Chapter 42
Chapter 42
Fabian had a patriarchal mindset, and his chauvinism was evident. Much to his disappointment, his two
sons had no talent for business, and their offspring were all daughters. His only daughter, Xenia, did
not marry into another family. Instead, she stayed with the Forte family, took a husband, and gave birth
to William, who retained his mother’s surname.
Hence, William was trained as the heir of Forte Group from an early age.
After some time, Fabian’s illegitimate child, Christopher, returned to the Forte family and surprised
them with his outstanding intellect.
However, the heir was still William, and Christopher was only trained as a subordinate.
In the years to come, Fabian’s wife wanted Christopher, the mistress’ son, gone. Xenia was also
worried that Christopher would sn*tch everything from her son. She then plotted to sabotage him.
If some people hadn’t extended a helping hand to Christopher in secret, he would’ve died more than 20
years ago.
Christopher had gone abroad to survive and finally returned to his home country four years ago. It took
him only one year to ascend to Forte Group’s chairman position, and he had absolute control of the
company shares.
Even so, William remained Fabian’s favorite descendant in the family. The patriarch had planned to
leave all of his personal property to William.
This was why William had never considered the possibility of being given up by his grandfather.
He found this reality was much harder to swallow. It was worse
The True Lady Strikes Back
than losing the company to Christopher.
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On the other end of the phone, Fabian was left speechless to find an answer. Ashamed, he changed
the topic. “William, how are you doing now?”
“I’ve suffered a lot, and I’m in pain now. Uncle Christopher is torturing me to the point of madness!
Grandpa, help me. Please!”
William knew being tough would have the opposite effect, so he acted pitifully.
At this point, Christopher lost interest in their conversation. Once more, he took Cecilia in his arms and
left the secret
room.
When they were back in the living room of the main building, Cecilia murmured, “It’s late. I should go.”
“I’ll give you a ride,” he said.
“No, you drank alcohol tonight.” She shook her head. “Go to bed early. Just get me a car, and I’ll be
fine.”
He disagreed and said, “But I want to give you a ride and spend more time with you.”
Christopher insisted on accompanying Cecilia back to her condominium. When they were on the way,
he told her, “William said someone was blackmailing Juliana for money. We can investigate this.”
Cecilia felt sleepy. She leaned against the car window and almost fell asleep.
When she heard Christopher’s words, she didn’t think much about it. “The person blackmailing her
could be someone who knew that she faked her illness. I don’t think there’s anything to investigate.”
However, her intuition told her something was wrong right after she said that. Her eyes immediately
snapped open.
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‘Juliana is meticulous. She can control her attending doctor, Kevin, to do her dirty deeds because she
has something on him. that she can use to her advantage.
She must have used similar methods to control other insiders.
Then, the person who extorts her for money is not an insider, and there might be other reasons for the
extortion.’ She quickly ran the situation through her mind.
Once she understood the case, she changed her mind and immediately agreed. “I’ll investigate this.
Thank you for reminding me,” she said.
“You don’t have to be so reserved with me. Get some rest, and I’ll let you know when we arrive.”
Cecilia nodded and continued to lean against the window. She closed her eyes and tried to get some
rest.
She intended to rest for a while but ended up falling asleep.
As the driver turned at an intersection, Cecilia’s body fell backward. Christopher caught her and held
her head in his lap.
Unconsciously, Cecilia settled into a comfortable position. herself. She buried her face in Christopher’s
lap and continued to sleep.
Her breathing was as light and quiet as a feather, sweeping the man’s lap inadvertently and repeatedly.
The soft, tickling sensation was overwhelming and never-ending.
Christopher’s breathing became involuntarily faster and heavier. Defeated, he pinched Cecilia’s nose
affectionately. “Cecilia, when are you going to accept my feelings?”
As the soft murmur left his lips, he lowered his head and kissed Cecilia’s forehead lovingly and
devoutly.
He had never thought he would love someone so passionately, to the point where he wanted to give
her only the best, hoping she would smile more.
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“Drive slowly,” Christopher ordered the driver.
“Yes, Mr. Christopher Forte.”
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The car slowed down. The trip normally took about an hour, but they had spent an hour and a half on
the road because the car slowed down.
It was already in the wee hours of the night when they arrived at the residential area near Quilton
University.
The moment the car stopped, Cecilia woke up.
When she realized her head was resting on Christopher’s thigh, she sprung up immediately, and a
blush crept up her face.
“Did I sleep for a long time? Why didn’t you wake me up?” she asked.
“I don’t have the heart to wake you from your peaceful
slumber. It’s late, so go home and rest well,” he said, smiling at her.
Cecilia nodded and dropped her hand on the door handle, but she remembered something and
paused.
She turned her head and asked, “What’s Fabian’s decision? Did William livestream?”
She had planned to watch the livestream in the first place but fell asleep instead.
Christopher propped an elbow at the car window and supported his forehead with that hand.
“Fabian clearly understands William is done for after messing with me. Therefore, he’s chosen Xenia.
William’s livestream was very interesting, but it’s too late now. You can watch it tomorrow after a good
night’s sleep.”
“Okay then.” Cecilia agreed and exited the car.
As she closed the car door, she saw Christopher massaging his legs. Apparently, his legs had gone
numb after she slept on his
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thighs.
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She was quite embarrassed. When she was about to say something, a camera flashlight shone not far
away from her, causing her to blink inadvertently.
“It must be some journalists trying to catch me near my home after my identity has been exposed,” she Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.
thought.
As soon as Cecilia realized that, her expression turned cold.
The unscrupulous tabloid journalists who would do anything to invade others’ privacy were among the
entities she hated
most.
Just as she was about to go over and teach those journalists a lesson, she heard Christopher instruct
his driver. “Go deal with it.”
“Yes, Mr. Christopher Forte.”
The people who served under Christopher might not be powerful, but they would have no trouble if
asked to handle certain unexpected events.
The driver got out of the car and walked directly to the journalists hiding behind a flower bed.
Cecilia didn’t know what the driver said to the journalists. Soon, the journalists destroyed the memory
cards in their cameras and deleted the unauthorized photos they had secretly taken on their phones
without putting up a fight. After that, they rushed away as if someone was after their lives.
Christopher exited the car and reminded Cecilia, “You’re famous now, and all eyes will be on you
everywhere. Be
cautious with what you say and do, as someone can use these to attack you.”
“Okay, I’ll be attentive.” She nodded.
“I’ll keep an eye on the media. They won’t write harmful news about you. Don’t worry.”
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After Christopher made his promise, he caressed Cecilia’s head and continued, “Shall I arrange two
bodyguards for you?
Judging from how intensely Juliana hates you now, she’s likely to make further plans to hurt you.”
Cecilia took a slight step aside to avoid Christopher’s intimate gesture.
She had always dealt with everything independently. She felt very unaccustomed when someone
suddenly stepped in and took care of everything for her.
“No need for that. I can protect myself. Her tone was firm. “Be careful on the way back. See you soon.”
Cecilia spun around and walked into the residential area after she said that.
With a hand suspended mid-air, Christopher stared at Cecilia’s back until he could no longer see her.
He retracted his hand quietly, entered the car, and left.
Cecilia caught sight of Jonathan and Jackson waiting at her condominium door when she returned
home. Their faces were sullen and hideous.
Perhaps they had been waiting too long that they leaned against her door and dozed off with their eyes
closed.
She lunged forward and gave them both a good kick after turning on her phone’s recording function.
“Good dogs don’t stand in the way where people walk.
The intense pain was enough to jolt Jonathan and Jackson to their senses immediately.
They glared at the beautiful Cecilia and demanded, “Why are you home so late? Are you fooling
around somewhere?”
“It’s none of your business. Get out of my way!” she snapped.
“Your identity’s been exposed. Now everyone knows you’re a Yancey. Your words and deeds matter to
the Yancey family’s reputation,” Jonathan snorted coldly.
hes Back
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Cecilia smirked and asked. “Is there still any good reputation left for the Yancey family?”
When Jackson heard that, he felt as if his chest would burst with rage.
“I knew it was you who deliberately defamed the Yancey family. You took the money and shares, yet
you go back on your word. How shameless!”
As soon as he finished speaking, Cecilia slapped him hard in the face.
“You are the ones who have no shame! I’ve severed all ties with the Yancey family, but you keep
coming back to cause me trouble. Do you think I won’t lose my temper?”
She said inwardly, ‘I wish no one would ever know that I am a member of the Yancey family!
I don’t want to have any connection to a family that maintains an acceptable appearance but has a
horrible worldview.