The Paper Wife’s Empire novel Chapter 181

Early yesterday morning, Nova received a call from her younger brother, Heath. He said the school had refused to register him because of their family background.

But Nova had already poured a lot of money into getting him into that school, one of the top high schools in the city. Heath had worked so hard to get accepted. If he lost this chance, it would only get harder for him to get into a good college later.

Just as Nova was reeling from the news, a text from Holden popped up on her phone. He asked if she was having any trouble and offered to help.

Nova instantly realized Heath’s problems were linked to Holden. Without hesitation, she went looking for Ramona.

But Holden seemed to have anticipated her move and cornered Nova in the elevator lobby.

“Nova, do you honestly think Ramona can save you?” he said, his tone mocking. “You don’t have connections. Ramona might be able to help you once or twice, but not for your whole life. Do you really want to depend on her forever? Don’t you care about your brother’s future? And what about your mother’s illness? Are you going to just ignore that too?”

His threat was clear. Today it was Heath; tomorrow, it would be Nova’s mother.

In Havencrest City, the Covington family’s power ran deep. Even if Ramona still had some authority at Covington Group, if Holden decided to use underhanded methods, there was little she could do to stop him.

“I could never betray Ramona. If it comes to it, I’ll just resign!” Nova shot back.

“Suit yourself.” Holden’s smile was casual, almost lazy. “You know, I’m not as terrible as you think. I just have a small request. Do this one thing for me, and I promise I’ll never bother you again.”

Holden wanted data from a project Ramona had recently taken over. As Ramona’s team lead and most trusted colleague, Nova often copied files for her and was the only one who knew Ramona’s computer password.

However, the key data for major projects was always locked behind a secure key, something Nova couldn’t access.

So if Holden was telling the truth, it was just an ordinary project file. According to him, he needed this data to help Melinda’s team compete for another project. It wouldn’t affect Ramona at all.

But Nova didn’t believe a word Holden said. She spent half an hour in Ramona’s office, and just as she was leaving, she ran straight into Ramona in the hallway.

“Nova? Were you looking for me?”

Seeing Nova coming from her office, Ramona looked a bit confused.

“Yes, Ramona,” Nova replied, her expression flustered. “I wanted to talk to you about something.”

“Is this what you wanted to discuss with me the other night?” Ramona asked gently.

Nova nodded. “…That’s right.”

“Okay, let’s talk inside.”

But as Ramona was about to open her office door, Holden came striding down the hallway.

The moment Nova saw him, she quickly ducked her head, avoiding his gaze.

“Morning, Ramona,” Holden greeted, and Ramona responded with a polite smile. “Good morning, Mr. Covington.”

“There’s a meeting I need you at,” Holden said, glancing from Ramona to Nova. “Just a few quick decisions to go over. Everyone’s waiting.”

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