He Chose the So-Called Sister Chapter 274: The Investigation

He'd already moved into another league entirely and turned into a corporate shark, and this man never paid attention to other women.

Even now, when people tried to cozy up to him through familiar connections, his standard response was some variation of "Who are you?"

Forget getting to know someone personally. Unless they were relevant to business or partnerships, they didn't exist to him.

The crowd's suspicion made sense. Even Sherry felt it—something off about this, though she couldn't name it.

He knew Julia too much. He'd learned about Sherry by accident—Tyrone had mixed her file in with other documents.

But Julia? There was no clear explanation for that.

Lately, any background checks crossed her desk.

She'd never seen a file on Julia.

Two possibilities.

First, someone else handled it, so Sherry never saw it.

Second, he'd investigated Julia a long time ago, so he already knew.

"If you put it that way, yeah, I did look into you."

Lucas either said nothing, or he spoke the truth.

With his status, standing, and confidence, he had no reason to lie at all—unless he chose to.

Julia's eyes lit up with confidence. "I heard the Harrison Group has no business in Keiperian. So the only way you could know me is if you'd been watching me. I just didn't realize you'd noticed me that early on."

She even managed a shy blush.

Something twisted in Sherry's chest. It felt bad, and she didn't even have the right to butt into other people's business.

"I am curious about a few things about you—especially Mr. Miller's death," Lucas said.

No woman wanted to hear the man she was pursuing bring up her dead husband.

"I've already said I'll make a statement about that when the time is right." Julia's composure cracked. The flirtatious energy died.

"Maybe next time we could meet at home?"

Julia held her expression steady and smiled, eyes turning into crescent moons.

She turned and left before either could respond.

When Sherry saw her leave, she turned to go too.

That exit had looked... angry.

She crushed a blade of grass as she passed. She knew exactly what was bugging her.

Even if it wasn't about romance, she just didn't want anyone she knew associating with Julia's circle. Not because she was difficult.

Look what happened to everyone who got close to Julia. Selfish. Toxic. Ruined.

Internet commenters tore them apart daily, and they still insisted they'd done nothing wrong—blaming Sherry for everything.

Even from a distance, they found ways to drag her into their mess. The only solution was complete separation.

Tomorrow, if everything went smoothly—first hearing, finalize divorce at the next—she'd be free.

Lost in thought, Sherry felt a finger poke her cheek.

"You mad?"

Lucas had followed.

She would've been fine if he hadn't asked.

Sherry had already chewed through all that anger herself. She didn't even have anyone to vent on, not even her own man.

Back then, Gilbert couldn't be bothered to argue with her. He'd just say, "Arguing with someone as useless as you insults my intelligence.

"If you're upset, don't expect me to comfort you. My time's better spent on building my career. Do you even know what a career is?"

That was before things got really bad. She'd thought he was just lashing out in anger.

But later, when the fights stopped and the cruelty remained—cold, calculated, deliberate—she realized those had been his true feelings all along.

Maybe he knew he'd gone too far at the time and tried to hide it.

"I know exactly how women like you work. Leave you alone, you're fine. Give you attention, you get impossible. Last time I told you to stop crying, you cried harder.

"So no. You don't need comfort. You need space."

He slammed the door and left.

Sherry had never been comforted by a man and never knew what it felt like.

So when Lucas handed her a bouquet made of folded bills, sunlight catching his hair and his expression calm—everyone said he was far too mature for his age—and told her, "Don't be mad," she didn't know what to do with it.