Chapter 325
Trevon kissed Selina on the forehead. He knew that with Selina's skills as the top hacker on the Dark Web, she had everything under control. This included Ashley, who had already been given a new identity by Sofia and Yohannes and had long since fled abroad. He thought. 'Did they think they could offend my precious wife and then expect forgiveness while living comfortably? Dream on!' Harvey Group was in complete turmoil. Patrick led Frederick to Ashley's condominium, only to find it empty. His anger was palpable as he shouted, "You useless fools! I told you to keep an eye on Ashley, What have you been doing?"Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.
One of his men stammered, "Huh? Mr. Harvey, we never left our post downstairs. Ms. Harvey went into the condominium yesterday and hasn't
come out since
"Damn it! It must be Sofia who bribed Ashley to help her take down the Harvey family" Patrick clenched his fists, furious. The mercy he and his family had shown had come back to haunt them in the worst way possible,
*Patrick, what do we do now? We need to send people to find Ashley immediately, Frederick urged. At this moment, Ashley was key to resolving the Harvey family's crisis. She needed to be brought to the press conference to reveal Sofia's lies and shift the situation in their favor. Patrick shook his head grimly. "It's too late. They've probably been in contact for a while. Ashley must have already fled abroad with a new identity arranged by Sofia. Even if we find her, it might be too late."
"Patrick, do you really believe Sofia's claim that Ashley is Dad's daughter with her and not Mom's?" Frederick asked.
Patrick said. "Frederick, do you remember what I told you before? How Ashley sometimes acted overly intimate with us brothers, almost like she was flirting?"
Patrick's words made Frederick pause. Those incidents from when Ashley was just 13. Her behavior toward them sometimes seemed a bit too intimate, but since she was their biological sister, they hadn't given it much thought. Only Patrick had noticed something was amiss and had warned Ashley, causing her to curb her presumptuous actions.
Patrick continued, "If I'm not mistaken, Ashley must have known long ago that she isn't Mom's biological daughter. If that's true, she's probably been collecting evidence against the Harvey family all this time, preparing to use it as leverage when the truth came out. I never imagined she would team up with her birth mother, Sofia, to take us down" Patrick was filled with hatred. His momentary leniency had allowed Ashley to cause such a disaster. Quinton and Sara might be excused for their softness, having raised Ashley as their own since she was a child and not believing she would betray them so cruelly. Patrick thought, 'But how can I? I had sworn long ago that anyone who betrayed the Harvey family or brought them misfortune would be dealt with mercilessly.
Frederick asked, "But Patrick, didn't you secretly take Ashley's hair for a DNA test once!"
"I did, at our own hospital. I never dreamed Dad would have covered it up from behind the scenes," Patrick responded. Indeed, they could suspect Ashley's unusual behavior, but it was impossible to suspect their parents. Frederick pursed his lips and said, "It Mom finds out about all this, she'll be devastated. Will she ever forgive Dad?"
"Now's not the time for that, Frederick. The crucial issue is what evidence Ashley gave to Sofia and the others that led to Dad's arrest. No information has been released yet, Dad's scandal has crupted, and he's in jail. Sofia and the others are waiting to pounce Just thinking about it made Patrick's scalp tingle. For the first time, he felt he might not be able to resolve this crisis.
The next day. Sara hadn't slept a wink. She seemed to have aged several years overnight, with streaks of gray appearing in her hair. Manuel brought breakfast to her room. "Mom, please have some oatmeal. You need to take care of yourself."
"I can't eat." Sara buried her face in the pillow. The situation was so dire that Manuel didn't know how to comfort her. Hence, he put the breakfast aside and stood by quietly, afraid she might break down and do something drastic
Just then, Cora arrived at the Harvey residence. Seeing her, Manuel felt as if he'd found a lifeline. "Mrs. Clark, please, help me persuade Mom. I'm really worried about her."
Cora gave Manuel a reassuring look, then took a deep breath and approached. "Sara. Are you okay?" she asked cautiously.
Sara broke down completely at the sight of her best friend's concern. Sobbing, she confessed, saying, "Cora, I want to say I'm fine and that I can hold on, but I can't I'm far from okay.
Cora hurriedly embraced Sara, gently pasting her back. "Let it all out, Sara, You'll feel better once you've cried it out" Manuel quietly exited the room, closing the door behind him to give them privacy.
After crying her heart out, Sara finally felt some of the tightness in her chest e done crying? Dry your eyes?
Sara uttered. "Tim surry, Cora, I lost control"
ease. Cora handed her a tissue, gently wiping away her tears. "Are you
11:17 AM
"Silly, we've been best friends for decades. No need to apologize. Cora sighed deeply. "Honestly, when I found out Quinton had betrayed you, that Ashley was his child with another woman, and that the baby was switched at birth, I was shocked. I know how much Quinton loves you. I was envious of you. You have a husband who loves you so deeply and always puts you first. Well, you know what happened to my husband years ago. Felix got caught fornicating with another woman, and I had to pretend to be pregnant and stand by him at a press conference to show my support. Do you know how disgusted I felt? I'm a heiress, and my dignity was trampled to the ground at that moment. Even so, I didn't want this to happen to you."
"Quinton loves me? Hat Does he really? Cora, 1 used to believe I was the happiest woman in the world. I have so many remarkable sons and a good husband. Although it's not the case for my daughter, the flaws do not overshadow the overall picture. I've already received everything. It's no big deal to have some imperfections in life. I can handle it. At the press conference last night, I tried my best to protect Harvey Group. I believed Quinton was framed and that he would come out of prison soon. He will solve the crisis like always and safeguard our family. But then, I learned Quinton betrayed me. Ashley, the daughter I raised for so many years, isn't mine. She's Quinton's child with another woman. My biological daughter died long ago, and Quinton kept it from me all this time!" sobbed Sara,