Free Web NovelChapter 289: Chapter 292: Felix Preston, Hit Me
"I... I need to see Ethan Lockwood. I have something extremely important to tell him. He has to make time for me, no matter how busy he is! Otherwise, he can just wait for Felix Preston to throw him in jail!"
Cecilia Quincy craned her neck, a fierce expression on her face as she threatened Silas Lawrence.
But Silas Lawrence just gave a disdainful smile. "Miss Cecilia, I know what you want to discuss with Mr. Lockwood. It is indeed a very important matter, but it’s far too late to bring it up now. Mr. Lockwood can barely save himself, so how could he possibly have the energy to work with you?"
"...Barely save himself?" Cecilia Quincy’s brow twitched, a sudden sense of panic washing over her. "What do you mean? How can Ethan Lockwood barely save himself?"
Silas Lawrence didn’t answer her. Instead, he asked a question of his own. "Miss Cecilia, do you remember Robert Ford? The Robert Ford from the Preston Group."
"Robert Ford..." Cecilia Quincy thought hard for a moment, then nodded. "I remember him. What happened to him?"
Silas Lawrence’s next sentence made all the color drain from Cecilia Quincy’s face.
"He’s in Felix Preston’s hands now."
"...What?" All the strength drained from Cecilia Quincy’s voice, which came out as quiet as a mosquito’s buzz.
Silas Lawrence sighed. "Robert Ford has been taken by Felix Preston. Mr. Lockwood has searched for days but hasn’t found a single trace of him. Meanwhile, Felix Preston’s studio is growing stronger by the day, while the Lockwood Group is in complete chaos. Executives are fleeing or jumping ship. There’s almost no one left willing to stay and save the company."
"Robert Ford has too much leverage against Mr. Lockwood. If we can’t find him, it won’t matter if we solve the immediate crisis—it will all be for nothing. Mr. Lockwood is already preparing for the worst. Does Miss Cecilia still want to wade into these troubled waters?"
... Cecilia Quincy stared blankly, her eyes glazed over and her expression vacant.
Silas Lawrence’s words weren’t complicated, yet it took her a long time to even begin to process them.
"Y-you mean... Felix Preston is planning to use Robert Ford to take down Ethan Lockwood?" she asked, her face ashen.
"Hah..." Silas Lawrence scoffed. "Isn’t that a given? If you were Felix Preston and you finally got your hands on a key witness like Robert Ford, wouldn’t you use him to take down Mr. Lockwood?"
...
Cecilia Quincy said nothing, but Silas Lawrence knew what her answer was.
He raised his wrist to glance at his watch and let out a pointed "Ah." "It’s getting late, Miss Cecilia. Are you still going to go up and see Mr. Lockwood?"
"..." With a stiff face, Cecilia Quincy numbly shook her head. "No, I won’t see him... I won’t see him anymore..."
She didn’t need Silas Lawrence to show her out. The moment the words left her lips, she turned and fled from the Lockwood Group building in a frantic rush.
Silas Lawrence watched her retreating, unsteady figure, a mocking smile playing on his lips.
’So much for devoted lovers. The moment disaster strikes, they fly their separate ways.’
’How could this be happening... How could this be happening...’
Cecilia Quincy dragged her seven-figure purse along the ground, wandering aimlessly through the streets.
Although Aethelburg was a first-tier metropolis, there wasn’t a single pedestrian on the streets on such a bitterly cold winter’s night.
In the vast, pale expanse, only Cecilia Quincy wandered about, lost in a daze.
’How could this be happening... How did Felix Preston manage to capture Robert Ford...’ she muttered unconsciously, her mind growing hazy.
’Wasn’t Robert Ford supposed to die in Sundara? How did Felix Preston rescue him? With all the leverage Robert Ford has... don’t tell me Felix has already found out about all the terrible things I did?’
She raised a hand, red and numb from the cold, and pressed it trembling against her mouth as she talked to herself.
’If Felix Preston gets even more dirt on me, will he take me to court again? The things I did were so awful... if the court convicts me, will they drag me off to be executed?’
’I’m not going to die, am I?’
She asked herself one question after another, then answered them herself. ’No, I shouldn’t die. I didn’t kill anyone. Ethan Lockwood is the murderer! If anyone should die, it’s Ethan Lockwood!’
’The things I did... they were awful, but—but not bad enough for execution. At most, they’ll just add a few years to my sentence... Right, at most I’ll just do a couple more years in prison. Once I get out, I’ll be back on my feet, good as new!’
At this thought, Cecilia Quincy’s mood suddenly lifted.
"Heh..." She laughed, her shoulders shaking. Her laughter grew more and more cheerful until she couldn’t help but start hopping in place.
"This is great! I’m not going to die! I get to live!"
She was ecstatic. Her excited cheers echoed down the long, empty street.
But her joy was short-lived. Her elation plummeted as quickly as it had soared, like a roller coaster.
"Ugh..." She sighed in despair, and bitter tears instantly welled up in her eyes.
’I might not be dying, but I still have to go to prison. I don’t want to go to prison! I don’t want a criminal record, I don’t want to lose my freedom and be locked away in some dark, sunless cell...’
The more she spoke, the more upset she became, until her lips trembled and she began to sob.
"Aaaah... I really don’t want to go to prison..."
She cried and wailed at the top of her lungs, and the cheers that had filled the long street now turned into agonizing howls.
"Help me! Is there anyone who can save me..."
"I don’t want to go to prison! I don’t want to be a convict..."
...
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK—
At midnight, there was a sudden knock on Felix Preston’s door.
"Who is it?" he asked, putting on his glasses and climbing out of bed to walk to the door.
"Felix, it’s me." Renee Sinclair’s voice came clearly from the other side of the door.
Felix Preston paused. After a moment’s hesitation, he walked over and opened the door.
He was cautious, however, not throwing the door wide open, but leaving a crack just wide enough for a person to stand in.
He stood in the opening, looking at Renee Sinclair. "It’s late. Is there something you need?"
Renee Sinclair nodded. "Yes! I just remembered something really important that I have to tell you right now!"
"What is it?" Felix Preston asked, his tone indifferent.
Renee Sinclair scratched her head, looking a little embarrassed. "Um, you know how I was acting all crazy earlier and saying a bunch of weird stuff to you? I... I don’t know how to explain what was happening, and I can’t tell you the truth about it. So, I thought about it and decided to ask you for a favor."
Felix Preston raised an eyebrow. "What kind of favor?"
Renee Sinclair stared at him with wide, pleading eyes. "From now on, if you see me acting crazy like I was today, I want you to find something and hit me. Hard. You have to make sure it hurts, otherwise the... episode... might just continue."
"...Huh?" Felix Preston was completely baffled. "You want me... to hit you?"
"Yes!" Renee Sinclair nodded emphatically. "Whenever you see me acting up again, just hit me hard! Because the only way I can snap out of it is if you hurt me!"
