Chapter 437 – Her Sudden Departure: A Tale of Love and Redemption (Lucian & Roxanne)

Estella had always kept to a fixed daily routine. While at Roxanne’s house, she had started getting drowsy at around nine o’clock in the evening and only became a little more awake while on the way home.

Now, she had been sitting on the couch for a long time. Although she dearly wanted to wait for Lucian to return, she could not fight off the sleepiness that washed over her, and her eyes slowly closed.

Catalina knew Estella’s routine like the back of her hand. Upon seeing Estella’s head droop lower and lower, she quickly hurried over to the girl’s side, preparing to catch her at any time.

Just as Catalina anticipated, Estella fell fast asleep within a few minutes, and her body tilted to one side.

Fortunately, Catalina was well-prepared. She caught Estella in her arms, then carefully carried the latter upstairs.

When she finally left Estella’s room and checked the time, she saw it was already late at night.

Ms. Estella was so stubborn just now. It seems as though she really does have something important to discuss with Mr. Farwell.

Catalina took out her phone and was about to call Lucian when she suddenly heard a noise from downstairs.

Craning her neck to take a look, she saw Lucian walk into the house with long strides. He was radiating a cold aura. By the looks of it, he must’ve been swamped with work tonight to the point that he still has a frown even after getting home.

“Mr. Farwell,” she called out hesitantly, hurrying down the stairs to greet him. As she took his coat, she said, “Ms. Estella waited for you all night and only just fell asleep.”

Lucian’s frown deepened when he heard that.

Cayden rushed back to the office immediately after sending Estella home, and according to him, Estella has already forgiven Roxanne. She was also reluctant to leave Roxanne’s house. However, there’s no way I can forgive Roxanne. As for what Estella wants to tell me, I can more or less guess what it is she wants to say. I don’t want to hear her take Roxanne’s side, at least for now. After all, Roxanne’s increasingly close relationship with Jack is bad enough to stir up some misunderstanding. Regardless of whether it’s for the children’s sake or my own reasons, I want to teach Roxanne a little lesson.

With that thought in mind, Lucian merely nodded at Catalina expressionlessly and walked upstairs.

Seeing that he did not seem to have caught on to the meaning behind her words, she quickly added, “Ms. Estella seemed to have something important to tell you. Do you want to go and check on her?”

“No. I know what she wants to say,” Lucian replied, rejecting her suggestion indifferently.

With that, he went into his bedroom.

As Catalina watched him leave, she knew she was in no place to say anything more. All she could do was cast a pitying look at Estella’s room.

It’s the first time I’ve seen Ms. Estella like that. I wonder what she wanted to tell Mr. Farwell…

Lucian went to take a shower after going into his room. Then, coming out of the bathroom, he browsed through the day’s news, which was a bedtime habit of his.

He had only just started browsing when he came across the online discussions about Herbscape Group, the contents of which caused him to furrow his brows.

As far as I know, only those within the pharmaceutical industry would discover Herbscape Group’s involvement in selling illegal drugs and the bacterial leakage at the company’s biological laboratory.

His first instinct was to suspect that the former employees of Herbscape Group were behind it.

After mulling it over for a little while, he suddenly recalled his conversation with Jonathan that day. Compared to the former employees, this seems more like something Jonathan would do.

Over at the Queen residence, Jonathan had spent almost the entire day carefully crafting a plan to spark public criticism. He had even exposed Herbscape Group’s past misdeeds.

Once Herbscape Group’s reputation is ruined, I doubt the Damaris family will still dare to take the risk and collaborate with them. After the Damaris family cuts ties with Herbscape Group, the latter can only come crawling back to Farwell Group, and it’ll be much easier for us to acquire Herbscape Group.

With that goal in mind, Jonathan had been monitoring the online sentiment practically the whole day.

He kept a close eye on it until late into the night and could not help feeling somewhat disappointed when he saw that the public outcry still had yet to turn out as he expected.

I wanted all of Horington to be aware of these things Herbscape Group has done. That way, Damaris Group would have no choice but to call off their plans to collaborate with Herbscape Group to avoid getting caught up in a messy situation.

After going through the comments online, Jonathan made a call with a frown.

On the other end of the line, a male voice asked respectfully, “Do you have any other instructions, Mr. Queen?”

“Is that all you managed to dig up on Herbscape Group?” Jonathan demanded coldly.

The man quickly answered in the negative. “We still have plenty of dirt on them. It’s just that when considering how to deliver a blow that can cause the most damage to Herbscape Group, I thought of releasing the information little by little. You see—”

Jonathan fell silent for a moment before cutting in and asking, “What other information do you have on them? Send them over for me to take a look.”

The person on the other end of the line immediately agreed to do so.

Shortly after, he sent a slew of evidence on Herbscape Group selling counterfeit drugs and smuggling drugs to Jonathan’s phone.

Jonathan narrowed his eyes coldly, then instructed in an icy voice, “Release all of it. Don’t give Herbscape Group any breathing room.”

What happened today must’ve given Herbscape Group a good jolt. If we hold onto the information, they’ll probably have thought of a way to weasel out this scot-free by the time the morning rolls around. By then, even if we release the information, it’ll only backfire and turn into a weapon for Herbscape Group to get back at us.

After Jonathan’s reminder, the person on the other end of the line realized the risk and quickly promised to follow Jonathan’s instructions.

Not long after the call ended, a barrage of damaging information on Herbscape Group broke out on the internet, and the online discussions grew even more heated.

The stream of shocking revelations stirred a severe distrust toward Herbscape Group among some netizens, who demanded the company compensate them for psychological damages.

On the other hand, others still wanted to give Herbscape Group a chance and urged the company to issue a statement.

Jonathan was amused as he read the comments imploring Herbscape Group to give an explanation.

Herbscape Group is probably at their wit’s end by now, trying to think of a way to turn the tables. How will they have the time to read these online comments? Even if they do, they won’t be able to present any solid evidence to refute all this. They’d only be asking for a castigation if they stepped out to say something.

While he was gloating over the fruits of his labor, his phone suddenly rang, and his phone screen lit up to show that Lucian was calling him.

For him to call me at such an hour probably means he has seen the chaos I created. However, I’ve no idea what he’ll think about what I did.

As those thoughts ran through his mind, Jonathan tamped down his self-satisfaction and answered the call. “What’s up, Lucian?”

Over on the other end of the line, Lucian continued reading the comments online while on the phone. When he saw that another wave of scandalous details had broken out on the internet, a mocking look glinted in his eyes.

Roxanne has always been proud of being a doctor and takes medical ethics very seriously. I wonder what she’ll think if she finds out the company she’s working with has done so many unlawful things behind her back.

Lucian’s end of the line was so silent that his breathing was clearly audible.

“Lucian?” Puzzled at not getting any response even after waiting for a while, Jonathan called out Lucian’s name. He started feeling tensed, thinking that his actions had drawn Lucian’s displeasure.

There was another long pause before a low voice said, “You’re responsible for the online furor I’m seeing, aren’t you?” Lucian’s tone was impassive.

Jonathan pondered for several seconds before admitting frankly, “That was the easiest and quickest method that came to my mind. As long as Herbscape Group’s reputation gets dragged through the mud, they may even end up approaching us, begging for an acquisition.”

That response is not in keeping with Jonathan’s usually free-and-easy demeanor, yet it’s unsurprising. He has put in a lot of effort to get to where he is today and helped his family gain a solid footing in Horington’s business world. Apart from Damaris Group, they’re the only other family that’s so powerful. To become a successful businessperson, resorting to despicable means is sometimes necessary.

Lucian frowned slightly after hearing Jonathan admit to it. A strange feeling flitted across his heart, and his thoughts inadvertently turned to Roxanne.

Even though I want to teach her a lesson, this seems like a big mess that could send all the earlier effort she put into being part of this project down the drain.

In the end, Lucian was still hesitant. He simply could not bring himself to be cruel to her.

Meanwhile, uneasiness gradually rose in Jonathan’s heart. “Are you thinking that my methods are a little deplorable?”

After all, I’m working for Farwell Group now, and Herbscape Group will have to rely on us in the future. For Farwell Group, such underhanded methods are shameful indeed.

He felt a pang of regret as the realization dawned on him. “If you think it’s inappropriate, I can ask them to take down the discussions at once. I promise that all the damaging information online will also be completely removed.”

Snapping out of his thoughts, Lucian pinched the space between his brows. In the end, he steeled his heart and said, “There’s no need for that. You did very well.”

Jonathan was flabbergasted upon hearing Lucian’s response. “Then what…”

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