Chapter 179: CEO by 179

Chapter 179 Extortion At that moment, it all clicked for Alistair.

19 min left The woman had produced a stack of documents—evidence tying Alistair to the Whitfield case.

And not just any evidence. The kind that, if made public, could utterly destroy him.

She had somehow gotten hold of Caroline's contact information and arranged to meet her in person.

And Caroline had come.

A storm of emotion stirred inside Alistair.

So her odd behavior today… was because of him.

Of course, Alistair knew the so-called “evidence” was fabricated. None of it could actually incriminate him.

But Caroline showed up anyway. Was it because she didn’t fully believe he was innocent?

He studied her face through the mental projection, searching for even a flicker of hesitation. She gave him nothing.

The woman was still smiling, her expression a mix of flattery and threat.

22:37 Chapter 179 Extortion 19 min left And really, what else could Caroline do? No matter how powerful she seemed, she was still just in her twenties. Driven by love, maybe she’d made a rash decision.

But as the woman kept grinning, Caroline’s gaze stayed steady and unreadable.

Gradually, that smug smile began to falter.

Caroline tilted her head slightly, amusement lacing her tone. “What’s wrong?”

The woman sneered, “Guess you don’t love your husband that much after all.

Can’t even cough up five million dollars.”

“Are you done?” Caroline asked calmly.

The woman pouted, annoyed.

Just then, footsteps echoed from the hallway—several pairs, hurried and heavy.

Still hidden in the shadows, Alistair saw a group of uniformed officers heading straight for the door.

Caroline opened it and pointed at the now-panicked woman. “Officer, this is the one. She tried to extort five million dollars from me.”

The woman panicked and immediately denied it. “She’s lying! I never—”

22:37 Chapter 179 Extortion Her denial was weak. Caroline had clearly come prepared.

19 min left Alistair watched as she calmly followed the officers out of the building. Was she really going to be back at the office within two hours like she promised?

With the story already spinning out of control, the facts muddled and opportunists circling like vultures, Caroline had every excuse to look the other way, but she didn’t.

Not only had she shown up, but she had barely let the woman finish her demand before secretly reporting her to the police.

It was like she came for one reason only—to personally bring a criminal to justice.

But Alistair knew better. It wasn’t that simple.

When the officers searched the woman and found a hidden camera, and after hearing Caroline’s statement, everything became clear.

Caroline wasn’t about to take chances when it came to him.

If she hadn’t come, she might’ve missed the opportunity to trace the person behind it all.

But by coming in person, she also risked something. No matter what answer she gave that woman, her presence alone could be 22:37 Chapter 179 Extortion 19 min left used as leverage. After all, if she had nothing to hide, why would a CEO with a packed schedule show up herself?

So instead, she flipped the script. She came, and then she had the woman arrested. Loud and clear, she sent a message that she would stand by Alistair—

publicly, unequivocally.

Alistair watched through the windshield as Caroline exited the station alone, calm and composed.

He had to fight the urge to jump out and hold her.

Moments later, his phone lit up with a call.

“Hey, babe,” she said, “I’m heading back now.”

Exactly on time, within the two-hour window.

“Okay.”

“You still out?”

“Yeah.”

“Come find me. I miss you.”

Just six simple words, yet they landed with… the weight of a spell that tugged at his entire soul.

22:37 Chapter 179 Extortion 19 min left Two new trending topics had exploded online with hashtags: “Billionaire family snubs Alistair—so much for that gold digger dream” and “Alistair trying so hard—the Ashbournes could not care less”.

Both, of course, were about Alistair.

He had somehow become America’s most talked-about man. The chatter around him was so loud it drowned out the usual buzz from even the most publicity-

hungry influencers.

And strangely, those trending posts weren’t disappearing. With Ashbourne Group’s influence, removing a couple of hot topics would’ve been effortless.

So why were they still up?

The message couldn’t be clearer. Ashbourne Group was ready to cut ties with Alistair.

Online haters who’d been convinced of Alistair’s guilt celebrated.

Without the company shielding him, they felt like justice was finally on its way. The truth, they believed, was about to shine through.

No matter how messy the headlines got, production on If There’s a Next Second continued smoothly.

22:37 Chapter 179 Extortion (*) 19 min left Of course, the drama brought attention. Each member of the cast gained significant public exposure.

It was trending long before it hit the screen, but not for the right reasons. Most people were skeptical of its success.

XXXXX In a sun-drenched sitting room that smelled faintly of flowers, Caroline popped the last grape into Alistair’s mouth. “Gordon came to talk about Grandma,” she said softly.

She didn’t mention the woman she had sent to jail, and Alistair pretended not to know.

But in the quiet hours of the night, as he held her close in bed, he often wanted to wake her up with a long, hard kiss.

Caroline glanced cautiously at Eloise, who was focused on building blocks a few feet away. She lowered her voice. “He wants to take her on a trip.”

Alistair’s heart sank.

Just as I feared.

“She seems happy here in New York,” he said. “Is this trip really necessary?”

22:37 Chapter 179 Extortion 18 min left “He says she’s too old to be stuck in one place all the time. That she should get out more, see the world while she still can.”

“And what does Grandma think?” He had a sinking feeling he already knew.

Caroline gave Eloise another quick glance before whispering, “She’s the one who brought it up.”

“You’re worried Eloise won’t want to let her go?”

Caroline shook her head slightly. “It’s not just Eloise. I don’t want her to go either.”

Though Mabel wasn’t Caroline’s only family, she was the one who truly felt like home.

She had a home now—a husband, a daughter—but maybe she was being selfish.

Maybe she wanted to keep being loved like a child, too.

Apart from that one year, she’d never really been away from Mabel for long.

But she also knew Mabel had already given her everything. Raised her with love and patience, she had no obligation to spend her whole life orbiting around Caroline.

And even though Caroline felt she could probably convince her to stay, she didn’t want to be that selfish.

22:37 Chapter 179 Extortion 1. C) 18 min left A quiet sadness settled over her. She rested her head on Alistair’s shoulder and said nothing.

“She’s just going on a trip,” he murmured, wrapping an arm around her. “It’s not like she’s moving away. She’ll be back soon.”

Alistair glanced at his phone.

Since giving Jaxon his contact information, he hadn’t heard from him once.

So the pressure didn’t work.

Maybe Gordon already found out what he needed to know about Mabel. Maybe Jaxon felt safe backing off.

Caroline hesitated and then gave in.

“Babe, I don’t know why, but I’ve got a bad feeling. It’s probably just me being paranoid, but… I keep thinking maybe once she leaves this time, she won’t come back.”

Alistair took her hand gently. “Don’t go there. Don’t even think like that.”

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