Filed to story: The CEO’s Wife Is a Secret Boss Novel (Allison & Jeremy) Free Online
‘That might be so, but things are different now.”
Jonah had a grave and worried expression on his face. “For one, it has been too long since Mr. Justin left the Walsh family. Jeremy has gained control over Walsh Group bit by bit, and built up a wide network in Solana City. He also has Mr. Newton’s support. It won’t be that easy for Mr. Justin to seize power.
“If it were in the past, he would still have the Dutton family’s support. But his mother is no longer around, and the Dutton family has collapsed. Without any external support or Mr. Newton’s favor, he must be in an extremely dire situation.”
Alyssa was still young. When the Dutton family had their downfall, she wasn’t old enough to remember it yet. At this moment, she was filled with curiosity.
*Jonah, do you know much about the Dutton family’s downfall?”
At that very moment, outside the hospital ward, Jeremy stood silently at the door. In fact, he had been standing there for nearly half an hour.
“Back then, the Dutton family was a wealthy family who was as highly regarded as the Walsh family is today. Mr. Javier’s first wife was the second daughter of the Dutton family, Caroline Dutton. Their marriage was ordained by Mr. Newton personally and was publicly known as a marriage alliance between corporations.
“It is said that both parties barely met a few times before their marriage, so there was no opportunity for them to date romantically. In other words, their marriage wasn’t built on love. Back then, the marriage alliance Mr. Newton forged with the Dutton family was only to salvage the Walsh Group, which was embroiled in some financial turmoil at the time.”
As Alyssa listened to Jonah’s elaboration, she looked unperturbed. “Marriage alliances between wealthy families are commonplace. Winston even wanted to have Taty marry into the Schmidt family previously.”
“Mrs. Walsh only had one son, Mr. Justin. Even though the relationship between Mr. Justin’s parents wasn’t great, there weren’t any malicious rumors at the time either. After all, the Walsh’s benefited from the Duttons power, and Mrs. Walsh gave birth to a son. Even if Mr. Javier has any objections about anything, there’s no way that he would’ve shown it.
“This harmonious relationship went on until Mr. Justin turned four.”
Cyrus listened intently, as if he were listening to a story. It was the same for Alyssa. She quickly prompted, “What happened after that?”
The look in Jonah’s eyes dimmed. “One night, Mrs. Walsh used a shotgun to end her life by the pond in Seaview Manor.”
Alyssa’s eyes widened in shock. She started breaking out in cold sweat. “She took her own life with a gun? But, why?”
“Damn! That’s real brutal of her!”
Cyrus was greatly astonished. “Most people would either choose to jump from a building, slit their wrists, or take sleeping pills when they try to take their own lives, just so that they won’t die a painful death. I can’t believe that she actually dared to shoot herself. She was really determined to die!*
Jonah furrowed his brows. With a tad of helplessness in his voice, he said, “Truth be told, no external party knows what Mrs. Walsh’s cause of death was. That said, our father is an extremely nosy person. Back then, he even had that buddy of his, Mr. Victor, who was a busybody. So, as much as the Walsh’s tried to keep everything under wraps at the time, there were people who managed to catch wind.”
“When Justin was four…
Suddenly, a glint flashed across Alyssa’s eyes. Her chest tightened. “That year, Jeremy’s mother happened to be pregnant. Could it be that Mrs. Walsh took her own life because Mr. Javier had an affair?”
Cyrus couldn’t help but feel terrified. His head went numb.
“A four-year-old child should be old enough to know what was going on, right? If Justin’s mother’s death was really because Mr. Javier had an affair, wouldn’t Justin want to seek revenge on Jeremy when he grew up?
“In that case, he might have returned with ulterior motives this time. Jeremy might be in danger!”
Alyssa’s thoughts were in a whirl. She also happened to have the same thoughts as Cyrus.
“It seems like it isn’t that simple.”
Jonah fell into deep thought. In a low voice, he continued, “When I was young, I once mentioned to Dad that Mrs. Walsh was really strange. She didn’t seem too willing to meet people.
*After getting married, Mr. Javier never brought her out in public. Even in private, she rarely left home, and I’ve never heard of her having any close female friends either. In other words, she kept a really low profile and was really mysterious.
‘Once, when Dad accompanied Mom to the hospital, they even bumped into Mrs. Walsh. She didn’t seem to be doing well mentally. Her face was pale, and had a dazed look about her.
‘She just took a brief glance at them before scurrying off. Since then, they never saw her again. On top of that, Justin had just been born not too long before that.”
“Maybe it was something like depression.”
Alyssa pressed her lips together and pondered. “Quite a lot of women who failed postpartum care ended up with symptoms of postpartum depression. It’s possible that she never recovered from it.
“With Mr. Javier’s affair to top that off, her condition worsened and caused her to take her own life in the end.” Jonah chimed in, “That’s possible too.”
‘But what did Mrs. Walsh’s suicide have anything to do with the Dutton family’s downfall?”
The baffled look remained in Alyssa’s eyes. “Didn’t the Duttons still have Mrs. Walsh’s older brother to manage their family business?”
“That was because he got involved in a number of homicides.”
“Hold up!”
As a criminal investigator, Cyrus’ eyes lit up when he heard the word “homicides”. He interrupted, “I think I’ve heard a senior of mine from the bureau mention that 30 years ago, the chairman from the Dutton family murdered two of his lovers overseas.
*After he returned to the country, he raped and murdered a young woman who was only 16 years of age. He even dismembered her body, then drove a luxurious sports car out to discard the parts. When he was arrested, not only was there absolutely no sign of terror or remorse on his face, he even smiled creepily at the cameras! *According to that senior of mine, throughout decades of his career arresting vicious criminals, that man from the Dutton family was probably the sickest of them all.’
“Yes. Mrs. Walsh’s oldest brother was the one who committed all that.”
Jonah let out an extended sigh. This topic made him feel uncomfortable physiologically and psychologically.” After Mr. Dutton was imprisoned, there wasn’t anyone who led Dutton Group. In the end, their competitor acquired them, and their corporation fell apart. That was how it ended.”
Upon hearing that, an intense chill spread throughout Alyssa’s chest. Through gritted teeth, she remarked in a rage, “What an animal!”
Outside the door, Sean hurried over with a lunch box in his hands.
He jumped in fright and almost dropped the lunch box onto the floor when he spotted Jeremy standing motionless, like a statue, at the door.
‘M-Mr. Walsh?”
Jeremy was in a daze. He turned his eyes slowly toward Sean and stared at him coldly.
“How’s Ms. Alyssa?” he asked. His voice was deep and throaty, as if he was parched.
Sean fixed his eyes on the man before him. Suddenly, he was overcome by a plethora of emotions and was moved to tears. He choked, “Ms. Alyssa… She’s sick. Very sick. Go on in and see her. I’m sure she will be very happy to see you and she will get better.”
Promptly, Sean pushed the door open for him.
Jeremy pursed his lips into a thin line. Clenching his hands into fists, he walked into the ward slowly.
Jonah and Cyrus were moved by Jeremy showing up. Even so, they did their best to keep a straight face before coming up with an excuse to leave the room.
Soon enough, Alyssa and Jeremy were the only ones left in the room.
As much as they used to be a sweet, intimate, and happy couple in the past, they had nothing to say to one another when they now looked into each other’s eyes.
There was an inexplicable feeling of loneliness, desolation, and sorrow.
*I heard that you threw up blood.”
Jeremy stood stiffly by the side of Alyssa’s bed and didn’t even sit down. He was so distant that it made him look like he was just a visitor. “I remember that you have gastritis, but it hasn’t flared up in a long time. Why did this happen all of a sudden?”
Tears welled up at the back of Alyssa’s throat. She forced herself to hold back her tears as she gave him a slight, bitter smile.
She had gastritis and a pretty bad one at that. It used to flare up frequently, and it was because she started living with him that it stopped flaring up.
Each day, Jeremy looked after her attentively. He learned to make remedies personally, regulated her diet, and tirelessly made nutritious and easily digestible dishes for her. He watched over her like she was a child, forbidding her from taking cold drinks and dishes. This was why her gastritis hadn’t flared up in a really long time.
After he left her, her heart was in a mess, but so was her life.
She had long been pampered by him. Her decision-making skills and life skills went downhill. She had become a woman who could no longer care for herself.
Nevertheless, she was aware that she could never be a child forever. She needed to grow up once again.
“How did you know that I fell ill?” Alyssa asked in a soft voice. Her long lashes quivered slightly.
Jeremy answered straightforwardly, “Dr. Lovelace was the one who told me.”
“Oh, it was Jul?” She forced a smile on her face. “I’m fine. I’m much better now.”
“That’s good to know.”
Thereafter, it was a long period of silence again.
‘Mr. Walsh…
“Ms. Alyssa.”
They spoke up at the same time, as if they could read each other’s minds.
Alyssa shot him an unnatural smile. “You go first.”
