Filed to story: The CEO’s Wife Is a Secret Boss Novel (Allison & Jeremy) Free Online
“It took them three whole days to arrest Betty. The Solana City Police Department certainly isn’t as efficient as our Belbanks police,” Alyssa remarked without surprise and gracefully dabbed her mouth with a napkin.
“They would’ve been in hot water if they’d arrested her immediately, given her status as a Walsh,” Mandy chimed in, placing a piece of dessert on Alyssa’s plate.
Mandy continued, “Come now, have one more. You won’t get to enjoy Lyla’s cooking when you’re back in
Solana City.”
“Mm… I really can’t eat anymore! Burp!” Alyssa shook her head and burped softly with a hand over her mouth. The three stepmothers instantly burst out laughing.
Sean smiled at Alyssa’s adorable demeanor. Then, he leaned over and gently patted her on the back to prevent her from choking on her food. He commented, “Take your time. Don’t choke on your food.”
The observant Mandy noticed Sean’s action and noted his affection for Alyssa. She furrowed her brows but kept her thoughts to herself for the moment.
“That Walsh girl is really something for picking trouble with Lyse a few times. She should be punished heavily.
“But, honestly, I believe Sophia Kirkman is the one who should be held accountable! She’s just pure evil. I think Sophia is the mastermind behind Betty’s attempts to undermine Lyse. She’s even more wicked than the devil!”
Colene let go of her usual table manners when Winston wasn’t around. She slammed her hand on the table and spoke her mind, “What goes around, comes around! When will it be Sophia’s turn to face divine justice? If it weren’t for her, Lyla wouldn’t have-“
“Colene, you’ve been talking non-stop. Here, have some dessert.” Lyla’s heart raced as she quickly shoved a piece of shortcake into Colene’s mouth with a forced smile.
Upon hearing that, Alyssa’s eyes dimmed. There seemed to be some history between Lyla and Sophia.
After lunch, Alyssa went to Colene’s bedroom to find out the details instead of confronting Lyla directly.
Colene finally realized that she had blurted out Lyla’s secret and gently slapped herself on the cheek as she exclaimed, “It’s all because of my big mouth! I promised Lyla I’d never bring up the matter, especially not in front of the children!”
“Lyla worked with Sophia at TS Network for quite a while before marrying Winston, didn’t she? They were both signed under the network. While Lyla was one of the top actresses on the network, Sophia was only assigned villain roles in Lyla’s TV shows,” remarked Alyssa.
After a moment of reflection, Alyssa continued, “From what I know about Sophia, she’s quite cunning and envious. She might have resorted to underhanded tactics because she was jealous of Lyla’s popularity.”
“Ain’t that right! That’s why-” Colene almost blurted out more details. She bit her lips and closed her eyes as she mumbled, “No, no, I promised not to betray Lyla. I won’t say anything more.”
Growing increasingly anxious, Alyssa pressed on, “Colene, it’s clear that Sophia has deeply hurt Lyla in the past. You’ve always been known for your righteousness and courage. Don’t you want to help Lyla seek justice?”
Colene plugged her fingers into her ears and mumbled, “Nope, not listening to you!”
Alyssa was speechless at her antics.
“There was indeed some history between Lyla and Sophia. Lyla wouldn’t have retired from the entertainment industry at the peak of her career if not for that woman.”
Mandy’s unfeeling voice seemed to materialize out of thin air, causing Colene and Alyssa to yelp in shock.
“Gosh, what are you doing, Mandy? You have a talent for sneaking up on people silently. Are you an apparition?” Colene rested a hand on her chest.
It was funny that she never acted cute in front of Winston, but she was unusually adorable around Mandy.
“Mandy, since when did you show up? I had no idea.” Alyssa sighed with relief, grateful that it wasn’t Lyla who had walked in on them.
“I’ve been here since the beginning of your ‘private conversation,’ which was far too loud to be considered private,” Mandy quipped, briefly glancing outside the door before closing it.
She went up to them and said, “Colene, there’s no point hiding everything now. Lyse is all grown up anyway. We should tell her.”
Alyssa eagerly grasped Mandy’s hand and quietly waited for her to speak.
Mandy began, “Sophia was envious of Lyla’s talent and popularity. So, she played dirty and subjected Lyla to bullying and ostracizing at the network. In the end, Lyla was drugged and lost control of herself at a huge event, which almost cost her reputation.
Mandy had to take a deep breath before she could calmly recall the dark past. Meanwhile, Colene merely sighed wistfully without a word, unlike her usual boisterous self.
“Drugged?” Alyssa felt her throat clammed up. She croaked, “Was Lyla …”
“No, it wasn’t some kind of date rape drug,” Mandy reassured Alyssa.
She felt a lump in her throat and lowered her voice, “It was an illegal drug that would affect one’s nervous system. The drug has since vanished from Cyrris, though it was once popular in the entertainment industry. You could describe it as a soft drug that was harmful to health.”
Alyssa and Colene were stunned by the revelation as tears welled up in their eyes.
Mandy was the daughter of the Lovelace family, who was practicing medicine and leading the top
“What happened after?” Alyssa clutched Mandy’s hand tightly.
“Lyla… She wetted herself during her performance at TS Network’s founding anniversary celebration,” Mandy revealed with difficulty as tears brimmed.
“Fuck … How did that happen?” Colene was outraged and instantly punched through the makeup mirror, shattering it.
Alyssa’s shoulders were quivering as she held her breath. Even though the incident had occurred two decades ago, Alyssa could still feel the excruciating pain of humiliation.
Lyla Nelson had once been the nation’s most beloved beauty. Tragically, that incident on her beloved stage had left her traumatized.
Perhaps she would never find the courage to be her charismatic self again.
“Mandy, how could you be sure that it was Sophia’s doing?” Alyssa questioned after forcing herself to calm down.
“Winston and I looked through a lot of evidence, but there wasn’t anything that could incriminate Sophia,”
answered Mandy with a shake of the head.
“Sophia was always sabotaging Lyla, all while having improper relations with the owner of the network.
Lyla suffered a lot at the network but endured it all because she couldn’t afford to terminate her contract.
“During my investigations, I discovered that Sophia had requested her manager to purchase that specific drug from the black market around the time of the anniversary celebration. Even then, we did not have sufficient evidence to prove Sophia guilty, as many celebrities were taking the same drug then.”1
“That’s sufficient evidence.” Alyssa closed her eyes slowly before opening them again.
They were filled with blood lust.
Alyssa announced, “As long as I think Sophia was the mastermind, that would be enough evidence to go after her.”
Alyssa was quiet on the way from Belbanks to Solana City. There was no hint of her good mood from days ago. Her face was shrouded in gloominess.
Back at the hotel, she kept Sean out and locked herself in her office. Then, she plunged into her investigations about Lyla’s incident years ago.
“The anniversary celebration was the darkest moment in Lyla’s life. Yet, it was because of this incident that her relationship with Winston Taylor blossomed,” wrote an article.
“The internet was in its early stages back in those days. People read their news from magazines or newspapers.
“Winston Taylor was rumored to have bought all the publications that reported on the incident and destroyed all the evidence to suppress the news.
“On top of that, he meted out punishments for the reporters who penned stories on Lyla’s mishap.”
“Still, there were some foreign media at the event. Someone filmed the incident and uploaded it to the internet. Winston Taylor had sent his men to take the videos down, but fragments of it lingered on the internet.”
Alyssa inhaled deeply and stared keenly at the computer screen while typing away furiously. Before long, she unearthed a blurry recording of the event that had remained buried for over two decades.
In the video, a visibly pale Lyla Nelson was half squatting and shaking violently. She appeared vulnerable, teetering on the brink of a breakdown.
The spotlight shone mercilessly on top of her head, further intensifying her despair. The audience’s horrified gasps and mocking jeers inundated her, almost drowning and crushing her.
At that moment, a tall figure rushed up to the stage and marched steadily toward her. Alyssa could tell he was Winston from the look of his back.
Without a word, he swiftly removed his jacket, knelt before Lyla, and secured it around her waist.
A hushed silence fell over the audience. Then, the recording abruptly ended.
Alyssa stared blankly at the screen. She leaned into the chair with slumped shoulders. Was that how
Winston won Lyla’s heart?
She mused, “Interesting? That old man is certainly an expert in wooing women. He could very well have founded his own school on the subject.”
She was interrupted by her phone’s ringing. Gathering herself, she picked up her phone and said, “Sean, what is it?”
“Landon Harper is here with his sister.”
Alyssa initially wished to turn Landon and Zoe away due to her foul mood over Lyla’s past incident, but she changed her mind when Sean revealed that Landon had brought Zoe over to offer an apology.