Heiress' Househusband is a Secret Billionaire - Chapter 138

Chapter 138: The Culprit Is Someone We Know
Soon, the five of them headed to the dining room. Helga and another maid had already served the food on the table. Its delicious and alluring scent wafted in the air, inviting people to dig in.

Chairman Delaney sat on the head of the table, followed by Lariette and Ruediger on his right side. Declan and Rafael sat across them.

The ambiance inside the dining room was rather quiet. Lariette was not much of a talker when other people aside from Chairman Delaney, Ruediger and Madeline were present.

Fortunately, Chairman Delaney was there. He asked Rafael and Declan about any of their important plans for the near future.

“…the tournament won’t start until the end of next month. I’ll stay with my teammates even though it’s held in our city.”

“I won’t have any travel until next week. Only a short trip to Japan.”

Rafael talked about his gaming tournament while Declan brought up his business trip abroad. Neither of them mentioned the current situation at the Elsher family home.

Lariette and Ruediger were quiet as they continued enjoying their meal, letting Chairman Delaney talk to Declan and Rafael. They assumed the roles of listeners.

The meal ended soon. It was time for the much-awaited conversation.

“Well, then,” Chairman Delaney swept his gaze around the table, his voice slightly somber, “Shall we move to my office now?”

“Yes,” Declan nodded once, swiftly agreeing with Chairman Delaney, “This isn’t a suitable place for what I’m going to tell everyone.”

The five of them left the dining room, heading to Chairman Delaney’s home office. No one spoke during their walk there.

Lariette tried to mentally prepare herself for anything Declan was going to reveal soon. She lightly held Chairman Delaney’s arm as she escorted him to the home office.

Inside the spacious room, their seating arrangements were similar to those in the dining room earlier.

Sitting on the three-seater couch with Ruediger, Lariette calmly looked at Declan and Rafael opposite them. Chairman Delaney occupied the single couch in between.

The sunlight filtered through the windows, casting shadows beyond the prized possessions in Chairman Delaney’s home office. Its bleak ambiance was a stark contrast to the outside.

“Can we start now?” Lariette said, her voice not hinting at any emotional turmoil within her, “I’ve waited since the day you told me that you’ve found something new. Don’t hide anything this time.”

Straightening his back, Declan nodded. Rafael also did the same. Both brothers’s eyes focused on Lariette, seeing the curiosity in her calm gaze.

“I’ve found out the mastermind behind the two men,” Declan began. He slowly swept his gaze from Lariette to Ruediger and then Chairman Delaney, “The real target wasn’t Lari. She was dragged along.”

Declan’s last two remarks cast a frown on Chairman Delaney’s face. The elderly man asked, “Then, who was the real target? Who’s the mastermind? Someone we know?”

Whoever the culprit was, he or she was most likely one of the guests. Chairman Delaney doubted a random tourist planned such a heinous thing.

Declan heaved a sigh. Clasping his hands together, his countenance seemed to be riddled with dark clouds.

Rafael was quiet despite knowing everything. He let Declan take the stage, aware that his eldest brother was the more suitable person to convey the issue to everyone present here.

“The mastermind is indeed someone we know,” Declan resumed speaking, his voice heavy. In the next second, he dropped the bomb, “Leon wanted to blackmail Phanie into marrying him. He’d named her as his accomplice in Lari’s assault case.”

“…what?”

“Leon did?”

Faint gasps rippled in the room following Declan’s revelation, the tension saturated the air.

Chairman Delaney’s eyes flung open in shock, the same as Lariette whose gaze was locked on Declan. Ruediger was quiet but, his insides simmered with anger.

“Leon is the culprit?” Chairman Delaney voiced in surprise, the frown on his forehead deepening, “He got those men to harm Lari because… he wanted to force Phanie to marry him?”

“Yes,” Declan nodded, his motion decisive, “It’s his motive.”

Speechless, Chairman Delaney was robbed for words. He didn’t expect to hear such a thing. Sighing heavily, he worriedly looked at Lariette who remained quiet.

As if a bucket of ice cold water doused her, Lariette froze in her seat. She unconsciously clenched her hands into fists, trying to register what Declan had just exposed in her mind.

Leon let those people harm her… because he wanted to blackmail Stephanie? Into making her an accomplice?

Just because of that?

That’s bullshit!

Ruediger turned to look at Lariette, his emerald eyes flickering with concern. He noticed the slight paleness on her face, also the way her body seemed to be rigid.

Unsure whether it was the right thing or not, Ruediger quietly touched Lariette’s arm. She blinked before tilting her chin up, looking at him.

Her tear-glazed sapphire eyes, flaring with the suppressed rage collided with his emerald ones, full of concern.

Lariette nodded slightly, trying to smile at Ruediger but, failed. She returned her gaze to Declan whose expression darkened further. Rafael also didn’t look great, including Chairman Delaney.

“Reveal the details,” Lariette said, her voice carrying a slight tremor but, her gaze was unwavering, “Tell me everything.”

Neither Ruediger nor Chairman Delaney said anything, understanding Lariette was the person mostly involved in Leon’s sinister plan.

Declan nodded once. Under Lariette’s sharp gaze, he slowly revealed everything he had unearthed the past few days.

The air inside the home office grew dense and thickened with the unspoken tension. The silence stretched between Declan’s sentences, his gaze occasionally swept across the room before finding its way back to Lariette.

Declan revealed how Stephanie came to him one day on the island, exposing Leon’s threat. He also mentioned that the matter was deliberately concealed so he could investigate discreetly.

“Phanie tried to fool Leon by saying she agreed. The other day, Eric caught Leon in Phanie’s apartment. Phanie spilled that Leon wants to register their marriage this coming Monday.”

Declan took another pause. He assessed Lariette’s countenance, finding it darkened with seething fury inside. Still, he continued.

“I’ve gathered all the evidence needed by now. Before I hand him to the police, I have to reveal everything to you because you’re also the victim, Lari.”

Lariette still hadn’t said anything. What Declan had just disclosed was beyond shocking and upsetting but, she tried to stay calm.

“What do you want to do, Lari?”

Declan’s question hung in the air, directed only to Lariette.

What did she want to do?

What should she choose?