Breaking Free, Loving Again -The Flash Marriage with Mr. CEO novel Chapter 458

At the same time, on the other side of the city, Catrin was busy gathering Margaret's progress history over the years.

"Ma'am, here," her assistant said, placing another file on Catrin's desk, and nudging it forward. "The details you asked me to find out about Ms. Margaret Marie."

Catrin didn't look up at her assistant. Her gaze instead fixed on the file as she reached for it, flipping it open and scanning through the contents.

Her brows furrowed as surprise took over her features.

All this time, she had assumed Margaret was just another orphan her mother had taken a strange liking to. But clearly, she had underestimated her mother —and Margaret

She should have known. If her mother ever took an interest in someone, she wouldn't let them remain average. Even if that has to be at the expense of her own kid's interest. She would shape them, mold them, and ensure they became someone the world had to look up to.

And Margaret … Margaret was no exception.

As Catrin read through the pages, her expression gradually turned grim. All this time, she had been thinking Margaret was some mediocre graduate, only to be surprised by her academic achievements now.

Margaret had not only completed a dual Master's degree —one in Strategic Communication and another in Nonprofit Management —but had also earned a Doctorate (Ph.D.) in Social Policy. And beyond the certificates, she had gathered extensive experience working alongside Brenda Davies herself. Fieldwork. Policy Drafting. International exposure—all of it adding to her skills and knowledge.

Had her mother been plotting this all along? _{fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com}

The thought made her fists clench.

Of course, she had. Catrin didn't even need evidence to know that. After all, from the very beginning, Brenda Davies hadn't favored her, her own daughter, joining the Davies Empire. That seat had been kept safe for someone else.

A scoff escaped Catrin's lips as the hostility towards her mother surged higher in her chest.

"Ma'am," the assistant interrupted softly, as if sensing the tension. "Ms. Marie's academic achievements and practical experience have clearly surpassed our expectations. With credentials like these … it might be difficult to oppose her position in Davies Internationals."

Catrin's fingers tightened on the paper, creasing it with a slow, deliberate grip. Her lips curled in disdain, though her eyes gleamed with something sharper —something akin to arrogance.

"It won't be difficult at all," she said, her voice low but charged with conviction.

She glanced down at the file, her jaws flexing with restrained irritation. "Although Margaret has excelled remarkably over the years, her achievements are still not enough."

With a scoff, she plucked the printed papers from the file and held them in the air like they were of no real value.

"These are not enough," she repeated, her lips stretching into a cold, calculated smile. "With these qualifications, she might impress the board of trustees or land herself a cozy job managing a charitable trust. But the Davies Empire? That's not something she is built for. She will be swallowed whole the second she walks into the boardroom with just these."

Catrin stood abruptly, striding towards the shredding machine at the corner of the office.

Pushing the papers into the shredder, she watched them disappear, strip by strip, until there remained nothing.

"I thought Brenda Davies still had some sharpness left in her, but it seems her old age is catching up," she said, her voice calm but edged in steel. "Did she really think I couldn't defeat the scholar she raised? She would soon realize how wrong she had been to even think that."

Outside the office, the sun dipped lower into the skyline.