I Reincarnated to Another World as a Woman-Chapter 146: Pieces on the Board

"I want to help," Jessica stated.

Arthur leaned back in his chair.

"I don’t need your help. I already have enough evidence to bring him down and put him away for good. You are involved only because your article was the last straw for me. I called you here to set the record straight because I was fed up with his game, not because I was worried about how I’m perceived by the public."

"I don’t care why you called me," Jessica replied stubbornly. "I’m already here, and I’m already in this mess. I have the right to do something about it. I don’t like being played or taken for a fool. Stille did both to me."

She clenched her hands. "There must be something I can do."

------------------------------

Back in the present, at the Montrose dining table.

"She insisted?" Leila asks.

Arthur nods. "She wanted revenge. She told me that Stille had always tried to get into her bed, which she loathed. She saw what I was doing as her chance for payback. That’s why she wanted in."

"You let her?" Julian asks.

Arthur grins. "Of course. She agreed immediately to become our double agent. That’s why she disappeared for a week. She was too busy being a double agent."

Theo suddenly chimes in. "That wasn’t the only reason you agreed to let her be a double agent. You already said it yourself. You had everything you needed to bring Stille down. You agreed because you wanted her out of your way."

Arthur laughs.

"Only Thea knows her brother this well."

"So, what did you assign her to do?" Maurice asks. He sounds both intrigued and quietly impressed by his son’s mind.

"Since I already told her that I had enough evidence, I couldn’t very well claim that I needed more," Arthur replies. "So I told her the truth. Most of the evidence I have is about Stille’s corruption. How he embezzled DEU heartstones. How he abused his authority to acquire more heartstones than his official allotment. All of that."

He continues calmly, "That alone is enough to bring him down. But I want him gone for good. So I asked her whether she knew of any other ally or allies who were helping him."

Arthur smiles faintly. "She answered immediately. And the names she gave me confirmed that letting her in was the right decision."

Everyone at the table exchanges looks, curiosity sharpening.

"Tell us already," Julian urges.

Arthur grins. "She gave us two names. Ryan Blackwood, which we already suspected but never had proof of. And the other..." He pauses. "Baroness Maristella Voss. Someone we’d heard rumors about, but could never confirm."

The table falls silent.

After a brief pause, Leila raises a question.

"I don’t understand how those two names help put Stille away for good. I heard some people are even asking for the maximum sentence, the death penalty."

Arthur sighs. "You’re right, Mom. Honestly, when I asked Jessica about Stille’s network, my intention was to clean up that network as well. I expected names like an assistant, a DEU captain, or officers. People whose identities weren’t as big as those two."

He continues, "I never would have guessed that Ms. Kwan not only knew those two had connections with Stille, but that she would also promise she could obtain evidence."

Arthur leans back slightly. "The moment I heard those names, my first thought was: got you, Stille. You’re going away for a very long time."

Leila frowns. "How do you know that?"

"Let’s start with Ryan Blackwood," Arthur explains. "Even though he’s only third generation, he’s being groomed as the next patriarch of the Blackwoods. If Greg Thornfields finds out there’s evidence tying his wife’s nephew to Stille, the Blackwoods will burn that bridge immediately. They’ll sever the connection and pin everything on Stille."

"And it’s the same with the Baroness," Julian says slowly, realization dawning.

"Exactly," Arthur replies. "That’s Ryan. Now, the Baroness is even more powerful. She wouldn’t hesitate to cut Stille loose and let him drown. Given her personality, she might be the first to throw the match."

Julian scoffs. "If only we could bring the Blackwoods down as well."

Arthur shakes his head. "The Blackwoods are not bad people. It’s because of a deep misunderstanding between our two families that they keep targeting us. But let’s be honest. Look at their so-called attacks against us. None of them have actually done any real damage."

He sighs and continues, "With the power and connections Greg has, if he truly wanted to, he could have made our lives far more miserable."

Arthur pauses before going on. "And even though I hate to admit it, having the Blackwoods as our rival is not entirely a bad thing. We live in a world where power balance matters. We can be as successful as we are now because the capital, the central government, needs us to balance the Blackwoods’ influence."

"If the Blackwoods were to lose their power, that balance would tilt in our favor," he adds. "And that wouldn’t be good. We would immediately become a target. Attacked from all sides until the balance is restored."

Maurice nods. "I agree completely with Arthur. The Blackwoods aren’t necessarily bad or evil people. The current generation is simply continuing a family feud that began in my grandfather’s era. Not many of the living Blackwoods know the truth behind it."

He continues, "Greg may be a ruthless businessman and a cruel man, but he genuinely loved his wife, Amelia. That’s why he keeps trying to nurture Ryan as the next patriarch. Amelia loved Ryan as her own. She raised him alongside her own child, Marie."

The table falls silent once more, each of them processing this new information.

"Alright, enough about the Blackwoods. Let’s get back to Ms. Kwan, our reporter," Julian says impatiently.

"She said she could obtain evidence. How did she do it? I know she did, but how?" he presses.

"Our first conversation ended with her promising she would get evidence," Arthur replies. "She left, and I went back to dealing with the crisis Sam told me about."

Arthur takes a deep breath. "It wasn’t until two days later that she called me. She said she had obtained evidence on Ryan and asked if we could meet."