Rachael was so shocked that her eyes nearly popped out. Her lips quivered as she complained, “What did you say? Is Catherine
a shareholder in your company? Is she your top-level advisor?
“Are you telling me to rely on this girl to take down the Swann Corporation?”
Pete nodded solemnly. He looked at Rachael with a stern expression that made it clear he wasn’t joking.
“Mrs. Swann, let me be clear with my professionalism. To achieve the least amount of loss in this collaboration, we need Miss
Catherine and no one else.”
Rachael laughed in anger. “Pete, do you even know who this girl is?”
Pete was also perplexed. Seeing Catherine sitting next to Rachael, he thought they might know each other.
If they did, Rachael hadn’t needed to approach him in the first place. Before Rachael could respond, Catherine casually spoke
up.
Catherine said, “Pete, it’s quite a coincidence. I inherited my grandfather’s company six months ago. This company happens to
be the Swann Corporation.”
Her attractive, lazy voice had a special charm to it.
Pete initially thought of congratulating Catherine, and maybe even currying favor with her. After all, Catherine was not easy to
meet. However, he couldn’t hide his surprise when he heard the rest of Catherine’s statement.
He never expected that Rachael would come to him for help to deal with Catherine. For him, it felt like a death sentence with no
way out.
Pete couldn’t help but wonder if he had unknowingly offended Rachael in some way, leading to this kind of retaliation.
“Mrs. Swann, have I offended you?”
Rachael hadn’t fully processed the situation yet, as everything happened too suddenly.
Ignoring Rachael’s daze, Pete continued, “If that’s the case, why would you set me up like this? Don’t you realize that if I upset
Miss Catherine, my career might be over?”
He was stating it lightly, but if he really offended Catherine, his life could potentially be ruined.
Before Pete could press Rachael further, Catherine tapped her phone and turned off the screen.
The moment the screen went dark, Rachael finally snapped back to reality. She stared at Catherine in confusion. She struggled
to accept everything that had just unfolded.
“Who are you?” Rachael questioned Catherine in a dazed manner.
Even Korbin was left dumbfounded, let alone Rachael.
He could tell that Pete had not been lying. If that were the case, Catherine was really a shareholder of one of the five major
conglomerates. What was her true identity?
Seeing the skepticism on their faces, Catherine lifted a corner of her mouth faintly.
“No need to doubt. I am Catherine.”
She knew that Rachael and Korbin suspected her to be an imposter, who tried to seize the Swanns’ wealth under the guise of
Catherine. At this point, Catherine decided to reveal the truth.
After all, she had never intended to hide, but these people simply couldn’t find out. It was they that lacked the ability. They
couldn’t blame anyone for that.
“Every year, Vicente goes to our family estate in Westain for a month. In truth, he’s not going to Westain. He’s going to see
me...”
The Swanns originated in Westain, and Vicente had built a villa in Westain for his rest and relaxation. After Laura passed away,
Vicente started going to Westain for a month every year. He didn’t allow anyone to disturb him.
Everyone assumed it was because Vicente missed Laura, but no one knew that during that month, instead of going to Westain,
he was actually accompanying Catherine.
Back then, Vicente had agreed with everyone’s decision to send Catherine back to the countryside. It wasn’t because he thought
Catherine was a jinx that brought bad luck to the Swanns.
It was because he saw Catherine’s future in Audrey’s attitude toward Rachael. If Catherine were forced to stay with the Swanns,
her childhood would undoubtedly be miserable. The children of the Swanns were not meant to have such a fate.
After weighing the pros and cons, Vicente agreed to send Catherine to the countryside. He was confident that even if Catherine
didn’t stay with her parents, the Swanns’ influence could ensure Catherine lived a carefree life.
But he didn’t anticipate that a twist of fate would occur shortly after Catherine was sent to the countryside.
After Catherine moved to the countryside, she had a dedicated caregiver. Vicente even arranged for Catherine to attend school.
Catherine’s talents were discovered after she entered school.
Because of Catherine’s unique status, someone reported it to Vicente immediately. Vicente immediately had Catherine undergo
an IQ test, and the results exceeded everyone’s expectations.
Catherine was not just intelligent. Her IQ was close to two hundred. She was actually a rare genius.
Upon discovering his granddaughter’s extraordinary potential, Vicente spared no effort to enroll Catherine in a special school.
When Catherine was seven, her professor arranged for her to take the SAT.
That year, the nation witnessed a miraculous SAT achievement as the top scorer achieved a perfect score that nobody had
anticipated.
All universities were searching for this genius, but no one could get any information. Catherine went to the special school, and it
was her own choice.
Since Catherine was seven years old, Vicente had no way to influence her life.
Catherine’s life was entirely determined by her own choices, and nobody could sway the decisions of this genius. Upon learning
Catherine’s history, Korbin and Rachael were utterly shocked.
They hadn’t expected that Vicente had kept this a secret for so long.
Korbin began to feel some resentment toward his father. If he had known earlier that his daughter was such a genius, they
wouldn’t have ended up in this situation.
The reason Vicente didn’t disclose Catherine’s genius to the public, aside from Catherine’s own unwillingness, was primarily to
protect Catherine.
As Korbin’s father, Vicente knew well about him.
Korbin had significant flaws in his character. If he were to find out about Catherine’s exceptional abilities, there was a high
likelihood that Catherine would become a tool manipulated by him due to the bonds of family.
Catherine had said all the things to both of them. Her patience had run out, and she didn’t want to continue the conversation with
them.
“Please leave, both of you.”
Catherine raised her hand and signaled toward Rachael and Korbin.
They were somewhat baffled and didn’t understand what Catherine meant.
Before they could grasp the situation, a group of elite professionals in black uniforms appeared in the living room.
Korbin stared at them in astonishment. “Who are you? How did you intrude into the Swanns’?”