Bait for a Gentleman novel Chapter 78

The crisp, early spring breeze poured into the room, carrying the faint hum of traffic from the streets below. He leaned against the window frame and took a drag, letting the wind scatter the smoke. The lingering dark edge of irritation in his expression hadn't entirely faded.

Carter couldn't hold back his frustration. "Don't you think Zachary is crossing a line? How can he just let his sidepiece get away with acting so arrogant? Vera went to all this trouble just to ruin Audrina—you can tell from a mile away that she's bad news."

Sebastian took another drag, staring out the window, his tone indifferent. "I had someone stall her last night. I didn't think she'd be so fiercely relentless."

Carter silently gave him a thumbs up.

With Vera's amateur-level scheming, she had absolutely zero chance against Sebastian.

That reminded Carter of the real reason he was there.

Pulling his long legs off the table, he leaned forward. "Over the holidays, I got my dad completely wasted and managed to pry some information out of him."

Sebastian flicked his ash and glanced over. "What did he say?"

"I didn't see the original agreement," Carter whispered, lowering his voice, "but my dad said there's a highly crucial clause in it. From the exact moment the engagement is finalized, if Zachary does anything to betray Ms. Monroe that leads to a breakup—or if their marriage falls apart down the line—he won't just lose his right to inherit the Sutton empire. Waldo will transfer every single one of Zachary's shares directly to Ms. Monroe. Oh, and Monroe Industries has to be returned to her, free of charge."

"The stakes are that high?" Sebastian frowned. "Are you sure?"

"That's what my dad claims, anyway. We won't know if it's true until we actually see the paperwork."

"Figure out a way to see the original documents first," Sebastian instructed.

Carter was speechless. Easy for him to say.

He narrowed his eyes.

Transferring the 28% of shares in Zachary's name to Audrina was essentially handing her almost half of the Sutton family's wealth on a silver platter.

What exactly had the Suttons done to warrant drawing up an agreement like that? That wasn't compensation; it was practically giving away the entire family fortune.

Sebastian crushed his cigarette into the ashtray.

Carter voiced the conclusion that Sebastian had already deduced long ago. "So the reason Zachary has dragged this out with Vera for so long isn't because he wants to two-time them. It's because he literally can't afford to break the engagement. If he brings it up, Waldo will definitely dig into everything."

"And honestly, man, you sending those photos to Ms. Monroe and making her come back early totally blindsided Zachary. He didn't even have time to hide the evidence."

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