Upon hearing Tanya’s voice, Cindy Lynn jolted like a reflex. Seeing Tanya indeed appear before her, her pupils shrank sharply, filled with anger and disbelief. "Tanya, how did you... Ah!" She didn’t finish her words, accidentally stepping on a pen on the floor, losing control of her body, and lunged forward, directly kneeling before Tanya. Tanya leisurely walked over with a cup in hand, lifted her foot, and forcefully stepped over Cindy’s hand. "Ah! Tanya! Are you blind?!" Cindy screamed in pain. Tanya looked down at her, feigning surprise, "Oh my, sorry about that, did I hurt you? Get up quickly, why give me such a big ceremony upon our first meeting?" She regretted a bit, had she known she’d run into Cindy today, she should have worn high heels, to stomp her dead! "Tanya!" Cindy was furious, scrambling to her feet to lunge at Tanya. Here, it was just the two of them, Cindy dispensed with any pretense, her viciousness fully revealed. She also knew that Professor Carter’s office had no surveillance, as no one could take anything out! Tanya remained utterly calm, watching Cindy charge at her, ’kindly’ reminded, "Cindy, Professor Carter could come back at any time." Just that one sentence made Cindy freeze in place. She swallowed her anger, brushed the dust off herself, her meticulously made-up eyes glared fiercely at Tanya. Cindy’s mind worked without rest. That bitch Tanya, how did she end up in Professor Carter’s office? She quickly figured it out, it must have been Julian Poole! This bitch seduced Julian, got him to pull strings to help her! But Tanya already had the Westgard Pharmaceuticals collaboration, what was she messing around here for? Cindy’s gaze grew colder and more venomous, wishing to bore a hole in Tanya’s face with just her eyes! That bitch was definitely after Vincent Hawthorne! No wonder, Vincent clearly didn’t love Tanya, yet these days he’s suddenly acting differently, even appeared concerned about Tanya. Turns out, it’s this shameless Tanya playing hard to get! Talking about divorce, yet deliberately creating opportunities to appear before Vincent, her aim likely to remind him of their past affection, making him reluctant to divorce! A thoroughly calculating bitch! Cindy saw through Tanya’s scheme, she lifted a cold smile at the corner of her mouth, swaying her hips like a snake as she swaggered up to Tanya. "Tanya, I know why you’re here today. Ha, wanting to create opportunities to have more contact with Vincent... I advise you to give up on that!" She intentionally showed off her bag to Tanya. "Do you think my bag is pretty? It’s a surprise Vincent sent me this morning. After being with him for so many years, he’s never given you any jewelry or branded bags, right?" Cindy covered her mouth and chuckled, looking Tanya up and down, "This only means you’re worthless in his eyes!" Tanya glanced at Cindy’s bag, her heart unperturbed, even feeling amused. She actually laughed, turned her face towards Cindy, as if discovering something novel, and chuckled, "I have to say, you and Vincent really are a perfect match!" Cindy suspiciously asked, "What do you mean by that?" "Yeah." Tanya blinked sincerely, "You’re a trash can, and he’s trash. Aren’t you just his perfect match!" "You!" Cindy choked in anger. How had she never noticed, this normally taciturn bitch could be so sharp-tongued! But immediately, Cindy thought of something, a hint of gloom flickered in her eyes. As she casually adjusted her hair, she pretended to sigh helplessly, "Ms. Tanya, there’s something I must remind you. Don’t chat with the kids so late at night anymore. Joy came to the master bedroom last night to complain to me, saying you’re so annoying, always talking to her, and asking about her classmate Abby Monroe, she didn’t want to talk to you. But the teacher taught her to even show politeness to strangers." These words served to imply to Tanya that Cindy slept in the villa last night. Secondly, it informed her of how much her biological daughter, whom she adoringly pursued, depended on Cindy, while holding her own mother in disdain! Tanya remained expressionless, yet her hand gripping the cup tightened involuntarily. Indeed, that was her conversation with Joy last night. What Cindy and Vincent got up to didn’t bother her in the least. Even if Cindy slept in the master bedroom, or stripped naked in front of her with Vincent, she’d merely sprinkle sticky rice. But the kids... they were truly her weakness! Just then, footsteps sounded at the door, Professor Carter and Belinda returned. Professor Carter hadn’t seen Cindy before. Seeing an unfamiliar person extra in the office, he seemed a bit bewildered, subconsciously furrowing his white eyebrows, about to speak. Cindy warmly greeted him first. "Professor Carter, it’s Cindy Lynn!" Her eager tone made it seem their relationship was like dear old friends. Cindy, she must be the person Julian recommended. Professor Carter reluctantly nodded, shook the hand Cindy extended. He discreetly scanned Cindy Lynn from head to toe, feeling a bit repelled. Tight dress, high heels, carrying a designer bag, hair down... smelling of perfume. Did she even know where she was coming today? Professor Carter’s impression of Julian Poole worsened as a result. This Julian is something else, introducing all sorts of dubious people to him! Vincent Hawthorne had also arrived by this time. He had been waiting downstairs for a while, but Cindy Lynn didn’t come back. Getting bored, he remembered Sam Sawyer mentioning that Professor Carter was in his office upstairs. So, Vincent decided to head upstairs of his own accord. He hoped to try his luck, to see if he could catch Professor Carter when he wasn’t busy and get acquainted. However, as he approached, he saw Professor Carter and Cindy Lynn shaking hands. Although Professor Carter’s face showed no emotion, Cindy was all smiles, clearly very familiar with him! Vincent was thoroughly relieved. He smiled broadly and walked over. "Cindy, so this is where you are!" His tone was warm, purposefully trying to show his close relationship with Cindy Lynn in front of Professor Carter. Since Cindy Lynn was familiar with Professor Carter, he only needed to act intimate enough with her! And since Professor Carter had been abroad for many years, he wasn’t familiar with domestic affairs. It’s said he even uses a basic mobile phone and doesn’t engage with social media. He naturally wouldn’t know about Vincent’s marriage to Tanya Sinclair. Vincent’s smile grew even wider as his attention was focused on Ethan Carter. He didn’t even notice Cindy Lynn’s blatant panic. "Professor Carter, hello, I am Vincent Hawthorne. The General Manager of Zenith Group, and also Cindy Lynn’s boy..." He was about to claim himself as Cindy’s ’boyfriend’, when his peripheral vision caught sight of another woman in the office, who was leisurely approaching. "Tanya?!" Vincent’s eyes widened slightly in shock, almost losing his composure. But only for a moment, he quickly regained his usual demeanor, ignored Tanya, and continued his conversation with Professor Carter, "Professor Carter, it’s an honor to meet you." Tanya heard clearly that Vincent was about to claim to be Cindy Lynn’s boyfriend just now. Ha, dragging out the divorce from her while flaunting his affair. Tanya’s expression was amused, almost like a sneer, as she said, "President Hawthorne, you and Secretary Lynn really are inseparable, like a devoted couple who can’t stand to be apart." Vincent subtly glared at her, silently warning her not to speak carelessly! Even Professor Carter, who was a bit slow on the uptake, could sense the subtlety between the three. Professor Carter: "Tanya, do you know Vincent?" Vincent quickly interjected: "Yes, we...have known each other for many years. When I was sick as a child, it was Tanya’s grandfather who treated me." Official source ıs 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵✶𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖✶𝓷𝓮𝓽 "Oh, oh." Professor Carter understood, so it was a doctor-patient relationship! Known each other for many years... Tanya’s eyes glimmered with a trace of cold mockery. All the affection she had poured out for him had been fed to the dogs! "Since Professor Carter has guests here, we won’t disturb you." Vincent had regained his composure, bidding farewell to Professor Carter while walking towards Tanya. He leaned over and whispered in Tanya’s ear just loud enough for them to hear, threatening coldly, "Don’t say anything careless in front of Professor Carter. Otherwise, I’ll make sure you never see the two kids again!" This bastard, using the kids to threaten her! Tanya closed her eyes, fury burning within her so intensely that her hands began to tremble. She could hardly resist smashing the cup in her hand against Vincent’s head! Vincent knew that Tanya cared most about the children. He knew it was a bit ruthless, but Tanya had been acting crazy recently, and he couldn’t be sure about her relationship with Professor Carter. If she spoke recklessly in front of Professor Carter, then the cooperation with The Veridia Project would be ruined! If he lost both the Westgard Pharmaceuticals and The Veridia Project collaborations, he wouldn’t be able to account for it at next week’s shareholders’ meeting! For the sake of his career, using the children to threaten Tanya a bit wouldn’t hurt. At worst, he’d show some mercy in the future, allowing Tanya more time with the children. After warning Tanya, Vincent turned back and bowed slightly to Professor Carter, "Professor Carter, we’ll be leaving now." He then exchanged a glance with Cindy Lynn, and they walked out together. Belinda’s intuition as a woman set off alarm bells; no way did she believe the relationship between Vincent and Tanya was merely acquaintance! "Tanya, what’s your relationship with them?" she asked in a low voice. Tanya coldly glanced at Cindy Lynn and Vincent’s not-so-distant backs and suddenly let out a snide laugh, raising her voice sarcastically, "Vincent Hawthorne, he’s my ex-husband, with whom I’m divorcing next week. Cindy Lynn, naturally, is his precious mistress!" She emphasized both their names heavily. She would not let Vincent think he could control her with the children, as that way, he would never let the kids go. Besides... a scumbag like him, even if she compromised, he wouldn’t grant her custody! Tanya’s clear eyes were extraordinarily calm, with a sense of serene madness. She’d had enough long ago! Since constant compromise and tolerance yielded no good result. Then bring it on, a head-to-head confrontation!