Mr. CEO, You Look Strangely Familiar

”Quentin Grant, are you really going to do this? Do you have any idea how many people will die?” Toby Dalton snatched up his phone, his mind in turmoil. He had only dared to make such a move because he believed that as long as he held a fatal weakness over Quentin Grant’s head, the man wouldn’t dare retaliate. But now, it was clear Quentin was serious. If a fight truly broke out, his men stood no chance against Quentin’s team of Men in Black. That was a private security force, the kind only the wealthiest individuals in four countries in the entire world possessed.

”Toby Dalton, did you really think I’d let you continue to do as you please and threaten me and my family? Enough talk. Just be ready.”

Quentin Grant hung up, his expression grim.

Toby Dalton had harmed his family time and time again. He couldn’t bear to imagine what would happen if he continued to tolerate his actions, only for them to lead to an irreversible tragedy. ’What then?!’

This time, he was determined to eliminate this threat for good.

Meanwhile, Toby Dalton was frantically trying to figure a way out. Making a deal was impossible now. The situation had spiraled out of his control. Quentin Grant held all the evidence of his involvement, and clearing his name would be no easy feat.

In a few months, he still had to deal with the Lillian Bancroft situation. If he went head-to-head with Quentin Grant now, he’d be caught completely unprepared for Lillian Bancroft later.

”Young Master Dalton?”

Toby Dalton snapped back to reality and looked down at Claire Sinclair. ”Consider yourself lucky. Quentin Grant doesn’t want you. He just said that since you’re both Fravian nationals, he’ll have the police issue an official warrant for your arrest. Whether you leave or stay here is up to you.”

Claire Sinclair collapsed onto the floor, feeling she had nowhere left to run.

It would be the same no matter where she went.

She slowly pushed herself to her feet and staggered out of Toby Dalton’s room.

Back in her own room, Catherine Callahan hurriedly asked, ”Mom, what did Young Master Dalton say...?”

Claire Sinclair sat down beside her. ”He was going to have us take the fall for his mess and hand us over to Quentin Grant, but Quentin wouldn’t accept the deal. He said he’s going to have the Fravian police arrest us, all above board, so no one can object. So, you tell me, where can we possibly go?”

Hearing this, Catherine Callahan’s heart-filled hope instantly vanished. ”Mom, are we just supposed to sit here and wait to die? It’s obvious Young Master Dalton has no time for us anymore. We might be able to stay for a little while, but we can’t stay here forever, can we?”

”Then what else can we do?”

”What if... Mom, what if we try the old plan again? Find a way to get Nora Ainsworth’s mother out, and you can go back to impersonating her. Maybe we could escape that way.”

Claire Sinclair held no such hope. ”We’ve already tried that. Isn’t that just walking to our deaths? Do you really think Nora Ainsworth is that stupid?”

”I know it’s probably impossible... but, Mom, we should still get out of here. Otherwise, who knows when Young Master Dalton might decide to get rid of us. If Quentin Grant had accepted the trade, we’d have already been sent back to Fravia. It’s a good thing he didn’t agree. The police might be coming for us, but if we hide well enough, maybe they won’t be able to find us...”

It had to be said, Catherine Callahan was still clinging to a sliver of wishful thinking.

Claire Sinclair thought it over. ”You have a point. It’s better to leave than to just wait here to die...”

”Then what are we waiting for? Mom, let’s pack.”

Claire Sinclair turned to get a suitcase and stuffed all of their clothes inside, along with a few pairs of shoes.

Once everything was packed, Claire Sinclair asked, ”Should we tell Young Master Dalton that we’re leaving?”

”There’s no need.”

The mother and daughter dragged the suitcase downstairs. When they reached the main gate, they found that, as expected, they couldn’t get out. They needed an order from Young Master Dalton to be allowed to leave.

Resigned, Claire Sinclair had Catherine Callahan wait at the gate with the suitcase while she went back to find Toby Dalton.

When she reached his door, she put on a smile. ”Young Master Dalton, Catherine and I just talked it over. We’ve decided not to bother you any longer. We’re going to leave and find our own way.”

His gaze shifted from his computer screen. ”Except, I’m afraid you two can’t leave.”

Those few words made the color drain from Claire Sinclair’s face.

”Why?”

”Because I’ve decided to follow the orders from my country’s higher-ups. I’m going to proactively hand you two fugitives over to the Fravian police, to be dealt with by the Grant Family. Whether he wants you or not is his problem. Sending you back is our responsibility.”

Claire Sinclair couldn’t believe what she was hearing. ’So it’s true. Once a pawn has served its purpose, it gets thrown away. And that’s what my daughter and I are to him.’

”Young Master Dalton, would you have even found Faye Sinclair without me? Even though she was rescued later, I still contributed! My daughter went to the Ainsworth family for you! She may not have succeeded and was sent back, but even if we get no credit for achievements, you have to credit our hard work! Sending us back like this is no different from sending us to our deaths!”

”You’re dead either way. Why not let you and your daughter provide one last bit of value?”

”You...”

Toby Dalton didn’t waste any more words on her. He shouted toward the door, ”Guards!”

”Yes, Young Master Dalton!” Four men appeared at the door.

”Take her and Catherine Callahan to the Fravian embassy.”

”Yes, sir!”

Claire Sinclair instantly flew into a frenzy, flailing and screaming, ”Young Master Dalton, you can’t do this to us! You can’t be so heartless! Aaaah!”

Her voice faded into the distance.

Toby Dalton leaned against his desk, his thoughts in a turmoil.

The door swung open again, and Saphira Sutton walked in, laden with shopping bags.

”I just saw Claire Sinclair and her daughter being dragged into a car. Are you disposing of them?”

”They’re useless to me now anyway,” he answered nonchalantly. ”Might as well send them to Fravia myself. It’ll even earn me some goodwill.”

Saphira Sutton pulled a pair of crystal-adorned sandals from a shopping bag and held them up for him to see. ”Aren’t they beautiful?”

”Beautiful. How much were they?”

Saphira Sutton pursed her lips into a smile. ”You know I love collecting shoes. All these bags are filled with them. I got two other pairs just like this one, but in different colors. They’re all limited edition, definitely collector’s items. And they weren’t that expensive... hmm, just over 700,000 for a pair.”

Toby Dalton didn’t say anything, just nodded.

’You get her body, she gets your money. It’s just a transactional relationship.’

”Have those two kids been put on the ship yet?”

Toby Dalton began, ”Actually, I’ve been keeping something from you since last night. I got a call in the middle of the night... that family of three was burned to death in a fire. The two children were seriously injured. Quentin Grant’s son was hurt pretty badly. They managed to save him, but he hasn’t woken up yet.”

Hearing this, Saphira Sutton burst into wild laughter. ”HAHAHA! Serves them right! Why didn’t they just die? It would’ve been so much better if they’d died!”

”My plan was only ever to deal with Quentin Grant himself. I never intended to bring his two sons into it. Children shouldn’t be involved in adult matters. But it seems I’ve underestimated Quentin Grant’s power.”

Saphira Sutton scoffed. ”No matter how powerful he is, he’s still just a civilian. Even if his government backs him, they would never let him dispatch troops to attack your country.”

”Do you have any idea how important Quentin Grant is to Fravia?” Toby Dalton stood up straight. ”Fravia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs is already in talks with our country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs over this. I’ve spoken to Quentin on the phone myself. The kids didn’t die, and he’s *still* preparing for war. If they had actually died, we’d be facing an all-out battle with him.”

”What? Are you scared of Quentin Grant? If you were afraid of him, why did you dare to play for keeps in the first place? Besides, your master in Harrowin won’t let you fall into chaos.”

”I’m not afraid of him, but I have to be worried now. As for your revenge, I can’t help you with it anymore. I can’t afford to. I have something much more important to handle at the end of October.”

Saphira Sutton’s expression immediately soured. ”What? You’re backing out? It’s only been a few days and you’re already going back on your word? You promised me! At the end of the day, you just don’t have Quentin Grant’s guts.”

Toby Dalton flared up in anger as well. ”Even if I wanted to keep going after him, I’d have to wait until after that business at the end of October before I’d have the energy to deal with him. Right now, it’s basically impossible! And another thing—if you think Quentin Grant has such great guts, why don’t you go be with him? Oh, that’s right. You could throw yourself at him and he still wouldn’t want you.”

Saphira Sutton was livid. ”So at the end of the day, you’re just not willing to help me, is that it? You can’t even handle a mere civilian like Quentin Grant, yet you think you can take on a head of state?”

Toby Dalton couldn’t be bothered to argue. ”Are you really this blind to the current situation, or are you just pretending not to see it? If the plan with the children had succeeded, if we’d had them in our hands, Quentin Grant wouldn’t have dared to make a move. Now we have zero leverage, and you still want to go after him? Not only do we have nothing on him, he has something on us! Do you really think we have any chance of winning? ’Patience brings peace.’ ’Revenge is a dish best served cold.’ Don’t you understand these simple truths?”

”I don’t understand!” Saphira Sutton threw the shopping bags onto the bed. ”His family got my brother killed! He was my own brother, how am I supposed to just endure that?!”

”If you can’t endure it, then go throw your life away fighting the Grant Family!”

Toby Dalton’s words only added fuel to the fire. ”If I had the power to kill them myself, what would I need you for?!”

His face taut, he sat back down in his chair. The phone rang. RING RING. He snatched it up. ”Hello!”

”...”

His initially loud voice grew quiet. ”Yes... yes, I understand. I will carry out your instructions. Okay. Goodbye.”

After hanging up, Toby Dalton finally looked at Saphira Sutton and sighed. ”Saphira, Quentin Grant has the Blackguard. His Men in Black are all soldiers who volunteered from the Fravian military. They’re all highly effective fighters. Just think about it. The Fravian government allows active soldiers to voluntarily join his private force. What does that tell you? It shows that Fravia can’t function without the Grant Family, and it shows how highly they value them. Taking him down isn’t something we can do overnight. We have to be flexible. We failed with the children and they caught us red-handed. So, first, we need to defuse this situation. We can deal with him later. There’s no need to rush.”

Saphira Sutton turned her head away. ”That family was a bunch of idiots. They couldn’t even handle two little kids.”