Chapter 316

If this had happened years ago, Nathan would have been nothing but a worthless king! And that useless son of his—the apple didn't fall far from the tree. They even joined forces to rebel against the family!

Rosalind whispered cautiously, "Grandfather, please don't be upset. I believe the real issue lies with Ms. Vanderbilt, not Nathan."

Theodore's brows furrowed. "Explain yourself."

Rosalind bit her lip dramatically. "If I tell you, Nathan might accuse me of poisoning your mind against her."

"Speak freely," Theodore assured her with a pat on her shoulder. "You have my full support."

Taking a deep breath, Rosalind continued, "Ms. Vanderbilt has been relentlessly pestering Nathan, demanding he bring her to important meetings. Her behavior toward me has been utterly disgraceful—she clearly sees me as competition."

"She targeted me without provocation during training camp. On assessment day, Nathan suddenly showed up with me. I suspect she fed him lies about me, destroying his trust."

Every word dripped with calculated malice, painting Evelyn as the mastermind behind Nathan's defiance.

Theodore's expression darkened like storm clouds gathering.

His grandson couldn't possibly be this rebellious on his own. That woman had clearly overstayed her welcome.

Outside the study, Liam's small fists clenched until his knuckles turned white. Silently, he retreated down the hallway.

#Mr. Goldmann Spoils His Fiancée#

Scrolling through Twitter during her break, Evelyn froze when she saw the trending hashtag. Clicking through revealed dozens of posts about their "office PDA spectacle."

#Woody: The CEO's gorgeous fiancée is giving me serious envy.#

#OrangeFTW: When Mr. Goldmann—usually only seen in financial news—trends, it's always couple goals that murder singletons.#

#DayDreamer: The 1% have next-level ways of pampering their partners.#

Evelyn set her phone down with a thud. Now all of Zlokova knew she was Nathan's fiancée. Would they even let her keep working here?

A sharp knock interrupted her thoughts.

"Come in," she called. Gregory entered, followed closely by Chloe. "Evelyn!"

Evelyn rose slowly. "Chloe. This is unexpected."

Chloe strutted in, tossing a small velvet pouch onto the desk. "Rachel asked me to deliver this. Said you probably left it behind."

Evelyn's smile faltered as she opened the pouch to reveal the jade ring she'd lost during training camp.

"How is Rachel?" she asked, running her fingers over the cool stone.

Chloe shrugged. "Weirdly motivated lately. No clue why."

Evelyn's lips curved slightly before her expression sobered. "Tell me honestly—do you really believe Winifred committed suicide?"

Chloe stiffened. "Why ask now?"

Evelyn's lashes fluttered like trapped butterflies. "It doesn't add up. She wasn't the type."

After a heavy pause, Chloe admitted, "When Mr. Goldmann ordered the investigation, I thought the same. We confiscated all her belongings during detention—there was no way she had a blade in that interrogation room."

Evelyn leaned forward. "Did you find anything conclusive?"