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
An idea struck Reina, and she looked at Linda.Linda understood and quickly came forward. “Henry, there’s something I’m not sure if I should mention—”“Just spit it out!”Linda sighed. “Henry, Reina saved Mr. Gerald’s life. He’s not helping her now, but what if he turns around and blames us for not defending Reina? What then?“What we should do now is maintain Reina’s reputation and help her get rid of those accusations.”Henry frowned. “What do you plan to do?”“Actually, this issue is easily solved. Just have North admit to the public that she gifted her design to Reina early on. Let her say that this whole thing was a joke between sisters. In that case, other people won’t say anything about it.”Linda’s tone was meaningful. “After all, why would people keep hounding Reina if the person she plagiarized forgave her? The only reason so many people are condemning Reina is because North refuses to forgive her.“Henry, I’m not favoring my own daughter here. This is for the Myers f
If someone could take the fall for Reina… But who would do that?Henry gritted his teeth. “What do you mean?”Slowly, North said, “You won’t be able to explain the one million dollars that Mr. Shelby got. In that case, why don’t you put the blame on someone else? Tell people that Reina didn’t know anything and that she’s completely innocent. Someone else must be scheming against her.“I have a good idea. Do you want to hear it, Mr. Henry?”Henry had no other choice. “Tell me!”Linda suddenly got a bad feeling in her gut.As expected, North’s voice went low as she put the final nail in Linda’s coffin. “Why don’t you let Linda take the fall?” she enunciated.“Announce to the world that Linda was the only one pulling the strings. She wanted Reina to win the right to inherit because she hated me, the daughter of your first wife.“That’s why she came up with such a plot to accuse me of plagiarism. Meanwhile, Reina was simply too trusting of the ‘inspiration’ her mother gave her. She
Just as Henry was wavering, North spoke up softly.“Mr. Henry, you must consider the consequences. If Reina’s reputation is ruined, it won’t just be her stardom and career at stake. What about Gerald? You won’t be able to explain it to him.”North used Gerald’s name without hesitation. “Are you going to sacrifice the person who saved Gerald’s life just because of Linda? What will Gerald think of that?”Gerald! Henry shivered and abruptly came back to himself.That was right. Gerald would never want to see Reina’s reputation ruined. What if Gerald found out that the Myers family held back on saving Reina when they had a plan to do so? He would be even more enraged!Henry hardened his heart and said, “North is right, Linda. Now, only you can take the blame!”North said meaningfully, “That’s right, Mrs. Myers. Reina doesn’t have a blood relationship with the Myers family, but she’s your biological daughter. You can’t be so cruel to let her suffer, right? You’re her mother.”Stuck i