CHAPTER 141: CHAPTER 141: SERENA SAWYER’S SUICIDE, I WILL PUBLISH THE MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE (PART 1)

I put Serena Sawyer’s inexplicable words behind me.

Just as I sat back at my desk to organize the interview drafts, Leo Grant walked over to my workstation.

He lowered his voice and said, "Miss Ellison, President Sinclair wants you to go to his office."

The hand holding the mouse paused, and the image of being caught alone with Julian Sinclair by Jolie Joyce flashed through my mind, bringing a wave of awkwardness and embarrassment.

To be honest, I wasn’t really keen on going to Julian Sinclair’s office during working hours.

Over time, there were bound to be rumors circulating in the office.

But Leo Grant was standing next to me waiting, and seeing that I hadn’t moved, he quietly reminded me again, "Miss Ellison, don’t keep President Sinclair waiting."

I knew I couldn’t refuse anymore, so I got up and headed to Julian Sinclair’s office.

As I pushed open the office door, Julian Sinclair was still staring at the surveillance footage on the computer screen.

The images on the screen flickered frame by frame, and his fingers tapped lightly on the keyboard, inspecting each person.

Despite having many subordinates to assign tasks to, he insisted on personally handling such a time-consuming and laborious task.

Watching him focus, I was inexplicably reminded of Serena Sawyer’s little tricks, vicious yet full of loopholes.

If only Timothy Xavier paid a bit more attention and did a little investigation, he would have found many dubious points.

But he never put any effort or energy into investigating, nor did he care to ask more questions.

"What are you thinking about?"

Julian Sinclair’s voice suddenly sounded, pulling me back to reality.

Meeting his eyes, how could I dare to say I was reflecting on the failures of my past marriage?

Hence, I quickly found an excuse: "Nothing, I was just thinking about Secretary Joyce being fired."

Julian Sinclair’s gaze deepened as he looked at me: "She was Timothy Xavier’s assistant before. Did she ever make things difficult for you?"

I was startled, not expecting him to ask that suddenly, and I hesitantly nodded.

The next moment, he stood up and walked towards me, with a tone that carried an imperceptible hint of heartache, "If you had told me earlier, I wouldn’t have kept her at The Sinclair Group for so long. It was my fault; I didn’t check carefully when the company did the background investigation."

My tone carried a bit of helplessness, "We weren’t in this kind of relationship before, so how could I tell you?"

Julian Sinclair smiled at my words. He leaned closer, lowering his voice further, "Then what kind of relationship are we in now?"

"Didn’t you say before? Friends."

I intentionally repeated his previous words, watching his slightly speechless expression, unable to resist curling my lips into a smile, "But I still have to thank you for standing up for me."

Julian Sinclair’s expression became more reserved as he seriously reminded me, "I have to go abroad for a business trip this afternoon and won’t be back for a few days. Now that Jolie Joyce has been fired, I can be more at ease, so you won’t be bullied at the company. If you encounter any trouble, remember to call me."

Listening to his words, my heart warmed while feeling a bit ashamed, as if I was only causing trouble for him.

Almost without thinking, I asked, "Can I not call you unless I encounter trouble?"

Julian Sinclair was momentarily stunned, then chuckled softly.

He raised his hand and gently stroked my cheek, the warmth of his fingertips seeped through my skin, "Of course, you can, if you miss me."

The warm touch combined with his ambiguous words made my ears instantly burn.

Hurriedly looking away, I stepped back a bit, "Have a successful business trip; I’ll go back to work now."

But just as I turned around, my wrist was grabbed by him.

My body halted, and as I looked back, I met his deep gaze right away.

His eyes fell on my lips, carrying unabashed heat.

I instantly understood his intent, causing my heart to beat a bit faster.

Except for that time in Burona when I was drugged, we never kissed while being sober. We mostly just hugged, never crossing that line.

His gaze remained fixed, my inner defenses slowly crumbling, almost ready to give in.

But remembering my current circumstances, I forcefully suppressed the flutter in my heart.

I looked at him seriously, speaking word by word, "Remember what I said? I want to be with you openly."

Julian Sinclair respected the boundaries.

He made no further moves and let me leave.

In the afternoon, Julian Sinclair had already left the company, with Leo Grant accompanying him on the trip.

Not long after he left, Timothy Xavier called me, but I didn’t answer.

Unexpectedly, Doris called soon after.

After I answered, the little girl’s timid request came through, "Mommy, daddy wants to pick me up from school tonight and take me to watch a movie and go shopping. Can I go?"

I paused for a moment.

Even though I wasn’t very keen on Timothy Xavier, he was still Doris’s biological father.

I couldn’t deprive Doris of the right to be with her dad.

So I agreed.

Doris’s tone lightened a bit, but she cautiously asked, "Mommy, will you be upset?"

I felt a little sour at Doris’s current sensitivity and gently said, "Mommy isn’t upset. He’s your dad. You can see him whenever you want. But don’t eat anything cold tonight, you’ve been feeling a bit under the weather lately, okay?"

"Okay, Mommy, I know!"

Doris replied happily, "Can Sharon come too? I want to bring Sharon with me!"

I said, "Give the phone to Sharon."

Soon, Sharon took the call. Initially, I thought Doris had dragged Sharon along and was worried Sharon might be too embarrassed to refuse.

But Sharon was still a child, and once she heard she could go out to play, she wanted to go too.

I gave them a few reminders and agreed.

After hanging up, I felt uneasy and called Timothy back, saying, "Doris and Sharon are just kids, you’d better not play any tricks on them."

Timothy’s tone had a hint of bitterness, and he said, "Don’t worry, I’ll bring Doris back to you after dinner. I’ll also take good care of the little girl from the Hawthorne family. I’ve already lost my wife; I won’t be foolish enough to lose my daughter again. I really just miss her."

I didn’t say anything else, just as I was about to hang up, he suddenly said to me, "Zoe, why don’t you come tonight too? I was thinking... we could have a family get-together. That would make Doris happy."

"Timothy, don’t push your luck."

With that, I hung up the phone.

Thinking that Doris and Sharon were going out with Timothy tonight, I didn’t pick them up from school.

Watching the drizzle outside, I couldn’t help but complain that Timothy took the kids out to play without even choosing good weather.

Around seven o’clock, as I was just finishing up with work and preparing to leave the office, Doris called me.

"Mom..." The little girl’s voice was tearful, "Can you come and pick us up? Sharon and I are soaked to the bone."

I was startled and immediately got up to leave, asking, "Weren’t you out with your dad? Where is he?"

"I don’t know, he told me he’d pick us up at the kindergarten after school."

Doris was crying angrily and sobbed, "Daddy never keeps his word. I won’t talk to him anymore!"

I ran to the garage with my car keys, clutching my phone tightly, worried and heartbroken.

"Doris, be good. See if the security guard is there? Tell him you and Sharon need to stay with him out of the rain and don’t run around. Mommy will be there soon!"

I spoke quickly, anxiously instructing them.

On my way, I kept the call with the kids, afraid they’d encounter any issue.

In my heart, I blamed Timothy to the heavens and back.

This afternoon, he had promised confidently to take Doris out to play, but then left two children in the rain with not a word.

Forty minutes later, I finally arrived at the kindergarten entrance.

As soon as my car was stable, I saw two little figures under the gate, shivering like two little chicks.

I pushed open the car door and rushed over, quickly getting the two children into the car.

"Didn’t I tell you to go to the security guard’s room? Why were you standing outside getting wet?"

I asked, both angry and heartbroken, as I took out a dry towel to help them dry off.

Sharon whispered, "The gatekeeper has a bad temper, we didn’t dare talk to him..."

Doris agreed.

She said angrily, "Daddy is a liar!"

Sharon also complained, "Doris called uncle many times, but he didn’t pick up."

I turned on the car’s heater, afraid that the two children would get sick.

Doris still upset, said to me, "Call him and ask him why he lied to us! He’s definitely tangled up with that bad woman at home again!"

Just as she was speaking, my phone suddenly rang, showing it was Timothy calling.

I took a deep breath and pressed the answer key.

Before he could speak, my suppressed anger erupted, "Timothy! Where are you? The two kids have been standing in the rain at the kindergarten entrance for almost an hour. Are you doing this on purpose? Couldn’t you have told me if something came up? You disappeared without a word, stood the kids up, what’s the meaning?"

There were a few seconds of silence on the other end before Timothy’s tired and slightly flustered voice came through, "Serena had an accident, I... forgot to tell the kids. Now that I’m done, I suddenly remembered..."

I couldn’t listen to his explanation, it’s always about Serena Sawyer.

I interrupted coldly, "Timothy, go to hell!"

After hanging up, Doris looked at me with disappointment, like a little adult, "See, I was right! It’s that bad woman again. She must have found a reason to keep Daddy from accompanying me!"

I gripped the steering wheel tightly, holding back my anger, "Tomorrow is the weekend; Mommy will take you to play, go shopping, buy what you want, watch the movies you want!"

Upon hearing this, Doris’s frown finally relaxed, and in a sweet voice, she remarked, "Luckily, I still have Mommy. As for that unreliable Daddy, I don’t want to talk to him anymore!"

...

Back at The Sinclair Estate, Madam Sinclair saw the two children all wet and worriedly asked me what happened.

As I took the children for a bath, I explained to Madam Sinclair.

Madam Sinclair shook her head repeatedly, "And he calls himself a father! And he still has the nerve to ask for custody?"

Just then, a servant hurried over, saying, "Madam, something has happened! There’s a couple at the door claiming to be Serena Sawyer’s parents, here to confront Miss Ellison!"

"Serena Sawyer?"

Madam Sinclair thought there was something wrong with her ears. She looked at me and said, "Did I hear that right? Serena Sawyer is coming here?"

I told the two kids to bathe themselves and hurried downstairs with Madam Sinclair.

Sure enough, Faye Warren and Peter Sawyer were at the entrance of The Sinclair Estate, along with Serena’s brother, Miles Sawyer.

They were shouting into the villa, but because we were inside and the distance was far, we couldn’t hear what they were saying.

Madam Sinclair and I didn’t care about what they were saying at all.

Madam Sinclair angrily said, "The security in this villa area is getting increasingly sloppy! How could they let in such rabble?"

We stood by the window, talking, when we saw Timothy Xavier actually arrive.

He was dragging Faye Warren into a car, seemingly trying to stop them from making a scene here.

But Faye Warren stubbornly refused to leave.

Madam Sinclair frowned and instructed a servant, "Go get rid of these pests! If it doesn’t work, call the police!"

But the servant awkwardly said, "We tried to drive them away just now, but... but they said it was Miss Ellison who drove their daughter to suicide."

Suicide?

Madam Sinclair and I were almost simultaneously shocked.

I stared at Faye Warren making a scene outside, and suddenly remembered how Serena looked in the company that morning.

She was red-eyed, saying inexplicable things, with a tone of grievance.

At the time, I just thought she was picking a fight on purpose; now it seems that it was all pre-planned by her!

"No wonder she suddenly came to the company to see me in the morning."

I clenched my fists, a chill rising from the bottom of my heart, and explained to Madam Sinclair, "Even if I didn’t say a word to her, just by meeting me, she could blame the suicide on me. Then, her family would come out crying, and everyone would think I drove her to death."

After listening, Madam Sinclair’s face instantly darkened, and she pointed out the window, cursing, "That vile woman! She’s really an unshakable viper!"

Madam Sinclair paused, her gaze full of certainty, "Zoe, don’t worry, I guarantee she’s not really dead! If someone had truly died, her family should’ve gone to the police station long ago, not come here to make trouble. They’re just trying to swindle us!"

The servant beside us was still waiting for instructions, timidly asking, "Madam, should we let them in to talk?"

"Talk about what?"

Madam Sinclair’s tone was firm, "Go, chase them away! Tell them if they truly feel wronged, to go to the police station instead of making a scene here! The Sinclair Family isn’t afraid of such rascals!"

The servant was about to leave when Faye Warren’s rampant yelling had already drawn the attention of others in the villa area.

Seeing the growing crowd outside, I began to worry.

If it were at my own home, I wouldn’t be afraid.

But I’m at The Sinclair Family’s home now, and people would see it as their scandal.

I can’t implicate Madam Sinclair.

Many outside had already taken out their phones to start recording. After all, Faye Warren must have been shouting Serena Sawyer’s name over and over.

No matter how controversial Serena was, she was still a public figure.

People couldn’t help but be curious.

I said to Madam Sinclair, "Grandma, please watch Sharon and Doris for me, don’t let them see this, I need to step out for a moment."

"No, you can’t go!"

Madam Sinclair said, "People like them are entangled indefinitely! If you go, you’ll only be blamed and cursed by them for no reason! Listen to me, let them cause a scene. I’ve lived so many years; I’m not afraid of losing face!"

At that time, many security personnel had arrived outside and directly dragged Faye Warren and the others away.

Watching the situation outside gradually calm down, I breathed a slight sigh of relief, but my heart was still uneasy.

I had a feeling that these people would not let it go easily.

Sure enough, less than an hour after Faye Warren left, news of Serena’s suicide had already spread online.

Notifications from the phone screen popped up one after another, with eye-catching headlines.

[Scandalous Artist Serena Sawyer Suspected of Attempted Suicide, Temporarily Out of Danger After Rescue]

[Serena Sawyer Seen at a Magazine Office Before Suicide, Possibly Faced Major Blow]

Opening the trending search entries, the comments section was already buzzing with conspiracy theories emerging one after another:

"She definitely offended big shots and got suppressed! From being blacklisted to now attempting suicide, this is just too tragic!"

"I always felt there was something fishy about her being slandered. Now it seems someone is definitely behind this! Can the authorities give us some explanation?"

"Is there anyone in the know? Who did she see at the magazine before the suicide? Was she threatened?"

Not long after, a blurry photo suddenly flooded the comments section.

At this moment, a comment claiming to be from a "former employee of The Sinclair Group" was pushed to a top spot: "I was downstairs at the time, and I saw Serena Sawyer enter the magazine office with my own eyes. It seemed she was looking for someone named Zoe Ellison."

This comment was like a bomb, instantly igniting all kinds of speculation.

Someone immediately pieced together the timeline:

"Serena Sawyer left the magazine office and was sent to the hospital for resuscitation in less than an hour. Isn’t the timing way too coincidental?"

"Who is this Zoe Ellison? What grudge does she have with Serena Sawyer?"

Then, Serena’s fans began to stir things up:

"Zoe Ellison? Isn’t she the ’most beautiful reporter’ who was rumored to have seduced President Xavier and wanted to take Serena’s place? There were even photos of her going in and out of President Xavier’s villa!"

"I knew she wasn’t a good person! When she went to the earthquake disaster area, I thought she was just putting on a show! And now she’s driven Serena to suicide? That’s just too vicious!"

"We must expose her! Let her be accountable for Serena’s situation!"

"..."

Even though I hadn’t done anything to Serena, I was still alarmed by these overwhelming comments.

At that moment, my phone rang; it was Timothy Xavier calling.

That’s when I remembered why he stood Doris up today.

I answered the call, and Timothy’s deep voice questioned me: "Zoe, what exactly did you say to Serena? Why did she lock herself in her room as soon as she got back? I’m doing my best to clear the online comments now, but you have to tell me the truth. I will find a way to save you."

I took a deep breath, having no desire to explain anything anymore.

It’s always like this.

I said nothing and hung up the phone.

Timothy called again, but I turned off my phone.

Not long after, Madam Sinclair came up with Jenna Sutton.

The Ellison parents also arrived at the same time.

I didn’t expect this issue to alarm everyone.

Jenna explained to me: "Auntie and Uncle saw the news online and were worried sick. They said your phone was off, so I brought them here!"

Mrs. Ellison was so worried that she cried out, "What on earth did we do wrong to get involved with people like Timothy Xavier and Serena Sawyer?"

Mr. Ellison said, "I’ve already called the police. I refuse to believe that there’s no justice in this world anymore! Do they really think they can just say whatever they want?"

Madam Sinclair consoled them and said worriedly, "Call Julian. He’s abroad and might not know what’s happening here. I think even if we call the police, it might not calm things down. After all, the police can’t stop people from gossiping!"

I hesitated a bit; he just left this afternoon, and I promised not to bother him with every problem.

But now, I have to trouble him again.

Jenna urged, "Call him! Can’t you see what time it is? Stop dawdling! Attorney Sinclair will definitely have a solution!"

So, I dialed Julian Sinclair’s number.

But it was Leo Grant who answered.

He spoke in a low voice, "Miss Ellison, President Sinclair is in a meeting. Is it urgent? Today’s case is quite important..."

"It’s nothing."

I hung up, unwilling to disrupt Julian’s schedule for my issues, even more reluctant to rely on him for everything.

Seeing that I said nothing and hung up the phone, Jenna got really anxious!

However, Mr. Ellison understood me and sighed, "Our Zoe has always been like this; she doesn’t like to trouble others."

Jenna said, "But that’s ’others’! He’s her man! Isn’t a man supposed to be useful at times like these?"

"Jenna." I interrupted her, "Can you stop talking nonsense? I want some peace and quiet, could you all please leave?"

But because of what Jenna just said, my parents bulged their eyes, like they’d just heard some shocking secret.

Mrs. Ellison, being the type who has to get to the bottom of things, asked Jenna, "Jenna, what did you mean by that? Didn’t you say on the way that Zoe was staying here because Madam Sinclair liked her, and she’s here to keep Madam Sinclair company?"

Jenna realized she misspoke and looked a bit nervous.

It was Madam Sinclair who calmly said, "Let’s let Zoe have some quiet first, I’ll go out and explain to you all."

My parents looked at me worriedly, but still followed Madam Sinclair out of the room.

Scrolling through the comment section, I suddenly felt I shouldn’t call Julian to solve this but should make Timothy handle it.

The issue was started by Serena, and her actions were condoned by Timothy.

So why should anyone else clean up this mess?

With that thought, I called Timothy Xavier again.

Timothy picked up quickly.

Over the phone, I could hear Serena’s cries, "Let me die! Mom, Dad, don’t stop me! I’ve been pushed to this point; my career is over, and Timothy doesn’t want me anymore. How am I supposed to live?"

Soon, her voice faded a bit. I guessed Timothy went out or to the balcony to take the call.

"What is it?"

He sounded weary, "I called you earlier, and your phone was off. Can’t we have a proper conversation? I just want to know why Serena reacted like this after meeting you."

I suppressed my irritation and tried to speak calmly: "Timothy Xavier, would you believe me if I told you? If I said this was all a setup by Serena to drag me down, would you believe me?"

Timothy was silent for a moment and then said, "Do you know how deep her cuts were? Do you know how much she bled? Are you saying she used her life to frame you?"

I laughed sarcastically, "But she’s not dead, is she?"

"Zoe." Timothy’s tone grew graver, "In the past, I hurt you deeply. If you want revenge, come at me! I won’t say a word! But why do you have to focus on Serena? Why do you have to drive her to death to feel peace?"

I stopped trying to explain and said only one thing: "Timothy Xavier, I’m giving you until tomorrow morning. If you don’t completely resolve this by then, our marriage certificate will be online."