Free Web NovelChapter 67: Chapter 67: Sugar-coated Cannonball
Wynn Jade Jewelry, a subsidiary of the Kane Group, was an old brand. However, it hadn’t produced any remarkable signature pieces in recent years. It had become stuck in a mediocre position in the industry, propped up entirely by the Kane family’s substantial wealth.
Bianca Kane was desperate to create a show-stopping signature jewelry piece.
When she entered Sophie Shaw’s room with a maid, instructing her to do some simple decorating for the bride, she happened to spot some art paper drying on the desk. Her eyes lit up instantly.
This was exactly the design she was looking for.
"That belonged to Sophie’s Mom. It’s just a few drawings, give them back to her," Joseph Shaw said, his eyes reddening.
Bianca Kane exhaled a puff of smoke. Seeing the man’s weakness, she couldn’t help but laugh out loud. "Joseph, you really don’t know your ex-wife at all, and you have even less of a clue about the value of those designs."
She stubbed out her cigarette in the crystal ashtray, got up, and walked over to Joseph Shaw, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Didn’t you know your ex-wife was Lynn? She won a major design award overseas. She was extraordinarily gifted in design, a rare talent."
"It’s a shame she left the industry later—for you."
At this, Bianca Kane put on a look of regret. "Your ex-wife’s designs can only reach their full potential in my hands. What’s the use of giving them back to your daughter? Can she create top-tier luxury jewelry? She can’t. If those drawings go back to her, they’re just scrap paper. But I can turn trash into treasure."
Bianca Kane’s words began to sway Joseph Shaw.
He had always felt guilty about Mina Ford. After hearing his current wife say she could turn his ex-wife’s designs into top-tier luxury items, he started to think this was the best possible fate for them.
With reddened eyes, tears streamed down his cheeks.
Bianca Kane quickly hugged him to comfort him. "Joseph, we’re a family. We have a son together. I need you to trust me. The Kane Group is our family business. As a member of the Kane family, my husband, and the father of my son, you should be on the same side as me."
"As the saying goes, a daughter married is like water spilled. You’ve done more than enough as her father. From now on, focus more on our family. Besides, there’s no way Sophie Shaw will be mistreated in the Blackwood family. I can see Mrs. Blackwood is very fond of her."
Joseph Shaw was still hesitant.
So Bianca Kane simply gave him full authority over the project. "They’re your ex-wife’s posthumous works. You have the right to decide what to do with them. You’re the most suitable person to lead this project."
"My father’s health is getting worse, and he’s already planning to step down. I’ll be taking over as chairwoman soon. As long as you do a good job with this project, the CEO position will be yours for the taking."
With this barrage of sugar-coated bullets, Joseph Shaw ultimately couldn’t resist the temptation and agreed.
There was no cleaning lady who packed up the room and threw out the designs as trash. It was Bianca Kane who had taken the art papers, despicably claiming them for herself.
Sophie Shaw was completely in the dark, truly believing that a cleaning lady had accidentally thrown all the papers away.
Heartbroken, she threw herself onto her bed and cried her eyes out.
Meanwhile, in the first-floor tea room, Alaric Blackwood watched the surveillance footage from The Nocturne Club from the night before the wedding over and over again. He had finally spotted the problem.
There was a live performance at the club that night, featuring a moderately famous band. The entire crowd was ecstatic, and with alcohol in the mix, everyone was wild.
Alaric Blackwood had left the booth to go to the restroom. While he was away, someone took the opportunity to spike his drink.
It was a young woman dressed as a club waitress. In that uniform, she could approach the table to refill drinks and clear the tabletop without arousing anyone’s suspicion.
As for the hired driver waiting in the parking lot, they were bundled up so tightly that the surveillance cameras couldn’t capture a face.
"Have you looked into this waitress?"
Preston Chase nodded. "I have."
He handed over a file.
Alaric Blackwood took it and began to look through it carefully.
The waitress’s name was Ava Sterling. She was an orphan and had only been working at the first-floor bar of The Nocturne Club for three months. After that night, she never showed up for work again. Her phone number was disconnected, and the address on her file was for a rented apartment. Although the address was real, by the time Preston Chase went there, she had already moved out.
Alaric Blackwood pinched the bridge of his nose. "Keep looking for this Ava Sterling."
"Yes, Mr. Blackwood."
After Preston Chase left, Alaric Blackwood picked up his phone from the coffee table. After hesitating for a long moment, he finally dialed Jaden’s number. freewёbnoνel.com
"The night before the wedding, that hired driver you called—do you remember what he looked like?"
Jaden was taken aback by the question. Then, as if remembering something important, he quickly said, "I almost forgot until you asked! After I got you into the car that day, I kept getting calls from an unknown number."
At the time, Jaden was busy placating Stella Yarrow, so he didn’t answer. Later, the person sent him a text telling him not to call for a driver if he didn’t need one.
"The person who called me must have been the real hired driver,"
he said to Alaric Blackwood.
Alaric Blackwood, of course, had already figured that out.
Would a real hired driver have taken him more than a hundred kilometers away?
"I’m asking if you remember what the fake driver looked like."
Alaric Blackwood asked, suppressing his anger.
"I don’t remember. He was wearing a hat and a mask..."
Having already had a lot to drink, Jaden genuinely couldn’t recall any details.
"Alaric, I’m sorry about that night. It was my fault for being careless."
Alaric Blackwood didn’t say anything and hung up the phone.
He lit a cigarette and leaned back on the leather sofa, pondering the motives of the fake driver and the waitress.
He hadn’t been harmed, merely abandoned more than a hundred kilometers away. All four of his car’s tires had been destroyed. It seemed like they didn’t want him to show up at his wedding, which was why they had plotted to drug him and send him so far away.
...
「As evening approached.」
Alaric Blackwood prepared to cook dinner.
He went to Sophie Shaw’s room and knocked on the door.
He wanted to ask her what she wanted to eat tonight.
There was no answer for a long time.
He pushed the door open a crack and saw Sophie Shaw asleep, lying face down on the bed.
The heating wasn’t on for the season yet. A window stood half-open, letting in a cool breeze. The woman on the bed wore no jacket and had no blanket, lying there with her entire back exposed to the chilly air.
He walked over, pulled the blanket over her, and casually brushed the hair away from her cheek. He was surprised to see the tear tracks at the corner of her eyes.
His heart sank for some unknown reason.
’Did she cry because of what happened last night, because she lost her virginity?’
’Mandy Halloway’s actions were definitely over the top.’
’He had planned to slowly build their relationship as they spent time together, not to rush things.’
’Mandy Halloway was too impatient, to think she’d actually use a drug...’
He pulled out a tissue and wiped the tears from Sophie Shaw’s face, then quietly left the room.
After making dinner, he went back to the upstairs room and woke Sophie Shaw. freeweɓnøvel.com
"Dinner’s ready."
He helped the woman, whose eyes were slightly red and swollen, to sit up.
Sophie Shaw looked at him in a daze and said apologetically, "How did I fall asleep?"
"Sleep when you’re sleepy, rest when you’re tired. This is your home now. Just do whatever makes you comfortable. No one will blame you."
Alaric Blackwood’s words warmed Sophie Shaw’s heart.
She was suddenly reminded of her years with the Kane family, of the cold indifference there. If you missed a mealtime, you didn’t get to eat. If she overslept, no one would ever come to wake her.
But here at Maplewood Estate, Alaric Blackwood would wake her.
