Mr. CEO, You Look Strangely Familiar

She ran with incredible speed. It looked like she was heading for the dining hall, but after a series of twists and turns, she ended up in the garden. By the most incredible coincidence, Dorothy was wide awake in the middle of the night, sitting on a pillar along the corridor, lost in thought.

”Dorothy,” she called out softly.

Dorothy immediately scrambled down and ran toward her on her chubby little legs. ”Mama!”

”Shh! Be quiet. Papa is trying to catch Mama. Don’t say a word. Come with Mama.”

Dorothy Bancroft nodded and followed her mother to the largest river in the Imperial Palace.

The two of them sat down under the bridge, and Chloe Marshall finally let out a sigh of relief.

”Mama, I missed you so, so much,” she whispered, resting her head on Chloe Marshall’s shoulder.

”Mama missed you too.” She hugged her daughter, her voice choked with emotion.

Dorothy Bancroft sensed something was wrong with her mother’s mood, and her face became streaked with tears. ”Papa told me you made a mistake, Mama, and that’s why I couldn’t see you. Tell Dorothy, what did you do wrong?!”

”Mama didn’t do anything wrong. Dorothy, we can’t get out of here.”

”Mama, what are we going to do then?”

”It’s okay, Mama. Dorothy will stay with you.”

A warmth spread through Chloe Marshall’s heart. Just then, the sound of footsteps slowly approached. Her expression tensed. Suddenly, the footsteps stopped.

Chloe Marshall turned her head. A long shadow stood not far from her.

”Come out.” The voice was neutral, not as cold as before.

Holding Dorothy, Chloe Marshall walked out and stood beside him.

”You never used to run this fast. I almost lost you.”

Chloe Marshall looked up at him. ”Will you only let Dorothy and me go after you’ve completely destroyed me?”

”Whether you’re destroyed or not, I will never let go. And Fravia wouldn’t declare war on Harrowin over a single woman, would it?”

”Hah... You underestimate how much Fravia values its national dignity.”

”Men, take Dorothy back to bed. Don’t let my daughter have nightmares.” At his command, the men behind him moved quickly to snatch Dorothy from Chloe Marshall’s arms. Chloe held on for dear life, kicking two of the soldiers away.

More and more soldiers moved in to take the child. Dozens of them swarmed her, quickly wrenching the wailing Dorothy from her grasp and retreating just as fast.

Silence fell once more. Chloe Marshall sat on the ground, a sliver of hatred in her eyes.

”Lillian Bancroft, I have never loathed someone so much in my entire life. Not even Jean Grant, who wronged me, do I hate this much. You... you’ve become the biggest obstacle to my happiness. If one day someone kills you, I will laugh hysterically.”

He stood there, his voice devoid of any emotion. Then he squatted down and forcibly swept her up into his arms. ”It’s late. Let’s go back to sleep.”

A bitter smile touched her lips, but she couldn’t say a word.

*

Just as netizens were heatedly debating the issue and demanding the country use its military might to defend its dignity, Harrowin remained silent.

The internet was in an uproar, and the incident continued to draw widespread attention.

But Harrowin simply issued no statement, ignoring the matter entirely.

Quentin Grant returned from the Capital and met with the Ellsworth Family to discuss their next move.

”Hmm. Lillian Bancroft is being completely obstinate, ignoring the protests from our Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This makes things difficult, but not impossible. If we can get Chloe and Dorothy out of the palace, that in itself would be a major accomplishment.”

Ethan Ellsworth felt there was a way forward. ”He wouldn’t gamble with the safety of his entire nation. And our higher-ups won’t let this go. If this hadn’t blown up in the media, maybe they wouldn’t have been so eager to intervene. But things are different now. They have to give the public an answer, even if it means war. Especially since the whole country is watching.”

Quentin Grant scoffed. ”Let’s give him a few more days. If he still doesn’t change his tune, my thousands of men weren’t trained for nothing. As long as he dares to take Chloe on an official visit to another country, we’ll definitely have our chance.”

”It’s just... I’m worried... he’ll do something desperate when cornered...”

A few days after this conversation, Harrowin’s representatives, seeing the severity of the situation, unanimously demanded that the Supreme Leader provide an explanation to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Lillian Bancroft chose to lie.

Soon, major media outlets around the world published the Harrowin Foreign Ministry spokesperson’s statement on the matter: ”Regarding the Fravian citizen, Chloe Marshall, our government wishes to state unequivocally that the First Lady is a citizen of our country, not of Fravia. To present the truth of the matter for everyone, we have arranged for the First Lady to attend a press conference tomorrow to explain in her own words.”

Seeing this news, no one in the Ellsworth Family or with Quentin Grant was happy.

After the developments of the past few days, they believed Lillian Bancroft would undoubtedly use Dorothy to coerce Chloe into lying. This was the last thing they wanted to see.

It was a near certainty that this would be the outcome.

With no way to rescue them from the Imperial Palace, Quentin Grant reported his suspicions to the highest leader of Fravia and received new instructions.

Fravia would arrange for personnel from its embassy in Harrowin to intervene. Furthermore, they demanded that both Dorothy and Chloe attend the press conference; otherwise, their representatives would not attend.

When Lillian Bancroft learned of this, his face was dark all day.

If that happened, Chloe Marshall would surely tell the truth, and things would no longer go according to his plan.

Things had already gone so far off the rails. Between nations, face was the most important thing.

Lillian Bancroft had already declared that Chloe Marshall was a citizen of Harrowin, and the whole world knew it. If, at this critical juncture, she revealed the whole truth, Harrowin would become a global laughingstock. He would be forced to step down immediately. Even if he wasn’t hunted down, he would have to atone for his actions.

In this matter, he had been forced into a passive position.

The press conference was set for tomorrow, and now Dorothy had to attend as well.

Then...

Lillian Bancroft sat there, motionless, thinking for a long time. Considering the bigger picture, he finally made a decision.

”Someone.”

”Sir!” his aide immediately opened the door and responded.

”Secretly pass down my orders. Tonight, hold a farewell dinner for the First Lady and the Princess. Tomorrow morning... leak the news that the First Lady, having damaged the nation’s dignity with this affair, has committed suicide with the Princess to atone. The Supreme Leader is beside himself with grief...”

The aide knew how important Chloe Marshall was to him and was shocked. ”Your Excellency... why not just let the First Lady and the Princess return to their country...”

”Just do as I say! Why are you spouting so much nonsense!”

The aide flinched and said at once, ”Yes, sir.”

He sat cross-legged on the rug, his face solemn. ’To him, if he couldn’t have something, no one else could either. He could never have her. He had known that from the beginning, but he still chose to dive into this deep whirlpool, letting himself sink deeper and deeper, unable to escape. He wanted to grasp the hem of her clothes on the shore, but it was just a fantasy.’

A tear streamed from his eye. He had imprisoned her and hurt her. And now, at last, he had lost her completely.