Lucian frowned. “What do you mean, Ms. Jarvis? I told you that I’d look into this properly for Archie and Benny. If I had found out who was behind this, why would I hide the identity of the person from you?”
Roxanne sneered. “What if that person is Aubree Pearson, your fiancée? There’s nothing I can do if you want to cover up for her.”
Lucian froze.
In a mocking tone, Roxanne went on, “Mr. Farwell, are you saying that you still have no leads on who drugged the kids the other time?”
At that, Lucian’s expression darkened.
Even if Roxanne did not say anything outright, he could guess that Roxanne was telling him Aubree was the one who drugged the kids.
However, his men had been keeping a close eye on Cory the entire time, and they had not seen Cory contacting Aubree.
Still, Lucian did not think that Roxanne was accusing anyone; he just wanted concrete evidence for her words.
“Didn’t you always want to know the result of my investigation? I’ll tell you now, then. I found out that a researcher who used to work at the Pearson family’s research institute stole a batch of bacteria from another institute and is now missing,” Roxanne uttered coldly. “Is that evidence enough for me to feel suspicious about Aubree’s involvement?”
Lucian knew little about the bacteria, let alone the fact that Roxanne had already found many clues pointing toward Aubree’s involvement.
“Why didn’t you tell me about this?” he questioned her.
A chuckle came from Roxanne. “Is there a point for me to tell you about it? How am I going to make sure that you won’t cover up for your fiancée like this time?”
Frankly, this was something she did not want to voice to him, but Aubree had been hurting her children again and again.
Therefore, Roxanne no longer cared about trying to keep things civil between them.
After a period of silence, Lucian slowly said in an indifferent tone, “We need solid evidence to prove that Aubree’s behind this. Your words aren’t enough.”
Right as those words left his mouth, a dead silence took over the conversation.
For a long while, Roxanne did not reply to him.
In the end, she laughed, but it was a sound tinged with resignation. “In that case, then I really do not have any solid proof. There isn’t anything I can do if you think that I’m just slandering her, Mr. Farwell.”
With that, she barked out another self-deprecating chuckle before ending the call.
She thought that the answer would be clear to Lucian after telling him about the clue she found.
Who would have known that Lucian would be that defensive of Aubree?
How was she ever going to find concrete evidence with the power she had?
Frieda soon conveyed Aubree’s message to Cory. Initially, Aubree thought that the deal could be done via the internet. After all, Lucian’s men were still monitoring Cory.
However, when the day of the transaction came, Aubree found herself ill at ease. If she did not watch him with her own two eyes, how was she going to make sure that Cory really deleted the photos?
With that thought in mind, Aubree paused in her motions and uttered to Frieda, “Tell Cory that I’m going to watch him delete those photos myself.” Frieda stiffened. “But we might get exposed for this…”
Tamping down the feelings of displeasure in her heart, Aubree said with as much patience as she could summon, “If I don’t do this, who knows if Cory’s going to lie to us?”
Frieda did not agree with Aubree, but she still told Cory about Aubree’s intention. Naturally, Cory was not interested in meeting Aubree in person.
Nevertheless, ten million was too great of a temptation for him to resist. After a moment of contemplation, Cory sent an address to Frieda. That was where they were going to meet.
Frieda agreed to it. The next morning, Frieda drove Aubree to the location. The place was at an unfinished building, which was also the place Cory had prepared for himself to go into hiding.
He never thought he would end up using it for this. When the two women arrived, Cory was already waiting in the unfinished building.
“Hand me the money, and I’ll delete the photos,” Cory said as he lazily waved the camera at them when he saw the two women. That must be the camera he used to take pictures of me!
Aubree gritted her teeth and hissed, “I’ll transfer half first. Once you delete the photos, I’ll transfer the other half.” Cory readily agreed to it before gesturing for her to transfer the first half.
As a private investigator, Cory was a well-prepared man. He had even prepared an account for Aubree to transfer the money to.
In no time, Aubree transferred five million to him. Then, Cory deleted the photos while she watched him.
After that, he showed her the camera to let her make sure that no photos were left.
It was only then Aubree transferred the other five million to him resentfully.
“I never thought you’d be someone like this!”
Cory raised a brow at that. “Of course, people like us who are in illegal dealings have to keep an ace up our sleeves. What are we going to do if our client runs off without paying?”
Aubree growled out, “You’d better have deleted everything, or else I’m never going to let you off the hook!”
“Don’t worry. I’m a man of my word as long as you pay up.” Cory curled his lips. “Also, thanks to you, we’re now in the same boat. I’m not that stupid to pull a dumb move like that.”
He was speaking the truth.
If not for Aubree’s cruelty in laying a finger on the three children while spying on Roxanne, Lucian would not have tracked Cory down.
They were now in the same hot water.
If Lucian found any concrete proof against one of them, the other would not be able to escape unscathed.
The realization of that only irked Aubree even more.
After all, why would she want to work with someone who might stab her in the back at any time?
Still, she had to cooperate with Cory.
As Cory walked past them to leave, he reminded Aubree, “As long as you know your limits and do not enrage Mr. Farwell again, you might be able to keep what happened a secret. But if you…”
On Monday, Sonya sent Estella to the new kindergarten herself. The new kindergarten was not far more luxurious than the old one. The only difference between them was the different teachers and classmates.
In spite of that, Sonya was delighted with her arrangement. My granddaughter is finally away from Roxanne’s kids! She’ll still be able to make new friends here, anyway.
Sonya was so preoccupied with thinking about Estella’s future that she completely neglected Estella’s feelings. After handing the girl off to the teacher, Sonya turned and left.
The teacher drew her brows together as she looked at the tear-stricken face of Estella. The children who were admitted into the kindergarten were either from rich families or powerful families, so they had to be carefully handled.
Their parents were even more troublesome to deal with than them. If those parents were to find out that their children had cried at kindergarten, she might be fired from her job the next day.
With that thought in mind, the teacher quickly crouched down to console the girl. “Be good, Essie. The kids are waiting for you in the classroom. You’re such a pretty girl; I’m sure everyone will like you!”
It was only when the teacher was talking to Estella did she realize the girl had delicate features and was a silent crier. Hence, her crying did not frustrate anyone—it only made others feel bad for her.
The teacher’s words did not reach Estella at all. Estella just kept crying with her head hung low.
The teacher was stumped. The only thing she could do was lead the girl into the classroom and introduce her to the other children.
As Estella looked sweet and cute, some of the other children soon gathered around her to console her.
Yet, Estella ignored them all, wringing her hands as she continued to sob.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.