Chapter 359

Dominic Fairchild clenched his fists when Richard refused to help. Without hesitation, he decided to contact Frederick Aldridge directly.

His phone contacts came up empty. No Frederick Aldridge listed.

He texted Richard demanding Frederick's number. The reply was instant and infuriating: "No."

Before Dominic could type a response, another message popped up. "Already spoke to Walter Ashford. Stop wasting my time."

Dominic's blood boiled.

He tried calling Richard again. Straight to voicemail.

With both Richard and Walter blocking his path, Dominic's mind turned to Sebastian Ashford.

He vaguely recalled Sebastian mentioning some professional dealings with Frederick. They'd even shared a business lunch once.

Dominic dialed Sebastian's number immediately.

The call went unanswered until dusk. When Sebastian finally called back and heard Dominic's request for Frederick's contact, his response was blunt. "I don't have Mr. Aldridge's number."

"That can't be right," Dominic protested. "You had lunch with him and my father. You didn't exchange cards?"

"Negative," Sebastian confirmed.

Dominic's suspicion flared. "Are you certain? Or did my father order you not to share it?"

"Honestly don't have it," Sebastian sounded genuinely perplexed. "That lunch was strictly business. To Mr. Aldridge, I'm just another face in the crowd. He's not exactly the mentoring type - keeps everyone at arm's length."

The conviction in Sebastian's voice convinced Dominic.

"Why do you need to reach him?" Sebastian asked.

"Just business," Dominic deflected.

From Dominic's tone, Sebastian pieced together that Richard had already refused the request - and warned others against helping.

Then realization struck. "Did something happen between Isabella Sinclair and Nathaniel Graves?"

Dominic hesitated. "Is it that obvious?"

Sebastian didn't answer immediately.

Previously, Dominic had claimed Isabella and Nathaniel were involved, suggesting Isabella targeted Victoria Kensington out of professional jealousy.

But at last year's gala, Sebastian had observed no romantic tension between them.

Their actual relationship remained unclear - until recently at the training facility, when he learned Isabella was Frederick's protégé.

Suddenly Nathaniel's protectiveness made sense.

Even before discovering Isabella's connection to Frederick, Sebastian had doubted she'd sabotage colleagues over personal feelings.

The idea of her being romantically involved with Nathaniel seemed far-fetched.

As for targeting Victoria? Even less believable.

"What exactly happened?" Sebastian pressed.

Dominic massaged his temples before summarizing the incident.

"I know Victoria shares some blame," he conceded. "But terminating contracts over this? Isn't that excessive?"

Sebastian remained neutral. "I won't comment on that. But you're trying to contact Mr. Aldridge because you think Nathaniel overreacted?"