Sweet Wife So Charming: CEO: Hold Back Your Heart-Chapter 395: Investigation

"Of course not, this is our private vendetta, and it naturally has nothing to do with you, Mr. Irving." Fiona Rhodes laughed lightly, explaining in a few words.

Only then did Ira Irving pretend to be relieved and calmly said, "That’s good, that’s good, shall we continue?"

"Alright."

After that day.

Both Fiona Rhodes and Zayne Sinclair no longer cared about previous appearances and, before the bidding competition arrived, exerted their best efforts to win over Ira Irving.

"Hahaha, you wouldn’t believe how eager they are to please me, oh, it’s just too ridiculous."

Ira Irving sat in his study at home, laughing loudly at his phone.

"Yes, everything is going according to plan, just make sure you’re ready on your end."

After saying a few more things, Ira Irving finally hung up the phone.

Three or four days later, feeling that things were almost lined up, Ira Irving called his secretary in.

"Have Zayne Sinclair and Fiona Rhodes sent any invitations these days?"

"Yes, but there was a day when the two clashed, I was just about to tell you." The secretary said, holding an iPad.

Ira Irving nodded, took a drag on a cigar: "Push Miss Rhodes’s invitation that day."

"Okay, I’ll go down and prepare right away." He said and then left.

On the other side, Fiona Rhodes received the news, and after pestering the secretary for half the day without any results, reluctantly agreed, then turned around to have someone check if the person she clashed with was Zayne Sinclair. Indeed, the secretary’s information was just as she thought.

This time, she felt unbalanced inside. Having been vexed ever since her skirmish with Zayne Sinclair, she found this person utterly lacking in the manly demeanor and charisma compared to Julian Sinclair; no wonder the Sinclair family elders liked Julian Sinclair more.

Thinking about it, her thoughts became increasingly malicious.

"Hey, help me leak some news."

"Miss Rhodes, is there another big scoop you need us to help with?"

Fiona Rhodes snorted coldly: "I’ll send it to you when the time comes, be careful, don’t let them trace it back to me."

"Of course, of course, you know, we’re always discreet in our dealings, Miss Rhodes, you can rest assured."

After saying a few more words, Fiona Rhodes hung up the phone.

Zayne Sinclair, blame only yourself for not knowing not to offend a woman.

"Quick, quick, quickly take down the news from the internet."

At Zayne Sinclair’s company, the PR department went into a frenzy as soon as they received the news, yet it seemed like the scandal was insurmountable, emerging with all sorts of variations.

"What the hell are you saying?"

Zayne Sinclair grabbed the secretary by the collar, his face full of anger.

"Y-y-young President Sinclair, somehow the internet uncovered the fact that you previously used the company’s money for gambling, complete with photographic evidence, and now it’s all over the net."

The secretary nervously eyed the man in front of him, swallowing hard and trembling.

"What’s the PR department doing, why didn’t they suppress this," Zayne Sinclair said, his face icy with rage.

"There’s too much, can’t suppress it." The secretary replied timorously.

Zayne Sinclair slammed a palm down on the table: "Is my money for paying you people for nothing, if you don’t want to work then damn it, get out."

"Young President Sinclair, I’ll go right away, urge the PR department again, you can count on it being suppressed swiftly."

With that, the secretary turned and ran out, wiping the sweat forming on his forehead as he went.

Kicking the chair in front of him, Zayne Sinclair stood with both hands on his hips, his mood dark and oppressive.

Damn it, whoever is messing with me, they’re dead if I find out.

It wasn’t until the afternoon that the matter finally quieted down online, but unfortunately, the Sinclair family and The Sinclair Group had already gotten word, calling Zayne Sinclair over.

With a "bang", a burst of anger echoed, and Father Sinclair started berating Zayne Sinclair, regardless of the board members present.

"You worthless thing, you can mess up your own life, but don’t drag the company down with you. Look at what your division has turned into now, it’s been days and still not completely recovered, now this scandal breaks, how are our partners supposed to view the Sinclair Group, you’ve ruined Sinclair’s reputation."

In the conference room, there was silence, no one spoke, coldly watching Zayne Sinclair standing there quietly with his head down.

After all, Sinclair’s stock had dropped several points because of him, everyone present was shrewd, who would speak up in his defense at this time.

"I’m telling you, if this happens again, you can just directly withdraw as Sinclair’s heir." Father Sinclair finished and hit the table once more.

Zayne Sinclair gritted his teeth tightly, his face gloomy and full of coldness: "Yes, Chairman Sinclair."

Father Sinclair looked at him full of anger and waved for Zayne Sinclair to leave.

The employees throughout the group exchanged the received messages, with the internal groups bustling with activity.

"Hey, do you think this time Young President Sinclair might just get passed over directly?"

"How could that be, the higher-ups wouldn’t be that foolish."

"Sure enough, President Sinclair is still the best."

"Indeed, good-looking, well-behaved, and without any scandals."

...

In the cubicles, employees’ phones kept buzzing with messages, everyone bending their heads, chatting idly, those closest to the conference room reporting on the newest eavesdropped news.

"Hey, hey, hey, he’s coming out."

Someone unknown sent a message, and a crowd quickly put down their phones, pretending to work earnestly.

Zayne Sinclair walked out, coldly eyeing the group secretly watching him, silently entering the elevator.

"Damn, I..."

Sitting in the car, he hadn’t even finished venting when he received a call from his father.

"Young Master, the old man is in a bad mood."

The butler quickly approached as Zayne Sinclair got out of the car, speaking with some concern.

Zayne Sinclair nodded coldly, just about to walk inside when he heard the old man angrily shout: "Get your ass in here quickly."

"Zayne Sinclair, you’re truly impressive."

Saying this, Zayne Sinclair received a slap across the face.

"Master, master..."

The butler hurriedly tried to intervene but was pushed aside by Mr. Sinclair.

"Don’t stop me, today I will thoroughly teach this boy a lesson, see if he dares to embarrass me outside again."

Having said that, he made Zayne Sinclair kneel down and took out a whip, striking him.

"Remember this, you incompetent, if this happens again, you’ll never surpass Julian Sinclair, and The Sinclair Group won’t have a share for you."

Mr. Sinclair caught his breath, stopped, and pointed at Zayne Sinclair continuing: "You just keep messing around, when the family abandons you, don’t say your old man didn’t plead for you, get out!"

"Master." The butler watched as Mr. Sinclair turned and walked away, sighed: "Young Master."

Seeing Zayne Sinclair bowing his head motionless, he shook his head and turned to follow.

Kneeling on the ground, Zayne Sinclair clenched his fists tightly, his right hand thrusting downward, causing the skin and fat of his hand to break from the forceful friction, dripping blood along his slender well-defined fingers onto the floor.

Sneering, he said nothing, stood up, and drove away.

At night, the bar was deafeningly noisy, a reflection of indulgence and riddled with mysteries.

"Mr. Sinclair, come, have another drink."

Zayne Sinclair held a woman wearing a short, strappy dress and heavily made-up eyes, drinking the drink from her hand.

"Dance." With that said, he pulled the woman towards the dance floor.

As they swayed, his hands roamed smoothly over the woman’s body, utterly wanton.

In the distance, the flashes of cameras clicked incessantly, and someone behind them curled their lips in a wicked smile.

"Mr. Sinclair, don’t rush, let me freshen up first."

Zayne Sinclair hugged the woman in his arms, kissing as he spoke, "Together."

He kicked open the bathroom door.

That night, in a corner outside the hotel.

"Did you get it all?"

The person on the call chuckled, "Wanted to get the inside shots, but couldn’t get in."

After saying that, the two laughed mockingly.

"Then wrap it up, send the photos over, release them tonight, and you’ll get paid immediately."

"Sure thing." With that, the person hung up the phone, glanced at the floors above, turned, and left with a hat on.

Before dawn, Zayne Sinclair’s phone rang incessantly.

Annoyed, he rubbed the woman in his arms, then climbed up to answer the call.

"Hello." His voice was slightly hoarse.

"Young Master Sinclair, something’s wrong, quickly check your phone."

Zayne’s eyes widened, and he hurriedly opened his phone’s web browser. The front page headline was of him going to the bar last night, getting drunk, and taking a woman to the hotel, in a shamefully ambiguous state.

"Fuck." He cursed under his breath, "Goddamn it, find someone to take it down, if not possible then pay, figure out a way to cover this up for me, immediately, now."

The secretary nodded repeatedly, just about to hang up the phone, quietly asking, "President Sinclair, is this true?"

"Get lost."

Zayne yelled in rage, throwing his phone forward, only to hear a thud as a small crack appeared on the floor-to-ceiling window.

The woman lying in bed had already woken up frightened, clutching the blanket, watching the fiercely angry Zayne in horror.

"Get the hell out, out, out."

The woman scrambled out of bed, picked up her clothes, and dashed out the door, not dressing until she reached a public restroom, tossing the bedspread on the floor with a huff, "Looks handsome, didn’t expect a lunatic, whatever, I didn’t lose either."

With that said, the woman glanced at herself in the mirror, swaying her hips as she left.

Zayne smashed everything he could in the hotel room; only after receiving a message from his secretary stating that it had been suppressed did he slightly calm down.

However, he was too soon in his relief. From that day onwards, within a week, the internet was flooded with Zayne Sinclair’s scandals, some even with evidence he thought destroyed, and The Sinclair Group’s stocks plummeted.

His father and all the directors unanimously decided to suspend his company, replacing him with someone else, and were discussing revoking his eligibility as the heir to The Sinclair Group.

Uncle Sinclair sat there with a somber expression, unable to utter a word, the whole thing sealed, leaving him utterly disgraced.

"Find him, make sure he stays at home, watch him closely, if he runs away, you all don’t need to work anymore."

The butler saw Uncle Sinclair in a furious state, nodded, and with a worried expression, went to find Zayne.

In a downtown apartment.

The whole room was pitch black, curtains drawn tightly, empty wine bottles scattered all around—a complete mess.

On the sofa, a figure moved slightly, reached out an arm, and smashed an empty wine bottle against the wall.

The glass shattered audibly, scattering everywhere, some falling on the person.

With a soft sneer, Julian Sinclair sat up, his hand grasping the shards on his leg, clutching them tightly in his palm; the glass cut sharply, blood flowing down.

He looked up at the iPad on the table, Zayne smirked slightly and opened a bottle of wine over it.

He thought about who had targeted him recently and considered, well, besides his dear brother, who else could it be.

Fine then, Zayne mused with a dark expression, the room devoid of any light, his eyes a cold gray, gazing nonchalantly at one spot.

Julian Sinclair, did you think doing this to me would make me concede? Hah, a joke. Zayne Sinclair is not afraid of such tricks. Dear brother, rest assured, once I’m out of house arrest, you better watch out.

He stood up, opened the apartment door with a kick, descended the stairs with a scruffy beard, and got into the car that had been watching him, waiting downstairs.

"The Young Master’s back."

Uncle Sinclair heard the butler report, let out a cold snort, "Keep a close watch on him."

The butler nodded and turned to Zayne’s room.

"Young Master, your hand needs bandaging."

Zayne glared coldly at the person across from him, "No need, don’t bother me." With that, he dismissed the person.

In the following days, the servants delivered meals at his door and left; Zayne stayed quietly in his room without roaming, though sometimes the sound of things breaking could be heard.

Uncle Sinclair pretended not to hear anything and didn’t send anyone to check, hoping Zayne would learn a lesson this time.

"Hey, how’s it going?"

"Young Master Sinclair, the other items haven’t been uncovered yet, but regarding the gambling incident you asked about before, we’ve found..."

The person on the other end paused, then continued after a shout from Zayne, "It was orchestrated by Miss Fiona Rhodes from the Rhodes family."

"Fiona Rhodes." Zayne narrowed his eyes and murmured.

"Find a way, in two days, come up with an excuse to bring her to the hotel. I’ll send you the address."

"Understood."

Very good, the young lady from the Rhodes family indeed formidable, huh.

In the bedroom mirror, Zayne’s profile curved into a wicked smile, his Adam’s apple bobbing, fingers clenching with a cracking sound.

"Yes, I’m at the hotel, room 1010, right?"

"That’s right, Mr. Rhodes, they say the others are waiting there."

Fiona Rhodes smiled, "No rush, if I’m to sign the contract, they can wait."

After a while, Fiona pressed the doorbell.

Zayne raised an eyebrow, tossed the gauze on the table into the trash, then got up to open the door.

"Why is it you?"

Zayne didn’t speak, but curled his lips and let Fiona into the room.

"Hmph, what’s the big deal involving me in all sorts of drama?" Fiona turned, glaring at Zayne.

Zayne scanned the woman in a backless dress, her white skin and red lips piquing his interest, an evil smile rising at the corners of his mouth. Without giving Fiona a chance to sit down, he suddenly turned and pressed her down.

"Zayne Sinclair, what do you want to do?"

Fiona struggled, but wearing a short slanted skirt today, she was caught off guard and Zayne took the upper hand.

Swallowing the groan in her throat, Fiona bit Zayne hard, hitting just the spot of his wound, allowing her to escape.

Zayne frowned at the woman attempting to leave, letting out a mocking laugh.

"Aren’t you afraid someone outside is waiting to take photos?"

"You."

Fiona was enraged and baffled, finding Zayne in the room instead of someone else was one thing. But this man, without a word, attempted force, what was he trying to do.

"What exactly do you want to do?"