I Reincarnated to Another World as a Woman-Chapter 140: Following the Trail

Jessica was smiling as she read her article on the front page of the Arvion Daily. Front page. It had always been her dream, seeing her work placed there.

Her editor had warned her. Never go after Montrose Corporation, a.k.a. Arthur Montrose, without enough evidence.

She was confident she had it.

After receiving the initial scoop from Chief Stille, she had gone digging on her own. She wasn’t stupid. She knew Arthur Montrose had a reputation for being ruthless.

At first, she had to admit, Stille’s information hadn’t convinced her at all. She hated Harrison Stille. She found him repulsive. His reputation among women was infamous.

But then she met Ryan Blackwood later that same night.

Ryan told her the Montroses were hiding something. He believed Theodora Montrose was missing as well. Perhaps she had gone missing at Mt. Helene too.

That was enough to set her instincts off.

Jessica dug deeper. Months earlier, the youngest Montrose child had been seen in the vicinity of Mt. Helene shortly before falling into a coma.

For the week prior to that incident, Theodora had even been living near the area with a mysterious man whose identity had never been uncovered.

That was when her reporter’s instincts flared.

The Montroses were hiding something.

She continued her investigation and eventually tracked down a nurse who had handled Theodora Montrose’s case.

The nurse was working at a small hospital on the outskirts of Arvion. After some hesitation, she agreed to meet Jessica for lunch.

Jessica didn’t waste time. She asked directly about Theodora Montrose.

"Oh, yes. The white-haired princess," the nurse said. "Of course I remember her. Her family was the reason I was fired from Arvion General Hospital."

Jessica asked her to elaborate.

As it turned out, Olivia Branson had been the head nurse in charge of Theodora Montrose’s VVIP room during her coma at Arvion General Hospital.

The doctor overseeing the case had been Dr. Lucas Montgomery, the Chief of Surgery at Arvion General. He was also a longtime friend of Arthur Montrose.

Olivia Branson had been dismissed shortly after Theodora Montrose was discharged. The official reason given to her was incompetence. She had been offered no opportunity to contest the decision, and the hospital terminated her employment without further explanation.

Ms. Branson even gave her a copy of the termination letter. It clearly stated incompetence as the reason for her dismissal.

Jessica thanked her and promised to bring her case to light.

She then traveled to Mt. Helene and attempted to access the dungeon site, only to find it closed to the public and all unauthorized personnel.

Jessica presented her media credentials to the officers stationed there, but they still refused her entry. Instead, they directed her to the Rangers’ station not far from the site.

At the station, she spoke with the Rangers who had been on duty the night Arthur Montrose and his two companions insisted on entering the area, despite it already being nighttime.

According to them, the Rangers had refused and warned the trio about the poor lighting and dangerous conditions. Arthur and his companions had ignored those warnings and gone ahead anyway.

They then disappeared for two days.

When they emerged, they were uninjured.

That detail, one of the Rangers pointed out, was strange. Almost impossible.

Jessica didn’t stop there. She asked for the list of missing people and inquired whether any of them had been found.

That was when the Rangers shut down.

They refused to comment further or answer her questions. Any mention of the missing people was met with silence.

Still, they handed her the list, but only because it had already been released to the public.

Jessica still hadn’t given up.

She tried to track down the families of the missing people. She managed to find several of them, but every attempt ended the same way.

The moment she introduced herself as a reporter and mentioned she wanted to ask questions about their missing family members, the doors closed. Conversations ended. Calls were cut short.

No one was willing to speak to her.

Something, or someone, had frightened these people into silence.

To Jessica, all of it screamed conspiracy.

And she vowed to unravel it, one layer at a time.

Now she was standing in the lobby of the Montrose Corporation building. Arthur Montrose himself had called her only a few hours after her story was published.

Hah! I got you!

You’re guilty, and now you’re trying to flip the narrative.

Or maybe you’re going to offer me a bribe.

Either way, you won’t win, Arthur Montrose.

I will reveal your true face to the world.

Jessica was giddy as she gave her name to the receptionist. She was asked to wait for a few minutes.

She noticed the receptionist pick up the phone and call Arthur Montrose’s assistant directly, saying, "Ms. Kwan is here."

Jessica could not have been happier.

She smiled and waited.

While she sat there, she noticed reporters from other news outlets attempting to speak with Arthur Montrose. Every one of them was turned away with the same response.

"Mr. Arthur cannot see anyone at this moment. Please come back later."

Jessica laughed inwardly.

She believed she had won. She was the best.

Her thoughts were already drifting ahead. She wondered what kind of thank-you gift she should buy for Chief Stille later. She knew he wanted her in his bed, and for the sake of her own sanity, she would never give him that. But an expensive gift? That, she could do.

Then her thoughts shifted to Ryan Blackwood.

If she could marry him, she would become the future Matriarch of Blackwood Enterprise.

Jessica was ambitious, but she was also a realist. She knew there were places women could not reach on their own. Sometimes, help was necessary.

And Blackwood Enterprise was certainly capable of providing it.

She sat back, composed and smug.

After waiting for about ten minutes, a chic woman approached her and introduced herself as Sarah Thomas, Mr. Arthur Montrose’s second assistant.

She asked Jessica to follow her. She would take her to see the CEO of Montrose Corporation.

Mr. Arthur Montrose.

Finally.