The Reclaimed Rose (Annalise and Steven) novel Chapter 712

Otis, feeling his temper flare up from my words, shot a furious glare at Zane.

"Look at Annalise! How could a daughter speak to her father like this? She's completely disrespectful! She's unworthy of being a wife."

Zane raised an eyebrow, unfazed. "But I actually like her just the way she is."

I could see that Otis still refused to open the folder and look at its contents, so I took the matter into my own hands. I opened the folder, pulled the documents, and handed them to him.

He took the papers, glanced at them briefly, and muttered, "This is evidence of my company's mistakes. I saw this years ago—"

Before he could finish his sentence, his expression turned solemn as he continued flipping through the pages.

I smiled, watching him. "You should have figured it out by now. All of this evidence is from years ago.

"Even if you submit it now, it will not change anything. After all, the company you were with then is already long gone."

Zane turned and looked at me at that.

I continued, "I've known all along that your so-called competitor is actually one of your people. You set it up on purpose and hoped I would fall into your trap. As your daughter, I couldn't bear to see all your efforts go to waste. So I played along with your little game."

The more I spoke, the more I realized how ridiculously accommodating I had been. I wasted my time, pretending to play a part for someone who had never cared for me, just to indulge a father I didn't even want.

I added, "I didn't want you to go through all this effort only to end up empty-handed and disappointed. Once you see the contents, you'll understand my good intentions. Yet, you still haven't looked. It's such a waste of my effort."

Otis was gritting his teeth the entire way, seething with anger. He wished he could just get rid of Annalise once and for all.

If she and Zane had just been dating, he might have been able to stir some trouble and cause them to break up. However, they were married.

Zane was a cautious man. He wasn't likely to change his mind and divorce Annalise anytime soon.

After contemplating his next move, Otis decided to approach the situation from a different angle.

He sat in the car and dialed another number. "I asked you to prepare the smear campaign articles about Annalise earlier. You can go ahead and release them now."

"Understood."