Never Mistake a Queen for a Lapdog novel Chapter 1106

It wasn't openly aggressive, but it made Healy's skin crawl. Seth didn't interrupt or act outwardly annoyed. He simply sat there, casually shifting his gaze to Healy every few seconds before slowly looking away.

The psychological warfare was too much. Healy eventually stood up, made a polite excuse about having work to do, and left.

Noreen opened the Pear Consommé and took a sip. It was sweet and incredibly soothing.

She glanced at Seth. "What did you make today?"

"Bouillabaisse," he replied calmly.

Noreen's eyes lit up. She loved French seafood stew. She immediately put the consommé aside and moved to the coffee table where Seth had set up the meal.

Lifting the lid off the porcelain pot, the rich, savory steam billowed out. She eagerly drank a small bowl and ate a few pieces of tender fish before suddenly remembering the sweet drink.

She reached out for the consommé, but her hand grasped empty air.

Seth was calmly screwing the lid back onto Healy's thermos.

"It's cold," he stated, his tone completely flat. "Cold consommé tastes awful."

He casually reached over, picked a sliver of ginger out of her stew, and murmured, "Just focus on eating this."

Noreen paused, staring at his perfect, sculpted profile. He wasn't just cleaning up. He had ruthlessly eliminated the competition's gift the second she looked away.

Claire's warning rang in her head. He'll guard against side pieces like his life depends on it.

Seth waited until she finished every last bite before finally leaving the office.

An hour later, the police department released a full statement detailing the conspiracy. Driven by corporate greed, Jasmine had bribed doctors to fabricate a terminal illness diagnosis for Ian. She manipulated him into attempting suicide and used the tragedy to orchestrate a massive smear campaign against Winrich.

While public outrage tanked Winrich's stock, she swooped in to buy Noreen's shares in InnoCore at a fraction of their value. The evidence was irrefutable. The bribed doctor had already confessed.

Jasmine was arrested directly in Ian's hospital room—caught attempting to inject him with a lethal drug after discovering he was showing signs of waking up.

In custody, Jasmine wildly denied the bribery, confident the police couldn't trace her offshore accounts.

But the moment the detectives dropped a flawless paper trail of her offshore wire transfers on the interrogation table, her confidence shattered.

"Impossible! How did you find this?! This is impossible!" Jasmine shrieked.

Whether she accepted it or not, her empire was dust. The only thing waiting for her now was a prison cell.