Chapter 639

Noreen was stunned. She never would have guessed that Sage Joyner was Castle’s older brother. None of the publicly available information mentioned this. It seemed Sage was a hidden branch of the Joyner family, one they kept out of the

public eye.

Every powerful family needed its own network to stay on top, whether it operated in the light or in the shadows.

Castle personally poured Noreen a cup of tea, asking with concern, “You weren’t frightened, were you?”

“No,” Noreen shook her head. As she took the cup, she noticed another teacup on the table, half-full and still steaming. Someone had clearly just left.

“Well, she was trained by Seth. She’s not that easily rattled,” Sage commented.

Noreen didn’t respond to his mention of Seth.

Sage didn’t press the issue, instead changing the subject to Sue. “About what happened… the Joyner family is deeply sorry. We owe you a favor. If there’s anything I can help you with in the future, Miss Gilmore, don’t hesitate to ask.”

He handed Noreen his business card. She guessed that this was the main reason

he had wanted to see her. She accepted it graciously.

After a short while, she stood up to leave. Sage personally arranged for his bodyguards to escort her out.

When Noreen came out, the young man and his sister were still waiting for her. The

man let out a long sigh of relief when he saw she was safe.

Noreen simply gave them a slight nod and started to walk away.

“You still haven’t told me your name,” the man said, catching up to her.

Noreen still had no intention of telling him. They were just strangers who had crossed paths.

Just as she exited the casino, she saw Sophia and Colby looking for her. She immediately called out to them and hurried over.

The man who had been following her finally stopped. After seeing Noreen reunite with her friends, he shouted after her, “My name is Silas!”

He wasn’t sure if she heard, but he hoped she would remember his name.

“A new admirer?” Sophia teased Noreen.

Noreen rolled her eyes. “Not every interaction is a budding romance. Get your head out of the clouds!”

“And besides, you shouldn’t pick up strange men.”

“Okay, okay,” Sophia relented.

As they walked Noreen back to her room, they told her about Carman. He had indeed planned a whole confession but it fell flat when the guest of honor never showed up Carman, likely sensing that Noreen was intentionally avoiding him, had gotten very drunk and had to be helped back to his room by his secretary.

Claire was right—Noreen was frighteningly rational these days. For the sake of

Winrich and InnoCore, she had to be.

The next morning, Noreen had

Sophia take a glass of honey lemon

water to Carman to help with his

hangover. He was a lightweight and was probably nursing a killer

headache

Sophia returned a short while later with a strange look on her face. Noreen asked

her what was wrong.

She stammered that she had seen Carman’s secretary sneaking out of his room. The woman was still wearing last night’s clothes, and her hair was a mess… When Sophia knocked, it took a long time for Carman to answer, and he looked very uncomfortable. There was even

a noticeable hickey on his neck…

Noreen heard the gossip without any particular reaction, simply instructing Sophia, “Run a background check on his secretary.”

As long as she wasn’t a corporate spy, anything else was his business.

Sophia was indignant. “How could Mr. Holt do that? He said he liked you! How can he be with another woman if he likes you?”

“People are complicated. He and I never had an official relationship, so he’s free to do as he pleases.”

“Even if we were official, there’s no guarantee of faithfulness. Am I not living proof of that? It’s better to just accept it.”

Sophia was left speechless.