When Love Is a Lie (Whitney and Damian) novel Chapter 77

"There's no one inside. When we arrived, the outer door was locked from the outside, and the key was lying in the bushes. No one could have come in," Rachel assured Damian.

Compared to the missing 200 million dollars, nothing else mattered. Besides, as he'd just said himself, who would lock themselves in from the outside?

Damian said no more and strode out of the greenhouse. Rachel followed a minute later, taking the short path behind the greenhouse.

Moments after, the cabinet door creaked open.

Noel stepped out first, with Whitney close behind him.

"Thank goodness for Grandpa's call," she whispered with relief.

If it weren't for Elijah's timely call, the situation would have escalated into utter chaos.

Noel cast her a sidelong glance.

Elijah's call hadn't been a coincidence. When Damian had heard the sound from the cabinet, Noel had secretly messaged Dariel.

The missing 200 million dollars from Howard Group wasn't a new discovery for him. It had been on his radar for over a month.

He had just instructed Dariel to send the information to Elijah's phone anonymously, and this had successfully diverted Damian.

Whitney was about to leave the greenhouse when Noel's voice stopped her.

"You've seen it all firsthand. Your fiancé has cheated on you. So, what do you plan to do about it?" Noel asked.

She halted in her tracks and turned back to him with a determined expression. "I recorded a video. Damian will have no choice but to agree to call off the engagement."

Damian had always acted so brazenly in front of her because she'd had no solid evidence.

Now that she did, she didn't believe Damian would refuse her.

After all, the idea of the distinguished president of Howard Group cheating with the adopted great-granddaughter of the family, who was also his niece, would ruin his reputation.

A nearby flower pot looked like it was about to fall, likely a result of Damian and Rachel's earlier actions.

Noel nudged it back into place, his tone casual as he said, "You're underestimating Damian. If something like that could threaten him, he wouldn't be fit to inherit Howard Group."

Whitney couldn't agree with him. She raised her phone. "I've recorded all that as proof. How can he deny it? If he refuses to call off the engagement, I'll release the video to the media."

Once the media got hold of it, Damian's reputation would be in shreds.

She didn't believe he would disregard his public image.

"You're caught between a rock and a hard place. So tell me, what's your plan for calling off the engagement?" Noel's tone was laced with sarcasm.

Whitney stayed silent, her head drooping in defeat.

She had been so confident, thinking that with the evidence, she could finally hold something over Damian. But she had underestimated the situation.

"Since you can't end the engagement, why not try to be a little more relaxed about it?" Noel asked after a long moment. He looked at her with an amused expression.

Whitney looked up, her eyes filled with confusion. "What do you mean?"

Noel stepped closer with his demeanor imposing. His cool voice carried a trace of languid indifference. "Turn a blind eye. In the end, you'd still hold the title of Howard Group's president's wife. If it bothers you so much, you could always find a man of your own, just to even things out."

Hearing those callous words felt like a stab to her heart.

Whitney stared at Noel in shock, as though she no longer recognized the man before her.

"How could you say something like that?" Her voice trembled, and tears gathered at the corners of her eyes.

From beginning to end, he knew everything that had happened. He had even witnessed her pain. Yet, he could still say something so hurtful.