Chapter 450 – Her Sudden Departure: A Tale of Love and Redemption (Lucian & Roxanne)

It was only after the kids closed the door that Roxanne turned around and got into Jack’s car.

“Done?” Jack asked in a deep voice.

Roxanne flashed an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry for the long wait. The kids are still young, and they can’t bear to part with me. Let’s go!”

Meanwhile, a black Bentley across the road not far from Roxanne’s house slowly drove over.

When James caught a glimpse of the familiar figure, he snapped his head to Lucian and uttered, “That seems to be Dr. Jarvis. Is she going out?”

Lucian furrowed his brows and looked toward Roxanne’s house, only to see the woman getting inside a car.

The moment the car door was opened, the man, who was sitting inside, was revealed. At a glance, Lucian could tell that it was Jack. Why did she even call me when she was there being with another man?

A grim look spread across Lucian’s face. He had thought that Roxanne had realized her mistake. James didn’t notice the change in his mood, and he wasn’t aware of the entanglement between them.

He just vaguely saw a man sitting inside the car. Feeling puzzled, he asked, “Is the man inside the car Ms. Jarvis’ business partner? We better hurry over. It looks like they’re about to leave.”

With them, he readied himself to accelerate the car. “Forget it. Just make a U-turn and go back.” Lucian’s cold voice rang out from behind.

Only then did James notice the change in his mood. Realizing that there seemed to be an unusual relationship between that man and Roxanne, James had no idea what to say for a moment.

Estella was still sleeping in Lucian’s arms, unaware of what was happening there.

It seemed that she wasn’t feeling comfortable as she turned over while groaning. Lucian took a glance at Estella in his arms. His anger toward Roxanne intensified.

When James heard the sound made by Estella, his hand on the steering wheel stopped moving. Instead of making a U-turn, he slowed down the car and continued driving toward Roxanne’s house.

“What are you doing?” Lucian asked in displeasure.

“Don’t you forget you’ve promised me that you won’t stop Essie from seeing Ms. Jarvis,” replied James resignedly.

Lucian’s brows drew together.

If Lucian hadn’t seen that scene earlier, he naturally wouldn’t want Estella to continue feeling upset.

But Roxanne… If she doesn’t treat Essie sincerely, what’s the point of letting Essie see her? It’s nothing but self-deception.

Seeing that the car in front of him was about to drive away, James suggested in a deep voice, “They’re going to leave. Just give Ms. Jarvis a call.”

Lucian stared at the car ahead with a grim expression. The temperature around him seemed to have dropped.

After a long while, he didn’t seem to have the intention of taking out his phone.

Watching as the car drove away, James knitted his brows and stopped his car at the side of the road.

Estella couldn’t sleep soundly. She grabbed the hem of Lucian’s clothes tightly.

Noticing Estella’s signs of insecurity, James let out a sigh. “Why are you doing this?”

James had no idea what his friend thought about Roxanne. Nonetheless, he felt that what happened between adults shouldn’t implicate the child.

Estella’s condition was different from an average child.

Instead of answering James’ question, Lucian asked, “What else can we do to improve Essie’s condition if we don’t see her?”

James remained silent for a few seconds. Finally, he answered, “Take Essie home and let her stay in a familiar environment. Perhaps she will get better.”

“Okay,” Lucian said, then took Estella back to the Farwell residence. Soon after, the black Bentley drove away. A camera flashed in the grass in front of Roxanne’s house, and a man appeared from the grass afterward.

While processing the photographs he had just taken, he hurriedly got into his car and tailed Jack’s, which was heading toward the research institute.

Roxanne tried to suppress her worries about Estella on the way to the research institute. She began asking about matters related to Herbscape Group.

“I was in a rush to leave just now. How are things with Herbscape Group going?”

Roxanne really wanted to know if Herbscape Group had actually done those things. Or if Lucian’s business strategies were so terrifying that they allowed him to pass off fake as genuine.

A hint of displeasure flashed across Jack’s eyes. However, his tone was warm when he spoke to Roxanne. “It’s probably not optimistic.”

Roxanne furrowed her brows. She had a theory in mind.

“Herbscape Group is involved in a plethora of matters. I’m afraid the ones that have been exposed online were just the tip of the iceberg. Now, the relevant departments are involved. I don’t know how much trouble it’s going to cause.”

Jack sighed as his head began to hurt.

Roxanne frowned. “But didn’t you guys look into it at that time?”

Given the Damaris family’s influence, it seemed unlikely that they did not know about the details of Herbscape Group.

Jack chuckled bitterly. “We have scoured the entire Herbscape Group, but we wouldn’t be able to find anything if someone purposely covered for them.”

After that, he added meaningfully, “In particular, that person must be as powerful as the Damaris family, not to mention better at business than the Damaris family. Speaking of which, the Damaris family is just prominent in the pharmaceutical industry.”

Jack was insinuating that someone had set up a trap for the Damaris family with Herbscape Group’s matter, and Lucian was the only person who could have set up the trap.

Naturally, Roxanne understood what Jack was saying, but she did not know how to respond.

After some time, Roxanne could not help but ask, “If that’s the case, why are they doing this? There’s no benefit to this.”

There was a glimmer in Jack’s eyes, and he said self-deprecatingly, “Perhaps I touched something I shouldn’t have.”

Roxanne’s eyelashes quivered. A peculiar sensation swelled within her, and she lowered her head silently.

Jack’s insinuation was so obvious that it was hard for her to disregard it.

Sensing her avoidance, Jack decided to stir the pot.

“I’ve learned from this experience that this so-called business genius lives up to his name. He has my sincere acceptance of my defeat, but the only thing I regret is that the price this time was higher than I had anticipated.”

He was basically implying that Lucian was the mastermind.

Roxanne was the only thing that associated him with Lucian other than Herbscape Group.

Roxanne’s hands on her knees stiffened as she suppressed the strange feeling in her heart. She changed the subject nonchalantly by saying, “I hope this matter won’t impact our project.”

“I hope so too. Hopefully, that person will be merciful.” Jack added fuel to the fire.

Roxanne’s heart pounded harder when she heard his words. However, she tried to convince herself that Lucian and Jack’s fight would not be beyond Herbscape Group.

Aubree had been staying in the Farwell residence for some time, but Lucian had hardly ever gone there. Sonya had tried to make her stay, but she eventually left.

She had chosen to stay in the Farwell residence, as she had thought Lucian would often visit because of Sonya and that she could spend more time with him.

However, after so long, she had only met him a handful of times.

Instead, the private detective had been sending her photos, and Roxanne had always appeared next to Lucian in those photos.

Rage burned in Aubree every time she looked at them.

Yet she had to keep her emotions in check, as she had to face Sonya and Elias every day.

Aubree finally had enough as time went on. She found an excuse to return to the Pearson residence by saying she had reconciled with her father.

After all, she had already achieved her goal with yesterday’s photos.

“Aubree? Why are you back? Where’s Lucian?”

Gina was relaxing at home when she suddenly saw Aubree coming in with her luggage.

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