Bait for a Gentleman novel Chapter 113

Sebastian stood by the window, his broad shoulders cutting a striking silhouette. Gripping the phone, he delivered his final instruction: "Yes. Make sure you track the person down."

A confirmation came from the other end, and he hung up.

He reviewed the agreement on his screen one last time from top to bottom. Confirming there were no legal loopholes, he forwarded it to Audrina.

He tacked on a short message: [Ready to sign.]

As the screen went dark, a faint curve touched the corner of his mouth.

But the smile didn't reach his eyes.

From the moment Audrina's scandal broke until now, he had been worried sick.

And the result?

She had agreed to Zachary's demands without missing a beat.

One second they were negotiating equity splits, and the next she was perfectly willing to play along with his little charade.

Putting the ring back on, pasting on a smile, and continuing to parade around as the future Mrs. Sutton.

Sebastian let out a soft scoff, a touch of mockery lingering on his lips.

He wasn't nearly that generous.

Barely two minutes later, his phone rang.

Audrina's voice drifted through the line, laced with a light, relaxed laugh. "Mr. Hawthorne. I saw the statement. Thanks for handling the trending searches."

"It was nothing," he replied simply. For him, it really was just a matter of saying the word.

"I read the agreement too," Audrina continued. "The terms look solid. Thank you."

Hmm. Did she really think a simple 'thank you' was enough to dismiss him?

"So, has Ms. Monroe thought about it?" Sebastian asked. "How exactly do you plan on paying your legal fees?"

Audrina sidestepped the bait. "Once I get the Monroe shares back, you'll get every penny you're owed."

"I don't need money."

"Then what? You're still in Manhattan right now..."

Her trailing sentence carried an obvious implication.

Sebastian raised an eyebrow. "Shall I book you a flight then?"

The silent night poured in through the window, scattering brilliant, shattered lights across the Hudson River.

"Yeah." Zachary handed his coat to a maid, walked over, and sat down, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Tamara didn't rush to speak. She took a slow, deliberate sip from her teacup before asking, "Is the agreement signed?"

"It's signed."

"And all the Monroe shares have been returned?"

"Returned. We're just waiting for the transfer to process."

The teacup clattered sharply against the table.

Tamara raised her voice. "You just handed it over that easily?"

Zachary had been exhausted lately. He leaned back into the sofa, lit a cigarette, and slowly exhaled a ring of smoke.

"Mom, you know Cyrus is coming back soon."

"Those things Audrina has—the photos, the recordings, the videos—if she leaked even one of them, it's undeniable proof."

"If she actually sued to get her equity back and dragged this into court, do you think Cyrus would let that opportunity slip? He's dying for an excuse to crush me and take over. If that happened, forget the Monroe shares, there wouldn't even be a place for me at the Sutton Group."

Tamara scoffed coldly. "You can't even handle one little girl. The Monroe family only bounced back because of you. Those shares, those assets—every bit of it was saved by our family. Handing it all back to her means we worked for nothing!"