Ch. 996..1000: Powerful Papa with Triplet Babies Chapter 996-1000
Chapter 996
Back in the hotel, Corentin tossed his jacket aside and looked at Ashlynn, who was curling up on the couch.” What do you want for lunch?”
Before she could answer, he sat down next to her and lifted her chin, noticing how pale she was. “Still in pain?”
“It’s better now. At least I can stay in the same position now,” she said. The severe pain started from noon to night the day before and sitting or standing both hurt as much. “Since I’m feeling better, are we going to have lunch with Anne?”
“Can you handle that?”
“It’s fine. You said that we are going back in two days‘ time, right? I don’t know when I will get to see Anne again,” Ashlynn said.
Corentin took out his phone to call Anthony, asking to have lunch together.
They had made arrangements in a high–class clubhouse and reserved the entire place so that no unrelated personnel would be seen inside.
“I thought you brought your kids along?” Corentin asked upon arriving.
“They are playing outside. Ignore them,” Anthony said.
Anne chuckled, “They are wild.”
“It’s good for them to see the world more often!” Ashlynn commented. “This just means they have their own way of thinking. They are just so smart and cute.”
She had always wanted to play with the triplets whenever they went to the office in the past, so much so that she could hardly focus on work.
“If you like kids so much, we will have our own soon,” Corentin said.
Ashlynn jolted, causing the knife to slip out of her hand. Corentin caught it in time, before placing it back into her hand. “Calm down. Take it slow.”
Ashlynn looked as though she was terrified and Anne instantly sensed that something was wrong.
“I need to use the bathroom.” Ashlynn got up to leave.
Inside the bathroom, she stood before the mirror and stared at the pale face looking back at her in the reflection.
She regretted reacting so dramatically to what Corentin said as she knew that everyone must have felt awkward after seeing her reaction.
“Ashlynn, are you okay?” Anne followed her into the bathroom and asked.
“I’m fine. Do I look that bad? I feel alright. My stomach. doesn’t hurt as much anymore,” Ashlynn said with a smile.
Anne was not certain if Ashlynn was pale because of menstrual pain, but if Ashlynn refused to say anything; she decided that she should not ask any more questions. Alright. Are you two going back this afternoon?”
“Yeah. Corentin said we are heading back to Athetin after lunch. Anne, when will you drop by Athetin? I grew up there so I can be your tour guide.”
“Sure, I’ll visit whenever I have time,” Anne promised. As the two walked out of the bathroom, she asked, “Did you and Uncle get into a fight in a bar with someone on your last visit in Luton? I heard that that couple got killed.”
“Yeah, that happened. What of it?”
“An officer came by my office today, asking about Uncle and said that it’s just a routine check. I’ve lost my memories, so I thought I should ask you.”
Ashlynn froze. “Officer…what’s his name?”
“Marco York.”
‘Not the same officer in charge of Salvatore’s case,‘ Ashlynn thought. ‘I don’t know him…‘
“Something wrong?” Noticing the odd look on Ashlynn’s face, Anne wondered for a moment if her uncle indeed had been involved in the murder.
“Nothing. That couple was trying to drug someone at the bar and we stopped them. Corentin didn’t do anything…” Ashlynn said.
“I don’t think he did it, either.”
‘No,‘ Ashlynn thought to herself, ‘something about the case must have led the officer to Anne. Anne has lost her memories and is no longer as sharp as she once was, so I can’t ask for her help to look into Corentin with me.‘
After lunch, Corentin and Ashlynn returned to the car.
“You seem shocked by the idea of having kids?” Corentin asked casually.
“You…you brought it up all of a sudden and I wasn’t ready for it.”
Chapter 997
Corentin got up and moved closer to Ashlynn abruptly,
She immediately held her breath and froze in place.
“You don’t need to be ready for this sort of thing.”
“A- Alright.”
He shot her a dark look. “You can’t be doing something behind my back again, can you?”
“How could I?”
“I better not find you taking contraceptive pills again. I am only willing to overlook that once!”
“I am not taking the pills. I already told you that, what more do you want?” Ashlynn panted as she spoke as though she was suffocating.
The dark expression on Corentin’s face faded as he caressed her cheek. “Good. Don’t worry, I will put a baby in you next month. Do you prefer boys or girls? How many do you want? At least two, right? With one son and one daughter. If our daughter looks like you, she must look extremely pretty…”
Ashlynn paled and trembled, as she never wanted to give birth to his children. “Two, then,” she said.
“No. Let’s have three, like the triplets Anthony has. You like them, don’t you?”
Ashlynn did love the triplets, but she had long lost the desire to have children of her own.
Just then, she frowned and covered her stomach.
“Is it hurting again?”
“Yeah. Can we leave tomorrow instead?” Her face twisted in pain. “I don’t think I can stand the trip. I shouldn’t have come outside for lunch after all. How about this? You can go back to Athetin first, I will stay one more night here and go back to Athetin tomorrow.”
“No way. You are my personal assistant so you are supposed to stay by my side,” he disagreed.
Ashlynn wanted to stay and reach out to Marco to see what it was that Marco was looking into, but clearly, Corentin’s grip on her was too tight for her to escape.
If she made her intention obvious, she would raise suspicion.
However, they had not headed back to Athetin immediately after lunch and postponed the trip due to Ashlynn’s condition.
Ashlynn could not say that her stomach no longer hurt as a recovery over such short period of time would seem suspicious. At around three in the afternoon, she found the chance to tell Corentin that she felt better, only to realize that they were not returning home by car, but by helicopter.
Corentin had ordered his men to fly it over from Athetin so that the travel time required would shorten. They had traveled by car on their way to Luton, so it was clear that Corentin had made the change to prevent Ashlynn from hurting again on their way back.
They soon returned to Athetin and the helicopter landed directly on the field in Corentin’s mansion.
Ashlynn played with her dog for a short while and returned to her room, while Corentin ordered the servant to make warm milk, instructing Ashlynn to drink it before going to sleep.
She did not want to sleep, but neither did she want to face Corentin as she was still thinking about Marco.
‘This is a rare lead…‘ She thought.
Ashlynn rested for two more days, before going back to work. She did not take Corentin’s car and traveled to the office in a different car driven by a driver, as an assistant should not arrive later or at the same time as her boss.
Right before arriving at the Lloyd Group, she spotted a small local grocery shop and said, “Stop the car. I need to buy something there.”
The driver stopped the car by the road, and she got out of the car and into the shop.
She chose a pack of sanitary pad from the shelf and proceeded to the counter. Ashlynn glanced at the car outside through the door and asked the owner, “Can I borrow your phone to make a call?”
Chapter 998
The owner glanced at her and gave her his phone.
“Thank you.” She took the phone and walked to the side, before making a call. “Hello, Inspector Mckinney. I’m Ashlynn Thompson.”
“Oh, you. What’s up?”
“I want to check with you and see if you know an inspector by the name Marco York.”
“Marco? I know him. What’s wrong?”
“I know him?” Ashlynn had only been gambling with her chances and had not expected him to actually know Marco.
“Yeah. He used to work in Athetin, but was transferred to Luton after crossing the Lloyds.”
“Crossing the Lloyds? What happened?”
“He wanted to look into Lloyd’s family background. He just had too much time in his hand. What’s there to look into? In the end, he caught the attention of Corentin Lloyd. I told him to stop and he just wouldn’t listen.”
“Inspector Mckinney, Inspector York is looking into the murder of the couple that died in the motel in Luton. Corentin and I were in a conflict with that same couple and so Inspector York is coming after Corentin.”
“How could Corentin have anything to do with that? I’ll call Marco later and tell him to stop.”
“You don’t think Corentin is related to the case?”
“Well, you will need evidence to make a claim, don’t you?“1
She was rendered speechless. Corentin had a clean record both in Athetin and Luton, and even if she knew that he was Salvatore, there was nothing she could do.
‘What can I do to turn the table…‘ She considered as she walked out with a plastic bag in hand, only to accidentally bump into someone.
“Ah!” She stumbled and the person in front of her grabbed her by the arm to steady her.
“I’m sorry. Are you alright?”
She turned around and saw a handsome–looking man with decent short hair, who looked like a model that walked straight out of a magazine.
“I’m fine.” She steadied herself and spotted the tag he wore around his neck with the name ‘Gavin Brady‘. “You work for the Lloyd Group?”
“I’ve seen you around. You are Mr. Lloyd’s assistant,” Gavin said.
“I don’t remember seeing you, though…”
“That’s because you haven’t met me in person. I work for the Public Relations Department and have not shown my face in any major meetings.”
“Oh. I know that department.”
It was a department meant to resolve any scandal or conflicts that might bring harm to the Lloyd Group’s reputation.
“Shall we go together?” Gavin asked.
She glanced at the car waiting by the road sheepishly, noticing that the driver had rolled down the window and was staring at them warily.
“It’s fine. I’ll see you in the office,” Gavin said, before leaving.
Ashlynn returned to the car and proceeded ahead toward the Lloyd Group with a dark expression, unhappy that her every move was being watched.
However, she also knew that there was no point for her to be angry at the driver, as the driver was simply following Corentin’s orders.
When she arrived at the office, she went inside to clean. Though it was not dirty at all, she had to make sure that everything was in place and that it was perfectly clean as that was her first task of the day every day.
She would often take the opportunity to check the office for any possible hint that could help defeat Corentin, but had not found anything of this nature so far.
Just as she was almost done, the door flew open and Corentin strode in.
“Let me get you your coffee, Mr. Marwood.” She went out and returned shortly after with a cup of coffee, before setting it down before Corentin. “If you have no further tasks for me, I will go outside now.”
“Hang on.”
She stood before him and waited for his command.
“Who did you run into on your way here?” He sipped on the coffee with a dark look in his eyes.
Reminded of her encounter with Gavin in the grocery store, she said, “You should know by now, so why are you asking me?”
“I want to hear it from you.”
“I ran into Gavin who works in the Public Relations Department. We didn’t talk much and went our separate ways.”
“You learned his name already in such a short period of time?”
Feeling annoyed by his relentless confrontation, she retorted, “He has a tag from the Lloyd Group so I didn’t even have to ask! What on earth are you suspecting me for? I’m leaving now.”
She walked to the door and was about to reach for the door knob when she heard Corentin’s voice behind her, saying, “Know your place, or you will regret it.”
Ashlynn had not done anything wrong and simply retorted, “Mind your own business!” Before opening the door to exit the room.
Corentin continued to sip the coffee with amusement, wondering if Ashlynn had started her investigation on him.
In the morning, Ashlynn spotted Gavin talking to others on her way to deliver some documents.
She knew that if she spoke to Gavin at all, Corentin would know it within three seconds, so she walked right past
Gavin without a word.
Gavin did not react much to her behavior.
At noon, Ashlynn went to the canteen and was waiting for her food when she sensed someone standing beside her. She did not pay them much mind as she was not the only one waiting for her food.
“Are you looking into Corentin?”
She jolted in shock and turned around to find Gavin next to her. She soon realized that he had overheard what she said on the phone in the grocery store.
“If you want answers, you can come to me,” he said, before leaving.
He had merely stood beside Ashlynn for a few seconds not enough to raise suspicion. She had thought that he meant to blackmail her, but it did not sound like it.
She lowered her head, not daring to look at Gavin in an effort to look like nothing had happened.
As she turned around and instinctively looked for Gavin, she noticed that he was heading to a different area with other colleagues.
She sat down alone in one of the tables and poked at her food mindlessly as she wondered how she could approach Gavin for answers.
According to what he said, he must be aware of something.
Her colleague in the secretary department, Emily Clayton, sat down beside her. “Hey, did you see that?
Gavin from the PR department! He’s so handsome! I want to sit next to him, but I’m shy!”
“Does he have a girlfriend?”
“I heard that he’s single. He’s a lone wolf, but is really bright and talented. Apart from Mr. Lloyd, he has the most admirers!” Emily said.
“Has he been in this company for long?” Ashlynn asked.
“Yeah. About ten years, I think? He’s top of the PR department and I think he was personally hired by Mr. Lloyd back when he was still in college.”
‘Which means that it is the real Corentin who hired
Gavin, then,‘ Ashlynn thought to herself. ‘That’s why Gavin knows things that others don’t.‘
She knew that she could never approach Gavin in the office as Corentin had eyes everywhere.
In the afternoon, she delivered documents to Corentin and knocked on the door to get inside his office, only to find Corentin’s father, Cory, sitting inside as well.
When Cory saw her, his expression darkened in the most intimidating manner.
Ashlynn handed the documents to Corentin and turned to leave, when she heard Cory roar, “You are defying me on purpose!”
Chapter 999
Ashlynn stilled and froze in place.
“I told you to be more discreet and you just hired her to work right here. What do you think you are doing?”
Corentin glanced at Ashlynn. “She has nothing to do at home.”
“You could have arranged for her to work in one of the branches. Why does she have to work as your assistant? So that you can see her every minute of the day? You might as well just marry her!” Cory refused to be fooled.
Only Corentin and Ashlynn knew that they were already married and silence fell over the room.
“You had dinner with Meredith on her birthday, and even bought her a gift. Aren’t you worried that she will get upset if she finds out?” Cory mentioned Meredith in front of Ashlynn on purpose.
“You are not needed here anymore. You can get off work now,” Corentin said.
Knowing that it was a command directed at her, Ashlynn bowed at Cory, before turning to leave, closing the door behind her.
Cory glared daggers at Corentin and said, “Corentin has always been composed whenever it comes to romance. He would always prioritize bettering the position of Lloyd Group. You are different from him, after all.” Every word was said with contempt toward Salvatore’s true identity.
Though Salvatore knew that he was merely an illegitimate child, he had beaten everyone who dared to look down on him to death thus far and retorted fiercely, Why didn’t you think of that when you f*cked my mom? Right, because if you didn’t f*ck her, you would have no son by now.”
“Why you!” Cory was furious. It had only been a fun night for him, but he had never expected the woman to get pregnant. Even after learning about Salvatore, he did not intend on reaching out to him and was going to leave Salvatore to fend for himself. After all, Cory was only going to marry a daughter of an equally powerful family and already had Nigel, a son he trusted.
‘What good is that woman? She’s just a lowly wh*re!‘ He thought. However, he knew that he had wronged them by abandoning them, so he changed the subject and commanded, “Send Ashlynn to work at a different branch and I will turn a blind eye to what you’ve been doing.”
“You can turn a blind eye to it now.” Corentin did not intend on listening to him.
Enraged, Cory said, “How many times do I have to tell you this? Women are nothing but temporary entertainment. A successful man isn’t supposed to waste his time on women. Think about this, Ashlynn used to be
Anne’s assistant and Anne is Nigel’s daughter. Aren’t you afraid that she is plotting her revenge toward this family?
“Don’t worry about that. Anne can hardly take care of herself right now.”
“There’s still a chance!” Cory deadpanned. “Most importantly, Ashlynn is your ex–wife who wanted you dead. Do you really not care?”
“That will only happen once.” Corentin’s expression darkened and thought to himself, ‘Ashlynn better behave herself, or…‘
Ashlynn got off work and went into the elevator.
The elevator went down one floor before opening again, and Gavin walked in. Once the door was closed, he asked, “Where are you off to?”
“Getting off work.”
“That’s early.”
Ashlynn glanced at him and said, “It’s still too early for me to go home. I will be heading to that cafe around the corner for a coffee. Do you like coffee?”
“Of course, I do.”
Ashlynn arrived at the parking lot and got into the car, before ordering the driver to head toward the street nearby.
Once she reached the cafe, she sat down by the window where she could see the people who walked past her.
Chapter 1000
She sipped on her coffee dazedly and waited.
An hour passed, but there was no sight of Gavin.
‘No, if Gavin just popped out of nowhere, wouldn’t someone see us?‘ She thought.
Ashlynn thought about it and went into the bathroom. As soon as she walked inside, she jolted in shock at the sight of the man standing in front of her.
She knew that she would find Gavin in a hidden place, but had not expected to see him in the washroom.
Seeing how alarmed she was, he said, “Don’t worry. No one else is here.”
“I’m looking into Corentin. What can you tell me?” She asked.
“It’s not easy for us to meet. I hope that you can tell me everything you know once I answer your questions,” Gavin said.
“Sure.” Ashlynn’s heart raced at meeting Gavin in secret.
“The Corentin you see now isn’t the real Corentin. He’s a fraud. He’s Cory Lloyd’s illegitimate child. He used to b-”
Ashlynn interrupted him and said, “He grew up in the slum. His name is Salvatore, a sick man!”
“You knew all along?”
“Salvatore was married once and I was his wife. I was the one who sent him into prison five years ago.”
Gavin was shocked. He had made a few guesses on who Ashlynn was and why she was looking into Corentin’s identity, but he had never imagined that the two would be related in such a manner.
“You love him?”
do
She looked away blankly. “He killed my parents, so what think? I just want to expose him for who he is and send him back into prison!”
you
“That won’t work,” Gavin said.
“I know. The Lloyd Family has their ways of doing things and no one is capable of finding anything to use against them.” She looked at him. “You’ve worked in the Lloyd Group for years, so you must know more about them than I do, right? I know about Salvatore, but you know the real Corentin.”
“Corentin was the only heir to the Lloyd Family with exceptional talents. Unfortunately, he was diagnosed with a severe heart condition six years ago and needed an implant. They couldn’t find any matching implants, so Cory tracked down his bast*rd son, Salvatore, back when Salvatore was still in that prison. Surprisingly, Salvatore looked exactly like Corentin. Prisoners on death row like
Salvatore aren’t losing anything if he is giving out his
heart to save someone else, I would say. They took his blood sample and it matched with Corentin’s perfectly. However, Salvatore was a skeptical man and noticed that something was wrong when his blood sample was taken, so he was prepared when he was taken to the hospital for preparation. Corentin wanted to see his brother of his one last time, feeling guilty for taking his life. In the end, Salvatore used a knife hidden in his sleeve to cut
Corentin’s throat and Corentin died before the doctor could even get to him.”
“That’s when Cory realized that he could use Salvatore to replace Corentin,” Ashlynn said.
“Yeah.”
“But the inspector who was in charge of the case told me that he saw Salvatore die in front of him.”
“They just wrote it off that way. The prisoner was dead, and how it ended that way didn’t matter.”
Ashlynn tried her best to process the information. She had been puzzled as to how Salvatore managed to replace Corentin and even thought that Corentin could be locked up somewhere, and the truth was not what she had expected.
“There’s still something that I don’t understand. Why did Corentin’s older brother, Nigel, leave the family?” She asked, “I used to work as an assistant for Nigel’s daughter, Anne. I don’t want to do anything about it. I just want the truth. Anne has the right to know.”