Free Web NovelChapter 443: As Such, She Is A Core Suspect
Todd heard what Wendy had said and nodded in response.
He then answered the call.
He turned it on speaker in front of Wendy.
Michael’s voice resounded from the other side of the phone.
"Mr. Lewis, are you free? Do you have time for a few words?" Michael spoke first.
Todd replied, "Yeah, I’m free now. I am just having a meal. Oh yeah. You called me last night. I’m sorry. When I saw it, I thought I would interrupt your rest as it was nighttime there. So, I didn’t call back. How can I help you?"
Todd explained out of courtesy.
Although anyone would know that the explanation was insincere.
"All right then. I shall cut to the chase. Wendy sent the two children to Lake City.
You know about it, don’t you?" Michael asked.
Todd lifted his head and looked at Wendy.
As expected, Michael called him to ask about it.
Wendy shook her head at Todd.
As long as Todd said that he didn’t know, no matter what questions Michael asked later would be in vain.
Todd understood Wendy’s intention. He immediately replied to Michael, "I have no idea. When did it happen? I just saw Jake and Leah two days ago. Why did they go to you?"
"You didn’t know?" Michael frowned. He was puzzled.
"I don’t know," Todd lied. He didn’t feel guilty at all.
Todd had selfish motives. freēwēbηovel.c૦m
Whatever Wendy was going to do, only the two of them knew as of then.
As Wendy didn’t want Michael to know, it was unnecessary to tell him.
And, so what if Michael finds out? He was far away in Lake City. He wouldn’t be able to provide any sort of help.
At least, he was Wendy’s partner in that matter.
The only person who could help Wendy was Todd.
"Did you find anything strange with Wendy recently?" Michael asked.
"Mr. Lucas, what do you mean?" Todd played dumb. "Corrine hasn’t been doing well recently, but it is understandable. After all, she is the one who caused HG to have trouble. Regardless, Timothy is our mentor, and HG nurtured her. She is devastated to see HG collapsed."
"I’m not talking about this. Did you notice if Wendy had any extreme thoughts recently?" Michael rephrased his question.
Todd lifted his head to take another glance at Wendy.
Wendy shook her head again, and Todd said, "I don’t think so. I don’t think Corrine is behaving strangely at all. Mr. Lucas, did you find her strange?"
"Wendy suddenly sent the two children over. I felt that she might be up to something. Mr. Lewis, you are in Rheinsville. If you have any news, please inform me at the first instance. Would you?"
"Mr. Lucas, you are the children’s father. Understandably, Corrine sent the children to you. You don’t find the two children troublesome, do you?" Todd taunted on purpose.
"Why would I think Jake and Leah are troublesome? I like them too much. I just find that Wendy seems to be up to something major as she sent the children to me. I told her to come back together, but she had refused to. I feel rather uneasy about it," Michael said helplessly.
"Michael, I think you are overthinking. Corrine might just be thinking that it is only a matter of time until she returns to Lake City because HG has closed down. She sent the two children back first so that she could wrap things up here on her own. After all, Corrine has stayed in Rheinsville for so many years. Even if she wanted to leave, she’d have to bid farewell to her ex-clients and friends. Ain’t that right, Mr. Lucas?"
...
The way Todd put it seemed to make sense.
But Michael still felt that something was off.
Plus, whatever Todd said was similar to what Wendy had said.
Michael frowned and kept quiet on the other side of the phone for quite some time.
Todd didn’t hear any reply, so he said, "Mr. Lucas, is there anything else you’d like to ask? If there’s nothing else, I shall head back to my meal. I was busy for the entireday, and I am starving."
"I’m sorry. Go ahead." Michael paused for a while before he added, "But if you find anything strange about Wendy, please do inform me, Mr. Lewis."
"All right," Todd answered casually.
Todd hung up the phone when their conversation ended.
Michael held the phone in his hand. His face was filled with anxiety.
He knew Wendy well.
He offered Wendy to bring the children back together before, but she had refused.
Then, she suddenly sent the two children back to him out of nowhere.
No matter how he put his head around it, it didn’t seem like there was no issue going on.
But he couldn’t find out anything from Todd.
Michael wasn’t sure if Todd really had no idea what Wendy was up to or if Wendy already told Todd ahead of time to not tell him anything.
In short, Michael still had his heart in his mouth.
Michael thought for a while and made another call.
The call was answered really quickly.
Michael commanded coldly, "If you find anything on your side in these few days, report to me at the first instance."
"Yes, sir," the person on the other end of the call answered.
The person on the other end of the call was someone Michael had assigned in Rheinsville City to protect Wendy.
His initial intention was only to protect Wendy.
He never told the bodyguards to report to him anything about Wendy.
He only told them to appear when Wendy was in danger.
However, he obviously couldn’t just sit and wait.
He had to know what Wendy intended to do next.
The sense of insecurity was too intense.
He hoped that Wendy wouldn’t be angry at him when she found out the existence of the bodyguards.
He gripped his phone tightly and let out a heavy sigh. He muttered to himself, laden with anxiety and helplessness, "Wendy, oh, Wendy. Don’t do anything dangerous.
Otherwise, what’s the point of me doing everything?"
...
Todd was having a meal with Wendy at a restaurant then.
After Wendy sent Zess and her children to the airport, she went home.
Todd came to look for Wendy after work, saying he had news about Clement.
It happened to be time for dinner, so they went out for it together.
Todd put some food on Wendy’s plate, saying, "Michael is suspicious."
"It is only normal that he found it suspicious. We can’t tell him about this. Otherwise, he will definitely be against it," Wendy said, hanging her head low.
Wendy initially intended to send the two children to Lake City personally.
Then, Leah would have more time to accept the arrangement.
When they met with Michael, he could help to comfort Leah.
The reason she sent Zess instead was that she didn’t dare to go to Lake City herself.
If she were to head to Lake City then, Michael would definitely make her stay.
Michael wouldn’t allow her to be in any sort of danger.
No matter how suspicious Michael felt about her refusal to go to Lake City, he had no way of stopping her. As long as she didn’t say it herself or even if he guessed what she was about to do.
Hence, she could only harden her heart and send her two children to the airport.
...
"Actually, I don’t approve of you doing that," sighed Todd. "It’s too dangerous.
However, I know full well what you are like, so I will not try to dissuade you. Instead, I’ll do my best to help you."
"Thank you Todd." Wendy was thankful from the bottom of her heart.
Todd shook his head and said with a smile, "You don’t have to stand on ceremony with me, after all, we are friends."
Wendy made a low sound of acknowledgement before turning her attention back to the matter at hand. "Didn’t you say you have news about Clement? What is it?"
"He will be attending a banquet in two days." Todd took out an invitation card and passed it to Wendy. "I got this invitation to that banquet from a friend of mine. Our original plan had been to wait for Clement at the bar.
However, it seems you can try meeting Clement at the banquet instead.
Make an impression, then fix up an accidental meeting at the bar. ƒгeewebnovёl.com
He will not be as wary of you if you meet him first at the banquet rather than at a bar, although that also means you will not be able to hide your identity.
You can only meet him as Corrine Swift. Things might be more dangerous in that case.
Wendy took the invitation from Todd. With a smile, she said, "I never planned to hide my identity from him."
"You mean, you intended to get close to him as Corrine from the start?" Todd frowned. He had no idea Wendy had planned to do that.
Wendy nodded and said to Todd, "Clement is not an ordinary man. He showed no interest in any of the women you sent. It’s obvious he does not hook up with just anyone. If I manage to get close to him, he will definitely investigate me. He will definitely find out I am not who I said I was then. It’s better that I tell the truth right from the beginning. That way, he will at least think I am trustworthy."
"Although your argument makes sense, your identity is special. Clement is HG’s shareholder. You’ve made such a mess of HG, aren’t you afraid that he would do you harm when he finds out who you are?" Todd argued, worry evident on his face.
"What you did affected his interests too, after all."
"That will depend on my acting skills then." Wendy grinned, "Whether or not I can make him believe that I did not betray HG will all depend on my acting ability," "Well..." Todd was at a loss for words.
"Trust me. I can deal with this." Wendy had reason to be confident.
She had thoroughly investigated Clement and knew his likes and dislikes.
Wendy was sure she could make herself into the kind of woman Clement was interested in.
She had to succeed.
Looking at Wendy’s self-assured smile, Todd could not help but want to believe her.
He was willing to believe that the woman in front of him would succeed in whatever she tried to do.
Wendy picked up the glass of wine on the table and smiled, "To our success."
Todd, too, picked up his glass with a smile. The clink of glasses touching rang delicately in the air.
His voice gentle, as always, Todd said, "We will definitely succeed."
Soon, they were done with their meal, after which Todd sent Wendy home.
Below her apartment block, Wendy suddenly stopped. Turning to Todd, she smiled and said, "I won’t invite you up for tea. It has been a long day, you should rest early."
....
In the past, Wendy would have invited him upstairs. Now, however, she was the only one in the house.
It was necessary to maintain an appropriate distance, more so now that she knew what Todd’s feelings toward her were.
Since she had not given him an answer, she should not give him false hope.
Todd knew what Wendy was thinking and the light in his eyes dimmed a little.
"You should rest early too. I’ll pick you up the day after tomorrow to go to the banquet." Todd said gently as he gazed at Wendy’s large luminous eyes which sparkled under the lamplight.
"Okay, goodbye." Wendy waved at Todd then turned and entered the elevator.
Todd stood watching her until the elevator doors completely closed. Only then did he sigh and turned to leave.
Two days had passed.
That day, Wendy started dressing and putting on her make-up in the afternoon in preparation for that night’s banquet.
The banquet was organised by an influential businessman in Rheinsville City. It was his birthday that day.
When a man in the upper echelon of society held a birthday party, it was equivalent to having a networking party.
All the guests were well-known in the business circle.
Wendy knew what kind of woman Clement liked. She even knew what color he liked.
Thus, she put on light make-up and changed into a strapless white evening gown.
Wendy appraised herself in the mirror after she was done with her make up and dress. Satisfied, she nodded at her reflection in the mirror.
According to the information Todd had given her, Clement liked delicate-looking and elegant women.
His favourite actress was Lake City’s Audrey Blume. He loved her otherworldly beauty, as if she were a celestial being that was not of this earth.
So, that was the look Wendy was aiming for.
At this moment, the doorbell rang.
Wendy knew it had to be Todd.
Opening the door, she saw Todd standing outside, handsome in his suit and a bunch of roses in his hand. Smile on his face, he looked as dashing as a charming prince that had come out of a fairy tale.
If Wendy were younger, had not met Michael and had not had his children, she might have fallen for Todd at first sight. Alas, she had met Todd much too late.
Timing was important in the development of any relationship.
Once she had someone in her heart, there was no longer space for anyone else.
"How do I look?" Smile on her face, Wendy twirled around for Todd. "I dressed up according to Clement’s preferences."
Todd surveyed Wendy’s strapless white evening gown. Her complexion was the white of white rose petals and even though she was only lightly made up, it only served to accentuate the silken paleness of her skin Todd had never seen Wendy like this before.
Wendy was a natural beauty. Her beauty stood out even when she was dressed casually and barely made up.
That day however, her get up was fairy-like. She was so beautiful it was almost as if she were a higher being not of this world.
"Gorgeous." Todd grinned and said jokingly, "I guess this is not only Clement’s type.
It’s my type too. Corrine, you look good in everything."
"Although I know I’m beautiful, it still feels good to hear someone else praising me!"
joked Wendy with a laugh. "Wait for me a second, I’ll grab my bag and then we can be on our way."
With that she went into her apartment and picked up her matching evening bag. She definitely would not be driving that day, so she left her car keys at home.
Wendy and Todd then went downstairs together.
...
They reached the banquet just at the right time, neither too early nor too late.
The banquet was to start at seven o’clock in the evening and they got there with ten minutes to spare.
There was an attendant checking on their invitation cards at the door. Wendy handed her invitation to him.
He checked the invitation card against the guest list before allowing them entry.
Most invitation cards allowed for a plus one, that means, the invitee could bring a partner along.
The one invitation card Todd had would allow her and Todd to gain entry to the banquet.
It was a lavish banquet. Once Wendy stepped into the hall, she saw beautiful women all dressed to impress.
The buffet spread was obviously specially catered and prepared by top chefs.
Wendy even caught sight of a movie star beside the dance floor!
It was normal for a movie star or more to grace a banquet organised by the rich and influential.
After all, to the common people, a movie star was high up and unreachable, whereas to the upper echelon, they were not high up enough to be part of their circle.
That was the reason Timothy Woods had been so against Jill joining the entertainment industry.
Wendy suddenly wondered how Jill was getting along. She had not heard from her in a long time.
Now that Wendy had fallen out with Timothy, she wondered if she and Jill could still be as close as they were in the past.
Saddened, Wendy sighed deeply.
There were familiar faces at the banquet. When they saw Todd and Wendy, some of them approached to chat.
"Mr. Lewis, Miss. Swift, I didn’t think I would see you here today." The man who had come to talk to them was a middle aged man in his forties. He had a pauch and his smile was slightly pretentious.
Wendy let go of Todd’s arm and raised her glass to the man, smiling politely. "Hello."
She did not recognise the man.
Although she had been in Rheinsville City for quite a few years, she had been concentrating on her work. Everyone she knew was either in the design industry or business suppliers and contacts.
She never attended any non-work related parties.
As such it was likely that there were people who knew her, but whom she did not know.
"I hope to be able to cooperate with both of you in the future should there be an opportunity." The man took out two business cards and offered them to Wendy and Todd.
Wendy took the card silently while Todd nodded solicitously and replied that he hoped so too.
That was the end of that encounter.
Although Wendy had no idea who the man was, she guessed he was not from the design industry.
He would not have left after a perfunctory greeting if he were.
Todd’s Lewis Design Company was fairly well known in design circles internationally while Wendy had recently risen to fame.
If it were someone from the design industry, there would definitely be a lot more badgering.
Wendy glanced at the business card and saw that the man was from the food industry. She put the business card away in her bag.
Then, she and Todd continued mingling with the other guests.
After a while, they overheard someone mention their names.
"Isn’t that Todd and Corrine?"
"Yes, that’s them. I saw them at the press conference."
"Do you think Corrine was involved with what happened to HG ?
"The last I heard, Timothy Woods and Corrine Swift have completely fallen out. It seems Corrine had joined up with her ex-husband and betrayed HG."
"I heard about that too. HG’s crisis came about as someone from their company colluded with a supplier to sabotage their dye. That person was Corrine’s assistant.
As such, she is a core suspect."
