After laying Leila down in the empty bathtub, Zachary went out of the bathroom. He glanced at the door for a fleeting second before leaving the room.

As soon as he closed the door, he saw the head maid, Tanya, carrying clothes heading to his room.

"Sir, you're back," Aunt Tanya greeted him, and Zachary just nodded.

She stared at him for a moment and glanced at the door of his room. Gossip was buzzing throughout the entire estate.

'Mr. Leighton brought a woman with him.'

Tanya was just as surprised as the other maids because this was the first time he had brought a woman to his house.

"Come with me to the kitchen."

Tanya returned to her senses when she heard him. She nodded, hurriedly entered the room, and then placed the clothes on the bed.

She went downstairs and headed to the kitchen. Upon entering, she was taken aback when she saw Zachary wearing an apron while washing the vegetables and subsequently chopping them skillfully.

She sidled up and tried to take the knife from him. "Sir, I'll cook, so you don't have to do this."

She knew that Zachary more or less knew how to cook. He stayed in London for years and cooked for himself. But he rarely cooked anything ever since he returned, so it was surprising that he suddenly wanted to cook.

"No, I've got this." Zachary dodged her hand. Then he stir-fried the vegetables.

Tanya felt helpless, but she didn't interfere any longer. When the stir-fried vegetables were finally cooked, Zachary spoke again.

"Help me get the milk from the refrigerator and bring it to the guest upstairs along with this food. Watch her finish all this, okay? But don't say anything else."

"Yes." Tanya nodded and took out a bottle of milk. She glanced at Zachary, and a seed of curiosity sprouted inside her heart when she saw him don a gentle expression as he plated the food.

Tanya placed the food on the tray and carried it upstairs. Leila had yet to come out of her bath, so she waited for her inside the room.

A few minutes later, a slender figure emerged from the bathroom door.

"Mr. Leighton said you should eat to replenish your energy."

Leila almost jumped in fright when someone spoke. She looked ahead and saw a middle-aged woman. The way she addressed Zachary, probably, she was a maid.

She nodded and smiled. "Okay, thank you."

Her mouth watered at the sight of food on the table, and her stomach growled. Leila immediately wolfed down the food and drank the milk.

Tanya watched her with a smile, and Leila felt her gaze, which made her smile in embarrassment. "Uhm... What about Zach? Did he eat?"

"Yes, and Sir is in the study," Tanya said. Subsequently, she cleaned up the small table and took the dishes away.

Leila smiled, then she went to the study room. After knocking three times, she stepped inside.

Zachary's head was buried in documents, and he didn't lift his head to see her.

She walked over and spoke softly, "I'm full."

"Okay," Zachary replied without sparing her a glance. He was reading and occasionally writing something.

Leila held her skirt and coiled her fist. "Did you break into jail just to save me?"

Zachary's hand paused in writing. He looked at her and was about to say something, but she spoke again.

"Don't worry. I'll win tomorrow's trial," Leila said confidently.

She wanted to laugh at herself for being softhearted and naïve. She believed her father wouldn't harm her because of their blood ties. But all along, she was only fooling herself.

She let out a long breath and continued, "Philip is a scheming man, and this time, he might have cleaned up the traces of his crime. But I don't think he can do it alone. There might be someone behind him, helping him in the dark. But I won't be softhearted this time. I'll catch them all!"

Upon seeing her determined expression, he flashed a smile, giving his cold face a devilishly charming vibe.

'She's very gutsy indeed, but that's more like her. My woman should be like that.' He thought.

The next day, at nine in the morning, at Tesanera City Criminal Court.

"Your honor, the document in my hand indicates that the excess money in the account came from my client herself." Lawyer Campbell paused and handed over the exhibit to the judge. It was the evidence Leila gave him in the morning.

Then he continued, "I move that defendant's Exhibit A be introduced into court as evidence."

As the judge reviewed the exhibit, Lawyer Campbell explained, "Most of us know that my client had lived in the United Kingdom for five years and just returned. Hence, she transferred all the money from a Swiss bank account into her individual account due to some inconveniences on her end."

"I object to that. The defendant was only a college student when she lived overseas. How could she have a huge sum of money in her account?" The prosecutor looked at Lawyer Campbell solemnly.

And having raised his argument, everyone's eyes instantly fell on Lawyer Campbell. The prosecutor was quite famous in the field. He was someone intelligent and sophisticated yet difficult to deal with. However, Lawyer Campbell won't take it down so easily.

"In my client's spare time, she had a part-time job," he calmly responded. Then Lawyer Campbell handed the exhibit to the judge. They were bank identity statements.

"I'll show you what has been marked for identification as an exhibit," he paused and showed the information on the back identity statements. Then he reminded, "This is a privacy issue for our clients, so please keep it confidential."

The prosecutor's face turned ashen. "Is the evidence you submitted fabricated? Otherwise, why didn't you submit them during the first and second trials?" he asked.

Lawyer Campbell smiled and explained, "My client chose not to submit it before simply because she wanted to give the other party an opportunity to change their mind. But unfortunately, her good intentions had gone down the drain. Please allow me to clarify that my client is Wright's legitimate heiress, and she wouldn't do anything that will tarnish her family's reputation."

He took a deep breath and continued, "My client has always been a filial and clever girl. She will never destroy the foundation her ancestors laid for them, just for a small benefit. Consequently, my client has been wrongly accused."

Lawyer Campbell's reasonable words reverberated across the silent courtroom. His words moved everyone inside.

"Exhibit A is marked as evidence," the judge ruled.

Time passed slowly, and after reaching a decision, the jury notified the bailiff, and the latter notified the judge.

"Based on the evidence submitted to the court by the defendant. Leila Wright has been found not guilty of embezzlement and is hereby acquitted of the said crime!" the judge ruled as he slammed the gavel.

After winning the trial, Lawyer Campbell congratulated her. Leila just smiled and left the courtroom. The minute she opened the door, she met Sunshine who was waiting for her.

"Miss Wright, Mr. Leighton said I need to send you home," Sunshine directly informed.

"No. I want to walk by myself," Leila flatly refused and left.

On the way back to her house, she whipped out her phone and dialed a string of numbers. Her call connected after a few rings.

"Lei?" A mature and charming female voice sounded at the other end. Her tone was laced with confusion.

"Mandy, it's me." Leila gnawed her lips and asked, "Where's Nate?"

"He's now asleep. But earlier, when he saw the news you were locked in a prison, he badly wanted to call you and look for you. He was frantically screaming, and it took a while before he calmed down. I told him you'd be released, and he could call you by then." Mandy sighed.

"Thank you, Mandy," Leila said sincerely.

Five years ago, when she ran away, it was Mandy who helped her. If it wasn't for her, Leila didn't know if she would still be alive by now.

She took a deep breath and interrupted Mandy's chatter. "Mandy, I have decided."

"Are you serious this time?" Mandy's cheerful tone became solemn.

"Yes. Today, I've really done my best, but..." Leila's words trailed off as she heaved a deep sigh. After this incident, disappointment after disappointment waved through her. She shouldn't have high hopes for her so-called relatives.

She looked up and stared at the group of geese flying in the sky, soaring freely in the air.

Looking at them, Leila suddenly felt a hint of envy. If someone she knew looked at her, they would be surprised to see such an expression on her usually unruffled face.

After chatting with Mandy for quite some time, she hung up the phone and returned to the Wright Villa.

When she entered the house, there was no sign of her father.

Feeling thirsty, she went to the kitchen and saw Talia eating lunch.

Upon seeing her, Talia's expression became ugly. She immediately slammed her cutlery and snapped at Leila. "What are you doing here?"

Talia changed from the usual decent and delicate woman to a wildly hideous expression. She stared daggers at Leila and wished the latter would drop dead with her gaze.

She hated Leila because Talia was just a mere illegitimate child as long as she was there. However, to make everyone forget that she was illegitimate, she pretended to be a delicate and innocent woman. Even before her parents, she had to act like a loving sister so everyone would like her instead of Leila.

"Are you sure you want to chase me away? Have you forgotten that the media is paying attention to my every move? Let me remind you. I'm now acquitted and innocent. Your perfect image would surely crumble if you drove me out of my house. Maybe you'll become a headline tomorrow morning, saying a mere illegitimate daughter chased out the legal one. I figured you don't want that to happen, do you?"

Talia's face turned white. She gritted her teeth and sneered. "Fine. You stay here. But I'll show you all the things that belong to you will all become mine. All the people that could help you were already buried six feet under the ground. Now, you're just a powerless woman. Even if you want to take back Wright Corporation, you don't have the ability! Watch as I slowly become glamorous while you crawl out of this house like a vermin!"

After shouting at Leila's face, she violently pushed her, which almost made Leila stumble. Then she went upstairs with a dark expression.

When Leila regained balance and was about to retort, Talia was long gone. Her hands clenched into a deathly grip. Her knuckles had turned white as her nails dug deeply into her flesh.

On the other hand, Philip was still in his office even though it was already nine in the evening.

He was enraged that Leila managed to escape the trap he laid for her. Initially, he thought she wouldn't be able to turn the tables since she didn't provide any evidence during the first and second trials, but apparently, he underestimated her. Even though he was livid, he could only stifle his anger, which caused him to feel even more out-of-sorts.

Just thinking that she foiled his plans and walked out of court free along with the sum of money he gave her, Philip felt as though someone had taken out his heart, and he couldn't breathe.

"Old man, you lost the game this time." A middle-aged man beside Philip patted him on the shoulder. He cast a sidelong glance at Philip as he twirled the wine glass in his hand.

"That damn wench is surely capable!" Philip snarled. He poured himself a glass of wine and immediately finished it in one motion.

"You shouldn't have been careless. Your daughter took after that old lady. Otherwise, she wouldn't be able to get out of the prison unscathed," the man commented. He had elegant bearings, but his words were sharp as blades.

"What are you going to do this time? I told you before, don't be softhearted on her," the man added.

"Of course, I know that! I was careless this time, but I won't let that happen again! I've been working hard so I could make the Wright Corporation go bankrupt, and I won't let the likes of her ruin my painstaking efforts for twenty years!" A trace of malevolent light flashed past Philip's eyes. His grip on the wine glass tightened, almost crushing it.

"Then do you have a plan?" the man asked.

Philip took a deep breath to calm himself and asked, "Do you know Alvis?"

The man looked at him as though he was looking at a fool and chuckled. "Of course. Who doesn't know him?" he replied.

Alvis was a famous investor who earned him the title of 'God of Investment.' He made billions on the New York Stock Exchange overnight, creating his legend and shooting himself to fame. However, he never appeared in any news outlets, only his name, which had always been in the Wall Street Journal. He was shrouded in mystery and extremely low-key, so only a few people could have seen his true face.

"Just this afternoon, I received a call from his assistant. She said Alvis was interested in cooperating with the Wright Corporation. Unfortunately, he wanted Leila to be in charge of this project." Philip sighed, but his eyes glistened maliciously.

"What? How could Alvis think highly of your daughter? Now, it would be difficult for you to act against her." The man scoffed. His fox eyes glimmered with venomous light.

"Don't you think it's a good opportunity? Since Alvis wanted her to be in charge of the project, I'd pull the strings behind the scenes, and when an accident happened on the project, no one would think it was me. This time, she won't even know how she died!" Philip laughed maniacally.

Even though Wright Corporation was one of the leading enterprises in the financial industry, there wasn't a financial investor who could lead their team because most talented and ambitious people already had theirs.

In this regard, Philip had no talent for financial investment. Hence, he tried poaching other people, but it was fruitless.

This stalemate lasted for several years until Alvis' assistant called them the day before yesterday, stating they wanted to cooperate with the Wright Corporation.

Upon learning it, Wright's executives were ecstatic. After all, Alvis was almost a legendary figure in the financial industry. Consequently, they immediately arranged a meeting with him in Tesanera City's largest hotel.

Since Alvis wanted Leila to be in charge of the new project, she and the president, Philip, went to the airport and waited for Alvis' assistant—the person who would represent Alvis.

Dressed in a black suit, Leila imposed dominance amongst her crowd. Her eyes fixedly stared at the exit gate. Shortly after, a slender figure emerged and entered her sight. It was Mandy Carter.

A faint smile blossomed on her lips. She sidled forward, and instantly, Mandy saw her. Their eyes met, and they both smiled, seemingly in a tacit understanding.

Leila glanced at her father and immediately schooled her expression to keep her true thoughts under wraps.

"I'm sorry I made you wait a long time, President Clark." Mandy smiled apologetically. However, if they looked closely, one would notice no sincerity in her eyes.

"No. It's just that we came too early." Philip waved his hand and beckoned her to get inside the car.

Mandy nodded, and the three of them left the airport.

In a few minutes, they arrived at Red Haven Restaurant. The three of them alighted from the car and headed inside the restaurant.

The manager immediately greeted them. "Good afternoon, President Clark. This way to your reservation," he said and led the way, and the three entered the private room.

As soon as they were seated, Leila gave Mandy a knowing look. Then she faced her father and said, "I'll go to the restroom."

Philip nodded, and Leila went out. After glancing at the tightly closed door, he looked at Mandy eagerly. "How many years has Miss Carter been with Mr. Alvis?" he asked.

"Five years," Mandy perfunctorily replied.

"Miss Carter, would you be interested in working at Wright Corporation? Being an assistant wasn't impressive enough for a talented person like you. Coincidentally, Wright Corporation lacks talents like Miss Carter."

Mandy shook her head and smiled politely. "I don't have plans to jump ship for the time being," she frankly answered.

"If you change your mind, Wright Corporation's doors are open for you. I can offer you any position you want except the president. And if need be, I could appoint you as a project manager. So think about it," Philip cunningly poached and grinned.

"By the way," he paused and whipped out a checkbook from his coat's inner pocket.

He wrote something on it as he continued, "I don't want to embarrass you by bringing up this matter without much sincerity. Here. Take this check as a gift of friendship from me to you." Philip smiled and slid the check over to Mandy's side.

Seemingly understanding something, Mandy lowered her gaze and looked at the check. "What do I need to do?" she asked, interested.

"Miss Carter doesn't need to do anything. Just say you know nothing when someone asks you," Philip said vaguely.

As Mandy observed Philip's facial expression, she vaguely guessed something was up with him, but Philip had already composed himself before she could grasp the whole intention behind his words. In the end, she could only say, "I'll think about it."

"Miss Carter must know that you can't have money and love simultaneously. It might make you happy if you choose to love, but that's nothing but a fleeting moment. It will pass, and you'll eventually regret it. However, if you choose money, it will make you glamorous and honorable for a lifetime. I believe someone as beautiful and clever as Miss Carter must know how to make choices," Philip carelessly said.

Mandy tilted her head and asked innocently, "So, which one did President Clark choose? Money or love?"

"Young lady, if you have money, people will throw themselves at you to give you love," Philip spoke firmly.

"Well, that makes sense. Alright. I accept your proposal," Mandy agreed.

A broad grin immediately flashed on his face.

"Miss Carter is surely wise. It seems I have an eye for people." Philip laughed condescendingly.

The next day, at the Wright Corporation.

Leila stepped out with a briefcase in her hand as soon as the elevator door opened. She donned a khaki suit and exuded the air of a leader.

"Manager Wright, President Clark said you must hurry to the conference room. There are guests inside," Philip's assistant said nervously.

"Okay. You can go back to your post." After saying this, she hurried over and walked into the conference room.

Leila swept her gaze at the people sitting around the long table. She saw Philip, Uncle Johannes, Mandy, the other directors, and Sunshine.

'What? That's Sunshine and Zachary!' she exclaimed inside her head. But her face was still placid. Then she took a seat.

When she arrived, all eyes were on her. A pin-drop silence engulfed the conference room, and tension arose.

"Mr. Clark, let's get started," Zachary suddenly said. Although he was a guest, he was the corporation's principal investor. Thus, he had a say in everything.

Philip cleared his throat. "I invited everyone to have a meeting only because of one thing—" He then threw a bunch of documents on the table. "I didn't expect someone to be brazen and take advantage of this cooperation with Alvis to embezzle huge amounts of public funds by using their power!"

"What?!" Everyone exclaimed.

"Who did it?" Mr. Scott aggressively asked.

Philip shot Leila a disappointed look. His eyes glared at her resentfully, as though he was furious at her for failing to meet his expectations.

"Today, when I looked at the contract, I discovered that three billion dollars were missing! Apart from myself and Assistant Carter, Manager Wright is the only one in charge of this project," he spat angrily.

Then he turned to Mandy and pointed at the papers on the table. "Assistant Carter, have you seen this document?"

"No. I've never seen them," Mandy said indifferently and shrugged her shoulders.

As soon as they heard her, the directors and shareholders stared daggers at Leila. None of them could hide their desire to tear her into pieces.

"Lei, why did you have to do this? You'll eventually inherit this company, so why did you have to steal the company's funds? Dad planned to hand over the company to you in a few years, but this matter deeply disappointed me." Philip paused and took a deep breath. Tears brimmed in his eyes, and they became red-rimmed.

"Lei, Dad loves you, but what you did is wrong. It would be best if you surrendered yourself. I'll make up for the loss of the funds. Don't worry. When you come out, you'll still be my good daughter." Tears trickled down his cheek, which moved the board of directors.

"Leila, what kind of merit have you accumulated in your previous life to have a good father like him?" Johannes looked at her with disappointment, then glanced at Philip. He couldn't help the newfound respect for him from welling up.

"Even though you're still young, you shouldn't have done this. Last time, your father let it slide when you almost tarnished the company's reputation. But now, you even went as far as to do this!"

One after another, they kept admonishing her. However, the concerned party looked at them calmly as though this matter had nothing to do with her. A sneer was plastered on her lips as she looked at them askance.

Philip looked at Leila and felt this was rather strange, seeing the latter was calm, but he didn't give it further thought.

To complete his 'seamless' acting, he grimaced and reprimanded her. "What kind of attitude is that? I'm already wracking my brain to help you deal with the mess you made, yet you treat me with disrespect! If it wasn't for me, do you think Alvis would think highly of you, an inexperienced young lady?" he scoffed, and as to not miss a beat, he added, "Do you think you're that talented? He chose you to be in charge of this project because you're my daughter! It seems you've grown shameless and went as far as forging documents and embezzling funds!"

Leila lifted her head, and a dark light gleamed in her eyes. She slowly smiled as she tapped her fingers on the table.

When Mandy saw Leila's action on the sidelines, she immediately knew she was furious. The calmer she appeared, the more anger brewed inside her. That small gesture clearly showed that she had lost her patience.

She couldn't help but look at Philip with pity. Her lips curled up into a mocking grin.

Leila's voice was somewhat frosty as she said, "It seems Mr. Clark wasn't as brilliant as I thought you'd be. Framing me of embezzlement after winning a case over it, have you not had anything else up your sleeves?"

Philip subtly froze. The sarcasm laced in her words slapped almost everyone inside the room.

"Between you and I, you're the one who had misunderstood something, Mr. Clark." Leila aloofly reproached, adding, "If you're that curious, then I'm happy to tell you about it. I'm in charge of this project simply because I'm Alvis!"

As soon as her words fell, almost everyone doubted their ears. It was like someone dropped a bomb in front of them, making them go deaf.