Novel Reader
51
51
Erica arrived at Cedarhill Estate with barbecue skewers and beer in tow, settling in to watch TV with Camila.
“This is so boring,” Erica remarked as she eyed the yogurt in Camila’s hand.
“Let’s drink together during the holidays. Be good for now.” Camila chuckled as she munched on the skewers. She had work the next day and could not indulge in more alcohol. After that cocktail at Rita’s bar opening, she had received cold stares from Connor for days.
“How’s Lily’s divorce case going?” Erica asked.
“Wesley got her a divorce lawyer, found quite a bit of the assets Julian had transferred, and there’s also an affair. Julian’s worried the scandal could affect his job, so they’re still in mediation.”
Lily has always been too romantic. Got married and had her kid so young, she couldn’t even finish her degree.”
That’s why I say, a woman needs to eam her own money to stand tall.”
The TV news flashed a disturbing headline: [A man was shot in the spine during a home robbery, fears of paralysis.]
Camila’s eyes widened with shock, a flurry of thoughts overwhelming her as she began to tremble slightly, clutching Erica’s sleeve tightly.
“What’s wrong? You suddenly look so pale,” Erica asked, touching her forehead anxiously.
“That man, he looks like Tucker…” Camila pointed at the TV, but the screen had already moved on to the next piece of news.
“I’ll check it out. Why would he be abroad?” Erica reactivated the long–silenced university group chat, which was buzzing with discussions.
[Tucker mentioned last week he struck it rich and was moving abroad…]
[Didn’t Camila break up with him?]
[I asked my friend abroad. It’s really him. Seemed too flashy and got envied.]
[How did he suddenly get rich? Did he win the lottery?]
[Not exactly, they said it was a windfall, but look what happened so soon.]
* P F FSE 2 = ± 2 9 8 # F = 3 3 3 5 2 3
“Camila, it really is him.”
Camila scrolled through the group chat messages. The windfall, it was from Connor.
“Erica, do you think Connor could be behind this incident in the U.S.?” Camila asked, staring blankly.
“It’s probably a coincidence. Connor is powerful, but he can’t reach that far, can he?”
“I need to ask him.”
4ce they
Camila tapped on Connor’s message thread, a blank pagé since they had never chatted before. At that moment, Connor was in a quiet video conference with a factory manager. His phone buzzed, and he swiped the screen casually.
Camila: [Mr. Connor, I saw a news report. Did you do this? (link)]
In the video feed, the factory manager saw Connor rub his brow and paused his speech. “Give me a few minutes.” He walked out with his phone to the balcony and lit a cigarette.
Camila’s phone vibrated intensely, her heart pounding, “Connor’s calling.”
“Answer it.”
Camila walked to her room and pressed the call button. “Mr. Connor,”
Connor exhaled a stream of smoke, “Yes, I did it.”
Camila hadn’t expected him to admit it so directly. Tucker had been beaten badly, facing a possibly paralyzed future. “Isn’t that a bit too much?”
At her words, Connor let out a laugh, his tone turning dangerous, “He took tens of millions from me and expects to live comfortably? I’m not that generous.
Camila felt a strange, ruthless vibe from Connor. All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.
You scared?”
Facing Connor’s interrogation, Camila didn’t blink an eye, “Mr. Connor, this situation started because of me. I can’t pay you back those millions, but if it settles your anger, I can resign.”