Her words had precisely targeted his dissatisfaction with lan. This could be an opportunity—a chance to stir up trouble with the Goodwin & Co. board. If he could get the shareholders to collectively oppose lan's upcoming decisions, it would disrupt his plans. It was a viable way to hinder lan's future progress.

Walden reached out and patted Vanessa's shoulder. "Vanessa, you've made a good point. I'll be keeping an eye on this."

Vanessa lowered her head, a triumphant glint flashing in her eyes. She knew Walden would go and create trouble for lan and Eleanor on her behalf.

When that happened, with lan facing doubt and pressure from his board and shareholders, would he continue to protect Eleanor's research, or would he appease the board to consolidate his own authority within the company?

***

A little later, Walden Wells went out again on business. Vanessa sat on the sofa, scrolling through the news. Suddenly, in the finance section, she saw an announcement about the successful union of The Holt Group and the Quigley Group, with the wedding scheduled to take place in three days.

Vanessa's mood soured even further. Henry and Selma Quigley were getting married. The thought of her rival, Selma, made her grit her teeth.

It had been a long time since anyone had treated her with such disdain, yet Selma Quigley, empowered by Henry, had humiliated her time and time again.

Vanessa picked up her phone and opened her chat with Henry. She scrolled frantically upwards, finally reaching their conversations from two years ago. Henry had sent her a photo of himself wearing a baseball cap, posing with a world-class baseball champion, grinning brightly under the sun.

His side of the chat was filled with messages he had initiated.

[Vanessa, are you up? I got the autograph for you.]

[Next time, I'll take you to get a photo with him.]

[I found a new French restaurant near your campus. I hear the desserts are amazing. Are you free this weekend? I'd love to take you.]

[That brand of bag you said you liked, I had someone buy it for you. I'm thinking, should I bring it to you in person or mail it?]

Vanessa's side of the chat showed her request to attend the tech conference.

Henry had replied with some surprise, [You want to go to the tech conference? There's nothing fun there!]

[I just want to go. Please? Take me so I can see what it's like!] Vanessa had pleaded, knowing lan was one of the invited guests.

That time, she had gotten her wish. Henry had taken her, and she had sat right next to lan. She took a photo and posted it online, smiling sweetly with a handsome shot of lan's profile in the frame.

Vanessa scrofted further down. When she occasionally complained about being tired or in a bad mood Henry would comfort her, finding ways to cheer her up, suggesting getaways, or even changing bis flight schedule just to deliver a gift to her.

Back then, Henry had been like a loyal, giant puppy, always orbiting around her. Even knowing she loved lan, he had let her manipulate and order him around.

While he couldn't match lan's mature stability and business acumen at the time, she had definitely relied on him for emotional support and material convenience.

In contrast, her replies had always been brief, often dismissive and careless. Sometimes she would take a long time to respond, but Henry never got angry, always remaining as enthusiastic as ever.

In Henry's eyes, she had been a noble, pure goddess, a precious treasure.

She would complain to him about how lan didn't understand her, how he was too busy to spend time with her, how cold he was. And Henry would offer warm encouragement, silently stepping in to give her the affection lan wouldn't.

Ha.

Looking back at these chat logs, Vanessa felt a bitter taste in her mouth. She might have never truly had lan, but Henry had once been completely hers-a possession she could control and use as si pleased.