From Ashes of Scandal to His Embrace (Laurinda) novel Chapter 186

She was freaking out. If she got divorced, her life would be over.

“Should? Aileen, are you serious right now? Listen to me. I don’t care what you have to do, that baby has to be Bagot’s. I shouldn’t have to explain how you make that happen, right?”

“I’ll call Bagot, try to calm him down. And you need to get a grip on your temper. He’s got a short fuse as it is, so don’t go pushing his buttons.”

Before Aileen could get another word in, Finn ended the call. He immediately dialed Bagot, but the phone just rang and rang. No answer.

Finn set his phone down and rubbed his temples, feeling the headache pulsing behind his eyes. Lately, it felt like everything was falling apart and nothing was working out the way he needed.

Ever since the Baker family took over the Austin Group, Baal seemed to have found new confidence, always coming up with ways to make Finn’s life harder.

Thinking about the Austin family brought Laurinda’s smug face to his mind. Regret washed over him. He wished he’d seen through that girl from the very start.

He should’ve been tougher, used the engagement to keep her and Fabian together, never letting Laura come in and mess things up.

He should’ve helped Laurinda tighten her hold on the Austin family. That way, the Austins would be a real ally for him.

But now, Fabian was a mess, and Laurinda was only getting stronger.

Finn still couldn’t figure out how Laurinda had become even more impressive after leaving the Austin family. Was she hiding something all along?

Then it hit him. Maybe he finally understood Laurinda’s secret. The urge to get her on his side got even stronger.

“Fine, I can chalk that up to being young and stupid, wanting what you want. But why drag Laurinda into this? Can’t you see it? Laurinda’s life didn’t change at all after she left the Austin family. That’s because she’s got power. She’s the one holding the real core of the Austins.”

For a long moment, Fabian just stared at him, dazed. Then he finally spoke.

“You’re saying Laurinda did this to me? Seriously? Dad, you’ve got to be kidding. Laurinda’s just a stray the Austins kicked out. You really think she could ruin me?”

Fabian pulled away from Finn’s grip. He could accept that he’d been destroyed, but he refused to believe Laurinda had anything to do with it.

Deep down, he couldn’t help but look down on her. To him, Laurinda was just someone the Austins had thrown away. There was no way she could be powerful enough to bring him this low.