She Outshines Them All (Athena and Matthew)

Chapter

154

In the comments section of the news, conspiracy theories were popping up left and right. JOh man, please tell me Matthew's girlfriend didn't just disappear like people are saying!!

Heads up to all those ladies dreaming of snagging a rich guy. Dating an heir is a total gamble. You might hit the jackpot, or you could just vanish from the radar forever. Stay snut I watched "Gone Girlfriend a few days ago. It's way too creepy to see a girlfriend disappear for real.]

[Maybe she took a breakup payout that most people could only dream of and went off to live it up abroad?]

Athena took a moment to think and decided to message Matthew How have you been these past few days?]

He replied super fast with a smile emoji: [Thanks for checking in, Miss Donovan. I'm doing okay.]

Athena: [What's going on with your fake girlfriend? I've seen tons of comments about her online.]

Matthew: (Her

job is done for now, She's off the grid].

Athena (So does that mean your marriage drama is over!]

Matthew: [Not

Mannew:

Not exactly. I got invited to Anabel's birthday party next week.

My grandfather says they're planning to announce our engagement at her party. If I decide to make a scene. I might be in hot water with the board of directors.] Athena: [What's the game plan then?]

Matthew sent another smile emoji. I can't really cross him, but can keep my head down. I'll wait for the right moment to make my move.] Athena: [So you've

I've got a strategy, huh?)

Matthew: [I'm even thinking about hiring someone to kidnap' me so I can bail on that annoying birthday bash.J

Athena sent a surprised sticker. That was intense. Being ruthless others was one thing, but doing that to yourself took it to another level. Athena: [Have you figured out how to pull that off? Need any help?]

Matthew: [Thanks for the offer, Miss Donovan, but I know you've got your hands full. I'll manage it myself.]

Athena was really curious and shot him another message. [How are you planning to avoid the cops?]

Matthew replied with a smile emoji: (I'm thinking of taking a little trip-maybe out to sea or even abroad. Then, I'll get kidnapped there. The kidnappers will say if Anabel wanna continue the engagement, they'll take me out.]

Athena's eyes widened, and she sent a surprised emoji with a thumbs-up. [That's clever! Love the idea! This way, the pressure would be all on Anabel. She would have to make a choice go ahead with the engagement or call it off. If she chose the first option, it would show she didn't care whether Matthew lived or died. Meanwhile, the second option? That was exactly what Matthew wanted.

Vatth

Matthew shot back a shy emoji. [Thanks for the praise, Miss Donovan. If it were you, I know you'd come up with something

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even better.1

This little exchange made Athena smile as she pressed her lips together. Feeling a bit flustered, she touched her cheeks and typed: [Can I write your story in the Lockwood Detective Diary? I'll do it once everything's done.] Matthew: Absolutely!]

Athena covered her mouth and snickered. (Good luck with your plan!]

Matthew: Thanks a ton, Miss Dewan. Really appreciate it.1

After ending the chat, Athena felt on top of the world. She closed the app and turned back to the surgery plan.

The next day, Jaden came back into Kitmore City, ready to show his family the venue rental contract he had negotiated with the production team. Everyone was on board and felt good about it

But before they could officially sign the contract, Jaden needed to get in touch with the nearby mountain landowner first, That afternoon, he headed to the Agri Finance Bank with all the data he had prepared,

Al

first, the Donovan family had been a a bit skeptical about this free lunch deal. They were already bracing themselves to fork out 100 thousand dollars to secure the mountain land for him. While it wasn't a huge amount, after dealing with multiple similar contracts, they knew that one typically didn't pay everything at once. Usually, they would pay a chunk upfront and I then settle the rest over time. However, Jaden's luck turned out to be surprisingly good this time around. The loan got approved in no time. "The loan manager said, "Once you sign the contract with the village for the land, the money will be in your account within three working days." When he got home, Jaden gathered everyone around the dining table and asked, "How many years do you think I should contract for?"

In the countryside, leases usually maxed out at 20 years, but contracts could go for 50 to 70 years. He wanted those barren mountain lands that no one had touched-perfect for a long-term deal.

As the family started brainstorming. Athena jumped in without hesitation. "I think you should go for the longest contract. And for the fees, I recommend a low upfront fee plus a slice of the profits. Just make sure to read the fine print to avoid any loopholes? She continued. This way, if you hit it big, you can prevent others from getting jealous and causing trouble-like trying to jack up the contract fee or taking back the land." She even shared Ryan's phone number with Jaden.

The family was left speechless by Athena's confidence. That desolate mountain had been untouched for ages. It was in the back of beyond, no living thing would even wander there, yet she was talking about buried treasure. But listening to her, it seemed like anything was possible.

Everyone looked to Jaden, who stared at Athena for a second before grinning. "I trust Athena's instincts. If she says it's a good idea, then it is.

Athena beamed and gave him a thumbs-up. "Don't worry. You can totally do this, I can even give a few smart bots for you"

The gift she had in mind was the agricultural smart bot Jaden had seen at the robot exhibition-the kind designed for growing veggies and raising animals. From what he had said, it sounded like it would be super helpful. Jaden grinned and said, "Thanks! I won't let you down."

Feeling pretty confident in himself, he decided to go for the full 70-year contract. The next morning, he drove back to Oxhorn Village, found the village council, and laid out his plans.

Since the Donovan family was well-known for helping out the community, everyone in Oxhorn Village really looked up to

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them. So when the village committee heard that Jaden wanted to contract those barren mountain lands to kickstart some agriculture and poultry, they were all in. They just asked him to keep them in mind when he made it big Jaden smiled back and said, "Tve been around here long enough to feel like part of the village. If I make it, I want to help everyone thrive." One of the committee members patted him on the back, saying. You got this The whole village is rooting for you"

That

same day, they signed the contract and headed to the necessary offices to get it approved. Two days later, the contract was a go Jaden took it to the bank, and the loan review got cleareil pretty quickly.

Meanwhile, to keep Linda from stepping onto Donovan territory, he suggested the production team for "High Mountain" put up a barrier around the outdoor filming spot. The production crew was totally up for it. They sent people right away to set up a colorful steel fence that stretched for hundreds of meters between the forest and the veggie field.

Of course, they didn't mention filming, they just said they were an engineering team hired by the Donovan family to: expand the chicken and pig farms and develop the barren mountain land. The villagers came to check out the scene but lost interest after a while and headed home.

Then, when Linda showed up with gifts, she found herself blocked outside the stall and couldn't see a thing.