CEO’s Seduction Trap

After a while, Darren was grabbed by the security Mason had arranged beforehand and brought back to face Leila.

Leila greeted him with a gentle smile, “Uncle, why did you stop running? Isn’t that what you do best?”

Leila sometimes genuinely admired Darren.

Darren greeted Leila calmly, “Leila, what a coincidence.”

Leila replied, “Coincidence? Quite a coincidence indeed. So, how much did they pay you?”

Darren didn’t expect Leila to be so direct. “What money? Are you misunderstanding something? I’m just here visiting a friend.”

“Uncle.”

Darren fell silent.

Leila continued, “You don’t want to say? That’s fine. Since you want to be a witness, let’s meet in court.”

Darren said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Leila didn’t say another word. She turned to Mason, “Let’s go back.”

“Okay.”

After they got into the car, Mason lowered the window and gestured with his hand.

The guards holding Darren understood and let go.

Darren stood there, stunned for a few seconds. He pulled out his phone from his pocket and sent a message: [Leila knows I’m in Neo City.]

The reply came instantly: [Did she approach you?]

Darren: [Yes.]

Reply: [What did she say to you?]

Darren looked back on what Leila had just done, feeling bewildered: “She just asked how much you paid me. When I didn’t answer, she left.”

Reply: [?]

Darren: [What do you think she means by that?]

Reply: [Wait and see.]

Meanwhile, since getting into the car, Leila had been looking out the window without saying a word.

After a while, Mason reached over, took her hand, and held it. “What are you thinking about?”

Without turning her head, Leila watched the bustling traffic outside the window. “Nothing much. I just find life amusing. The more you care about something, the more it disappoints you.”

Mason brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. “A few years ago, my grandfather always told me not to be confined to one place, that there’s beauty everywhere in life, but I never learned to see it.”

Leila turned to him, waiting for him to continue.

Mason rubbed her fingers with his lips and then lightly bit the tip of her index finger. “Leila, don’t fall into self-doubt. Don’t let a person or a situation make you question life.”

He paused before adding, “The truly beautiful scenery and the people who truly love you don’t need you to notice them. Even if you ignore them, they will always stay by your side.”

His words were so tender that Leila found herself momentarily overwhelmed.

Mr. Lee called Leila that afternoon. His voice was full of sighs and helplessness. “Leila, you know about your uncle testifying, right?”

Leila was in her office, dealing with paperwork. “Yes, I know.”

Mr. Lee explained, “Regarding this matter, Leila, did you offend someone?”

“Hmm?”

Mr. Lee continued, “Your uncle wasn’t brought in by us; he came to us.”

When Leila didn’t respond, he assumed she didn’t believe him and went on, “At first, I was puzzled when I received your uncle’s call. He introduced himself as your uncle and said he heard about the Nova Group situation from a friend. I didn’t believe him at first, but when he accurately recited your information, I…”

Mr. Lee hesitated. “Leila, you haven’t worked with us for long, but I trust your abilities and character. This whole thing is too strange.”

“Mr. Lee.”

Finally hearing her respond, Mr. Lee quickly said, “Leila, go ahead.”

“What is the company planning to do next?”

“The construction site is undergoing an accident analysis, and compensation is being processed. As for internal issues, they’re still under investigation.”

He paused to take a breath. “You and several others who have been involved with this project are under investigation.”

“Mr. Lee, why did you call me? Just say it directly.”

Mr. Lee wiped the sweat from his forehead with a tissue. “Leila, the company’s initial handling of this matter was indeed inadequate, causing you a lot of unwarranted rumors. Now, the company plans to handle this differently through an internal audit.”

“An internal audit?”

“Yes, an internal audit. Can you come to the company later today to face your uncle in person if you have time?”

Leila paused for a moment and then responded, “Okay.”

When Leila arrived at Nova Group, Darren, who had been playing dumb at noon, was now very excited. He patted Mr. Lee’s desk and said, “If she didn’t do this, I’ll cut off my head and let you all use it as a ball. As her uncle, could I wrong her?”

Leila stood outside the door, listening to Darren’s words, a slight mocking smile appearing on her lips.

She entered the room just as Darren was revealing that Dasha urgently needed money for surgery.

Their eyes met, and Darren’s remaining words got stuck in his throat.

Leila, looking calm, first nodded to Mr. Lee, then walked up to Darren and said, “Uncle, please continue.”

There were not only Mr. Lee in the office, but also two other high-ranking officials whose positions were even higher than Mr. Lee’s.

Mr. Lee coughed twice to ease the atmosphere, then crossed his hands on the desk and looked at Darren, “Mr. Galang, you just said you can prove that the bank card was indeed handled by Leila. What evidence do you have?”

Darren avoided Leila’s gaze, “Of course, I accompanied her to handle the card.”

Leila interrupted in a calm voice, “When?”

Darren frowned, “When what?”

“When did you accompany me to handle that bribery bank card? When did you go with me?”

Darren stuttered for a while, “Just, just recently.”

After saying this, worried that Mr. Lee and the other two executives might doubt him, Darren turned to Leila with a serious face and said earnestly, “Leila, I have already told Mr. Lee about your situation. Your mother needs money for surgery. You did this because…”

Leila interrupted coldly, “I’m currently dating Mason.”

Darren was stunned, “…”

Mr. Lee and the other two executives exchanged glances, all taken aback.

Leila, with a calm expression, continued, “You’re trying to say that my mom needs a lot of money for her kidney surgery, right? But you probably don’t know, Mason helped find my mom’s kidney donor, and I haven’t spent a penny.”Content from NôvelDr(a)ma.Org.

Darren, “…”

“I recently signed a project with Premier Construction through the Ramirez Group, and my commission is three million.”

Darren, “…”

Mr. Lee raised his hand to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead.

Leila continued, “You might say I received the commission later and took bribes earlier, but Mr. Lee knew that…”

As she spoke, her gaze fell on Mr. Lee, “Mr. Lee, you should have been aware of my relationship with Mason.”

“Hehe, yes, somewhat.”

Mr. Lee had originally thought that Leila and Mason’s relationship was just an office fling, a matter of mutual benefit, but he hadn’t expected that they were actually dating.

Mutual benefit and a romantic relationship are two completely different statuses.

No wonder at the police station yesterday…

“With such resources at my disposal, why would I risk doing something illegal?”

Darren thought for a moment and said, “You say you two are dating, but is that really the case?”

Leila took out her phone from her pocket and dialed a number in front of him.

When the call connected, Leila put it on speaker.

“Mason.”

Mason responded in a deep voice, “Yes?”

“Do you want to get married?”