sighed softly. If it weren’t for Asher Keating, marrying Morgan Sterling wouldn’t be a bad idea.

The Sterling Group wasn’t on par with the Keatings anymore, but it was still considered number two in Riverfall.

After Phoebe Peyton left, Liam Peyton leaned back in his chair, lit a cigarette, and smoked it slowly. Mason Grant’s earlier words had left him feeling a little disheartened.

In truth, his assistant had told him about the reporters at the beginning of the banquet. There were a few familiar faces outside, but he was used to it and told his assistant to ignore them.

When he draped his own jacket over Leah Sinclair’s shoulders and was about to have the driver take her home, he had hesitated for a split second, wondering if he should have his assistant escort her out instead of doing it himself.

He knew that if he was the one to see her out, the news would be all over the headlines the next day. But the hesitation lasted only for that split second; he still escorted her out himself.

’Yes, what if Leah Sinclair and Asher Keating’s relationship wasn’t strong enough?’

’What if... I still had a chance?’

A knock on the door pulled Liam Peyton from his thoughts. "President Peyton, regarding Miss Phoebe, we found a place she has been frequenting recently—a house in the western suburbs. We haven’t been able to find out who she’s meeting, but the owner of that house is Aaron Keating."

"Aaron Keating, Asher Keating’s second older brother? Wasn’t he sent abroad to recuperate?"

Liam Peyton was very surprised. When Asher Keating had first started to move against him, he had sent Aaron Keating out of the country. The official story was that his second brother was in poor health.

But anyone in the know understood: the recuperation was a pretense, and the house arrest was real.

"Yes, Aaron Keating is indeed abroad. Someone else must be using that house."

"Then keep investigating. Anyone who can use Aaron Keating’s house must be someone close to him."

After the assistant left, Liam Peyton’s brow furrowed tightly. He recalled the night of the banquet, when he had been in the garden. After finishing a call and preparing to head back, he had overheard a man and a woman talking about Asher Keating and Phoebe Peyton.

Leah Sinclair must have overheard it that night, too. That would explain why she was so distraught. When he took her to the hospital, the doctor said it was due to extreme emotional fluctuations and acute stress.

’Asher Keating should have dealt with all of Aaron Keating’s properties. But what if the person using that house now was Asher himself? Then what exactly... is his relationship with Phoebe Peyton right now?’

When Asher Keating got home that evening, he told Leah Sinclair that he was leaving on a business trip the next day for an inspection project at a branch office.

"How long will you be gone?"

"Three days, if things go smoothly."

Leah Sinclair was a little bummed. "Does that mean you won’t be back for the weekend?"