The Ruthless CEO's Revenge Wife
Chapter 60: The Failed Attempt

Chapter 60: The Failed Attempt

Who could it be?

Someone powerful.

Someone her father trusted.

Someone willing to marry her... despite the family mess, despite her refusal to give up her shares.

She paced the length of her room, her bathrobe from last night still hanging off the doorknob like a forgotten ghost. Her heart pounded with every theory, every memory she could dig up.

Was it a family friend?

An old business partner?

A son of one of her father’s golf buddies?

No. She shook her head. Her father wouldn’t entrust her to someone weak or unknown. If he had hand picked this man, then this man had leverage. Power. Something to gain from marrying her. Or worse... something to control.

Her phone buzzed.

It was Emma.

"Are you okay? Want me to come pick you up?"

Jean stared at the screen, her fingers hovering over the keyboard.

She typed. Erased. Typed again.

"Not yet. My family is planning something. They found another guy for me. I need to find out who it is first."

She hit send.

Then she opened her closet, pulled out a blazer and jeans. There were questions to be asked... quietly, carefully. Her father wouldn’t be stupid enough to tell her, but there were others in this house who might know something.

The housekeeper, the driver, even the secretary her parents employed for errands. Someone had seen something. Heard a phone call or read a name.

Jean slipped her phone into her pocket and took a deep breath. She wasn’t going to wait for a trap to snap shut.

This time, she would see it coming.

________________________________

Jean waited until the house was quiet.

Her parents had gone to their respective corners of the mansion, and the staff was busy with their morning duties. She slipped into the hallway, her steps silent on the polished floors, her phone already in hand.

She scrolled through her contact list and tapped on the name... Clarissa, Dad’s PA.

The phone rang once. Twice.

"Miss Jean?" Clarissa’s voice was polite, professional.

"I need a moment," Jean said evenly. "Privately."

A pause.

"I’m afraid I’m handling something urgent for Mr. Adams right now. Can it wait?"

"No," Jean said sharply. "Clarissa. You and I both know he has five meetings today. One of them has to be with the man he plans to sell me off to. So unless you want me to call the press and blow this entire circus wide open..."

"I’m sorry, Miss Jean," Clarissa cut her off, more firmly this time. "I don’t get involved in family matters."

The line went dead.

Jean stared at her screen. Her fingers tightened around the phone. So much for being civil.

Fine.

Next...

She called Jake, Alex’s Assistant. Younger, a little too eager to please. She’d caught him sneaking glances at her once or twice.

Maybe...

"Hello?" His voice was hushed.

"It’s Jean," she said coolly. "I need some information."

"Y-Yes, Miss?"

"You work for Alex. You know things. Tell me... has my father introduced anyone new to him recently? Someone who might be... interested in me?"

Jake went silent.

"Jake," Jean warned.

"I’m sorry, Miss Jean," he said after a beat. "Mr. Alex told me not to say a word to you. He said you’d try. That you’re... desperate to know."

Jean’s heart sank.

"Did he also warn you about the kind of man he is becoming?" she snapped.

"I... I can’t talk anymore. I have to go." He hung up.

Jean stood there, staring at the screen again, feeling the bitter taste of betrayal rise in her mouth.

Loyal dogs, she thought. Every last one of them.

She slid her phone into her pocket and turned back toward her room.

This mansion... it used to be her sanctuary.

Now it was a trap.

And she was completely alone in it.

_____________________________

The moment Jean stepped into the office, the air seemed to shift.

Heads turned. Soft greetings floated through the corridor. She returned them with a faint smile, carrying herself with grace that didn’t reveal the storm inside her. But Emma knew better.

She excused herself from mentoring the fresh interns and followed Jean without a word, heels clicking softly against the tiled floor.

Inside Jean’s office, the door clicked shut behind them. Silence filled the space.

"So?" Emma folded her arms, reading Jean like an open book. "Did you find out anything about the man?"

Jean slowly shook her head. "Nothing. No name, no clue. Everyone’s lips are sealed."

Emma’s brow furrowed. "That’s odd. Are they scared?"

Jean scoffed, bitterness leaking through. "No. They’re loyal... just not to me."

She walked over to her desk but didn’t sit. Her fingers traced the edge of the table absentmindedly, her eyes distant.

"I don’t know who this man is," she said quietly. "But I have a bad feeling about this."

"Why?" Emma asked gently.

Jean looked up, her voice dropping a pitch. "Because when my father said ’you know him’, it didn’t sound comforting. It sounded like a threat. The way he said it..." She paused. "It gave me chills, Em. Like he knows something I don’t. Like they’ve already decided my fate."

Emma exhaled, her jaw tightening with worry. "Can’t you just tell them no? That you won’t marry a stranger without even meeting him?"

Jean laughed, but it held no humor. "And say what? That I deserve a choice? In that house, I’m a bargaining chip, not a daughter. They’ll wrap it up with pretty words and say it’s for my own good."

Her voice faltered as she whispered, "It’s just going from one hell to another."

Emma stepped closer and placed a hand on her friend’s shoulder.

"Then let’s figure out who he is," she said. "Together."

Emma’s grip on Jean’s shoulder tightened, steady and reassuring.

"Give me a day," she said firmly. "I’ll poke around. There’s always a crack somewhere. Someone will slip."

Jean managed a small nod, grateful but still haunted. "Just... be careful. If my family finds out you’re helping me..."

"I don’t care," Emma interrupted. "I’m not working for them. I’m working with you."

Jean smiled at her, but deep down she felt guilty of not telling her the complete truth about why her family... treat her like this.