The Queen of Gossip System

Chapter 3: Hooked By A Handsome Man

Gerald was still fixated on his ambition to climb the power ladder, so he sent Josh to spy on Ms. Blake, hoping to use her to his advantage. But, as luck would have it, he ended up losing his son in the process. If he knew his son had become a "simp," Gerald would probably... Hahaha! He probably thinks his son is just trying to win her favor. So not only did he lose his son, but he was also unknowingly helping his enemy! Once again, Aria’s inner voice echoed inside Dominic's head.

Standing behind his son, Gerald suddenly felt a chill when he noticed Dominic’s unblinking stare.

Gerald puffed his chest with pride. It seemed like Dominic was in the wrong here. There was no way Dominic could get out of this situation gracefully after my son laid it all out! Maybe, just maybe, this time we could get Sienna on our side. Let’s see who dares call my son a pampered, useless rich kid again!

"Hey! Dominic, are you humiliating Ms. Blake for this woman?" Josh, clearly irritated by Dominic’s silence, spoke up. "Don’t forget, Aria is the only one who met Mr. Russellville from the rival company! We have photos and videos as evidence!"

Dominic, realizing he had gotten caught up in gossip, cleared his throat and turned to Aria, trying to stay serious. "Why did you meet him?" The last time he asked her, she was so worked up that she never gave him a proper answer.

At that moment, even if Aria stayed tight-lipped, Dominic figured he could find out the truth through other ways.

Aria blinked. She hadn’t expected Dominic to be so dead set on getting to the bottom of things.

From her point of view, Dominic had some admirable qualities. He was genuinely committed to being fair.

But that wasn't what Aria wanted. She just wanted a divorce!

Just as she was about to speak, she suddenly locked eyes with Dominic. His features were so perfectly sculpted that he could easily be a celebrity. And when he focused his gaze on her, it was hard to look away for a moment, leaving her stunned.

Without the two hundred million, though, Dominic’s face seemed fake to her. At least, it had fooled her for a moment.

In that split second, his handsome face was set in a serious expression, radiating an aura that made everything feel so serious, leaving no room for casualness.

The intensity of his gaze felt like he was looking straight through Aria’s soul, making her heart skip a beat. She froze for a moment, then said, "It was a job arranged by my agent."

As soon as she said it, Aria regretted her words. Ugh! Was I just caught by a handsome man? Why did I just blurt out the truth like that? This is going to cause more trouble!

Before anyone could respond, Josh scoffed. "That's a pretty weak explanation. Has your agent lost her mind, sending you to the competition?"

Vance Group owned an entertainment company, and within it was a studio that specifically worked with Aria. Obviously, an agent from Vance Group wouldn’t accept work from rival companies unless it was done on purpose.

Josh didn’t let Aria get another word in. He immediately called her agent, Bella Hatcher.

The phone was answered right away, and Bella sounded surprised. "What? I didn’t arrange anything like that! Mrs. Vance, you can’t accuse me of that! I’m just a small-time agent. I can't handle this kind of blame!"

No agent would dare falsely accuse the CEO's wife, and that's exactly what Sienna wanted everyone to believe.

Sienna grinned, noticing that no one was picking up on how awkward Bella sounded.

Josh, with a smug look, advised, "Next time, don’t come up with a lie that’s so easy to prove wrong."

He then silently mouthed, "You fool," at Aria.

Aria couldn’t help but feel a bit frustrated.

At first, she thought this was just a minor setup, with Bella being an innocent pawn. But now, it seemed like the whole thing was way bigger than she expected—Bella was clearly involved too.

Dominic had also considered that possibility. He was already thinking about sending someone to look into Bella when he heard Aria’s thoughts. "I want to know how much they paid her to set me up."

For a moment, Dominic was speechless. Did she really just see everything I’m thinking?

What? Is my reputation only worth a measly two thousand? No way! There must be another zero missing!

Dominic was completely confused, his mind swirling with question marks. Could it really only be two thousand?

Aria’s brief sobs echoed in his mind. "I can't believe it’s really just two thousand—Wait, what? Oh, so that’s how it is..."

What? What’s happening? Thought Dominic.

After what felt like an eternity, all he heard was Aria sighing in frustration.

Dominic had always maintained his cool demeanor, but now Aria’s thoughts were pushing him to the edge. Just tell me what it is! How can I prove your innocence if you keep leaving me hanging?

Finally, Aria, unintentionally helping him out with her thoughts, said, "No wonder she didn’t want more money. Turns out Bella is Ms. Blake’s cousin-in-law. They were practically family, so of course, they were working together. Ms. Blake must’ve had her spy planted at my side a long time ago. They even pretended not to know each other before. Impressive! Very impressive!"

Dominic grumbled to himself, Why are you praising her? But, wow, I’m honestly shocked. To think Sienna has been scheming behind my back since the start!

At that moment, his subordinate asked cautiously if it was okay to end the call with Bella. Everything that needed to be said had been said.

Dominic’s tone shifted to icy cold as he spoke into the phone, "Since the statements don’t match up, I’ll arrange a thorough investigation. If we can’t find any physical evidence on you, Ms. Hatcher, I’ll have people dig into your connections."

Instantly, everyone was stunned. They didn’t expect Dominic to be so relentless.

Aria was shocked too. Damn! How did Dominic accidentally uncover the truth so accurately?

Meanwhile, no one noticed the panic on Sienna’s face or the sharp intake of breath from Bella.

"What are you implying?" Josh stepped forward, trying to defend his love.

With a calm expression, Dominic replied, "When things aren’t adding up, even the police don’t rely on one perspective. I’m familiar with Aria’s small network, so she’s unlikely to have met the rival company’s VP. But I’m not sure about her agent."

"Mr. Dominic, how could I possibly be involved with a rival company?" Bella nervously said.

There was no direct relationship between Bella and the rival company. But an investigation would uncover her ties to Sienna.

Everyone else was unaware of that connection, and it would look suspicious if exposed, adding even more complexity to the situation.

Dominic coldly said, "Just wait for the notification."

With that, he didn’t let Bella respond and hung up the phone.

At that very moment, he shot a chilling look at Sienna.

Sienna, already shaken, instinctively took a step back.

Immediately, Josh moved to protect her, his anger bubbling up as he declared, "It looks like you’re hell-bent on protecting this woman. I’m starting to think you’re planning to pin everything on Ms. Blake! But it’s too bad because Ms. Blake has never had any contact with anyone from the rival company! During those two days, she was either at the office or at home!"

Sienna, taking a deep breath, steadied herself. She looked at Dominic, but her voice remained firm. "If you don’t believe me, I’m willing to undergo any investigation, Mr. Dominic!"

By standard investigation procedure, Sienna’s recent whereabouts and all her devices needed to be examined.

From what Josh had said, Dominic was confident that Sienna hadn’t met anyone from the rival company.

But if Sienna was so sure of herself, it meant she was pretty confident there was no evidence left behind.

Could it be that she didn’t leave anything on her electronic devices? Dominic thought deeply, his brows furrowing.

"I was wondering why she was so confident. So this is her plan!" Aria’s voice rang through Dominic’s mind again.

Dominic immediately perked up. Looks like I don’t have to guess anymore.

"Her plan is perfect."

Dominic thought, Come on, stop sighing and just tell me!

"The email was sent on the morning of the twelfth, and even if you investigate her computer using recovery tools, there’s no trace left."

Dominic’s heart sank. How is this even possible?

"Because she sent it from Josh’s computer. Josh trusted her so much that he never suspected her in his office. Even his password was her birthday. So, even if she’s suspected, all the blame will fall on Josh."

Dominic’s expression darkened as he shifted his gaze from Sienna to Josh.

But she left a trace. Maybe because she’s too confident in her position at the company.

Dominic focused hard, trying to figure out what that trace was.

In the end, Aria chose not to go any further. "Forget it. I can’t reveal everything I know anyway. In the end, Ms. Blake won’t be affected. Bella might just get into a little trouble. I just want this to end."

Dominic’s gaze sharpened as he ordered, "Summon the tech team and have them check Ms. Blake’s devices."