The Night I Left, He Turned Grey

Caleb Dalton stood up. "And who are these two?"

"This is President Sinclair of Stellaxis Technologies, and this is Ms. Lynch." After making the introductions, Secretary Gwen said with a smile in her eyes, "Ms. Lynch seems very concerned about President Sinclair, accompanying him all the way here in the middle of the night."

Caleb Dalton could smell the gunpowder in the air.

"Sean and I have known each other for years." Sarah Lynch glanced around the courtyard but didn’t see Nathaniel Cole or Leila Jennings. "But as for Leila and President Cole... I’ve never seen a subordinate receive so much concern from their boss."

Secretary Gwen kept smiling. "Someone like Ms. Lynch, who’s studied abroad, should be quite worldly, I would think."

Sarah Lynch didn’t waste words with her and asked directly, "Where’s Leila? And President Cole is nowhere to be seen either."

Sean Sinclair, already impatient, began looking around for them.

Inside the room, Leila Jennings heard the commotion and slowly spoke, "I’m in here."

But her throat was too dry, and the sound barely came out.

Madam Dalton went to open the door. "In here."

Nathaniel Cole was holding a glass of warm water, handing it to Leila Jennings, who was slumped in a pearwood chair.

Leila Jennings reached out to take it, their fingers brushing for a moment. Her entire body was so sore and weak that she didn’t register the slight contact at all.

Nathaniel Cole’s fingers curled slightly.

Sean Sinclair stepped across the threshold just in time to see the scene of the water being passed.

Leila Jennings was wearing a loose, short-sleeved linen shirt and matching pants. She was weakly half-reclined in the chair, her long, damp hair draped over her shoulders, her slender fingers clutching a blue-and-white porcelain cup.

A gentle breeze lifted the stray hairs at her forehead. The corners of her eyes were slightly red, but her gaze was clear and cold, like a magnolia blossom after the rain.

Nathaniel Cole was dressed in only a white shirt, one hand in his suit pocket. His other hand, having just passed her the cup, still hung in mid-air.

His aura was noble, his expression indifferent.

When they both looked up at him at the same time, they looked exactly like a perfect couple.

The sight was an eyesore to Sean Sinclair. He strode forward, positioning himself in front of Leila Jennings to face off with Nathaniel Cole.

A cold sneer tugged at the corner of Nathaniel Cole’s mouth.

"President Sinclair, why didn’t you wait until Leila Jennings had drowned in the hotel bathtub before showing up?"

"Drowned?" Sean Sinclair quickly seized on the key word and turned to ask Leila, "What happened? And why are you at a clinic? With..." ’another man?’

He glanced at Nathaniel Cole.

"President Cole, Secretary Gwen, and Dr. Dalton brought me to the clinic together." Leila Jennings finished the water, wetting her throat. "I’ll make this quick. Cecilia Sinclair took a package my old director sent me and asked me to meet her at ten tonight in the executive lounge of The Cole Crest Hotel. She had me drink some wine that was drugged. Then, I was taken to a hotel room. A man entered the room a moment later, but before that, I’d used what little strength I had to lock myself in the bathroom and turned on the cold water to soak myself in."

Sarah Lynch’s fingers tightened on her purse, quickly leaving five indentations in the genuine leather.

Leila Jennings had explained everything far too quickly.

’Now it all depends on whether Sean will believe his own sister or Leila.’

"Are you saying Cecilia drugged you?" Sean Sinclair frowned, not quite believing it. ’Cecilia often comes up with bad ideas, but she wouldn’t go this far.’

"Is it possible that Cecilia didn’t know about the..."

Nathaniel Cole’s cold laugh cut off his explanation.

Sarah Lynch lowered her gaze, a slight smile playing on her lips.

’She knew it. Sean wouldn’t take Leila’s side.’

"Sean Sinclair." Leila Jennings’s gaze on Sean grew colder and colder. "I told you the whole story not because I want you to believe me. Your trust is no longer important to me."

Sean Sinclair’s gaze faltered.

"I’m telling you this because I intend to sue Cecilia Sinclair for assault." Leila’s eyes were firm.

Nathaniel Cole immediately followed up, "The Cole Crest will also be suing Miss Sinclair for endangering public safety by introducing a hazardous substance."

He shot a sidelong glance at Sean Sinclair. "President Sinclair, we’ll see you in court."

Nathaniel Cole strode out.

Caleb Dalton glanced at the situation inside, then immediately came up to ask, "President Cole, what’s the relationship between that President Sinclair and Jennings?"

Nathaniel Cole said in a low voice, "Ex-husband."

Caleb Dalton was stunned.

He looked at Nathaniel Cole in disbelief. ’You’re into that?’

Nathaniel Cole glanced back at the scene in the room and instructed Caleb Dalton, "Don’t let Sean Sinclair take her away."

He also handed Leila’s phone to him.

"Why?"

Nathaniel Cole shot him a look.

Caleb Dalton nodded at once. "Understood."

Nathaniel Cole left with Secretary Gwen. As they were getting into the car, Secretary Gwen remembered something.

"President Cole, Jennings’s box is still in the trunk, but it got soaked."

Nathaniel Cole grunted in acknowledgment. "Give it to me."

「Inside the clinic.」

Caleb Dalton walked in to see Sean Sinclair trying his best to explain, "Could it have been a misunderstanding?"

Sarah Lynch also chimed in, "Cecilia wouldn’t have the nerve. Leila, don’t misunderstand her. Cecilia is Sean’s sister."

"You’re wrong." Leila Jennings looked up at Sarah Lynch. "Cecilia has the nerve for this, and for worse. But Cecilia doesn’t necessarily have the brains to trick me into drinking a drugged drink."

"With her personality, she would have been impatient to make me drink the moment she saw me. She wouldn’t have first asked me what I thought of her diamond manicure, then made me eat her leftovers, and only then, as a third step, offered me the drink."

Those first two steps were what lowered her defenses.

Because Cecilia is usually the type to order people around arrogantly.

’I didn’t suspect Cecilia had another motive; I just thought she was trying to humiliate me in her usual way.’

Sarah Lynch’s gaze froze for a second, then she suddenly laughed. "Why are you looking at me like that? You don’t think framing Cecilia isn’t enough, so now you’re going to frame me, too?"

"Leila, you need evidence to make accusations."

"And what makes you so sure I don’t have any?" Leila said ambiguously.

Sarah Lynch wasn’t worried. ’Cecilia bought the drug, and Cecilia administered it. Besides, I don’t believe Leila can actually succeed in suing Cecilia.’

’There’s no way Sean would allow that to happen.’

’If the lawsuit fails, it’ll just be a matter of suspicion and confrontation. I’ve spent so long getting on Cecilia’s good side; she won’t sell me out that easily.’

"Then present your evidence instead of just slandering people here."

"That’s enough." Sean Sinclair cut off their conversation and looked at Leila. "I’ll ask Cecilia whether she’s the one who put something in the wine. As for you, how are you feeling now?"

He reached out to touch Leila’s hand and was surprised. "Why are you so cold?"

Leila pulled her hand away. "I wouldn’t want to make you cold."

"Why would you think that?" Sean Sinclair frowned, forcibly taking her hand and warming it in his. "How was the drug counteracted?"

"Madam Dalton gave me a medicinal bath and acupuncture."

"So they only treated you after you got here?" A thorn of suspicion grew in Sean Sinclair’s heart. "What about on the way? Nathaniel Cole brought you here. Did he do anything to you?"

’Sean Sinclair wasn’t worried about her well-being, nor did he care that she had been wronged. He was only focused on the idea that she had been with another man.’

Leila retorted, "No. President Cole is a gentleman."

"A gentleman?" Sean Sinclair laughed in anger. "His special assistant, Zachary, is a notorious smiling fox. A man who can employ someone like that, and you tell me he’s a gentleman? Nathaniel Cole is a cunning, ruthless, and cold-hearted man, and you’re calling him a gentleman?"

"Leila, do you even know who your husband is anymore?"