What could she do now? She couldn't let Ariana meet with Holden. What if seeing Ariana jogged Holden's memory?

While Sadie was lost in thought, Adele gingerly touched her arm.

Feeling someone touching her, Sadie reflexively slapped the person hard without thinking twice or bothering to see who it was.

However, aware of passers-by around her, Sadie quickly pulled herself together. Abusing Adele in public could put everything in jeopardy.

Holden should never know about this.

Sadie forced a smile and crouched down in front of Adele.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" she asked softly.

However, Adele didn't say anything. The little girl just hid her reddened hand behind her back and lowered her head.

A sense of disgust surged up in Sadie's heart when she saw Adele's action, but she maintained her fake kindness. She scooped Adele up and asked softly, “Are you missing daddy? Let's go see him."

Finally, Adele slowly wrapped her arms around Sadie's neck and rested her head on Sadie's shoulder.

Sadie walked into the elevator with Adele in her arms. However, the moment the elevator doors closed, her smile vanished instantly.

She had assumed that Ariana would be devastated or institutionalized after what happened five years ago. But Ariana seemed to be thriving.

Sadie was seething, but she remained confident. It didn't matter that Ariana was back! The past was gone. Holden had long forgotten Ariana.

Now, she was the only woman in his life, and she had several trump cards to keep herself in that position. What did she have to fear?

A cold glimmer flashed through Sadie’s eyes as she gently stroked Adele's hair.

Meanwhile, in the conference room, a tense Holden sat in the head seat, checking his watch frequently. The partners he was expecting were already nearly ten minutes late.

Just when he couldn't wait anymore, his phone rang.

Holden's brows furrowed slightly when he saw the caller ID. He nonetheless answered the call. Whatever his interlocutor told him instantly drained every color from his face. He hung up and stood to leave immediately.

Just then, the conference room door swung open.

A shareholder entered from outside just as Holden was about to leave.