Chapter 536 - Bait or shield?

Ivy took a deep breath as soon as she finished speaking. Though she did not fear speaking to the President, she did not like handling such serious topics and conversations. She preferred staying behind the scenes, collecting all the evidence instead of dealing with things head-on.

Aria gave a thumbs up, smiling at her widely while Noah nodded at her, appreciating her and her work. Though it was Maggie who had collected all the evidence against Jared, Ivy had been pushed forward to take the credit. They wanted to keep their ȧssociation with Maggie a secret as long as possible until they dealt with Jared. 

"Tell me again. Why am I doing this?" Ivy glared at Noah, who just gave her a knowing look. 

"Because you are the courageous one among us." He replied, and Ivy rolled her eyes and scoffed lightly.

"Yeah, right. If we list out all the heroic deeds all the people in this mansion have done, I would have the least number of achievements." Ivy stated, and the couple narrowed their eyes at her.

"Do you want me to reveal all that you have done? I know all your secrets." Aria queried, her voice low and mischievous.

"I forgot you were here." Ivy immediately backed off. "But why am I taking all the credit? We could as well keep Maggie's involvement a secret."

"That is what we are going to do," Noah explained, and Ivy pursed her lips as she stared at him questioningly.

"Would you mind elaborating?"

"We will make it seem as though an anonymous person sent us all the evidence. But we need someone who can mediate between the government and the media." Noah stopped speaking, and Ivy's eyes widened in realization.

"And you want me to take that credit?"

Noah nodded at her innocently, irking her all the more. "You are my Boss. Wouldn't it be better if you handled all these things?"

"But you know the President and the people from the Intelligence too. It's better that you dealt with them. And I want to keep my involvement in this a secret. We do not want Jared to know about it, yet." Noah just shrugged at her, and Ivy had the sudden urge to bang her brother-in-law's head against the wall. 

"But after your grand entry at the office today, I presume everyone would have already known about it." Ivy pointed out, and Noah nodded in acceptance.

"Yes, they do. But I have already checked the details of all the people working for me. As far as I know, though there are some dishonest employees, nobody has connections with Jared. And wouldn't it raise suspicion if I were to personally meet the President regarding this matter without your involvement? I am just eliminating all the possibilities to raise suspicions on us. The moment Jared finds out that I am one behind releasing the news concerning him, it will not take long for him to find the truth about Maggie and us."

"Are you using me as the bait?" Ivy finally realized what was happening, and she bit her lip as she thought about it.

"Not as a bait. But a shield."

"What?" Ivy gave him a confused. Even Aria was puzzled by his words, and she turned to him for clarification.

"You are a journalist. It is easy for you to say that an anonymous person contacted you and sent you the evidence. But if I were to say it, it would only make it dubious. Why would any anonymous person contact me? Not many people know that I now own a news agency." Noah disclosed what he had in mind, and Aria looked at him in awe, her eyes filled with love for him.

"This is a brilliant plan, Noah. You are so amazing." She chirped, and Noah raised his brows at her in joy and pride.

"Aria, you will only support your lover. I am the one stuck in this issue here." Ivy directed her anger at her sister, who just ignored her words.

"Don't worry, I will accompany you tomorrow. You can introduce me as your Boss." Noah added, and Ivy pressed her forehead in worry. "The anonymous person contacted you and sent you all the evidence, and you submitted them to me before broadcasting them. This is the truth we will say to the world." 

"Why didn't I know before that you are this annoying?"

"What would you have done if you had known about it?" Noah provoked her with a smile.

"I would have prohibited my sister to be with you." 

"Tch, tch, tch. Too bad, We are past that time now. You can't separate her from me." Noah only added more to her frustration, and Ivy could not stop glaring at him.

"Stop messing with my sister." Aria held his hand and pressed on it hard.

"Yes, Aria. Come on. Support me." 

"I am just teasing my sister-in-law. Can't I?" Noah gave Aria an innocent look as though he was accused of things he had not done.

"Aria, I guess you two had a good time yesterday. I have never seen Noah in such a pleasant mood before. I presume he went full bang on as he finally got what he was waiting for." Ivy tactically changed the topic of conversation, pushing the spotlight on the couple instead of her.

While Noah just smiled softly as he looked at his girl beside him, Aria could not stop blushing and lowered her head in embarrassment. She pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear and bit her lip, not having the courage to face her sister, who was smiling at her mischievously.

"Looks like you two had a good time playing the game of push and pull." Ivy's dirty words made Aria lifted her head to glare at her while Ivy just winked at her playfully. "Nevertheless, you two look this amazing. While my brother-in-law looks satiated and happy, my sister is glowing in joy."

"Ivy," Aria could not bear to hear her sister talk anymore, and she growled at her in anger. But to Noah, it came out as a soft complaint, her tone evoking dėsɨrės in him again.

"I will have my time soon. We will see how you will be able to escape then." Aria challenged, and Ivy, for once, shut her lips as she knew that her sister would take revenge on her for sure.

Ivy's gaze fell on Ian, who not once had spoken a word since the time he had entered the mansion. His face was stoic and he seemed to be lost in thoughts. His worry was evident on his face, and Ivy could not help start worrying for him.

"Ian, is everything alright?" She queried. But the man sat frozen in his seat, not saying a word in reply. His eyes too were fixed on the spot in front of him. "Ian," She called him again, only to meet the same result.

Aria, who was sitting beside him, held his hand and Ian came out of his reverie. "What happened?" He gave them a confused look, and Ivy sighed lightly.

"That is what we wanted to ask you. What happened? Where are you lost?" Seeing that Ian was about to shake his head, Ivy stopped him immediately. "And don't say that nothing happened. Your worry is clearly evident on your face."

"I know what has happened." Instead of Ian, Aria replied, and Ian looked at her in surprise. "After this issue came out, even our hospital has been affected and we are being scrutinized by the health department. Somehow, even our hospital's name is getting tarnished in this, and if things become serious, we might have to shut it down until proven innocent."