Mr. CEO, You Look Strangely Familiar

Choked sobs were the truest expression of what Chloe Marshall was feeling.

Lillian Bancroft’s voice was low. ”Every time I go on an official visit abroad, I always send one or two decoys. It’s a precaution against surprise attacks. Otherwise, if I had really died here, both our countries would have descended into chaos. The death toll wouldn’t have stopped here; far more people would have lost their lives. The mastermind behind this is truly despicable.”

”It was Toby Dalton from Grestin. Before Nora and I came to get you, we went to the bar next door. I was the first to realize his men were going to assassinate you, but they spotted me. He held us captive in the bar until Young Master Grant arrived and got us out. When it was just us, he made no secret that he was behind it. But he wouldn’t admit it in front of Young Master Grant.”

Lillian Bancroft’s eyes turned as dark as ink.

”I was briefed on this while on the plane. I already know he was behind it, and I will handle it. You... try not to be so upset.” He looked at the man behind him and gestured to the dead decoy. ”Send him home. Give him a burial with full honors and compensate his family handsomely. See if they’re facing any other hardships and take care of everything.”

The soldier behind him moved to carry out the order.

Chloe Marshall slowly got to her feet and looked at him. ”If Young Master Grant hadn’t sent his men, I can’t even imagine what would have happened.”

Lillian Bancroft stepped forward to stand before Quentin Grant and extended his hand. ”Thank you.”

Quentin Grant returned the handshake. ”Of course.”

”I just received a call from your country’s senior officials. They’ve asked you to accompany me to the Capital. I had planned on a low-profile visit, but who would have thought it would be so fraught with danger.”

”Mr. Bancroft, this way, please.” Quentin Grant gestured for him to proceed. Lillian Bancroft nodded and walked ahead with the First Lady, Quinn Sullivan.

While they had been talking, Quinn Sullivan had been observing Chloe Marshall closely. She could tell from the sidelines that the way her husband looked at Chloe was completely different from the way he looked at her.

Although there was no love between them, Quinn Sullivan couldn’t help but feel a little bothered by it.

Lillian Bancroft and Quinn Sullivan first went to Ethan Ellsworth’s home to pick up Dorothy.

Dorothy Ellsworth was overjoyed to see Lillian Bancroft. ”Daddy!”

Lillian Bancroft’s expression softened considerably. He bent down and scooped her into his arms. ”Our Dorothy has gotten taller again.”

Dorothy Ellsworth planted a kiss on his cheek. ”Daddy, did you miss Dorothy?”

”Of course I did. Why else would I have come a few days early? I was mainly here to see you.”

Dorothy Ellsworth smiled, craning her neck to look at Quinn Sullivan, who was standing a short distance away. She waved at her. ”Godmother.”

Quinn Sullivan stepped forward and awkwardly extended a hand. ”Hello, Dorothy.”

Dorothy Ellsworth reached out her little hand and shook Quinn’s. ”Godmother, you’re so pretty, just as pretty as my mommy. Dorothy likes you.”

Quinn Sullivan, who had been feeling rather apprehensive, now relaxed considerably. She nodded. ”I like Dorothy, too.”

Chloe Marshall immediately instructed the kitchen to prepare a banquet. Just as she was about to call Ethan Ellsworth, he walked in.

Seeing that Chloe Marshall was completely unharmed, he finally felt at ease. ”If I’d known this would happen, I never would have let you go. You scared me to death.”

Chloe Marshall pulled him aside. ”But I thought your film crew...”

”I managed to convince the director to let me shoot tonight’s scenes tomorrow instead. Besides, with him here, it wouldn’t have been right for me not to come back.”

Chloe Marshall relaxed. ”Tonight was absolutely terrifying. I was so scared.”

Ethan Ellsworth kissed her on the cheek, comforting her. ”It’s over now.”

When dinner was served, the men made small talk, avoiding any serious topics. The women also chatted amongst themselves, and by the end, Quinn Sullivan and Chloe Marshall, who had started as strangers, were now acquainted.

As they were leaving, Lillian Bancroft stood before Chloe Marshall and said, ”I probably won’t be visiting often in the future. It might be a very long time before I come back. Take care of yourselves. Safety is what’s most important.”

Chloe Marshall nodded. ”We’ll come visit when your baby is born.”

Lillian Bancroft’s gaze was exceptionally gentle. ”I forgot to tell you, Quinn is a little over two months pregnant. We’ll announce it once she passes the three-month mark.”

”Really?” Chloe Marshall’s mood brightened instantly. ”In that case, we’ll go to Harrowin to celebrate when the baby is born.”

He nodded, his eyes sparkling like crystal as he looked directly at her. Watching from the side, Ethan Ellsworth was thoroughly displeased. He stepped forward, took Chloe Marshall’s hand, and said to Lillian Bancroft with a wide smile, ”The people in the Capital are waiting.”

Lillian Bancroft chuckled and nodded. ”I’m off, then.”

He turned and got into the car, which slowly began to drive away.

Standing at the door, Chloe Marshall watched his car depart, an indescribable feeling washing over her. Scenes from their past flashed through her mind. That time, those memories... they had been wonderful.

Ethan Ellsworth wrapped an arm around her shoulder. ”Honey.”

Chloe Marshall wrapped her arms around his waist. ”Boss Ellsworth, you have no idea. At the time, tonight... I wasn’t that scared. But thinking back on it now, I’m still terrified. The airport terminal... there were bodies everywhere.”

”This incident is a reminder that we can’t let our guard down for a second.”

They went into the living room, sat on the sofa, and turned on the news.

Then, they opened a laptop to check online and saw that the incident had already caused a massive uproar.

The news reports had laid out the events clearly. Quentin Grant’s actions had not only deepened the adoration of his female fans but had also earned him a great deal of admiration from his male fans.

In Fravia, it was public knowledge that Quentin Grant’s private security detail had been officially sanctioned by the authorities.

Quentin Grant’s reputation wasn’t just limited to the nation; he was an influential figure on the world stage.

He wasn’t the only entrepreneur in the world with his own team of Men in Black.

Besides the Grant Guard, there were three other famous private security forces.

Everyone knew that Quentin Grant’s current partner was Nora Ainsworth. Everyone knew he had twin sons. And everyone knew that he still wasn’t married.

His popularity was already immense, but mobilizing his private security force and engaging in a deadly battle to protect a foreign leader was a truly heroic act. Netizens understood the gravity of the situation: if Lillian Bancroft had been killed on Fravian soil, the consequences would have been catastrophic.

Since Quentin Grant didn’t have a verified social media account, no one knew that he had a private account that followed only Nora Ainsworth.

As a result, hordes of his fans flocked to follow Nora Ainsworth. The top comment on her latest post read: ”Nora Ainsworth, you’d better keep a close watch on your man, or we fans are going to tear him to pieces!”

When Chloe Marshall and Ethan Ellsworth saw this comment, they didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

The two of them went upstairs to bed.

**

Quentin Grant accompanied Lillian Bancroft to the Capital.

Nora Ainsworth picked up her two little treasures, brought them home, and lay down to sleep with them.

”Mommy, we saw the news at Grandma’s house.” After a long moment of contemplation, Dylan Grant spoke up. ”We saw you, Daddy, and Auntie on TV.”

Nora Ainsworth laid out their clothes for the next day on a table, then sat on the edge of the bed. ”And what were your thoughts on it?”

Dylan Grant was blunt. ”I didn’t really have any thoughts. I just think the mastermind behind the killings is an idiot.”

The corner of Nora Ainsworth’s mouth twitched. ’Toby Dalton probably never imagined he’d be judged like this by a child.’

”Why is he an idiot?”

”Going to all that trouble, sparing no expense, just to kill one person? If that’s not an idiot, what is? There are so many easier, more discreet ways to do it. The way he went about it, he might as well be a moron.”

”...”

”Mommy, lots of people online like Daddy. And someone said you need to keep a close watch on your man, or he’ll be torn to pieces...” Elmer Grant said, holding an iPad.

Nora Ainsworth, who was reclining on the bed, took the iPad from him. As she scrolled, she murmured, ”So it’s true...”

She was looking at a news article that was quoting what fans were saying on her social media page.

So, Nora Ainsworth quickly logged into her account and scrolled through the comments. That very comment was at the top, and it already had hundreds of thousands of likes.

The second most popular comment made her chuckle. It was from a user with the screen name ”My Mother-in-law is Nora Ainsworth.” The comment read: ”Mother-in-law, just give me one of your two sons. I’ll take good care of him, you can rest easy.”

Nora Ainsworth handed the iPad back to Elmer Grant and pointed at the screen. ”Look at this one.”

Elmer Grant took it, his eyes sparkling with curiosity. He tapped on the woman’s profile, but when he saw her profile picture, his little face fell. ”This woman has to be at least thirty, right? That’s disgusting. I hope I never meet her. If I do, I’ll beat her to a pulp.”

Dylan Grant chimed in, ”Beating her to death would be too much. Maiming her would be enough. She’s even older than Mommy. A woman like that either has an unhappy marriage or an unfulfilling sex life. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be looking for validation online.”

With that, he snatched the iPad from Elmer Grant, closed the app, and set the device on the table. ”The internet is full of garbage. We’re too young for this; it’s better if we don’t look, so we don’t get brainwashed.”

”Mommy,” Elmer Grant said, looking at Nora Ainsworth. ”Do you remember my classmate Melody from when we were in Harrowin?”

Nora Ainsworth nodded. ”You mean Melody White?”

”Yeah.”

Nora Ainsworth chuckled. ”I remember her. I had someone send a letter to her after we got back, but her family had moved away. They don’t live there anymore.”

Elmer Grant looked a little crestfallen. ”But she was my bride-to-be. And now she’s gone.”

Nora Ainsworth comforted him. ”You’re too young to understand these things right now. When you’re older, you’ll see things completely differently. By the time you’re grown up, you’ll have forgotten all about these memories. Don’t overthink things at your age.”

”Then, Mommy, can you tell us how you and Daddy got together?”

Nora Ainsworth really didn’t want to discuss this topic with her two little darlings. ’So awkward, right?!’

”Well... it just sort of happened...”

Dylan Grant looked at her seriously. ”Mommy, did you and Daddy have instant sparks the first time you met? And then you had us?”

”...No.”

”Then was it that you and Daddy were classmates, and Daddy liked you, but you’d rather die than give in, so Daddy pushed you against a wall and forced a kiss on you?” Elmer Grant guessed next.

”...Of course not.”