Chapter 49

Simon nodded, "Indeed, my people have been watching here. They say Brandon only came after Elora left. He probably wanted to surprise her."

What a surprise, I sneered, hoping it doesn't turn into a shock later!

Soon, Elora's expression turned into one of surprise, and she walked into the house with a smile.

Kathy looked at me with some concern, "Caroline, do you mind?"

I snorted, "Him? I don't care about a dirty man like Brandon."

Kathy immediately laughed, "That's good. Before coming here, I was worried about your ability to handle this, but Simon said you'd be fine. It scared me to death."

Simon quickly chimed in, "Wasn't I right? Caroline isn't as petty as you think."

I nodded. I had indeed become numb to Brandon's antics. Constantly caring about it would only torment me.

In the villa opposite, the two of them quickly went upstairs and started kissing, not even bothering to close the window.

Kathy clicked her tongue in disgust, "These two are really shameless. Aren't they afraid some kid might see them?"

I sneered, "They even tried to harm me. What else wouldn't they do? They probably find it thrilling."

Kathy nodded in agreement, "The more people see them, the more thrilling they probably find it."

Just as the two were about to strip completely, I noticed someone knocking on their door.

I looked closely and saw it was Karen.

"Why is she here?"

Kathy smiled mysteriously, "Do you remember Joanna?"

I quickly nodded, "What does this have to do with Joanna?"

Kathy said, "Although Joanna comes from a prominent family, she had her share of troubles. Her dad once abandoned her and her mom for a mistress. They relied on each other for a long time."

I had heard bits of this story, but I didn't know how Joanna eventually returned home. Such family secrets aren't easily shared.

"Later, Joanna's dad's career was full of setbacks. He consulted a fortune teller who said the mistress was bad for him, and Joanna's mom was the one who truly benefited him. Because of her, Joanna's dad could climb the career ladder. So, he coaxed and persuaded them to come back. The mistress, of course, disagreed and caused a lot of trouble. Eventually, he used some means to get rid of the mistress."

I was shocked, "I didn't expect Joanna's dad to believe in that."

Kathy nodded, "But you know what? After he brought Joanna and her mom back, his career did improve significantly. So now he treats Joanna's mom like a queen, afraid she'll be unhappy."

"This made Joanna particularly hate mistresses. So, when I told her about your situation yesterday, she was furious and decided to help you."

I felt grateful. Without my friends' help, I might have already met a tragic end.

"Karen desperately wants to join the wealthy wives' circle. After adding Joanna on WhatsApp yesterday, Joanna told her about a project where investing one million dollars could yield two and a half million dollars. Karen was so eager to join, but Joanna told her the deadline to pay was today at noon."

I understood, "So Karen is here to ask Brandon for money?"

Kathy nodded.

"But what if Karen realizes Joanna's project is a scam?"

Kathy shrugged, "Who said it was? Joanna never really asked for her money. Even if it gets exposed, Joanna can say she was joking. Joanna doesn't need that money, and who would believe she's scamming?"

I couldn't help but be amazed. Joanna was using her reputation as a guarantee.

After all, she's a wealthy heiress and doesn't need the money. Karen fell for it because of that.

"I must thank Joanna properly. She's such a good person."

Kathy was noncommittal, "Joanna said you can thank her after you're completely out of trouble."

I nodded repeatedly and continued watching Karen.

She rang the doorbell, but no one answered. She started banging on the door impatiently.

The two upstairs initially ignored the doorbell, but it got too noisy, so Elora put on her clothes and went downstairs.

At this moment, Simon pressed a device, and Elora and Karen's conversation started playing in the house.

I looked at Simon in surprise, and he smiled brightly, "I placed a listening device at Elora's door a while ago. It seems to be working well."

Karen had been knocking for a long time and was getting anxious. When she saw Elora, she quickly asked, "Where's Brandon? I need to talk to him."

Elora blocked the door, "He's not here. Go look somewhere else."

Karen's eyes widened, "How can he not be here? I called their house, and Shirley said he went on a business trip to the neighboring city. Isn't that here?"

Elora smiled, "Who knows? Maybe Brandon really went there. Mom, call his assistant and ask."

Elora turned to go upstairs, "Stop right there. Where are you rushing off to? To see your lover?"

"Are you betraying Brandon?"

Elora was furious, "Mom, how can you say that? I'm just tired and want to go upstairs to sleep."

"No way. You can't go anywhere until Brandon comes out."

Elora sighed helplessly, "Mom, stop being unreasonable."

Karen glared, "Who's being unreasonable? Who are you talking about?"

"I haven't even complained about you making me lose face in the wealthy circle, and you call me unreasonable? You shameless woman."

The fake gemstone incident still bothered Elora, and now she was completely agitated.

"Who's shameless? Brandon gave me a fake gemstone, and he's not embarrassed?"

Karen rolled her eyes, "Why would Brandon be embarrassed? What if he was tricked?"

"If Brandon was tricked, then so was I. Did you see how humiliated I was in front of Caroline last night?"

"Shut up. If Brandon tricked you, you deserved it. Who told you to be worth only fake goods?"

"Mom, that's too much. Haven't I done enough for the Jordan family? Do you think everything you have now came out of nowhere? Wasn't it all because I helped Brandon with his plans..."

Before she could finish, Karen slapped her.

I frowned. It seemed Elora was indeed involved in the plot against me.