Gerald wanted to see how Mike managed the restaurant ranked among the top five in Peacevale. North’s eyes flashed with cunningness. If Howard Corporation would rather spend money to beautify the restaurant’s financial reports, then that meant that they were worried about people saying that Mike was useless. If that were the case, she should stir up some trouble and let everyone in Peacevale know that Mike was indeed a waste of space!…Soon, their food was served. North flicked her fingers. No one noticed, but some white powder landed in the fish stew. Mike acted like the owner of the place. “Try the food and see whether the taste has changed over the years, Gerald.”Gerald asked coolly, “Why do you want to know?”“I just want to know whether the restaurant was better in your hands or mine.”Mike then gave the manager a look. “What do you think?”The manager immediately praised Mike, “Of course, it was better in your hands! You’re the best leader I’ve ever seen. Every d
Cedric felt indignant on Mike’s behalf, and Patricia spoke up for him, too.“Well, aren’t you just a petty one, Gerald? You and Mike are brothers. Do you have to hold a grudge for so long just because he got a restaurant? Aren’t you just trying to accuse us of being biased by letting North taunt him like this?“Have you ever wondered why we’re biased? It’s simply because you’re not fit to be considered our son. You can’t compare to Mike in any aspect, which is why we—”“It seems that you’re both blind and brainless, Ms. Patricia.” North interrupted her with a fake smile. She waved the phone in her hand. “I made an audio recording. I’ll put it on repeat for everyone to hear.”If this recording got out, the Howard family would become a joke!“North, this is a family matter. Do you have a death—Ow!”Before Patricia could finish speaking, she suddenly felt a sharp ache in her stomach. She stumbled, and sweat started to form on her forehead. Why did it hurt so much?!Patricia met N
“Mr. Mike could not win the argument, and then Mr. Cedric and Ms. Patricia said their stomachs were hurting. Mr. Mike said the same and even insisted that Gerald and I poisoned them.”At this point, North shook her head. “Officer, the three of them only had the fish stew. To prove that we’re innocent, Gerald and I both had a bowl of fish stew, but neither of us showed any reaction.”Gerald watched how seriously North spun her tale and smiled. “North, you don’t have to explain in such detail. We are innocent, and I believe that justice will prevail. I’m sure the police will help prove us innocent.”Right then, some doctors showed up, too.Mike and his parents kept wailing as the doctor in the lead took blood samples from them. The fish stew was also taken away to be tested.Fifteen minutes later, the doctors were all frowning in confusion.Mike was angry and upset. He was determined to pin all this on Gerald. He asked impatiently, “Doctor, are we very severely poisoned?”The doct
Mike’s face flushed. “Why should I be afraid? I just think that—”Before he could finish speaking, the doors to the kitchen opened.North’s expression turned grim. She had thought that the management of Le Mieux would be a mess, but she never imagined that things would be so bad!The kitchen was a complete mess, and hygiene did not seem to be prioritized at all. Ingredients were left strewn on the floor, and the place was filthy.Everyone was taken aback.“I didn’t believe that Le Mieux would disappoint its customers when it came to their standards when Mr. Gerald said to check the kitchen. I never thought the Howard family could be so shameless!”“None of the ingredients are fresh at all! We won’t get food poisoning too, will we? We want a refund!”“Isn’t the Howard family a wealthy family in Peacevale? How could Mike Howard put the reputation of his restaurant on the line to save a few bucks?!”Gerald’s eyes narrowed a little. He was very pleased at the surprise he saw before
“Mike!” Patricia rushed forward worriedly. She looked heartbroken.Cedric could not even care that Mike had humiliated him. He played the part of a very concerned father and kept calling for a doctor.Cedric and Patricia had never cared about Gerald.North said in disgust, “How fake.”After that, she turned around. “Show’s over. Let’s go.”Watching her go, Connor gulped. He recalled how North had pissed Mike off so much that he collapsed.Feeling cowed, he asked, “Sir, do you think the madam is very scary?”Gerald gave him a casual glare. His eyes held a plain threat in them. They told Connor that he would be in trouble if he said anything more. “Scary? She’s cute.”Connor was rendered speechless. How could their perception of North be so different?After getting into the car, Gerald was not surprised when he received Bernard’s phone call.Gerald’s tone was mild. “Poisoned? You must be joking. You could ask the family doctor about it.”North blinked. Was Bernard calling to c
North’s heart skipped a beat. “It’s your phone. Why are you asking me that?”Gerald found North’s response quite sarcastic. He chuckled and said, “Then I won’t answer it.”Yet, the phone simply kept ringing as Reina determinedly kept calling him. North stroked her chin. “What if she’s trying to talk to you because of something important? Maybe you should take the call after all.”Gerald raised an eyebrow. In the next instant, the phone was placed in North’s hand.She answered the call as Gerald watched. Reina’s voice came through the line. “Mr. Gerald, I’m so sorry for calling you out of nowhere. I have something I need your help with.”The interior of the car fell into silence. Connor felt like he was going to suffocate. What was Reina trying to pull this time?!Gerald was quite intrigued. He wanted to know how North would reply. North’s eyes narrowed as she clicked her tongue.With a sly look on her face, she asked sweetly, “What’s the matter, Reina?”“Mr. Gerald, I know—”
“I won’t,” Gerald suddenly said calmly but firmly.“What? You won’t what?”“I won’t help her. You can rest easy, Mrs. Howard.”North immediately came back to herself. Gerald was answering her question from before.She was still in Gerald’s embrace, and they were very close together. Gerald’s breath was warm as it brushed North’s ear. It made her tingle.North suddenly felt very warm.She swallowed intentionally and tried to hide her feelings. “You’d better keep your promise. If you don’t, I’ll poison you.”Gerald could not help but snicker at her empty threat. “Alright. I know you’re very capable.”North went red when she heard that.She wanted to scream. Why did Gerald sound like he was simply humoring a child?!She could not control the way she blushed. She decided to close her eyes and pretend she had no clue what was going on.…Half an hour later, they arrived back at Royal Sights Residences.Once out of the car, North practically fled. Connor handed Gerald a file.
It seemed that Connor also got a notification for North’s Like. He coughed and asked, “Does something need to be done, sir?”Gerald answered blandly, “No.”North could do whatever she wanted as long as she was happy.Connor added, “But everyone knows that’s the madam’s account. Reina’s fans will attack her when they see that she Liked a post condemning Reina.”Gerald looked over at him calmly, “Then let the fans attack her.”Connor was taken aback for a moment before he understood. “Alright, sir.”…Upstairs, North was searching the Internet for news regarding Reina’s plagiarism. She clicked on a comment.[It’s bad enough that Reina plagiarized someone’s work. However, she even wished death on the original creator! How evil!]After some thought, North clicked Like on that comment as well.Below the post, someone retorted. [They already said that Mr. Shelby did it. This must be part of his scheme.]However, this comment was inundated with hate. [What a joke. How can it be M