The Hidden Empress Stripping Her Secrets After Divorce novel Chapter 254

10:00 AM, Thorne Enterprises Headquarters, top-floor boardroom.

The grueling three-hour strategy meeting had just concluded. Along the massive oval rosewood table, over a dozen executives stood up one by one, gathering their files and murmuring in low voices as they filed out. The heavy atmosphere of intense debate still lingered in the room, mixing with the bitter aroma of coffee and the faint, stale scent of smoke.

Sebastian Thorne sat at the head of the table, unmoving.

He held a dead fountain pen, his fingers mindlessly tapping the polished wood. The projector screen behind him still displayed the final presentation slide—the overseas expansion plan for the latter half of the year, with bold red arrows piercing into the European and North American markets like drawn swords.

"Mr. Thorne." Lance walked in quietly, clutching a tablet and a stack of folders.

Sebastian glanced up, the sharp, aggressive edge from the meeting still burning in his eyes. "Speak."

"Two things." Lance stopped beside him, dropping his voice to a low murmur. "First, word from The Westside Sanatorium. Marcus wants to see you."

The rhythmic tapping of the pen instantly stopped.

Sebastian's face gave absolutely nothing away, but Lance could physically feel the temperature in the room plummet.

"When?" Sebastian asked, his voice dead flat.

"This morning. He spent the entire morning screaming, demanding to see you so he could ask why his credit cards were frozen and why you locked him up there." Lance paused. "The head of the sanatorium said he was completely unhinged and smashed a lot of things."

Sebastian pushed himself out of the chair and walked over to the floor-to-ceiling windows. Below him sprawled the bustling downtown district, a concrete jungle of skyscrapers reflecting blinding glares of sunlight.

"Tell him," Sebastian said over his shoulder, his voice as cold as ice, "I'll visit when I have the time. Tell him to behave, or I have no problem letting him rot there for a few more years."

Lance nodded. "Understood."

"Also," Sebastian walked back to the table and picked up his suit jacket, "What about Arthur? Does he know?"

"He knows." Lance's voice dropped even lower. "Arthur called you three times this morning. You were in the meeting, so I didn't dare interrupt. He is... extremely angry. Mostly furious that Marcus pulled a stunt like this again."

Sebastian slid his arms into his jacket, his movements slow and deliberate. "How is Arthur's health?"

"He's in good shape, just incredibly pissed off. He asked you to call him back when you get a chance."

Sebastian nodded, adjusting his cuffs. "What's the second thing?"

Lance quickly opened the folder, looking suddenly uncomfortable. "It's regarding Tessa Taylor's amniocentesis results. The report came in yesterday and was sent directly to your office. I just verified it—the DNA matching is complete."

Sebastian stopped dead in his tracks.

"Good. Very good," he murmured, biting off every single syllable. "It seems my dear aunt and Geoffrey have gotten a bit too comfortable stretching their hands where they don't belong."

Lance held his breath, terrified to speak.

Sebastian walked back to the table, leaning forward on both hands as he stared Lance down. "It's Geoffrey's?"

"According to the medical report, yes," Lance forced himself to answer.

"Do we need to inform Victoria?" Lance asked carefully.

Sebastian straightened up and slowly shook his head. "Not yet."

He turned back to the window, his voice turning terrifyingly placid. "Since it's Geoffrey's bastard... Victoria hasn't been able to have a child all these years, so as her nephew, I naturally have to prepare a massive 'gift' for his side of the family."

A cold sweat instantly broke out across Lance's spine.

He knew Sebastian's aunt all too well. Victoria—a woman whose name suggested elegance and grace, but who was anything but. She was a deeply possessive, violently jealous woman. Every mistress Geoffrey ever paraded around had been dealt with ruthlessly by her hand, and no illegitimate child was ever allowed to survive. If she couldn't give birth, nobody else was allowed to either.

If she found out that Geoffrey not only had a mistress, but that the mistress was pregnant, and the baby was already four months along...