Ch. 151..160
A Beauty With Multiple Masks Chapter 151
After the procedures were completed, an oxygen mask was placed on Arielle’s face. Her burns had also received temporary treatment. “The patient’s severely dehydrated and is suffering from burns of varying degrees. She needs to be sent to the hospital immediately,” said the nurse as she instructed two medical staff to lift Arielle onto the stretcher. All Arielle could think about was how noisy it was. Frowning, she opened her eyes slowly. The first thing that entered her vision was the blue sky and white clouds. She blinked twice, ensuring that she was not dreaming.
I’m out! Arielle quickly glanced at her surroundings, she realized that she was not far away from the building. After casting her gaze around, she did not catch sight of Vinson. Everyone including her had retreated. Arielle immediately sat up. Stopping someone randomly, she asked, “Why is everyone retreating?” The person was stunned for a while before exclaiming happily, “You’re awake? When I carried you out, I thought that you’ve died… Are you the one who rescued the children?” She did not reply. Instead, she jumped out of the stretcher and asked anxiously, “You saved me?
After I left, did my friend come out too? He’s very tall and is wearing a suit…” The man asked in surprise, “There’s still someone in the building? It’s going to collapse after a minute! The building is already leaning to the side…” Arielle’s heartbeat quickened. “Are you saying that he hasn’t come out yet?” Grabbing his collar, she instructed, “Save him now! He went to find a child who got lost. He’s right inside!” As Arielle spoke, tears rolled down her cheeks. When someone in the crew heard that, he exclaimed in surprise, “Mr. Nightshire’s still inside?
Save him! Vinson Nightshire, the CEO of Nightshire Group, is inside! If something bad happens to him, we’re doomed!” At that moment, an employee of Southall Group ran over in tears. She grabbed Arielle’s sleeve and demanded, “They said that you brought the children out. Where’s my son? Why are everyone’s children out except for my son?” Arielle’s arm was already injured. When the woman tugged on her, she felt an excruciating pang of pain. Enduring the pain, she said, “Your son… might still be inside. He got scared by the explosion and ran away from us.
However, my friend’s already looking for him…” The woman did not even finish listening to her sentence before breaking down into tears and shaking Arielle’s shirt violently. “Return my son to me! Return my son to me!” Iris immediately shielded Arielle and yelled, “Ma’am, please be more careful! Ms. Sannie’s injured.” “I don’t care! Her family owns the company. If something bad happens to my son, I’ll not let any of you off the hook!” The woman glared at Arielle viciously. The captain of the firefighters called two members over to bring the woman, who was kicking up a fuss, away.
Shooting a look of pity at Arielle, Iris held her hand and reassured her, “Ms. Sannie, you shouldn’t have saved the children out of kindness. Now that you didn’t manage to rescue all the children, she’s actually blaming you for it. How unreasonable is that!” Iris felt indignant even though Arielle didn’t say anything. “You spent so much effort rescuing the children. Not only did none of them thank you, but someone also scolded you for it!
Is your arm fine?” Arielle shook her head slowly. There was no hint of regret in her beautiful eyes. Averting her gaze from the yelling and struggling woman, she replied expressionlessly, “I didn’t save the children for their parents’ gratitude. Even if I had to choose again, I will still save them.”
A Beauty With Multiple Masks Chapter 152
Still feeling indignant, Iris mumbled something in protest. Then, she started to worry about Vinson. “I wonder how Mr. Nightshire’s doing. Why isn’t he out yet?” After shooting a glance at the burning building, Arielle pulled the captain of the firefighters back and asked anxiously, “How long more before the building collapses?” He shook his head. “Judging from the angle of the building, it won’t last for more than half a minute. We cannot go in anymore. Your friend… can only depend on himself.” Arielle immediately panicked. “If none of you can do it, I’ll go in!”
As she spoke, she charged toward the building. However, immediately afterward, the captain blocked her swiftly. “Ma’am, the building’s going to collapse soon. If you go in right now, you’ll only meet death. Calm down!” “Let go of me! I’m entering! He must have met some trouble!” “Calm down!” The captain hugged Arielle’s waist tightly while looking at the building which was on the brink of collapsing. Gritting his teeth, he said, “Okay! Wait here, I’ll go in again. Cooperate with the doctors and go to the hospital. I promise you that I’ll rescue your friend!” Arielle finally calmed down. With her current state, she would certainly die if she charged in right now. Biting on her lips, she stopped struggling and reminded the captain, “Be careful. If the situation doesn’t look optimistic…” She paused and said with much difficulty, “Retreat immediately.”“Okay!” The captain immediately ran toward the building. However, he had just taken a few strides before a loud explosion sounded from the building. The entire structure started to collapse while the ground trembled violently. The captain froze in his tracks and yelled, “Retreat! Everyone, retreat!” As she spoke, he dragged Arielle, who was closest to him, and ran backward. Boom! A series of thunderous explosions resounded across the venue. Within a few seconds, everyone could see the dust billowing in the sky, concealing even the sun in the sky. The initially azure sky had now become a misty gray. When the captain pulled Arielle, she lost her balance and collapsed onto the ground.
Raising her head, all she could see was the dust obscuring everything else. The initially tall building was now gone, leaving behind a dust-covered pile of rubble. The color drained from Arielle’s face as tears rolled down her cheeks. “Damn it!” Pounding her fist against the ground, she sobbed and yelled, “Vinson, you liar! You promised me that you’ll not die inside! You liar! You big, fat liar! I will never trust you again!”
At that moment, a few sports car stopped behind her. Carter’s voice sounded behind her. “Ms. Moore, where’s Vinson?” Arielle raised her head while tears streamed down her cheeks. She was already breathless from crying. Pointing at the rubble, she said, “He… He’s dead… It’s all my fault! I should’ve looked for the child with him. It’s all my fault!” “D-Dead?” Carter widened his eyes in shock as he shook his head in disbelief.
Laughing, he said, “Ms. Moore, don’t joke around with me like that.” Arielle opened her mouth, wishing to speak. However, all she could do was sobbed. Carter’s face instantly drained of all color. She’s not joking? Stunned, he stared at the rubble. At that moment, the dust surrounding the rubble was blown away by the wind gradually. As the dust and smoke cleared, they could finally see the rubble clearly.
A Beauty With Multiple Masks Chapter 153
Unable to look at it anymore, Carter lost the strength in his legs. His face turned pale as he fell to his knees beside Arielle. “It’s not your fault… It’s mine. The others deliberately blocked my way, but I should’ve ignored them and rushed here directly. Right from the start, I shouldn’t have gone to the seaside to bring that dude back… His death is all my fault!” mumbled Carter. It was unclear if he was talking to Arielle, or to himself. He punched the ground repeatedly, causing his knuckles to start bleeding. When Arielle saw that, she immediately pulled Carter’s hand and urged, “Are you out of your mind?
If you continue punching, you’ll cripple your hand!” “Let go of me! If it becomes crippled, so be it! I killed him, so I need to repay him with my own life!” Arielle refused to release her grip. At that moment, the woman who had been kicking up a fuss earlier rushed over and slapped Arielle. She was caught off guard, her cheek burned due to the pain. However, the second slap soon came. Arielle subconsciously wanted to grab the woman’s hand, but someone intervened before her and grabbed the hand. A loud crack sounded as the woman cried out in pain. “Argh! My hand! It dislocated!”
When Arielle glanced at the person, she saw a chiseled face that was covered in black ash. Yet, she could not tear her gaze away from his brooding eyes and intimidating aura. “Vin… Vinson…” Arielle uttered his name in disbelief. Carter was so elated that he burst into tears. “You damned jerk! I knew that you won’t die so easily!” As Vinson gazed at both of them, an amused look appeared in his eyes. Arielle’s tears gushed out again. She slapped a hand over her mouth, preventing herself from crying out loud. He’s not dead! Vinson’s not dead! He didn’t go back on his words. He isn’t a liar! As if he could read her mind, Vinson smirked and said, “Didn’t I promise you? I won’t die here without your permission.”
The hint of amusement in his eyes caused her heartbeat to quicken. However, the woman’s sharp voice shattered the initial atmosphere. “Return my son to me! Why did you save everyone else but my son? Return him to me now!” Arielle glanced at the woman. Although she tried to stay calm, she still felt extremely upset. It felt as if someone had splashed her with a bucket of cold water. It did not feel good to be scolded after doing something good. It felt like someone was piercing her heart—not fatal, but intolerably painful. She bit her lips and lowered her head.
The amused look disappeared from Vinson’s eyes and was replaced by an icy-cold glint. Even his expression turned colder. Glancing at the woman, he said in a frosty tone, “Looks like I wasn’t harsh enough, huh?” “Just beat me to death! Kill me, and I’ll still take revenge on you even in hell!
You made my son die inside! All of you deserve to die too!” Losing his patience, Vinson stretched out his arm to choke her. Suddenly, a child-like voice sounded. “Mom… Stop scolding them!” Surprised, the woman immediately looked in the direction of the voice. Her disheveled-looking son walked out from behind the firefighters. She widened her eyes, her gaze brimming with renewed hope. “Baby!”
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He’s not dead! My son’s not dead! Like a madwoman, the woman broke free from Vinson’s grip and sprinted toward the boy. She stretched her arms out to hug her son. However, to her surprise, the little boy took a few steps backward fearfully and avoided her arms. She widened her eyes in disbelief. “Baby…?” The little boy shook his head. “You scolded the woman and man who saved me. You’re a meanie! I don’t want you to hug me!” As he spoke, he ran toward Vinson and hugged his right leg tightly. The woman watched as her own son hugged someone else’s leg while he refused to let her approach him.
She froze as if she had plunged into a pool of icy-cold water. How is this possible? How can my precious son refuse to acknowledge his mother? She took a few steps forward, but her son immediately yelled, “Don’t come here, you meanie!” “Son?” Tears rushed out of her eyes as she stood there helplessly. “I… I’m your mother.” “You’re not my mother! You’re a meanie! My mother won’t hit the people who saved me!” The woman was rendered speechless. She opened her mouth to speak, but could not even utter a single word. Vinson did not expect the little boy to act like that either. Expressionless, he glanced at the woman who was in utter disbelief. Then, he said coldly, “I believe in karma. This is what you get in return for slapping her.”
“I… I…” The woman felt like her strength had been drained from her. She gazed at her son, feeling helpless for the first time in her life. The others surrounding them started to scold her as well. “They risked their lives to save our children, but not only were you ungrateful! You even hit her…” “Yeah! You’ve crossed the line! I was so concerned about my child that I forgot to thank his savior. Yet, when I came here, I saw you slapping her! You’re not even fit to be a human!” “If I were them, I wouldn’t have saved your son.” “You deserve the treatment from your son!” The employees, whose children had been saved by Arielle, felt unjust for Arielle. The ones who were considerate passed a bottle of water and some tissue papers to her.
“Wipe your face. If a pretty face like yours becomes dirty, it won’t look good anymore.” When the rest spoke to Arielle, they smiled benevolently. It was drastically different from the woman’s attitude when she spoke to her earlier. Arielle’s fingertips trembled as she took everything the others passed her. Her arms were soon filled with all sorts of items. She glanced at the rest with tears brimming in her eyes.
“Thank you…” She had never expected anyone to thank her, so she felt extremely touched. Everyone else smiled. “We should be thanking you instead. You’re such a nice person, Ms. Moore!” “Yeah! If it were not for you, we can’t even bear to think of what’ll happen to our children…” “You’re our savior! We’ll definitely work hard for Southall Group. Even if this place had become a pile of rubble, we’ll always be your employees!”
As they spoke, they pulled their children over and bowed toward Arielle with gratitude. Everyone looked very sincere. Before Areille could speak, she heard Iris wiping her tears and sobbing quietly. Sniffling, she said, “Indeed, good things happen to kind people. I’m so touched…” Although Arielle initially felt like crying, she could not help but chuckle when she saw Iris.
A Beauty With Multiple Masks Chapter 155
She passed a pack of tissue paper to Iris and shoved everything else to Carter. Then, she strode toward Vinson. “Vinson.” The moment Arielle walked over, the little boy ran toward her happily and was about to hug her thigh. Before he could touch Arielle’s leg, he felt his collar tighten around his neck. The next moment, his feet dangled mid-air as someone lifted him up. The little boy turned around in surprise but saw that it was Vinson who carried him. He looked so serious. “Didn’t your family teach you that men and women should not be too intimate with each other?”
When the little boy met Vinson’s cold gaze, he was instantly terrified. Even adults could not bear looking at Vinson’s cold gaze, let alone a child like him. The boy raised his head and burst into tears. His mother ran over subconsciously. However, when she was a metre away, she stopped in her tracks hesitantly. She… felt too shameless to protect her son. His son was grateful to his saviors, but not her. It was no wonder that everyone else chided her. She should not have acted in that manner. When Arielle saw the mother’s downcast expression, she paused for a while before saying, “Vinson, return the child to his mother. You have scared him.” Vinson scrunched his nose. I’ve never raised any children, so how would I know that they’re scared so easily?
How troublesome! Carrying the little boy, Vinson placed him in front of his mother and said without any expression, “I’m going to return this crybaby to you. Don’t let me hear you say something stupid again.” Children were very forgetful. After being shocked, he immediately pounced into his mother arms. The woman quickly hugged him back. It was only until her son hugged her that she finally felt relief that her son was still alive. “My son… It’s all my fault…”
Hugging her son, she started to sob. She only stopped crying after a long while. Glancing at Arielle, she opened her mouth and tried to say something. However, all she did, in the end, was to bow toward Arielle while carrying her son. Actions spoke louder than silence. That bow represented all her grateful and apologetic feelings. I’m sorry, and thank you. Arielle nodded slightly at her—a sign of forgiveness. The woman yelled and slapped her out of panic, not because she had vicious intentions.
If Arielle had lost her adoptive parents and brother, she would not even know how she could survive. Hence, she understood how the woman felt. Reading her mind, Vinson snorted softly and said, “You’re the good person, while I’m the villain.” Feigning anger, Arielle glared at him and said, “Who are you to say that? Didn’t you promise me that you’ll come down as soon as possible? Don’t you know that you almost scared me… and Carter to death?”
When Vinson heard the first half of her sentence, a brooding look crossed his eyes. However, after she finished speaking, the look quickly disappeared. Pouting slightly, he mumbled, “It’s all because of you…” Arielle did not catch that and asked in confusion, “What did you say?” Vinson retrieved something from his inner pocket and tossed it casually into her arms. Arielle subconsciously grabbed it and glanced down.
It was a yellowish notebook. She asked in confusion, “What’s this?” Vinson said calmly, “I don’t know if this is what you’re looking for, but just take a look at it. I’ll ask Carter what happened.” As he spoke, he walked toward Carter without sparing a second glance at Arielle. She gazed at Vinson’s back, thinking that he looked like an arrogant brat. What is this?
A Beauty With Multiple Masks Chapter 156
Averting her gaze, she flipped open the first page of the notebook in confusion. When she saw the words written on it, her eyes widened. This is… There were a few words written in beautiful and elegant handwriting: Maureen’s diary. This is Mom’s diary! Arielle quickly flipped through a few pages and realized that the diary was filled with words. Back then, she was too young to know that her mother had a habit of keeping a diary. This was a pleasant surprise! As she was so surprised, she could not help but hug the notebook tightly. Even though she did not usually express her emotions, she had burst into tears of happiness. Not only would this diary resolve her confusion, but it was also her mother’s belongings.
Despite searching the Southall residence secretly for a long time, she could not find any of her mother’s belongings. Surprisingly, there was one here. When she was rescuing the others, she thought that she would never find it. Arielle suddenly understood why Vinson took so long to find the child, and only reappeared a second before the building collapsed. He did it for me… Arielle could not help but walk toward Vinson. Meanwhile, Vinson had walked over to Carter and asked, “How was that guy rescued? What happened?” With an unpleasant expression, Carter said, “It was a hacker infiltration. After the dude was brought back, we locked him up for an interrogation. However, he refused to say anything.
As we were scared that we might torture him to death, we left him locked up for the time being.” “What happened next?” “The door was controlled by a computer. I thought that it was the safest method, but the hacker on the enemy’s side was very skilled. He hacked the smart electronic door without me noticing.
By the time I realized, the man had been rescued. The only thing left was a note demanding your life.” Vinson frowned. “The doors in Southall Group are also smart electronic doors. That’s why we were locked in, unable to get out.” Carter nodded. “When I saw the note, I called you and came over to look for you. However, some people blocked me mid-way. Harvey and Jordan hadn’t arrived yet.
They did not attack us, but merely stopped us from looking for you. Looks like you’re their only target.” Vinson fell into deep thought. Who is it that wants to kill me so badly? “But it was fine after all.” Carter heaved a sigh of relief and said, “Luckily, you smashed through the door. Otherwise, everyone, including you, would’ve been stuck inside and couldn’t get out. As long as you’re alive, we have a chance of finding out who the mastermind is!” “The door wasn’t smashed open.” “Huh?” Stunned, Carter asked in surprise, “How did you get out?”
When Vinson glanced at Arielle, she was coincidentally walking toward him. He smirked proudly and said, “Arielle hacked into their terminal.” “What?” Carter widened his eyes in shock. “The enemy’s hacking skills are even better than mine. How did an ordinary girl like her achieve that?” There was a global ranking for hackers. He ranked second place, only a position below a mysterious hacker nicknamed ‘Noddles’. Glancing at him calmly, Vinson asked, “Do you still think that she’s an ordinary girl?”
Carter was rendered speechless. In the past, he had thought that Arielle possessed zero medical skills. However, she immediately cured an illness that an internationally renowned doctor needed to spend a year on. Still, he assumed that Arielle was nothing but an ordinary girl. Yet, how could her hacking skills surpass his, given that he was ranked second in the entire world? That was ridiculous.
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However, the reality blatantly showed that Arielle was not just an ordinary girl. His judgement was inaccurate. Laughing bitterly, Carter said to Vinson, “I think that I need to visit the ophthalmology department. My judgement of people is ridiculously inaccurate.” Just when Vinson was about to speak, Arielle reached them. Hugging the notebook tightly, Arielle opened her mouth, looking like she wanted to say something but was hesitant. After staying silent for a while, all she could say in the end was, “Thank you… Vinson.” Thank you for risking your life to retrieve my mom’s diary for me.”
Vinson shrugged. “Looks like you can’t even remember what I said. If you like thanking me so much, go back and cook some ravioli for me.” Arielle nodded firmly. “Sure! I’ll cook it for you and make sure you have enough!” Gazing into her eyes, Vinson said with an ambiguous smile, “Your ravioli is delicious. I want to eat them forever. Will you be willing to cook it for me?” “Ahem…” Carter choked on his saliva. Is Vinson saying what I think he’s saying? Or am I misunderstanding him? Is he, the cold CEO amongst the four of us going to find love soon?
In that case, three of them will be in love with the same woman. Wow, that is indeed a tricky situation. Puzzled, Arielle stared at Carter as he suddenly coughed violently, his face turning pale. It was only cooking ravioli. Although she would have to cook for him forever, she could still do it before she turned really old. Why is Carter’s reaction so dramatic?
However, since she could never understand those few men from Jadeborough, she did not ask anything. Instead, she turned around and nodded firmly at Vinson. “Sure. As long as you want to eat it, I’ll cook for you. Just don’t get tired of it.” “I won’t.”
An unreadable look appeared in his eyes. “Okay, I’ll cook for you then.” Arielle nodded. Carter glanced at Arielle and saw her innocent gaze. For a moment, he suspected if he had misunderstood. However, he suddenly remembered something. Not dwelling on it further, he pulled Arielle and asked, “Ms. Moore, did you hack into their terminal?” Arielle nodded but shook her head later. “I only infiltrated a few of their firewalls. When I was about to infiltrate into their terminal, they have already returned the control over the smart electric doors. So…” “So you still didn’t find their terminal,” said Carter disappointedly. Indeed, how can Arielle achieve something that even I can’t do?
Looking at Vinson helplessly and disappointedly, he said, “Looks like we couldn’t use this opportunity to find them.” Vinson was not in a rush to act. Judging from how harsh the enemy’s attack was this time, it was evident that they had run out of patience. Once they started panicking, they would definitely give themselves away. He replied without many expressions, “It’s fine. We’ll have plenty of opportunities in the future.”
“Did someone plan this explosion because they want to kill you?” asked Arielle in surprise. Vinson replied, “Yeah. Do you remember the previous time when you saved me? It’s done by the same group of people. Unfortunately, we still don’t know who the enemy is.” Arielle bit her lips and protested indignantly, “Which lunatic wants to kill a hundred other people just for the sake of killing one person?” Sighing, Carter said, “The enemy’s well-hidden. It’s rare that they’ve appeared again, but it’s too bad that you didn’t locate them.” “Who said that?” Arielle’s eyes sparkled.
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Stunned, Carter quickly asked, “Have you located them? But didn’t you fail to infiltrate their terminal?” Arielle’s eyelashes fluttered as she said, “I didn’t fully infiltrate their terminal. However, since they created too many virtual spots, I located them when I found the correct terminal. The final one was located on an island around the west coast. I can find the approximate coordinates for you.” Carter immediately felt a rush of excitement surge through him. As he was too excited, he could only exclaim, “That’s amazing! You’re too simply amazing, Ms. Moore!”
Vinson did not say anything, but a meaningful look crept into his eyes as he stared at Arielle. On the contrary, she did not think she did much. After all, she only did it out of convenience. She said coldly, “They ruined the building, so please help me capture the culprits.” “Don’t worry and leave it to me! As for the building, the Morgans will pay to help you rebuild it!” Arielle’s gaze turned downcast. The building was the product of her mother’s lifelong efforts. It would not be the same even if it was rebuilt. She would never have a chance to look at the secret compartment again as well. At that moment, someone wailed. “My company! My company!” The three of them looked toward the direction of the voice simultaneously.
Henrick was kneeling on the ground and crying out loud. He looked utterly ridiculous. Carter shot Arielle a look of pity and said, “This old man doesn’t even care about your life. All he sees is this building.” However, she was stoic. Ever since she discovered that Henrick was not her biological father, she no longer had any genuine feelings of kinship for him. As a result, nothing Henrick did could affect her emotionally. “I’ll go over first. Help me take care of this first and I’ll get it from you when I’m free.” As Arielle spoke, she passed the diary, which she had been hugging tightly in her arms, to Vinson. Knowing that it was extremely important to her, he took it from her solemnly. “Don’t worry. I’ll protect it for you.”
“Thank you.” Arielle nodded slightly. When she realized that she thanked him again, her expression turned stiff. Vinson smiled in exasperation and said, “If you can’t change your habit of thanking me, it’s fine. Just go. After sorting out that man, remember to treat your injury. It won’t be nice for a girl to have scars.” “Okay.” Arielle nodded and walked toward Henrick. The moment she left, Vinson turned around and glanced at Carter coldly. “Don’t say things like that in front of her again. She’ll feel sad.” Unlike Jordan and Harvey, he was smart.
Remembering what Vinson said to Arielle about the ravioli, a thought surfaced in his head. He asked, “Do you like Chief?” To him, Arielle was a chief—and a very impressive chief at that. Vinson denied, “I don’t like her.” “If you don’t, why are you treating her so nicely? Don’t think that I can’t see it. You almost died inside just to retrieve this diary for her.” “That’s because she saved my life. If it were not for her, everyone in the building would die.”
“Fine.” Carter spread his arms. “How are you going to explain what you said about the ravioli, then? Also, during the acupuncture in the hospital, why did you trust her instead of me? And…” “I said that because I owe her my life. Also, didn’t she cure the person? I didn’t just trust her blindly.” “Fine, fine, fine. You don’t like her, okay?” After speaking, Carter suddenly glanced behind Vinson nervously. “Chief got beaten by her father!”
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Vinson immediately turned and ran toward Arielle. However, in the next second, he saw Arielle helping Henrick up from the ground. Henrick had not hit Arielle. Carter was lying to him. Damn it! Vinson spun around to glare at Carter. Holding back a grin, Carter stepped forward and asked, “Are you still in denial about your feelings for her?”
“It’s different,” Vinson replied. What he felt for Arielle was gratitude and admiration, not love between a man and a woman. Carter shrugged before falling silent. Vinson could lie to everyone, but he could not lie to himself. Love was something that would spill from an individual’s eyes even if they covered their mouth. He was waiting for the day when realization would strike Vinson hard.
Meanwhile, Arielle was helping Henrick up with effort as she said, “Dad, come up quickly. It’s bad to dwell in misery. We can rebuild the building if it’s gone, but you might not recover if you ruin your health.” Henrick grabbed Arielle’s wrist and questioned, “What’s going on? What happened? It was still fine when I left. How did it collapse?” A startled expression emerged on Arielle’s face, and she stammered, “I-I don’t know. Dad, I’m scared!” It was then he realized Arielle was just a young woman. There was no way she would know why there was an explosion in the building.
It was already a miracle that she survived. Right then, Henrick came back to his senses and sighed in relief, glad that Arielle was not dead. As long as Arielle was alive and capable of marrying into the Nightshire family, losing one building was nothing. Arielle was the best cash cow he could get. Instantly, Henrick’s expression softened, and he patted Arielle’s trembling shoulders as if he was a good father. “Everything’s fine now, Sannie. Don’t be scared. It’s all right about the tower, as long as you’re unhurt.” A mocking look flitted past Arielle’s eyes.
Right then, Cindy arrived. When she saw the Southall Group’s building reduced to shambles, she froze. This is my building—one of my assets! Why is it ruined? When Cindy turned toward Arielle, the fury in her eyes would have bored holes into Arielle if it could. At that very moment, all of her rationality fled her mind. She stormed toward Henrick and pulled him toward her. “Dear, have you not realized that Arielle is nothing but a jinx? Her return resulted in the collapse of the building. You have to get rid of her! Or maybe you should make her compensate the victims of this incident. I’m sure many have died in there. If everyone demands compensation, our family will go bankrupt!”
Henrick’s lips moved, but he said nothing as his heart ached. Hearing his silence, Cindy continued, “Dear, don’t you believe in God anymore? She must be a demon! Think about it. How many misfortunes have our family borne upon her return? We were doing so well before! Now, we’re on our way to become beggars.” Henrick was wavering in his determination. She’s right. Ever since Arielle came back, it has been chaotic in the family. Are Cindy’s words true? Is Arielle really a jinx? A cash cow that only brings misfortune isn’t someone good to keep around.
When Henrick returned his gaze to the collapsed building, his heart ached. How many have died in there, and how much would I have to spend to compensate them? Arielle has yet to bring in any money, but she’s already spending all of what I have. “Dear!” Cindy raised her volume. “She’s nothing but a useless bringer of misfortune. What’s there to hesitate after she brought down the entire building with her ill luck?”
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Cindy’s words only made the frustration in Henrick grow. Regardless of everything, Arielle had made him lose too much. He could not lose this cash cow, but he could not keep her around either. Maybe I should leave her in a monastery. Right as that thought emerged in his mind, Henrick spotted a group of employees from his company walking toward him. Instantly, he gulped. They’ve come to ask for compensation. These useless rubbish! Instinctively, Henrick wanted to flee. However, the words he heard in the next second stunned him. “Mr. Southall, thank you!”
After that, they all lowered their head at Henrick with looks of gratitude. Thousands of questions immediately flooded Henrick’s mind. What’s going on with them? Not only are they not asking for compensation, but they’re even thanking me? Even Cindy was dumbstruck by the scene. What’s going on? On the other hand, Arielle was calmly standing at the side, her eyes dull. The representative of the group then stepped forward and exclaimed, “Mr. Southall, you’ve raised a good daughter. We’re grateful for her as well as you who have brought her into this world.
I’ll only work for you for the rest of my life.” Confounded, Henrick glanced at Arielle and asked the employee, “W-What do you mean?” The employee gave Arielle an equally confounded look before saying, “Mr. Southall, it seems like you don’t know about this. Ms. Arielle was the one who helped us out during the explosion.” Cindy stiffened. Still shocked, Henrick turned toward Arielle and mumbled, “Y-You saved them?” Arielle nodded. “I didn’t want them to die in there, so I ran to the control room on the second floor and unlocked the door.” “No, that’s not all of it!”
A female employee who had been reprimanding Arielle earlier squeezed her way out of the crowd with her son and said, “Ms. Arielle even risked her life to save all the children at the daycare. She’s my savior!” As she spoke, tears of gratitude and regret flowed down her cheeks. At that, Henrick hurriedly asked, “How many died in the collapse?”
The crowd was quick to reply, “None.” “The only reason we could escape unscathed is all thanks to Ms. Arielle!” “From now on, our lives belong to Ms. Arielle and the Southall Group.” “Ms. Arielle is a saint! She is an excellent woman.” After a brief pause, Henrick grinned. No one died. That means I don’t need to compensate for anything.
In his excitement, he hugged Arielle and exclaimed, “My dear daughter, you’re the best!” “Dad, I’m just doing what I should,” Arielle quietly answered. Hearing that, Henrick’s impression of Arielle improved. There’s no way she’s a jinx. In fact, she’s Lady Luck herself! The employees left after expressing their gratitude. As Cindy watched the father and daughter hug, wrath poured into her heart. She never thought that Arielle was capable of saving everyone in the building.
How am I going to accuse Arielle now? Right as she was cursing at Arielle inwardly, Cindy sensed a burning gaze on her. When she raised her head, she saw Henrick’s furious eyes glaring at her. Henrick was a roly-poly who could never make up his own mind. Now that he was leaning toward Arielle, it would only be normal for him to turn his hatred toward Cindy. Panicking, Cindy took a subconscious step back before squeezing out a smile. “D-Dear, w-why are you looking at me in that way?”