However...
Thorne had other pressing matters to attend to.
After they finished eating, he had his driver take Vesta and Raleigh back, while he headed out on his own.
In the backseat of the car, Raleigh turned to Vesta. "Is Charlene still giving you a hard time?"
They had chatted briefly during the AI tech conference a few days prior, but it had been too crowded for any private conversations.
This was the perfect opportunity.
Vesta's gaze darkened slightly at the question. "Outside of anything involving PrimeStar Technologies, she doesn't have the power to mess with me."
Hearing her response, Raleigh assumed Vesta simply despised Charlene's methods. He figured that despite Charlene achieving some level of success through underhanded tactics, she would still be absolute nothing without PrimeStar Technologies and Stewart Ferguson backing her up.
Vesta clearly didn't view Charlene as a real threat.
But Raleigh's heart sank.
If Vesta was dismissing Charlene so easily, it meant... she was completely oblivious to the affair between Charlene and Thorne.
She had vastly underestimated Charlene's sheer shamelessness, never suspecting that the woman would sink her claws into Thorne.
Noticing his hesitation, Vesta looked confused. "What's wrong?"
Raleigh paused, his throat tight, before finally finding his voice. "It's nothing. I just... seeing how smug she's been lately makes me realize she's probably far more despicable than we thought. I'm just worried she might try to hurt you in other ways."
Back at The Henderson Group.
During the afternoon coffee break, both the in-house engineers and the visiting staff from EchoWave flocked to Charlene's desk, eager to listen as she explained a complex problem.
"Dad is coming with us, obviously," Jasmine replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Before Charlene could protest, the little girl continued, "But Dad has some stuff to do this afternoon. He'll have to leave right after lunch."
Hearing that, Charlene figured Thorne didn't actually want to have lunch with her either, but had reluctantly agreed to appease Jasmine.
With that in mind, she sighed. "Alright, I understand."
"Great! Dad and I will come pick you up right now."
Just as Jasmine was about to happily hang up, Charlene interjected. "You don't need to do that, Minnie. Mom will just drive herself."
Since she put it that way, Jasmine didn't push it. "Okay then."

Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Unknown Divorce Revelation Beyond Time (Charlene and Thorne)
Well cockroaches it seems you've reached your final destination at which your nasty colony will be destroyed! Way to go Stewart!!!...
Now ı want to know how Thorne will stay silent with her daughter there and people talking bad about her mother....
Oh god! It's getting super boring and dragging. Lost all the interest now. A warning to new readers, avoid reading this....
761 chapters and they still couldn't divorce...
Is the universe against the divorce now?...
It is now mind numbing excruciating and irritating in the Chinese version where Thorne is ambiguous and now openly again intimate with Vesta, she leans and mutters sweetly holding his arm! And her clan are viciously demeaning Charlene while Thorne is within hearing distance. There is no justice no reparations for Charlene. Utter disheartening this novel is now...
Thorne must have bashed his head somewhere....
Chapters 480 and on are repeat from previous chapters. What's up with that? Time to stop reading this novel....
Thanks for the update. Keep them coming please!...
Any hope for Vesta being brain-dead?...