CHAPTER 17: CHAPTER 17: BECAUSE OF POVERTY

The car drove out of the old neighborhood where Sienna Thornton lived.

Along the way, Simon Forrester closed his eyes to rest.

Driving, Harrison Rowe occasionally glanced at him through the rearview mirror. As they were nearing the apartment, he couldn’t help but ask, "Director Forrester, there’s something I’ve been curious about."

"Go on."

"Lawyer Thornton got injured at your place, and you clearly weren’t responsible. Why do you still respond to her unreasonable demands?"

Harrison Rowe felt it was unfair for his boss. Despite being so busy that he barely had time to eat or sleep, he still had to spare energy to deal with Sienna Thornton’s nonsense.

"Harrison," the man’s voice was deep and weary, "as long as she doesn’t get the design plans, she won’t settle down for a day. You think just because I’ve managed to keep her injury under wraps, she’d behave?"

"Since a design plan can settle this, isn’t it simple? I can have the design department come up with a plan for you in a few days, and you can just give it to her. Wouldn’t that solve everything?"

Simon Forrester rubbed his swollen temples, "Do you think what she wants is just a plan?"

...

Sienna Thornton slept until noon again.

Strangely enough, after waking up today, she wasn’t as happy as she had been the past few days. Instead, a sense of guilt arose from within her.

It must be because of her financial situation. Without work, she felt uncomfortable all over.

She called Tobias, who was far away in Britione, and lied, saying that it would take two months to deal with matters back home, and she wanted to take on some paperwork that wouldn’t require her to appear in court since she was so bored during this time.

Tobias was probably busy. He briefly inquired about what was happening at her home, which she brushed off with a few words, then he instructed her to reach out to his secretary directly.

Tobias’s secretary, Leanne Norton, was someone Sienna Thornton had frequent business interactions with, so they were fairly familiar. Thinking it was no problem, she hung up and immediately dialed Leanne.

She provided Leanne with her home address, asking her to arrange for the documents to be sent quickly by courier.

Unexpectedly, Leanne personally delivered the documents to her apartment after work.

Seeing Sienna Thornton’s surprise, Leanne explained with a smile, "Since the address you gave is near the law firm, I thought I’d just bring it over after work to save the company a bit on delivery fees!"

As she spoke, Leanne’s gaze drifted to Sienna Thornton’s plastered right leg.

Knowing she couldn’t hide it, Sienna Thornton admitted, "As you can see, I’ve injured my leg, so I’m on leave for two months."

"Does Partner Reed know?"

"He knows I’m on leave, but not the details," Sienna Thornton paused, then added, "please don’t mention it to him, he’s quite busy."

Leanne made an OK gesture, her eyes shifting to the untouched food on the dining table.

Sienna Thornton noticed and casually asked, "Have you had dinner? Would you like to eat something here before you go?"

She was being polite, not expecting Leanne to actually accept the offer.

During the meal, Leanne shared some explosive news: "Lawyer Thornton, Partner Reed is having a divorce spat with Mrs. Reed."

Sienna Thornton, about to drink from her water glass, froze mid-action.

Leanne lowered her voice and said, "It’s true. Lately, Partner Reed has been consulting Lawyer Draper from the family law department, who specializes in divorce cases, and he’s asked me to help contact a property appraiser..."

"..."

After her mind resumed normal function, Sienna Thornton took a sip of water and responded calmly, "You absolutely mustn’t spread this kind of news."

"Oh, of course not! I’m just chatting with you. You’ve been with Partner Reed for so many years, you must have heard some gossip about him and his wife, right?"

Sienna Thornton concealed her impatience, speaking with an icy seriousness, "I don’t know about Partner Reed’s private matters. As for work, we know about the same."

"I see." Leanne shrugged and didn’t ask any more questions.

The meal was filled with unspoken thoughts. When Leanne got up to leave, Sienna Thornton was still somewhat distracted.

Having detected the off atmosphere earlier, Auntie King chimed in, "Lawyer Thornton has been going to bed early lately. She usually rests around this time, so that’s why she seems a bit off today. I’ll see Miss Norton out."

Leanne nodded, put on her shoes in the hallway, and turned around to take a long look at Sienna Thornton, who remained seated in the dining room.

Auntie King went to open the door and, seeing the tall man standing outside, respectfully addressed him, "Mr. Forrester, you’ve arrived."