<b>Chapter 317 </b>


    Once the privacy partition rose, sealing off the back seat from the front, Ashton dropped his grim fa?ade.


    He looked down at Briar’s conciliatory smile, then swept her onto hisp and pressed his forehead to hers.


    “Darling, I’m a little upset. Can you tell?” Ashton’s voice carried a intive edge, pitiful like a man abandoned by a heartless lover.


    Perched on hisp, straddling him, Briar instinctively looped her arms around his neck for bnce.


    Perhaps it was because this position had be second nature from their frequent intimacy.


    Now, whenever Ashton lifted and positioned her, she would cling to him without thinking, simply to steady


    herself.


    The gesture was so reflexive that Briar did not know whether tough or cry at her own conditioned response.


    Yet her obedience unexpectedly pleased Ashton, and his grip around her waist loosened ever so slightly.


    Briar rolled her eyes, lips curving into a pout. “I can tell. But didn’t I make myself clear from the start? What exactly are you still angry about?”


    Frustrated, Ashton turned his head and kissed her, capturing her upper lip to prevent escape. After holding the kiss for a long moment, he finally muttered, “Is that so? But you know Nathan covets you, and you still hired him to run yourpany… Babe, you are so cruel!”


    Truth be told, Ashton was being unreasonable.


    Others might not have known Nathan’s true abilities, but Ashton had investigated him thoroughly.


    To have an international financial magnate at the helm of herpany was a stroke of fortune beyond money’s reach.


    In just two or three months, Nathan had steered the Jennings Group through multiple crises, pulling it back from copse and setting it firmly on course again.


    Few in the industry could have achieved such swift and decisive results.


    Nathan’s professional capabilities were indisputable.


    But when a man chose to be unreasonable, reason held no weight.


    “I just can’t stand him. When are you going to drive him out?” Ashton pressed.


    Briar tilted her head and gave his chin a sharp bite, grinding her teeth as she snapped, “Honey, behave yourself–or I won’t humor you anymore.”


    Ashton froze, wordless.


    He had been warned.


    420


    “Fine, I’ll stop. Now, humor me a little more,” he murmured, feigning injury as he crushed her against him, leaving no space between their bodies.


    He even shifted his hips forward deliberately.


    The implication was unmistakable.


    Heat rushed to Briar’s cheeks and she reminded, “Ashton, we’re on our way to the police station. Clear your head of that nonsense.”


    Ashton sighed in response, “I really wish I could kill Edgar right now.”


    His thoughts churned bitterly, ‘The mood in this car was perfect!


    ‘A wless moment for embracing my wife…


    ‘We could have tried something new, explored new positions-‘


    Briar delivered a sharp p to his cheek and snapped, “Enough! If you keep letting your mind wander, I’ll head to the police station alone. You can stay here and cool off.”


    She found herself both exasperated and amused by this man who seemed perpetually in heat.


    She wondered, ‘Weren’t we supposed to be handling serious business today?‘


    Forcing the conversation back to business, Briar cupped Ashton’s face, ignoring his sulky look. “By the way, I haven’t asked–how did things go with you? Did the Wade Group throw you out?”


    Ashton nodded calmly as he updated, “It’s all settled. And yes, I’ve been kicked out.”


    Briar brushed a kiss against his lips. “You poor thing.”


    Ashton savored the kiss, chasing her mouth until she was breathless and he was finally satisfied.


    He sighed dramatically, “Now I’m just a poor, jobless man. Sweetheart, you can’t possibly abandon me.”


    Her lips still glistened faintly, and she smiled, “How could I ever wrong you?”


    “For instance, if I lose everything, some highly capable man might swoop in and steal my wife away.”


    He drew out the word “wife” in a resentful tone that sent shivers down Briar’s spine.


    Sliding off hisp, she retorted, “Are you ever going to stop? You canfort yourself. I’m done humoring you.”


    Ashton was left speechless.


    Their yful bickering continued all the way to the police station.


    10:24 Wed, Oct <b>1 </b>


    The moment their car stopped, someone rushed forward to open the door before Brandon could.


    2000


    “Mr. Wade, Miss Jennings, you’ve arrived” Ronan’s smile was a forced, ingratiating mask, fingerd with mockery and stripped of the respect he once showed Ashton,


    Ashton caught the expression, snorted, and then turned to help Briar down from the car. He said, ‘Careful, darling. The ground is uneven here, and the people even more so.


    Ronan was struck dumb as he thought, ‘He’s doing this on purpose. <fn566a> Latest content published on f?i?n?d?n?o?v?e?l?</fn566a>


    “He thinks I wouldn’t notice?


    But Ronan no longer feared Ashton. Within a single day, news that Ashton was no longer a Wade had spread throughout Shoneport.


    Those who had once groveled before him now straightened their backs, already scheming how to seize his


    resources.


    Ashton had dominated Shoneport for years, even if he was about to be cast out of the Wade family…


    But as the saying goes, a dead camel stills carries weight.


    Even a fragment of Ashton’s resources would yield them years of profit.


    That was why Ronan was still willing to greet him, despite his looming downfall.


    Briar entered the police station at Ashton’s side, a faint smile lingering on her lips. The hall bustled with activity as always.


    Ronan led them to the back interrogation rooms, where Edgar sat in the third.


    Two officers were questioning him, while Edgar sat silently, using silence itself as defiance.


    The evidence against him was overwhelming. Without Briar’s intervention, he would likely rot in prison.


    Ordinarily, this would be handled as a major financial crime.


    Yet Ronan had assigned only two junior officers, clearly signaling leniency.


    And now, he himself was escorting Briar straight to the door…


    Briar’s eyes swept over Ronan, and she said, “Mr. Ramos, I’ll be blunt. If someone higher up intends to shield. Edgar, I suggest you do it swiftly and discreetly. Because if I find out…”


    Ronan’s smile froze before asking, “Are you threatening me?”


    Briar met his gaze, fearless as she replied, “You can take it that way.”