The Headline Queen: President Hawthorne is Her Die-Hard Fan!-Chapter 435: Beset on All Sides

Julian Hawthorne almost instinctively wanted to pull out his phone to flaunt, but considering what he had to do, he immediately dismissed the thought, just taking note of those with designs on Paige Sterling, and quietly causing them some trouble, ensuring they no longer had the inclination or time to focus on Paige.

In order to make the people behind the underground experiment base realize he didn’t care about Mrs. Hawthorne, Julian Hawthorne did not set off abroad immediately.

The other side took this as a game of cat and mouse, thinking of themselves as the cat, so he wanted to make it clear to them that even if it was a game, Julian Hawthorne was absolutely not the mouse.

In any case, he shouldn’t be the one in a hurry.

On his last night in Jarrow, Julian Hawthorne met with Henry Hale.

The smart pet initiative hadn’t truly turned the tide for Apex, nor had the talent poached from Penson.

Henry Hale sought Julian Hawthorne primarily for collaboration with the Hawthorne Group.

No matter what terms were offered, Julian Hawthorne’s attitude remained indifferent.

Henry Hale’s brows furrowed slightly, then he said something to the secretary behind him.

His seasoned secretary nodded and left, soon returning with a woman.

Seeing Julian Hawthorne not looking at the woman, Henry Hale said, "Today, I’ve prepared a gift for President Hawthorne, and President Hawthorne must accept it."

Then he told the woman, "Go ahead and greet President Hawthorne."

The woman immediately walked up to Julian Hawthorne, "President Hawthorne."

This voice...

Julian Hawthorne frowned, looked up at the woman, his demeanor suddenly turning cold.

This woman not only had a voice similar to Paige Sterling but also a face remarkably similar to hers.

Moreover, on that face, he couldn’t find any traces of cosmetic surgery.

Henry Hale saw Julian Hawthorne’s reaction and asked him, "President Hawthorne, do you think this gift shows my sincerity?"

Julian Hawthorne quickly withdrew his gaze.

Even if this woman looked very much like Paige Sterling, she could never be Paige. Some things are too distinctive to replicate or imitate.

Internally repulsed, Julian Hawthorne still maintained a calm appearance, "President Hale’s generous gift, I’ll gladly accept."

Henry Hale was slightly taken aback; he hadn’t anticipated Julian Hawthorne actually accepting the woman.

He couldn’t help but look at the woman again; the voice indeed was similar to Paige Sterling’s. When he first heard it, he almost mistook her for Paige.

But the woman looked completely unlike Paige Sterling originally; now having this face similar to Paige must have undergone countless cosmetic surgeries.

It was strange — he felt a peculiar sentiment towards Paige Sterling, yet seeing this woman’s face stirred nothing.

He thought Julian Hawthorne might feel similarly.

But now it seemed Julian Hawthorne’s so-called affection, wasn’t as pure...

Or maybe Julian Hawthorne had other intentions?

Regardless, since Julian Hawthorne was willing to accept her, it was naturally advantageous for him, otherwise wouldn’t this grand gesture have been in vain?

"Glad President Hawthorne liked it."

In the end, Julian Hawthorne took the woman away.

The woman followed Julian Hawthorne closely, occasionally glancing at his back, her heart tinged with joy.

Despite being trained by Henry Hale following Paige Sterling’s manner, deep down, she wasn’t Paige. Her thoughts were clearly displayed on her face, impossible to hide.

Just thinking about becoming the woman beside this man of outstanding talents made her uncontrollably excited and trembling.

Upon leaving the clubhouse, she couldn’t help but reach out, wanting to touch Julian Hawthorne.

"President Hawthorne."

Yet Julian Hawthorne instantly dodged, turned back, and looked at her with cold eyes.

The stark coldness in his gaze chilled the woman’s heart.

She thought Julian Hawthorne accepted her because he fancied her.

But now, Julian Hawthorne’s eyes showed no affection, only indifference.

Even Secretary Jones, who initially worried about Julian Hawthorne accepting this woman because she looked too much like Paige, now saw Julian’s gaze and realized he’d overthought it.

His feelings for President Sterling remained deep and true.

Even if the woman resembled Paige, President Hawthorne couldn’t possibly be unfaithful.

Especially now, Secretary Jones heard Julian tell the woman, "One million, go get a cosmetic surgery."

The woman stared blankly at Julian Hawthorne, failing to comprehend.

Secretary Jones translated, "President Hawthorne means here’s a million for you to redo your face with surgery."

Henry Hale orchestrating a woman into Paige’s semblance was sure to be a sickening act.

No wonder President Hawthorne took her away; feeling someone deliberately made to look like Paige was offensive.

The woman’s eyes turned red, "President Hawthorne, my mother made me look like this, how could I get a surgery, I..."

Julian Hawthorne didn’t waste words with the woman, instead driving off swiftly, leaving the rest to Shaun Jones to handle.

Shaun Jones started persuading the woman, President Hawthorne clearly had no interest in you; you’d better take the money, or next time President Hawthorne sees your face, he might cut it directly...

The woman, a bit scared by the words, said, "But President Hale’s side..."

"President Hale designed you this way to send you to President Hawthorne, as a test. Since you’re of no use, he won’t bother you anymore."

Ultimately, the woman agreed.

She had no choice; Shaun Jones’ hints were so obvious that if she didn’t agree, Julian Hawthorne might resort to disfiguring her.

Learning that the person he sent to Julian Hawthorne didn’t serve any purpose, Henry Hale also looked slightly disgruntled.

Yet it wasn’t surprising; even if the woman resembled Paige Sterling, she was still a woman of unknown background, Julian Hawthorne wouldn’t engage with her.

Moreover, Julian Hawthorne seemed to have that peculiar disorder.

It was a pity about the face—he arranged for several women to have surgeries, only achieving one resemblance to Julian’s, now Julian was sending her for another surgery...

He couldn’t possibly dispose of this piece! Henry Hale abruptly stood up, immediately calling his bodyguards to bring the woman back. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

That night Julian Hawthorne climbed over the wall into the Sterling Family estate, Paige purposely made it easy for him, allowing him to enter smoothly.

Paige, smelling the alcohol on him, asked, "You were out socializing?"

Julian Hawthorne replied with a hum, "I met with Henry Hale. You guessed correctly, he is probing me."

Paige’s demeanor instantly became icy.

Paige had long suspected that the Tell Group and Apex Group were related to the underground research organization.

The Tell Group was now a waning power—were it not for fear of its bankruptcy resulting in mass unemployment and more social issues—it would already be a thing of the past.

But since it was already on the country’s blacklist, the demise of the Tell Group was just a matter of time.

Although Apex was also under suspicion, it continued to operate strictly without national authorities catching any significant evidence against them.

But this didn’t mean Apex was above suspicion; the capture of Mrs. Hawthorne led Paige to suspect Apex played a major role.

Sure enough, Julian Hawthorne’s reluctance to go abroad to save Mrs. Hawthorne triggered Henry Hale’s probing.

It seemed Henry Hale had thoroughly taken over the Hale Family’s operations, including their underground dealings, with no intention of extricating himself.

It looked as though she had to find a way domestically to restrain Henry Hale, lest Julian Hawthorne find himself encumbered abroad with threats on both fronts.