Chapter 202
“Is she?” Gaston pressed. “Because Aaden thinks he saw her. And Jocelyn says Aaden is obsessed with her CFO, Carmen. He calls her Mommy.”
Justin stood up. His chair scraped loudly against the floor.
“Leave it alone, Gaston. Focus on your wife.”
“If you are hiding something, it will come out — just like Aspen’s lies,” Gaston warned.
He turned and left.
Justin slumped back into his chair. He opened a locked file on his desktop and stared at the screen. It was a private investigator’s report detailing the last seven years of a woman named Carmen Golden — her movements, her jobs, her life in Europe. It was a file he read every night, a puzzle he could never solve.
Across the city, in his own office, Kieran read the article online. He felt sick to his stomach.
“You went too far, Aspen,” he muttered.
𝘐ո𝘀t𝖺n𝘵 𝗮c𝖼e𝗌ѕ 𝗈𝘯 𝗴𝗮𝗹𝗇𝗈𝘃𝘦𝗅ѕ.𝖼o𝗆
He knew Gaston. The man was many things — arrogant, ruthless, difficult — but he was not a sexual predator. This was a lie. A desperate, malicious lie.
But he couldn’t denounce his fiancée publicly. He was trapped by the wedding date, by the stock price, by his own stupid promise.
He turned on the TV mounted on the wall. The Collins press conference was beginning.
Flashes went off like strobe lights in the packed conference hall. Gaston stood at the podium alone — no lawyers, no PR representatives. Just him.
He looked impeccable in a navy suit, his demeanor carved from ice.
“I will make this brief,” his voice boomed over the microphones.
“Regarding the allegations made by Ms. Schneider in The Tattler…” He paused.
The giant screen behind him lit up. It displayed a high-resolution photograph of Aspen at a bar, sliding an envelope of cash across the table to a journalist. The timestamp was clearly visible.
Gasps rippled through the room. Reporters typed furiously.
“This was taken yesterday,” Gaston said, his tone perfectly controlled. “Ms. Schneider paid fifty thousand dollars for a work of fiction.”
He gripped the podium. “Furthermore, she claims I harassed her. This is a malicious and desperate lie from a failing family.”
He looked directly into the camera lens. He knew Jocelyn was watching.
“I do not harass women. I am a happily married man.”
A slight smirk crossed his face — dangerous, and undeniably charming.
“My marriage is a private matter. But let me be perfectly clear: any attack on my wife is an attack on me. And I protect what is mine. As for the rumors about my personal life — let them talk. The only person whose opinion I value is waiting for me at home.”
The room exploded.
“Are you saying the gay rumor is false?”
“What is your relationship with your wife?”
Gaston ignored them all.
“Any further attacks on my wife or my family will be met with the full force of the Collins Corp legal team. The Schneiders will be hearing from us regarding defamation.”
He walked off the stage without another word.
In the penthouse living room, Jocelyn stared at the television screen, her face burning.
.