Chapter 533: The Reason for Wyatt Thorne's Sudden Wealth

Chloe Sinclair finished speaking and bent over, her slender fingers twisting into Wyatt Thorne’s hair.

Wyatt Thorne’s head was yanked back, and he struggled to angle his gaze upward, glaring viciously at Chloe Sinclair.

He seethed, “Chloe Sinclair, I’ll—”

SLAP! SLAP!

Before Wyatt Thorne could finish, a sharp sting erupted on both of his cheeks.

Chloe Sinclair retracted her hand. “What was it you were about to say?”

Wyatt Thorne, who had a whole slew of threats ready, instantly swallowed his words.

The sight of him made Chloe Sinclair’s stomach turn, so she slapped him twice more.

Chloe Sinclair put a lot of force into it. The two slaps made Wyatt Thorne’s face swell up before his very eyes.

Seeing Wyatt Thorne grimacing in pain, Chloe Sinclair released his hair. He winced, the pain in his jaw so sharp he felt as if he’d lost two teeth.

He struggled to open his eyes and suddenly saw a large clump of hair in Chloe Sinclair’s hand. His eyes flew open, as wide as saucers.

“What are you looking at?” Chloe Sinclair fastidiously picked at the hair in her hand, her expression full of disgust. “Don’t get any ideas. This is yours.”

‘This is the first time I’ve ever beaten someone up like this,’ she thought. ‘I didn’t control my strength and ended up pulling out a huge clump of his hair.’

As Chloe Sinclair spoke, Wyatt Thorne became aware of a searing pain on his scalp.

Wyatt Thorne looked at the young thugs, finally snapping back to reality. “What are you all gawking at? Get over here and beat the hell out of this woman! You want that other fifty bucks or not?”

The thugs became furious when they heard him.

Most of them were students and had little money beyond their living expenses.

This was the first time they’d ever taken on a “job.”

The pay was garbage, and now it was turning into a huge mess.

The thugs were already fed up.

“What are you yelling about? Can’t you see whose side we’re on now?”

One of the thugs continued in a fawning tone, “Our new boss wants to beat you up, so you better take it quietly. If not, I’ll finish you myself!”

These punks had hung around with real tough guys before; they were experts at putting on a good bluff.

A person in their right mind would never have been intimidated.

But Wyatt Thorne had already been beaten senseless by Chloe Sinclair.

For a moment, he actually believed it.

However, the thug didn’t even look at Wyatt, speaking with utter disdain. “Hmph, you cheap bastard. You only gave us two hundred yuan each. Our boss, Drake, doesn’t take jobs for less than a thousand. We don’t give a damn about your other fifty.”

As he spoke, the thug started getting angrier himself.

Wyatt Thorne didn’t know the first thing about how the streets worked. The amount of money he’d offered was like tossing coins to a beggar.

If Chloe Sinclair hadn’t been merciful today, their entire group would have probably ended up in a police station.

He had heard stories about Chloe Sinclair. Once, a dozen adult women had provoked her and ended up getting hauled to the police station. To this day, they still hadn’t been released.

Thank god nothing serious had happened today, or they would’ve been in for a world of hurt.

Chloe Sinclair said, “That’s enough.”

The thug immediately fell silent.

“You lot, pull off his pants and toss his phone.”

The thugs’ eyes lit up. Right in front of Chloe Sinclair, they ripped off Wyatt Thorne’s pants, leaving him in nothing but a pair of underwear worth eighteen thousand yuan.

Chloe Sinclair’s face filled with scorn.

After a single glance, her eyes shifted to Wyatt Thorne’s phone.

It was the latest model from a certain fruit-logoed brand, worth thirteen thousand yuan.

Chloe Sinclair picked up the phone. Just as she was about to throw it, the screen suddenly lit up.

Chloe Sinclair looked closer, her brow furrowing.

L: [Have you gained Chloe Sinclair’s trust?]

Chloe Sinclair’s gaze immediately turned sharp as steel.

“Wyatt Thorne, what is this?”

Wyatt Thorne looked up and saw the message on the screen. His face went deathly pale. He opened his mouth, but no words came out.

“Gain my trust?”

Chloe Sinclair sneered. “Do you underestimate me, or do you just overestimate yourself?”

“Someone like you… trying to earn my trust? Heh…”

Wyatt Thorne felt as if he’d been plunged into an icy abyss, a bone-deep chill spreading through him.

“Who is the other party?” Chloe Sinclair asked bluntly.

Wyatt Thorne kept his head down and remained silent.

Chloe Sinclair’s expression darkened. She lifted her foot and pressed it onto Wyatt Thorne’s face once more.

The dust and blood on his cheek smeared together under her shoe.

Wyatt Thorne’s eyes were bloodshot, but they held more fear than anger.

“I… I don’t know!”

Wyatt Thorne gritted his teeth, refusing to tell the truth.

‘So what if Chloe Sinclair found out?’ he thought. ‘As long as I deny it to the bitter end, what can she possibly do to me?’

‘My phone has custom security software. No normal person can possibly get in.’

Chloe Sinclair tried a few times and realized Wyatt Thorne had done something to the phone.

She crouched down and asked him plainly, “Password.”

Wyatt Thorne snorted and turned his head away, refusing to speak.

After a long moment, Chloe Sinclair sighed.

“I heard you were the poster boy for the computer science department. Is this all you’ve got?”

‘This password is ridiculously simple, isn’t it?’

Wyatt Thorne didn’t believe her. He twisted his head and saw Chloe Sinclair squatting beside him, trying to guess the password.

Wyatt Thorne sneered. “I designed that security. No ordinary person can crack—”

But before the words were even out of his mouth, the phone in Chloe Sinclair’s hands unlocked, displaying all of its contents.

Wyatt Thorne finally began to panic.

“Chloe Sinclair!”

Chloe Sinclair said nothing, opening Wyatt Thorne’s messaging app.

Wyatt Thorne was extremely cautious. He was in constant contact with the mysterious person who had just messaged, but he always deleted the conversation one message at a time.

At a glance, the chat log was completely empty.

But it was precisely because the page was empty that Chloe Sinclair grew suspicious.

“Eight, restore Wyatt Thorne’s chat history.”

Eight was like a computer, but most importantly, it could operate on its own.

Moments later, the chat history between Wyatt Thorne and the mysterious Mr. L was restored, message by message.

Chloe Sinclair read through the conversation from the very first message. As she reached the end, her expression grew increasingly grim.

When she finished the final message, Chloe Sinclair violently threw the phone. It smashed against the concrete floor, shattering into a million pieces.

She had always wondered how Wyatt Thorne had managed to get rich and climb into high society in just a few short years.

‘I never thought he’d be involved in this kind of scheme.’

“Wyatt Thorne, do you have any idea what you’re doing?”

If that data were to be leaked, no one could predict the consequences for the world.

“You’d try to steal that data for a bit of cash? Do you even know Mr. L’s real identity? Do you have any clue what he really wants that data for?”

‘In my past life, Wyatt Thorne was involved with Nina Sinclair. And it was right around the time Jasper Shaw’s data was leaked that Nina would constantly find excuses to come see me.’

‘Back then, I really believed Nina just wanted to visit. But now… I know that’s not true.’

‘Nina must have been after that data, too.’

Chloe Sinclair didn’t know what was in the data, but considering Jasper Shaw’s position, it had to be incredibly important.

It only took a moment of thought for Chloe Sinclair to piece most of it together.

And that was precisely why she was so furious.

But Wyatt Thorne disagreed. “Mr. L is from Zenthia! He and Jasper Shaw are just business rivals.”

The man had promised him two billion yuan as a reward once the job was done.

Since starting college, Wyatt Thorne had lived a life of luxury, with a string of girlfriends eager to be his sugar mama.

A single one of his casual outfits cost more than a typical student’s tuition for three years.

But two billion yuan… that was a sum he could barely even imagine.

With that kind of money, what company couldn’t he start?

Chloe Sinclair scoffed, “He says he’s from Zenthia, so you just believe him? Have you ever even met the man?”

Wyatt Thorne was left speechless.

The truth was, he had never met this Mr. L.

Chloe Sinclair didn’t waste any more words on that. Instead, she asked, “Wyatt Thorne, do you have any idea how many years in prison you’d get if you actually managed to steal this data?”

“Do you even know what’s in that data?”

“This mysterious Mr. L is going to such great lengths to get this information, yet he never shows his face. And you really believe he’s just a business rival of the Shaw Group?”

“Don’t you know that within the country, absolutely no one dares to mess with the Shaw Group?”

Even the security guards at the Shaw Group have impressive backgrounds.

Chloe Sinclair glanced at the phone, now smashed to smithereens on the ground, then at the thugs cowering silently in the corner.

“You lot, come here.” Chloe Sinclair beckoned them over. “Beat him up. Just remember not to hit his face.”

The thugs nodded eagerly, but then one asked, “And after that?”

Chloe Sinclair replied, “You go back to class, of course!”

「Half an hour later.」

Wyatt Thorne lay on the ground, looking as if he’d been dragged through bloody water. His hair was plastered wetly to his scalp.

Chloe Sinclair sat on the dilapidated leather sofa, playing on her phone.

Suddenly, she dialed a number.

“Hello, yes, is this the Emberfall Police Station? My name is Chloe Sinclair. I’d like to report a crime…”

***

By the time she finished giving her statement, the sky had already grown dark.

Black insects danced in the glow of the warm yellow streetlights.

As Chloe Sinclair walked along the side of the road, a white Bentley suddenly pulled up beside her.

Chloe Sinclair’s sharp gaze snapped to the side. Her eyes widened in surprise. “Assistant Winters!”

Ian Winters nodded at her. “Miss Sinclair, please get in.”

Chloe Sinclair didn’t feel like walking anymore. All she wanted was to get back to Jasper Shaw as quickly as possible and to start digging into Mr. L’s real identity.

The moment she got in the car, she told Ian Winters, “Step on it. This is urgent.”

Ian Winters nodded immediately and pressed the accelerator to the floor.

The moment they arrived at the apartment building, Chloe Sinclair jumped out of the car.

“Assistant Winters, thank you for the ride.”

Ian Winters was surprised. He was only following orders by giving her a ride, but he hadn’t expected such a sincere thank you.

Especially since Chloe Sinclair was so beautiful. Under her slightly curled bangs, her eyes seemed to shine, making her look absolutely stunning.

“Assistant Winters, would you like to come in for a bit?”

“Oh, no, thank you. I have another meeting to get to, so I’d better be going.”

Chloe Sinclair nodded. “Alright, drive safe. I’ll tell Jasper Shaw to give you a raise.”

Ian Winters was deeply touched. He nodded several times in agreement before finally driving off.

When she returned to the apartment, the rich aroma of a home-cooked meal immediately greeted her.

Chloe Sinclair scanned the living room, but Jasper Shaw was nowhere to be seen.

The next second, however, a pair of strong arms suddenly wrapped around her from behind.