CHAPTER 114: CHAPTER 114: CAN HER WORDS BE TRUSTED?

Leah Sutton’s next words took Jean Ellison and Philip Paxton by complete surprise.

Leah looked at Jean, who appeared entirely on guard, as if ready to pounce and snatch the report at any moment, and suddenly the teasing and sarcasm faded from her face.

Her expression turned calm, with a nearly cold rationality.

She weighed the unopened report in her hand, her gaze shifting back to Jean’s face, her tone clear and firm.

"Don’t worry, I won’t give this report to Justin Holden, nor will I reveal your daughter’s background to anyone in the Holden family."

Jean was completely stunned, her eyes widening slightly in surprise.

She couldn’t comprehend Leah’s logic at all.

After all the effort and risk she took to obtain the samples for testing, wasn’t it to catch her leverage and push her completely away from Justin Holden?

Why now promise to keep it a secret?

"Why?" Jean’s voice carried incredulous confusion and wariness, "You clearly went through with the tests and got the results."

She pointed to the report, "Isn’t this what you wanted?"

"What is it that I want?"

Leah seemed to hear something amusing, a humorless curve appeared on her lips, though her eyes were tinged with calculation and self-mockery.

"Jean, I did this from beginning to end for myself, of course."

She took a small step forward, her heels making a crisp sound on the floor, her gaze sharp on Jean, her tone calm.

"I’m not young anymore. I’ve liked Justin Holden for so many years, putting in so much time and effort, I know myself, if I threw this report in front of Justin or his parents today, what would the result be?"

She didn’t need Jean’s response, and continued on her own, each word cold and realistic.

"The result would be the Holden family immediately knowing they have a granddaughter out there. Considering the Holden’s value on bloodlines, especially Mrs. Holden’s eagerness for grandchildren, what would they do? They’d spare no expense to bring the child back to the Holden family, giving her the best of everything, never allowing a Holden’s flesh and blood to be left outside."

"As for you," Leah’s gaze swept across Jean’s pale face, "the Holden family might give you some compensation, perhaps... if Justin is pressured by family or feels responsible for the child, he might even marry you, giving you status, making you the rightful Mrs. Holden."

She paused here, looking at Jean, her eyes filled with an almost cruel honesty.

"But which of these results is the one I, Leah Sutton, want to see?"

"Bringing the child back to the Holden family means Justin Holden will inevitably dedicate vast amounts of time and attention to this child in the future, possibly getting more entangled with you because of the child. But if he marries you..."

Leah let out a cold laugh.

"Then wouldn’t my years of waiting and planning become a colossal joke?"

"So," she concluded, her tone returning to its previous coldness, "revealing this child’s background brings me nothing but harm, no good. Why would I do such a stupid thing that harms others without benefiting myself?"

Jean listened to her analysis, entirely based on self-interest, momentarily at a loss for how to respond.

Leah’s calm and reason, nearly ruthless, yet so realistic it was incontrovertible.

Watching Jean’s bewildered expression, Leah’s tone softened somewhat, yet still carried a sense of distance.

"Jean, I’m not telling you these things today to make amends or target you. I just want to make things clear so you don’t live in constant vigilance, doing something irrational that might instead ruin my plans."

She seemed to recall something, adding on.

"If I really wanted to harm you, when you went to Celestial Spire, secretly investigating that political scandal and nearly got caught, I wouldn’t have anonymously called the police for a sudden check, taking the opportunity to get you out of there."

Jean jerked her head up, a flash of shock in her eyes.

She had always thought that incident was sheer luck, but apparently...

Leah glanced at her faintly: "That tip-off was something I intentionally let someone give you, originally wanting to do you a favor. I didn’t expect you’d push yourself so hard."

She exhaled lightly, her gaze cast far away, revealing a rare glimpse of weariness and helplessness not often shown to outsiders.

"Everything I’ve done was ultimately to account to myself, to find the best way out for myself."

"Marrying Justin Holden and becoming Mrs. Holden isn’t just because I like him, but because it means fame, status, respect, it means I can finally raise my head in the Sutton family’s quagmire and be recognized as someone."

Her voice carried a barely noticeable bitterness.

"Do you think because I was born into the Sutton family, living in luxury, everything is really perfect? There are five kids in my family, I’m the third, with capable elder siblings and younger ones who know how to please our parents better. I’m sandwiched in the middle, all my life, no matter how hard I work, or how good my results are, I’m always the least noticeable, the easiest to overlook."

"No matter how hardworking, how dedicated I am, in my parents’ eyes, I’m still not as valuable as my eldest brother who brings benefits to the family business, or as my second sister who entered a political family through marriage. No matter how well I do, it’s just the icing on the cake, not life-saving straw."

Her tone was calm, but beneath that calmness lay years of pent-up grievances and discontent.

"Only by marrying Justin Holden, only by becoming a Holden’s daughter-in-law can I truly be recognized by them, can I have a true say and place in my complex family. Only then will my days be easier."

Finishing her words, she refocused her gaze on Jean’s face, her eyes resuming their prior cold sharpness.

"So, do you understand? There’s no life-and-death conflict between us. You want to protect your daughter, live quietly. I want to secure the position of Mrs. Holden, to ensure my future interests. We can even not interfere with each other."

She once again handed the report back to Jean, this time with a clear sense of transaction.

"Take this, destroy it completely. Let’s pretend today never happened. You keep your secret, while I’ll pursue what I want in my own way."

"All you need to do is not block my path."

Jean looked at the light but weighty report in front of her, then at the woman before her who openly shared her ambitions and vulnerabilities, feeling an intense mix of emotions.

She hesitated for a moment before finally reaching out, taking the manila envelope.

At the moment her fingertips touched the paper, she felt a sense of unreal illusion.

Seeing her take it, Leah slightly nodded, as if a deal was concluded, and without a word more, she turned and walked decisively towards the elevator, the sound of her heels gradually fading in the empty corridor.

Philip Paxton had stood silently on the side, attentively watching the whole process, and only when Leah’s figure disappeared behind the elevator doors did he step forward, frowning.

"Claire, her words... can we trust them?"

Jean gripped the report tightly, her knuckles white with effort.

She looked towards the elevator, her gaze complex, and said softly, "I don’t know, but at least for now, what she says aligns with her best interests."

She looked down at the file in her hand, containing her biggest secret.

Now, it’s temporarily back in her hands.

But is the crisis really over?