Hayden was stunned by Paisley’s bluntness, “Of course! Why did you have to ask?”
“I had my people to follow Valeria after those I sent to shadow William were seriously injured. And they told me that Valeria has been going to Wolf Group Hotel for the past few days. So I’m assuming that she’s now living in the Wolf Group Hotel.”
“But what does that have anything to do with William? Is he living in that hotel too?” Hayden asked.
“I don’t know where he is now living, but might I remind you that he and Marcus from the Wolf Group have a very close relationship?” Paisley prompted.
“And you think William and Valeria are, in fact, still together?”
Paisley nodded, “Yes, that’s what I think. But, unfortunately, I have no evidence to back it up. Oh right, Valeria brought a black cat and a black dog back to Wolf Group after work this evening. They both belong to Sir Gavin.”
“What?” Hayden raised his voice in disbelief.
“I don’t know what for, but he has been meeting Valeria for the past two days.”
Hayden was shaken by Paisley’s words. Oreo and Mocha were the lifeblood of Gavin, so it was appalling to think that Gavin had so willingly entrusted them into Valeria’s care.
After sending off Paisley, Hayden’s thoughts went back and forth as he tried to work out what was up Gavin’s sleeves.
Valeria was Natalie’s daughter, and since Gavin had been so against Archer’s relationship with Natalie, there was no reason for him to take a shine to Valeria.
“Gavin isn’t a kind and compassionate person, so why would he let Valeria take away his beloved pets?” Hayden asked himself.
No matter how hard he thought, he just couldn’t figure out the reason. When Lucas came to serve him a cup of tea, he looked up at Lucas and asked, “Why do you think Gavin is meeting Valeria? Why would he give his precious pets to her?”
“Well…” Lucas hesitated. “Sir, think about Ms. Brown’s appearance. Don’t you think she looks a little like President Saunders?”
“Don’t you say…” Hayden hadn’t paid much attention to that detail before. But now that Lucas had mentioned it, an image of Valeria slowly emerged from the back of his mind. All at once, he realized that Valeria’s eyes and nose were, in fact, very similar to that of Archer’s.
Hayden was astounded. It couldn’t be possible, could it?
Valeria couldn’t be Archer’s daughter. But if so, then the reason Gavin approached Valeria was crystal clear. No wonder Archer and Savannah were staying in B City indefinitely.
Hayden couldn’t sit still any longer. He hurried into his study and called Savannah on his mobile, “You’d better tell me the truth. What are you doing here in B City?”
Savannah refused to tell the truth, “Do I need to have a reason? I hadn’t come home in so many years, so I decided to come to visit you and relax while I’m at it.”
“Are you sure you’re just here to take a break? Did the entire Saunders family coincidentally come all the way to B City just to take a break? You must be very clear about what Gavin has been doing recently, I presume,” Hayden scoffed. Seeing that Savannah wasn’t willing to tell him the truth, he decided to lure her into spilling the beans.
“I’m warning you, if you’re hiding something, you’d better spill it now. If not, don’t you dare blame me for not coming to your aid when something bad happens.”
Savannah was still mad that Gavin had bought a house for Valeria to be closer to her. So, when she heard Hayden’s words, she had automatically assumed that he knew about this too, and she felt like she didn’t have to hide the truth from him. “Well, Dad, Valeria is… She’s Archer and Natalie’s daughter.”
“When did you find out? Is that the reason why you came to B City? Just because of Valeria?” Hayden snapped.
“No, I swear!” Savannah denied it.
“Look, I don’t care whether you’re here because of Valeria or not. But I’m warning you to not act rashly! Gavin isn’t a pushover, and he can be callous! If you don’t wish to be caught in his snare, then you’d better behave yourself and pretend that you’re unaware of this.”
“But Dad, how could I pretend not to know about this? Archer has already said that he won’t pass down any of his assets to Raymond. Don’t you know what will happen if he acknowledges Natalie’s daughter as his? He’ll surely give Valeria all his assets. But what about Raymond and me? Do you really have the heart to watch me and Raymond have nothing?”
“I thought you’re willing to die for Archer. And you were so willing to sign the premarital agreement in order to marry Archer, I thought money isn’t a concern for you? Do you regret your decision now?” Hayden asked sardonically.
“I thought he would eventually change his mind. Who knew he didn’t,” Savannah replied sulkily.
“Do you expect to always have your way with all your malicious intent? Who do you think you are?” Hayden spat in disgust. “I’m warning you, think before you act from now on. No matter what Gavin and Archer do, just pretend that you don’t know anything. Otherwise, when your filthy past gets out into the open, don’t come crawling to me for help! Do you understand me?”
“Listen to yourself! Is this what a dad would tell his child? You’ve sacrificed so much for William, so why can’t you do the same for me?” Savannah bellowed.
“Have some sense! Haven’t I sacrificed enough for you? Have you forgotten what I did to prevent you from pursuing Natalie?” Hayden was livid with rage. “Let me get this straight for you. You’re looking for trouble if you dare lay a finger on Valeria, so do all you want if you wish to seek death!”
Savannah’s face distorted in hatred as she hung up the call, “That old fart! Who does he think he is to scold me. He can’t even bring himself to help his daughter! Oh, I’m so not going to listen to you. Valeria must die!”
At the same time, the presidential suite in the Wolf Group Hotel became unusually lively due to the presence of Oreo and Mocha. Valeria was having so much fun with both of them that she even waited on them during mealtimes.
William scowled grumpily. Valeria had ignored him since she brought the two animals back.
He wasn’t inherently repulsed by animals, and as long as these two didn’t compete with him for Valeria’s attention, he could tolerate being in the same room with them. However, they were now obviously threatening his position in Valeria’s heart. So, naturally, William wouldn’t allow such a thing to continue.
After racking his brains, William conjured up a little plan. He started sneezing until Valeria thought he had caught a cold, and she asked him to go see a doctor. He waved her off dismissively and said, “It’s not a cold. I’m allergic to animal hair, that’s all. Especially that fat pig. It’s shedding so much that the air is full of its hair.”
“I see,” Valeria sighed. Of course, she wouldn’t want to leave William. Petting Oreo, she mumbled to the cat, “Oreo, why do you have to shed so much? See, William is allergic to your hair. I can’t possibly shave your hair off, so I guess I’ll have to send you back.”
Seeing Valeria’s willingness to return Oreo and Mocha to Gavin, William perked up again.
However, he felt a little sorry for Valeria for tricking her. So, he was very generous, “We can keep them just for tonight so that you can play with them for a little while longer. But we must see them off tomorrow!”