Chapter 222: Quite the Coincidence to Go Mad

Chapter 222: Chapter 222: Quite the Coincidence to Go Mad

The two of them huddled together and started gossiping about Leah Sinclair. They had all done their share of digging when they first heard she was coming, but many of the details remained a mystery. All they knew was that she had suddenly been taken in by the Grant family a few years ago.

Her life before being acknowledged by her family was a blank slate. Miles Kessler, however, happened to have graduated from the same university as Leah, so he knew a little about her college days.

"Hey, what are you two doing over there? We’re heading to the next floor."

After Juanita Coleman finished her explanation to Leah, she looked up and saw the two of them huddled together. She called them over, and they quickly joined the group, following them down to the next floor.

But the two were just too curious about Leah Sinclair. After they had finished touring the floors, they broke for lunch. Doris Harlow, being the straightforward person she was, couldn’t hold back any longer. "Manager Grant, I hope you don’t mind me asking, but... what were things like for you... before all this?"

At her question, Juanita Coleman also looked over, her own curiosity piqued. Seeing their expectant faces, Leah Sinclair simply smiled and gave them a brief overview of her story.

She didn’t go into detail about being abandoned by the old Mrs. Grant, only mentioning that she had been separated from her family due to an accident years ago. After she finished, the three of them, along with Louise Holt, were all in shock.

’What a surreal storyline. A rich heiress gets separated from her family for over twenty years because of an accident? Is this a TV show?’

"So, Miss Grant," Louise Holt chimed in, joining the gossip, "were you and our President Keating already together before you returned to the Grant family?"

"Yes."

"What? Manager Grant has a boyfriend?" Miles Kessler was stunned.

"What’s so strange about that? Manager Grant is gorgeous; it’s perfectly normal for her to have a boyfriend," Juanita Coleman said, then turned to Leah. "But... President Keating... do you mean *the* President Keating, from the Keating Group?"

"Er, yes."

’They were all dumbfounded. This was getting even more unbelievable. A long-lost heiress, separated from her family for over two decades, somehow also managed to land a powerful CEO.’

’They thought it was a Cinderella story, but it was actually a Snow White plot. Even TV dramas wouldn’t be this bold, right?’

Seeing their dumbfounded faces, Leah Sinclair actually felt a little embarrassed. She urged them to finish their food so they could get back to discussing the renovation plan.

After returning from lunch, the team gathered in Leah Sinclair’s office to discuss the plan. Outside, other employees craned their necks, peering curiously at the closed door.

Someone sidled up to Finn Farrell and whispered, "Manager Flynn, do you think the four of them can actually handle the Peyton Group building renovation?"

Finn Farrell glanced at the closed door and snorted. "Manager Grant is supposedly very capable. We’ll just have to wait and see, won’t we!"

Juanita Coleman was indeed very experienced. Under her guidance, Leah Sinclair’s initially fuzzy concepts began to take shape.

She was also pleasantly surprised to find that while Miles Kessler lacked extensive experience, his technical knowledge was solid. Meanwhile, Doris Harlow had prior renovation experience. With the four of them dividing the work, their progress was much faster than she had anticipated.

At this pace, they could finalize the proposal by the end of the week. Then, they could present it to the Peyton Group. If there were no objections, they could proceed to the next phase.

The others were excited too. None of them had expected such a hastily formed team to work together so seamlessly.

Leah Sinclair didn’t put on any airs, either. When one of her ideas was rejected as impractical, she didn’t get angry in the slightest. Instead, she humbly accepted their feedback.

Seeing how excited they were made Leah Sinclair happy too. "Alright, it’s about time to wrap up for the day," she said. "Tomorrow, Juanita and Doris, you two have more experience, so could you please visit the site one more time? Miles and I will go to the Peyton Group to discuss a few things with them. There are some points we need their final say on."

No one objected. Leah Sinclair packed up her things and left for the day. She was tired, but the afternoon had been so productive that she couldn’t help but pull out the documents to review again in the car.

Louise Holt glanced in the rearview mirror and saw the faint smile on Leah’s lips. ’Miss Grant and President Keating are both such workaholics,’ she mused inwardly. ’Their children will probably be workaholics too. But since they’re both so beautiful, their kids are bound to be gorgeous.’

Asher Keating didn’t come home for dinner that night. After eating, Leah Sinclair called Liam Peyton to schedule a meeting for the next day. However, Liam said he had returned to Kingsford that afternoon and wouldn’t be back for two days. He told her to contact his sister, Phoebe Peyton, instead. Leah had him send Phoebe’s contact information and arranged a meeting with her.

After scheduling the meeting, Leah Sinclair idly scrolled through Phoebe Peyton’s social media feed. She noticed it was quite active, with new posts every day or two. The most recent one, posted just minutes ago, was about a "surprise dinner."

Leah Sinclair thought the restaurant’s decor looked familiar. She enlarged the photo and realized it seemed to be the same place Asher Keating had taken her just the day before. ’This place is pretty popular,’ she mused.

As she swiped through the photos, she noticed a man’s hand in one of them. Leah zoomed in. The fingers were long and slender, with well-defined knuckles. That... was Asher Keating’s hand.

When Asher Keating got home, he saw Leah was still on her tablet. "Still looking over your materials?" he asked.

"Mm-hmm. Did you drink tonight? Do you want some honey water?"

"A little, but not much."

Asher Keating walked over to stroke her hair, but just as he reached out, Leah caught a whiff of another perfume on his sleeve—a fresh, sweet scent. She couldn’t stop herself from sneezing twice. Asher’s hand froze mid-air. He drew it back, saying he was going to take a shower.

When Asher Keating came out of the shower, Leah was already asleep. A glass of honey water sat on his nightstand. He picked it up and slowly drank it, then took out his phone to text Sean Yates: "Throw out that bottle of perfume."

’Sean Yates was completely baffled. When he had brought the perfume over that afternoon for Asher to sample, hadn’t his boss said it was nice? He’d even mentioned giving it to Leah. Why the sudden order to throw it away?’

「The next day was Thomas Sterling’s memorial service.」

When Asher Keating arrived, Ethan Shaw and Riley Sterling were already there. They approached him as soon as he appeared. Asher scanned the attendees and saw only Morgan Sterling and a few Sterling family elders. Jacqueline Vaughn was absent.

Ethan Shaw followed his line of sight, then lowered his voice. "I just heard some of them saying that Aunt Sterling has apparently gone completely mad. She used to be just demented, but now she’s supposedly violent. That’s why Morgan has her tied up at home—he says he’s afraid she’ll hurt someone."

A mocking smile touched Asher Keating’s lips. "One after another... What a convenient time for them all to go mad."

"Right? I think it’s too much of a coincidence, too."

Riley Sterling leaned in closer. "My mom told me she and a few friends went to visit Aunt Sterling a while ago. While she was in the restroom, she saw their maid secretly adding something to the medicine. Do you think... it could be Morgan...?"

"Do you even need to ask? Of course it is!"

Ethan Shaw gasped, then quickly lowered his voice. "That’s ruthless. To his own parents..."