He wanted to stop her, but that required Claire to actually care about his feelings.
She smiled faintly. "But I think taking it to court is a brilliant idea. That way, the whole world will know I'm not an ungrateful daughter—the James family owes me."
"Honestly, you guys did raise me, so let's call it even."
"Otherwise, I'm afraid the news of me being the heir to Hearth & Kettle will be splashed across the headlines. Rather than letting myself get dragged into a mess, I'd prefer to strike first."
"Don't you agree?"
Latham clearly hadn't anticipated how ruthless Claire could be. She wanted a clean break from the James family, ensuring that if they went bankrupt and drowned in debt, it wouldn't affect her in the slightest.
Because she was a victim here, too.
"Claire, I promise you, I'll never bring up the fact that we raised you again. It's been so many years, and growing up in our house wasn't entirely without its perks."
"Let's just drop this, okay?"
Latham wasn't yielding for Fallon's sake. He was only trying to save his own skin. "No." Claire wasn't going to entertain his nonsense anymore.
She had already given them enough chances.
"Latham, this doesn't really have much to do with you, so you don't need to try and stop me."
"Besides, did you actually think Fallon loved you?"
"That's a bit too naive."
Claire's eyes brimmed with mockery.
Latham looked confused. "What do you know?"
"From what I've gathered, your company's rapid downfall is largely thanks to Fallon."
"You thought a woman her age was still hopelessly pining for you, but in reality, all she wanted was to destroy you."
"Even the fatal accident during the demolition-it escalated so quickly because she was the one pulling the strings."
"You were the only one foolish enough to keep a vengeful snake right in your own bed."
Claire pulled out a thick folder-her private investigation into Fallon.
Latham snatched the documents. After flipping through just a few pages, his complexion turned a sickening shade of gray.
"How is this possible? Are you sure your investigators didn't make a mistake?"
He still refused to believe there was a woman he couldn't control.
"If you want to play dumb, there's nothing I can do," Claire said with a casual shrug.
The file didn't just detail Fallon's
malicious acts over the years; it also explicitly outlined how she had used Latham's own assistant to siphon confidential company data and sefkit to their rivals.
She had gone to extreme lengths to enact her revenge on Latham.
Yet Latham had remained completely oblivious.
The more Latham read, the darker his expression became.
He didn't need Claire to convince him anymore; the evidence was irrefutable.
"Why would Wheeler betray me?"
He thought he had treated Wheeler
in and Latham had been
incredibly well. Wheeler was young
more than willing to mentor him.
Someone like that could have become Lance's right-hand man in the future.
Keeping Wheeler by his side meant Latham had practically trained the guy himself.
"Because he's Fallon's former student."
"He grew up in poverty, barely able to afford a sandwich. Fallon was the one who funded his way through life."
"He remembered that debt. Once he found out that you were the bastard who ruined Fallon's life, do
think he'd feel any loyal
you?"
toward
Claire's words struck Latham right where it hurt.
The ugly truth he had been trying to deny was now laid bare before him.
As for Latham?
He suddenly wanted to call the cops and have Wheeler thrown behind bars, too.
Leaking top-secret corporate intelligence was a massive felony.
"Oh, by the way, it seems Wheeler harbors some rather deep romantic feelings for his former teacher," Claire added casually.