The Retired CEO's Guide To Being Spoiled-Chapter 94: Hidden Agendas

"I am not clear on that matter either. Perhaps you, Mr. CEO, should meet her yourself and ask?"

Only after she finished speaking did Helen Lloyd realize that Ethan Caldwell had not mentioned whether he intended to meet Dahlia Thorne. Furthermore, he had yet to express any reaction regarding the fact that their private investigator had been detected by the surveillance target.

Consequently, her voice faltered significantly. After all, this could be considered a lapse on their part. Calculating it, Helen Lloyd had mishandled two matters during this period. The first was failing to protect Julian Sterling, allowing him to be abducted. Although he had been rescued, as far as she knew, the drugs injected into him had caused certain adverse effects on his health.

The second instance was this current situation. Although Helen Lloyd had merely issued the orders for her subordinates to conduct the investigation, if her people erred, she had to bear the responsibility.

Seeming to understand what his chief secretary was thinking, Ethan Caldwell spoke gently, "You cannot be blamed for this matter. Do not reproach yourself."

In truth, Ethan Caldwell was not particularly concerned about Dahlia Thorne discovering his operative. As Helen Lloyd had noted, Dahlia had absolutely no idea who was pulling the strings. And what if she did know? If Dahlia Thorne truly wished to move against Gabriel Cole, she would make for an excellent collaborator.

If she was one of Gabriel Cole’s people, deliberately approaching to discover who was targeting him, it mattered not. Ethan Caldwell did not fear a direct confrontation with Gabriel Cole. Or rather, he had already calculated that he would do exactly that.

Whether this incident involved Gabriel Cole overtly or covertly, it was common knowledge in the circle that he was currently "backing" Aaron Sterling. This time, Aaron Sterling had dared to publicly move against Ethan Caldwell’s legal spouse, which was tantamount to trampling on the dignity of the Caldwell family. It was entirely natural for Ethan Caldwell to discipline Aaron Sterling, warn the Sterling family, or even aim a few strikes at Gabriel Cole.

"So, shall we meet her?"

"We shall meet. Why wouldn’t we? Make the arrangements and report the schedule to me. Be cautious, do not let anyone spot us."

If this Dahlia Thorne belonged to Gabriel Cole’s camp, it would be fine. But if she truly intended to move against Gabriel Cole, letting others catch them meeting would be akin to announcing their plot to the world.

Hearing this, Helen Lloyd assented and hung up the phone.

After ending the conversation, Ethan Caldwell worked on his personal laptop for a while. He studied the flow of Gabriel Cole’s funds and made mental calculations. This sum was clearly larger than the capital required for the joint development project between the Sterling Group and Helios Technologies.

There was one thing Ethan Caldwell found slightly puzzling. If Dahlia Thorne was truly the younger sister of the victim harmed by Jason Harrington, then how had she managed to establish a connection with Gabriel Cole? He did not believe that someone who had left home for five years could possess such formidable capability. Furthermore, fundamentally, Cedric Harrington and Gabriel Cole were secret collaborators. Why would Gabriel Cole join hands with Dahlia Thorne?

Was it that Gabriel Cole truly did not know who Dahlia Thorne was, or did he wish to use this opportunity to stab Cedric Harrington in the back? But what would be the motive? A struggle for power and profit?

On the surface, their two families did not have much intersection. Clearly, choosing cooperation would be a wiser choice than fighting one another. So what reason remained for Gabriel Cole to secretly move against Cedric Harrington?

Could it be... because of Aaron Sterling?

After going in a large circle, everything pointed back to that sinister, malicious young man, causing Ethan Caldwell to frown. Did Aaron Sterling truly possess such great value?

Considering it, even a partnership with the Sterling family could not possibly equal the value of an alliance between the Cole and Harrington families. Moreover, there was no guarantee that the Sterling family would remain loyal to one side rather than playing both sides or proving unfaithful.

Or perhaps Aaron Sterling’s value did not stem from the Sterling family, but from Aaron Sterling himself? Yet, Ethan Caldwell did not put much stock in this theory. How to put it... if the boy were truly intelligent, possessing enough value for two top CEOs to fight over him, Aaron Sterling surely would not have been stupid enough to use such a foolish method to try and drive a wedge between him and Julian Sterling.

It was clearly unnecessary. Furthermore, a person so easily controlled by their emotions would find it difficult to achieve anything of significance.

As for the possibility that those two had genuinely fallen for Aaron Sterling? Ethan Caldwell let out a scornful laugh at the thought. If it were anyone else, he might have reluctantly believed it, but who were the two main players here? One was Gabriel Cole, a man willing to harm his own paternal aunt and eliminate any threat, no matter how small. He had never known what it meant to retreat in the business world, using any means necessary - light or dark - so long as he achieved his goal. His hands were likely stained with no small amount of human blood.

And Cedric Harrington was no less ruthless. A man who appeared dignified and righteous on the surface, a hypocrite who, in reality, silently manipulated events...

Too many issues had surfaced, leaving Ethan Caldwell momentarily unsure of where to grasp the thread. Perhaps the meeting with the woman named Dahlia Thorne could help him unravel a good number of his suspicions. Ethan Caldwell decided to stop overthinking for the time being. He would wait until he met her to decide his next move. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

If he were to voice these concerns to Julian Sterling right now, the boy would surely laugh it off and say that it was because Aaron Sterling was the darling of the heavens!

This damn novel!