CHAPTER 361: CHAPTER 361: GRADUALLY FALLING INTO THE TRAP

Landon Lawson nodded seriously, gently kissing her red lips.

The woman’s face instantly turned crimson, as she wrapped her arms around the man’s neck, responding in kind.

The sun was high in the sky, yet the two remained in bed.

The old butler and other servants tactfully refrained from disturbing them. However, Sienna Quinn’s phone inconveniently began to vibrate.

Sienna picked it up to see that it was Axel Yates.

She hesitated, unsure whether to answer or not. Even more uncertain about the role she should take when facing Axel Yates.

"Answer it, things should reach a conclusion," Landon Lawson’s words reminded Sienna.

"But you mustn’t tell him that you know the truth, let him think you’re unaware—only then will you and Chloe be safe," Landon said earnestly.

Sienna nodded; after all, she wasn’t alone anymore, she had a child, and if Axel Yates were to lash out desperately, he might target Evan Quinn.

Thinking it over, Sienna agreed that it made sense to see Axel Yates, especially since he had helped her and her son a lot in the past.

"President Yates," Sienna answered the call, slightly awkward.

"Sienna, where are you? Can we meet?" came Axel Yates’ slightly flustered and anxious voice.

Sienna paused, then asked, "Okay, but did something happen?" Given his tone, she felt something was off.

"We’ll talk when we meet," Axel Yates said before hanging up.

Sienna agreed without hesitation, "No problem, see you at the usual place at noon."

After hanging up, Landon suddenly sprang at her, "Agreeing without my permission, let’s see how I punish you."

Connecting with Axel Yates, Sienna felt pleased. "Okay, okay, I really should get up. I’m meeting him soon, it’s already set."

Landon rubbed his stubbly chin against her cheek, causing her disobedience. After accepting Landon’s "punishment," Sienna quickly got up to prepare to meet Axel Yates.

Considerate as always, Landon drove her to the restaurant where she was to meet Axel Yates, waiting in the car for her.

"Hi, long time no see..." Sienna approached Axel Yates with a smile, though her feelings were somewhat complex upon looking at him.

Getting closer, she noticed that the once sunny and handsome Axel Yates had lost weight, with heavy dark circles under his eyes. He seemed rather gloomy, having ultimately strayed onto the wrong path despite her previous efforts to dissuade him.

"...What’s happened to you?"

Sienna asked, observing that the sunshine seemed to have departed from Axel, leaving only a trace of sorrow.

Axel Yates smiled his trademark smile, "Nothing much, just some issues at the company...."

"Sienna..."

Axel hesitated; the matters at home made him feel sorry, but the company was no place for discussing personal matters, and he hadn’t forgotten his position.

Sienna wasn’t embarrassed. On her way here, she had received a call from Danielle Carter, learning that something had gone wrong at Axel Yates’ company, prompting her quick arrival.

"Danielle said her project encountered significant issues, what’s going on?" Sienna anxiously inquired.

Axel Yates’ expression turned grave, "I only found out about this recently. While you were on break, the company took on a major project. Internationally renowned housing designer Bourbon, whose ’butterfly’ plan was a success, wanted to collaborate with a domestic A City housing design company. He planned to promote the brand and find a suitable designer among the partners to serve as their regional head in A City."

Sienna nodded, having heard of Bourbon from her mentor, Mr. Joseph, who seemed to know him fairly well.

As for the partnership Axel mentioned, she was intrigued; passing the assessment would certainly boost the company’s standing in A City and provide a tremendous opportunity for designers.

"I know we participated in this competition, has something gone wrong?"

Sienna voiced her doubts.

Axel Yates sighed, "Danielle is the most outstanding of the new graduates. I wanted to give her a chance, so I had her work with Designer Langley on this project. But I didn’t expect Bourbon’s assistant to call, alleging that our design submission was plagiarized and threatening to disqualify us."

Sienna was shocked, having not fully understood Danielle’s earlier, halting explanation, and now realizing the severity of the issue.

"Designer Langley and Danielle could never have plagiarized!" Sienna could vow one thousand times over to that truth.

Axel Yates looked deeply troubled, "Of course, I trust them too, but Bourbon has already decided we’re guilty of plagiarism, leaving us with no defense!"

"President Orwell, are you willing to accept this accusation? If we don’t find a way to clarify this, we’ll be unable to hold our heads high in A City, and the company will hit a dead end," Sienna passionately declared.

Finally having gained momentum, the company was suddenly beset by misfortune.

But was this truly an accident? Why was the timing so suspicious? As she pondered this, a chill ran down Sienna’s spine.

"Tell me, why is Bourbon so certain we plagiarized?"

Axel Yates felt the same question stirring within him at Sienna’s words.

"Sienna, I haven’t had a chance to investigate properly yet. Until I do, could you help keep this original design safe?"

"Keep it safe for you?" Sienna suddenly felt a weight on her shoulders.

Even though it was a heavy responsibility, seeing Axel Yates’ troubled expression softened Sienna’s heart. It seemed like time to repay his past kindnesses.

"Alright!"

Sienna took the so-called original design from Axel Yates, promising to keep it safe. Despite what he had done to her, there was a history of kindness, and she still couldn’t bear to see Axel Yates fall apart.

There was surely more to the story between Axel Yates and Landon Lawson.

Axel Yates silently watched Sienna place the design into her bag, a meaningful smile slowly creeping onto his lips.

That design was indeed plagiarized, from Lawson Group, and it was Axel Yates’ own doing. Now that the plot was coming to light, Axel was bent on bringing down Landon Lawson.

To bring him down, Axel even resorted to plagiarism.

The first step in his plan was to go through Sienna.

Once she held onto the plagiarized design, Landon Lawson, to protect her, would have to admit that his original draft was the one plagiarized.

Seeing Axel deep in thought, Sienna assumed he was consumed by worry, never suspecting she had walked into someone else’s trap.

"What are you thinking about?"

Sienna asked worriedly.