Chapter 76
Cary departed swiftly after dropping Esme off, not pausing despite her endearing attempts to make him stay.
"There's a mountain of work waiting for me," he said irritably. "Could you not be so clingy?"
Esme's gaze followed him, her eyes welling up with tears as he walked away.
Her parents were overseas, leaving her brother Sebastian as her nearest kin. In a state of panic, she dialed his number.
Busy with stock market trades, Sebastian didn't answer until later. "Esme, what's happened?"
Between sobs, Esme blurted out, "Evelina is insisting | apologize at Professor Mitchell's grave! It's so embarrassing! If I actually go through such humiliation, the Gibsons will never accept me as a family member, and Cary won't marry me! Without marrying him, I can't recover the seventy million I've invested. Sebastian, what should I do?"
Sebastian exploded over the phone, saying, "Seventy million? Are you out of your mind? That money should have been mine to invest-I'd have doubled it by now!"
Esme's main concern wasn't the money; it was the fear of losing Cary.
"Just help me, please. I promise, if I marry into the Gibsons, you can handle all my finances."
Sebastian's eyes darkened with a sinister idea. "If it's the divorce that's an issue... we could simply make Cary a widower instead." With Evelina out of the picture, Esme wouldn't have to degrade herself at any grave. Things would seamlessly align.
Esme instructed her brother, "Just ensure it's flawless. No evidence, no slip-ups." "Relax," Sebastian scoffed. To him, Evelina was merely another person. Undoubtedly skilled, yes-but an orphan with no influential backers to seek vengeance should anything occur to her. Sebastian found his opportunity two days later.
With Jasper and Florrie away in lreah and Kristina occupied with a business trip, Evelina found herself alone in Aglonard.
Returning from grocery shopping, she navigated the parking lot when suddenly, a motorcycle rushed directly towards her.
Evelina reacted swiftly. She noticed the impending danger and leapt aside just in timne.
Although the motorcycle missed her, it wreaked havoc among her groceries, sending items sprawling across the pavement.
Sebastian,realizing his initial attempt had failed whipped the bike around for another pass. This time,he raised the front wheel, aiming to strikeher fatally.Prepared for confrontation, Evelina tightened her fists, ready to defend herself.
From somewhere came a sharp shout, "What the hell are you doing?!" It was Cary, his voice thick with anger and instantly recognizable.
Out of nowhere, he positioned himself protectively in front of Evelina, intercepting the motorcycle's path.
Sebastian, unable to hit Cary or risk being identified,muttered a curse and sped away.
Cary shouted after him, "Get lost!" A smirk of victory crossed his face before he turned to Evelina, his expression shifting to one of worry. "Are you alright?Did he hurt you?"
Evelina met his concern with a cold stare. "You planned this motorcycle attack, didn't you?"
She scoffed at the tired scenario of a damsel in distress-did Cary actually expect her to believe his act?
After three years together, Evelina understood Cary's true nature all too well. He was always quick to flee at any hint of trouble. The notion that he would suddenly become her savior was utterly absurd.
Unless, of course, the whole thing was just a setup-a clever trick to make her feel like she owed him, all so he could pull her in and use her.
"I have no idea who that was! I was merely passing by," Cary retorted, his tone betraying a lack of surety.
Indeed, Cary had been covertly following Evelina, not out of any desire to patch things up, but driven by the dire financial state of the Gibson Group.
He had concluded that their only hope was to secure investment from Jasper.
Jasper, however, had consistently declined all meetings, leaving Cary in desperation. He shifted his focus to Evelina, hopeful that her recent medical miracle with Florrie's sight might incline Jasper to offer a favor.
Considering his grandmother's intervention, he was quickly discouraged by her stern refusal and criticism of the plan. With no viable alternatives, this was the scheme he resorted to.
Finding himself at a dead end, he had hatched this last-ditch scheme.
"Is that the case?" Evelina was ready to probe further just as a new motorcycle surged toward them.
Unlike the first, this bike and its rider were clearly different, not matching the initial attacker.
Recognition flashed in Cary's eyes as he spotted the red scarf around the rider's neck, his forehead beading with sweat.
This was the accomplice he had arranged for. Then who was the initial motorcyclist?