Ch. 921..930

Chapter 921

"Can you help me with this button?" Genevieve requested the salesperson's help.

In the meantime, Armand kept his eyes glued on her and realized that it was a long traditional gown that barely exposed any inch of her skin. There was only a slit at one side, revealing part of her slender leg whenever she moved.

The figure-hugging design of the gown contoured Genevieve's slender waist perfectly. When she moved, the mesmerizing sight of the light illuminating her graceful figure was beyond description. Unequivocally, she looked stunning as ever. However, her usual striking alluringness seemed to be hidden under the traditional gown.

Armand's eyes glimmered with indecipherable emotions as he swallowed a lump down his throat.

He was never a pervert but suddenly could not resist the charm of Genevieve's new look. At that moment, he could scarcely restrain his desire of pinning her onto a soft bed. He yearned to rip off her traditional gown to expose her hidden charm before indulging in a passionate moment with her.

After the salesperson helped Genevieve with her button, the latter looked into the standing mirror and nodded in satisfaction.

Catching sight of the hand-held fan on the display rack, she took it down and waved it lightly as she turned around to look at Armand. "Mando, do I look nice?"

The sight of her covering her face with the fan and exposing only her glimmering eyes served to turn Armand on. He felt hot all over as he replied hoarsely, "Yeah. You look stunning."

"Miss, you have a perfect figure! This design fits you perfectly well!" the salesperson complimented earnestly.

"This is actually a customized shop, and you're wearing our display item that is not for sale. But, if you're willing to let us take your picture and display it on the glass wall outside our shop as a poster, you can have this gown for free. Apart from that, we'll give you ten percent off on any other custom-made traditional gowns."

Genevieve's eyes lit up in an instant. Just as she was about to agree, Armand rejected grimly, "My wife is not a celebrity. There's no need for her to display herself."

Intimidated by Armand's cold tone, the salesperson zipped her mouth.

Subsequently, Armand wrapped his hand around Genevieve's slender waist as he led her to the fitting room. Right after the door was closed, he pinned her against it and lowered his head desperately to kiss

her.

Genevieve was caught off guard. She could only wrap her arms around Armand's neck, fearing that the gown might slip off as the fabric was silkily smooth.

As Armand moved his lips downward gradually to kiss the small section of her exposed neck, Genevieve mustered up her strength to shove his head away. Blowing a fuse, she glared at him. "What are you doing? The salesperson is outside. Don't you know she might misunderstand us?"

Armand pulled her into his arms again. "Don't be bothered by her. Darling, you're gorgeous."

"I'm well aware that I'm gorgeous. You don't have to emphasize that!" Genevieve patted his arm and threatened, "If you still refuse to let go, I'll tell Granddad that you bullied me."

Left without a choice, Armand could only lean his head against her shoulder, embracing her for a while more before he eventually let her go and stepped out of the fitting room.

In the meantime, the salesperson focused on tidying the fabric and dared not look in the direction of the fitting room.

When she caught sight of Armand stepping out of the fitting room, she queried tactfully, "Sir, do you want to choose the type of fabric for your girlfriend's gown first, or let her choose herself later?" Armand threw a glance at the fabric on the display rack before selecting a few types seriously. After that, he handed a credit card to the salesperson. "I'll purchase the one she's wearing triple the original price.' With a smile spread across her face, the salesperson took the card from Armand. Needless to say, she was more than happy when the latter offered to pay such a large sum.

When Genevieve stepped out of the fitting room, she saw the salesperson return the invoice and credit card to Armand. "Sir, it takes a longer time to custom-make a traditional gown. Anyway, I'll urge the tailors to be faster. We'll send the gowns to the address you filled in this invoice."

Genevieve snatched the invoice from Armand and was astounded to see that he had spent a large sum on eight traditional gowns of different designs.

"Aren't you broke? Are you using my brother's credit card again?" Genevieve was flabbergasted.

Armand put the credit card and receipt away properly. "How could I use someone else's credit card to buy gowns for my woman? This is my own saving." Genevieve snorted. "How bold of you to secretly keep a stash of money without me knowing!"

Chapter 922

"I've been keeping that to buy you clothes." Armand lowered his head and kissed Genevieve. Next, he took her hand and carried the shopping bags on the couch with his other hand.

Genevieve pulled her hand out from his. "Wait for me here. The restroom on this floor is not far away. I need to touch up my makeup."

In the meantime, a woman wearing a baseball cap was leaning against the wall outside the restroom, scrolling through her phone.

Right after Genevieve entered the restroom, the woman followed behind her.

When Genevieve stepped out of one of the cubicles moments later, she saw the woman in a cap standing in front of a washbasin, wiping the water from her hands with a tissue.

Without paying much attention to her, Genevieve turned on the tap to wash her hands.

At that moment, the woman rummaged through her bag and whipped out a stun gun. She turned it on swiftly and jabbed Genevieve's arm with it.

It never came across Genevieve's mind that the woman would inflict any harm on her. She felt the twitching pain in her bones as a strong electric current flowed through her entire body. The excruciating pain numbed her senses, and she could not even let out a groan. In just two seconds, she collapsed to the ground and passed out.

A panic-stricken Faith instinctively took a few steps back when Genevieve collapsed. Her hands trembled uncontrollably in fear.

After what seemed like an eternity, she slowly squatted next to Genevieve and placed a finger below her nose. When she sensed that Genevieve was still breathing, she turned on the stun gun and attempted to jab the latter's arm once more.

All of a sudden, someone behind Faith gripped her wrist and twisted it. In order to prevent Faith from screaming, the person behind her stretched out another hand to cover her mouth.

The woman turned out to be Sally. Her hands were callused from holding guns, and the unusual frigidness from her fingers sent a shiver down Faith's spine, causing her to shudder all over.

Sally clasped Faith's hands and pinned them on her back effortlessly with two simple moves. Subsequently, she pressed Faith down on the floor and rendered her immobile.

Later, Sally lifted Faith's short sleeves, only to find both of the latter's arms fair and smooth. She did not spot anything that she expected to see.

Narrowing her eyes, Sally bent down and questioned Faith, "Who sent you?"

However, Faith remained tight-lipped, refusing to utter any words.

Sally made a phone call. "Come to the lady's restroom now. Genevieve is unconscious."

Armand rushed over in scarcely one minute. His face turned grim instantly at the sight of Sally pinning Faith down, the stun gun on the ground, and Genevieve lying unconscious.

Without a second thought, he scooped Genevieve up from the ground and instructed Sally to take Faith with them to the hospital.

The doctor told Armand that Genevieve could have met her end if she were incapacitated another time by the stun gun. Apparently, the one that Faith used had a high electric voltage and was already banned more than a decade ago. Those with heart problems could have died tragically on the spot with one strike.

Armand stayed by Genevieve's side in the ward. He finally heaved a sigh of relief when her face gradually reverted to her usual rosy complexion.

Herbert called him and asked, "It's almost six now. Why are you and Genev not back yet?"

"Genev is not feeling well, so I took her to the hospital. Take your dinner first and don't wait for us." Armand didn't tell Herbert about the incident, fearing that the latter would not be able to take it.

After reassuring Herbert with white lies, Armand made another two calls before heading to the ward next to Genevieve's.

He strode toward Faith, who was tied to a chair, and slapped her. Her body tilted to one side from the forceful impact before falling to the ground along with the chair.

Sally walked over and pulled Faith back up with only one hand.

She knew that Armand was not a man who would easily lose self-control. In fact, he would never take matters into his own hands when teaching a woman a lesson. Thus, his action of giving Faith a hard slap implied he had lost control of himself.

Sally stated placidly, "She didn't say anything."

Wearing a look of sheer grimness, Armand scowled at Faith. "Even if she refuses to open her mouth, I'm fully aware of everything. I know she's Zayne Zeigler's ex-classmate. I already called her father and Cyrus Zeigler just now."

Faith looked up and glowered at Armand. "It's solely my idea to kill Genevieve. You can do anything you want to me, but don't touch my dad. This has nothing to do with him!"

Chapter 923

Armand thundered somberly, "Since my wife is still unconscious because of you, I'll surely settle the score with you. As for the masterminds manipulating you behind, I won't let them off either."

Recalling the burn marks on Genevieve's arm, he could barely refrain from strangling Faith to death.

Half an hour later, Kevin, Faith's father, rushed into the ward with Cyrus and Zayne.

Kevin flew into a rage the moment he saw her daughter tied to a chair with a swollen right cheek. It was as though someone had slapped him too. However, his heart skipped a beat when he caught sight of Armand and Sally standing in the ward. My goodness! I'll only shoot myself in the foot by getting on Sally Loake's nerve!

He had no choice but to tamp down his boiling rage and grit his teeth. "Mr. Faulkner, what on earth is going on?'

Turning a deaf ear to Kevin's question, Armand lifted his leg and kicked Zayne in the stomach. The young man was sent flying before ramming into the wall. On the heels of that, Armand strode forward to drag him up and threw another punch at his face.

Due to Armand's forceful punch, Zayne lost a few teeth and blood spewed from his mouth.

Tears started welling up in Faith's eyes when she saw how Zayne was beaten to a pulp. She screamed at Armand, "Didn't I say it has nothing to do with him? Just come at me!"

Meanwhile, Cyrus came to his senses and rushed over to help Zayne up. He raised his voice furiously. "Armand Faulkner, what's the matter with you? How could you beat my son up without any reason?" Armand had called him earlier, requesting him to bring Zayne to the hospital without stating why. It never occurred to him that Armand would bash his son up right in front of him.

"Why don't you ask him what he had done?" Armand rose to his feet while wearing a gloomy look.

Recalling how Faith squealed hysterically a while ago, Cyrus sensed something awry. He grimly questioned Zayne, "What have you and Faith done?"

Faith yelled out anxiously, "He didn't do anything! I was the one who did it! I did that because I hate Genevieve!"

In an instant, Cyrus and Kevin's faces fell. They could finally fathom why Armand blew a blood vessel.

Kevin walked toward Faith and reprimanded, "Genevieve has been in Jadeborough all this while and you don't even know her. Why did you harm her?"

Pursing her lips, Faith hissed menacingly, "I know her and can't stand the sight of her! That's why I wanted to kill her!"

Kevin could hardly restrain himself from slapping Faith. Nevertheless, he relented and put his hand down at the sight of her swollen right cheek. Despite anything, she was his beloved daughter whom he had doted on throughout the years.

Cyrus looked at his son and questioned him again, "Did you assign Faith to do so because you have a beef with Genevieve?"

When they were at the Zeigler residence that morning, Cyrus could sense that Zayne seemed displeased when he found out that Genevieve was Herbert's biological granddaughter. At the same time, Cyrus knew that Faith had feelings for his son.

Zayne merely looked down and wiped the blood stain on the corner of his lips without saying anything.

"Zayne Zeigler, how could a twenty-year-old man like you not have any sense of responsibility? How could you have the cheek to let a young lady take the rap for you?" Armand snorted with disdain. Faith shrieked in exasperation, "I told you it has nothing to do with him! Come at me instead! If you want to kill me, just do it right now and stop making a fuss!"

"Keep your mouth shut!" Kevin chastised, fearing that his daughter would further infuriate the man. Even though he had never crossed paths with Armand before, he was fully aware that the man was not someone to be trifled with. If not for him, Felix would be doomed due to the previous virus outbreak in Baykeep.

Armand, who was getting impatient, scoffed, "Zayne Ziegler, stop being a spineless coward and admit to it. Otherwise, I won't spare both of you!"

Shocked and livid, Kevin was bereft of speech.

Armand picked up the stun gun that Faith used to attack Genevieve from the table and strode toward her. Next, he stared at Zayne in utter indifference. "I'll give you forty seconds."

Chapter 924

Sensing Zayne's long silence, Kevin glanced at Armand. He knew the latter was a man of his word, so he was afraid his daughter would really die inside that ward.

Kevin said, "Zayne, you are not only my student but also the person Fay adores. I've once told you that even if you do not like Fay, you should never trample on her feelings." "Dad, I did this. Zayne has nothing to do with "

Kevin turned his head around and bellowed, "Shut up! Your mother and I did not put so much effort into raising you so that you can waste your life being utilized as a pawn by a man!" Armand piped up nonchalantly, "You have ten seconds left."

Zayne's heart softened at the sight of Faith, who was tied to a chair. She was reluctant to betray him and continued to protect him even in the face of impending death.

In the end, the pure love she harbored toward him had touched him.

He looked at Armand and uttered coldly, "I was the one who invited her out, gave her the stun gun, and informed her of Genevieve's whereabouts. I told her to help me kill Genevieve because I hate Genevieve If it weren't for her ruthlessness that day, Sylvie would not have died!"

"Sylvie had only herself to blame for her death. She was too greedy and cruel. I guess that Sylvie must have realized Genev is General Zeigler's granddaughter. She kept this secret and pretended to be General Zeigler's granddaughter to scam others with that pretense. Sylvie relied on General Zeigler's reputation to take money from others without fulfilling her promises. When her wrongdoings were almost exposed, you secretly helped her resolve that matter," Armand elaborated indifferently.

Cyrus was ignorant of Zayne and Sylvie's relationship. He was usually a mild-tempered man, but at that moment, anger overwhelmed him after he listened to Armand's speech and knew how much Zayne had done for Sylvie.

He slapped Zayne across the face. "Why do I even have a son like you?"

Zayne's head was smacked sideways. Still, he remained unfazed and quickly turned his head to face the front. "I love Sylvie, and I do not regret everything I've done."

Cyrus gave his son another hard slap that caused his palm to go numb.

When Faith heard Zayne's words, she felt her heart ache terribly to the extent of feeling suffocated.

She stared at him for a long while, recalling their meeting in the afternoon earlier. Zayne had asked her if she genuinely liked him and said that he would marry her if she was willing to kill someone for him. At that instant, Zayne's promises consumed her rationales. Faith thought he loved her too, so she wanted to murder Genevieve to prove her love for him.

Only then did Faith know the grudge was not between Zayne and Genevieve. Instead, Zayne was merely using Faith to avenge the woman he loved. Armand walked up to Zayne and asked the latter calmly, "Did you tamper with the DNA test result that Yuvan did for Genev and General Zeigler?"

Clarity washed over Zayne at that moment. He sneered, "If I had known Genevieve was Grandpa's granddaughter, I would have made a move then!"

Armand noticed the only emotion left in Zayne was hatred. Regardless of what he said or how he beat Zayne up, the latter would still believe they had caused Sylvie's death.

Armand would have truly ended Zayne's life if Zayne was not Herbert's biological grandson.

Armand turned on his heels and said to Cyrus, "Send Zayne abroad today and cut all ties with him from this moment onward. Do not allow him to return to Chanaea for the next ten years."

Cyrus knew Armand was sparing his son's life, so he quickly dragged Zayne away and left without daring to say anything else.

Kevin hastily went over to untie Faith and brought her over to Armand, expressing his regret, "Mr. Faulkner, I apologize for my failure to discipline my daughter."

Armand waved his hand, gesturing for Kevin to leave with Faith.

Fortunately, Genevieve was unharmed, so Armand was willing to let Zayne and Faith off the hook. Otherwise, if something terrible befell Genevieve, he would not be as generous as summoning Kevin and the others to the hospital to discuss that matter peacefully.

After everyone left, Sally laughed out loud. "I did not anticipate things to be so interesting. So, Genevieve is General Zeigler's granddaughter?"

The turns of events that day had truly surprised her.

Chapter 925

Armand rubbed his temples and asked tersely, "Why did you come to Baykeep?"

"I'm here to assist my uncle in his investigation regarding the contaminated beef incident."

Half of Baykeep's population was infected by the virus due to the problematic beef. During that one month, netizens all over the globe had paid close attention to Baykeep's situation.

Forlisle Medical invented a specific vaccine to address the endemic and stopped the spread of the virus, allowing Baykeep's borders to be reopened. Baykeep's government had also published a report and punished those involved in that incident.

Despite those efforts, the ones who secretly orchestrated that tragedy were not only the officials from Baykeep but also included an external force. The purpose of Sally's current visit was to investigate that external force.

Sally sat on the chair Faith was tied to earlier, took out a box of mints, and tossed two pieces of peppermint candy into her mouth. "I did not expect to stumble upon Genevieve while I went shopping." "Thank you," Armand uttered hoarsely.

If Sally did not happen to be at the restroom, Genevieve would have been killed.

"Give me the name list if you're genuinely grateful toward me. I know your men had already found out about the external force conniving with those Baykeep's officials."

Armand switched on his phone without hesitation and sent her the information through WhatsApp.

While she browsed through the list, Armand elaborated calmly, "The external influence colluding with Baykeep's officials is the Carlo family, a famous mafia family from Lostaria. They possess businesses in Chanaea, but are negligent in managing their assets here. More than two months ago, members of the Carlo family frequented Baykeep."

The Carlo family was based in the far Epea, mainly dealing with shady businesses. Armand was baffled by their intention in helping those Baykeep officials overthrow the Zeigler family.

The only hypothesis he could come up with was that the Carlo family wanted to support a puppet under their control to accession, creating a path to transfer their properties to Baykeep.

At that moment, Sally was reminded of something. Her eyes gleamed as if she had connected the dots in her mind. She kept her phone and leaped to her feet. "I will act as Genevieve's bodyguard for this period."

Armand narrowed his eyes at Sally. "Are you telling me that you think my wife is in danger?"

Sally questioned him, "Do you need to ask what I think? A few months ago, someone used my name to harm her on the cruise ship. Not long ago, she was almost murdered in the parking lot, and today. Faith nearly took her life."

Sally found the circumstances to be highly amusing as she recounted those perilous events. She asked him, "Are you competing against Genevieve to see which one of you could survive longer in danger?" Armand was stumped.

Sally said, "There is a matter I need to investigate further. My uncle traveled abroad to convince me to take up this responsibility, but even he failed. Genevieve should feel honored to be protected by me." Armand knew Sally had an ulterior motive behind her request to guard Genevieve's safety.

Still, he did not doubt Sally's outstanding combat skills. Genevieve would be safe with Sally as her bodyguard, so he agreed to Sally's request in the end.

The sky had turned dark by the time Genevieve woke up.

Armand returned to the ward after he was done conversing with Sally. When he noticed Genevieve had regained consciousness, he opened the food jar on the table and poured out a bowl of hot soup. He described how Zayne had used Faith to Genevieve while feeding her the soup.

"Zayne is a time bomb if left in the country because he is stubbornly resentful. I've asked Uncle Cyrus to send him overseas today. Granddad will not be informed of this matter. Granddad called, and I told him you are feeling under the weather, so you need to be hospitalized today."

Genevieve merely grunted in response. She understood Armand was already being generous for sparing Zayne's life.

The following day, he handled her discharge procedures.

After they returned to the Zeigler residence, Herbert held Genevieve's hands and chatted with her concernedly. He wanted to visit her at the hospital the day before, but his personal physician came to perform a health check on him, so he could not leave the house.

"I'm fine, Granddad. Mando overreacted and insisted I stay a night in the hospital." Genevieve wrapped her arms around Herbert's as they walked toward the living room.

Herbert said sternly, "Fever is not a condition to be taken lightly. He was worried about you. I would have wanted you to be hospitalized as well."

Genevieve responded with a smile.

Chapter 926

Genevieve and Armand stayed with Herbert at the Zeigler residence for three days. When Genevieve was on the phone with her two children, she got them to greet Herbert as "Great-grandpa." Amanda didn't know why, but she still did as told. Her tone was so sweet that Herbert was utterly delighted by it.

It wasn't until Armand had work to do that both of them returned to Jadeborough.

When Herbert wanted to send them to the airport, Genevieve didn't know how to react. "Granddad, it's not like we're never going to see each other again. Besides, you can video call me whenever you miss me. Also, you can come to visit me in Jadeborough once you've fully recovered."

"That goes without saying, as I must visit those two little sweeties of mine." Just thinking about Amanda's adorable face alone filled Herbert with the urge to quickly recover.

After glancing at the man behind Genevieve, Herbert reminded, "If Armand bullies you in any way, you must remember to tell me."

"Granddad, you overestimate me." Armand wrapped his arms around Genevieve's shoulders and broke into a wry smile. "I'm ranked fourth at home. In fact, I'm always at the receiving end of any bullying at home."

"Isn't that the way it's supposed to be?" Herbert snorted.

The couple arrived in Jadeborough at three in the afternoon.

When Armand mentioned that someone was picking them up, Genevieve assumed it to be Steven.

Therefore, she was surprised to see Sally leaning against the car when she exited the terminal.

Sally was dressed in a black shirt and a pair of pants that accentuated her long slender legs. On her feet were a pair of black three- inch heels. Coupled with her obsidian black hair, she exuded an aloofness that was strangely alluring.

When Genevieve realized that Armand was leading her toward Sally, she turned toward him. "Do you want to explain what's going on?"

Previously, Sally-in her attempt to force Genevieve to stay away from Armand-had attacked Specter Corporation behind the scenes, where even her employees were not spared. Furthermore, Sally had almost humiliated her at the cafe too.

So why did Armand get her to pick us up?

After opening the car door for Genevieve to get in, he loaded the trunk with their luggage.

When Armand joined her in the car, he explained, "There's no way I can be by your side twenty-four seven. Therefore, I hired Sally to be your bodyguard."

Staring furiously at Armand, Genevieve questioned through gritted teeth, "Why can't you hire a different bodyguard? Why does it have to be her?"

I don't know what this idiot was thinking when he hired my romantic rival to be my bodyguard.

"The other bodyguards are all males and can't protect you in the restroom." Sally adjusted the rearview mirror and threw the grim- looking Genevieve a glance through it.

She added, "I was never interested in Armand, so don't assume that I'm your romantic rival."

"I remember that it wasn't too long ago that you sent me a wedding invitation, saying that you are getting married to him in October." Genevieve sniggered. "If you've no feelings for him, why are you marrying him?"

"Because he holds something that belongs to my man," Sally replied matter-of-factly. "Also, he wants to make you leave in spite."

As Sally changed gears, the car quickly accelerated and sped toward the highway.

Her voice remained frosty. "If I really was interested in Armand, I would investigate everyone around him. In fact, you won't even have the chance to see him, let alone come to my birthday party." Genevieve obviously knew that with Sally's father's position, she could easily access all the information related to any citizen.

Throwing Armand a glance, Genevieve felt a sudden rage descend upon her.

Moving away from him, she warned, "Don't touch me or talk to me today! You are the biggest jerk in the entire world. Do you enjoy making me jealous so much?"

Just when Armand was about to respond, he quickly bit his tongue when Genevieve's earlier warning flashed across his mind.

Watching the scene in the backseat through the rearview mirror, Sally cleared her throat. "Armand, weren't you always invincible in front of me? Why are you afraid of saying anything now?" "He isn't afraid of speaking. He just feels guilty!" Genevieve sneered.

Faced with the two women ganging up on him, Armand couldn't help but feel frustrated. It was then that he rued his decision to let Sally pick them up.

Also, he finally understood the saying that "hell hath no fury than a woman scorned."

Chapter 927

At four-thirty in the afternoon, they arrived at Johanna's mansion.

When Johanna-who had just emerged from her greenhouse-saw Genevieve and Armand arrive with Sally, she quickly pulled Genevieve aside to inquire about the situation.

Genevieve explained in a moody tone, "Armand hired her to be my bodyguard."

Gasping in shock, Johanna turned around to sneak a glance at Sally before asking curiously, "Why is Armand doing this all of a sudden? Is it because they have hatched a plan to kill you in an accident so that both of them can finally be together?"

"Sally is capable of killing me even if she isn't my bodyguard." Genevieve gave her a look of resignation. "Where are the children?"

"Cooper was free today and came over this morning. Since Amanda complained about the hot weather and wanted to go for a swim, he ended up taking them out." Johanna, who was having some grapes, fed Genevieve a few. "He brought Asel along with them and should be back anytime now after spending the entire day outside."

"Now that you're home, why hasn't Sally left yet? Should I get the kitchen to prepare an extra portion for her?" Johanna asked.

In the midst of their conversation, the children's crisp voices suddenly rang out from outside.

Wearing a blue bubble dress, Amanda looked extremely adorable with her puffy cheeks. Upon entering the house, she ran toward Armand the moment she saw him. "Daddy!"

Armand wiped the sweat off her forehead. "Did you enjoy yourself?"

"Mmm-hmm!" Amanda nodded and related in an excited tone, "Uncle Cooper brought me to the water theme park today. It was so fun that I didn't feel like coming home."

Armand chuckled as he turned toward Cooper. "Thanks for taking them out despite having so much to do at work."

"I was free today. Besides, it's been a while since I last saw the children." Amidst his reply, he was surprised when he accidentally caught a glimpse of Sally.

She, too, threw him a glance, and quickly lowered her gaze to continue savoring the fruit she was eating.

As it was the first time she had seen so many guests at home, the housekeeper came out to the living room to ask what they would like to have for dinner so that she would have enough time to prepare. Just as Cooper decided to leave after dinner, his phone suddenly rang.

Something at the office needed his attention, so he had no choice but to leave.

Right after he did, Sally got up from the couch and walked up to Genevieve. "Whenever you need to head out when Armand is not around, give me a call and I'll pick you up.”

With that, Sally, too, left the mansion.

When Genevieve was still in a daze, Johanna leaned in and remarked in surprise, "Is it me or is Sally behaving strangely? Of all the time to leave, why did she do so right after Cooper did?" "Isn't that good? There's one less person to prepare food for," Genevieve replied without giving it much thought.

As soon as Cooper came out of the mansion and unlocked his car, he was surprised to see Sally walking up to him from behind.

"Give me a ride."

"We're not going the same way." Cooper didn't want to have anything to do with her. "I'll get a driver to pick you up."

Without saying a word, Sally went right up to the driver's seat.

Grabbing Cooper's keys from his hand, she nudged her chin to the side with an indifferent look in her eye. "I don't like letting someone else drive. So, get in the front passenger seat." The calm expression on Cooper's face was replaced by one of exasperation. Just as he was about to protest, Sally pushed him aside and slipped into the driver's seat.

Pinching his forehead, Cooper decided to bear with it as he circled around the car to the front passenger seat.

Once he got into the car, Sally drove away from the mansion.

Sally's phone rang along the journey. She answered it with one hand before leaving it on speaker on top of the armrest storage.

It was her mother, Miranda, who called to check if she was coming home for dinner.

"I'm on my way. Will be home shortly-" When Sally glanced at her side mirror, her eyes narrowed immediately.

Chapter 928

Just when Sally wanted to retrieve her phone, it slipped down into the compartment. Hence, she had no choice but to get Cooper to end the call on her behalf as she floored the accelerator.

No sooner had Cooper picked up the phone than the car's sudden inertia pressed his body against his seat.

"Watch out for the city's speed limits-" The last thing Cooper wanted was for her to speed when driving his car. If his license ended up being suspended, he would have to rely on Bertilla to give him a ride all the time.

Cooper had barely spoken when someone crashed into the back of their Bentley.

The impact was so huge that their car was almost sent flying.

Gripping the grab handle immediately, Cooper could see two black cars following them closely from the rearview mirror. In fact, one of them sped up to their right and drove neck to neck with them.

As a gap opened in the window, the black barrel of a gun emerged from it, aiming at Cooper.

With a sharp turn of the steering wheel, Sally rammed their car into their pursuer's.

The massive jolt that resulted prevented the man in the car from getting his shot. Seizing the window of opportunity, Sally accelerated and sped off.

In the interest of public safety, she swung the car around at a junction before driving toward a skyscraper that was still under construction. Naturally, the two black cars were in hot pursuit. Every time their pursuers came close, Sally would use her exceptional driving skills to leave them in the dust.

As it was getting dark, the construction crews had already gone home.

Once their car screeched to a halt in front of the building. Sally swung the car door open and led Cooper inside where they ascended the building by climbing the concrete stairwell.

When Sally heard the sound of their pursuers' cars coming to a stop, she waved at Cooper for him to continue going up.

Speculating that there were five to six men in the two cars, Cooper hesitated out of concern that they were too much for her to handle.

Sally ordered impatiently, "Go now. I'll be able to handle them myself. If you stay, you being a live target will just be a distraction for me."

For the very first time, Cooper felt useless without a gun in his hand. Hence, he hurried upstairs without a second thought.

Meanwhile, Sally hid in one of the corners and gradually slowed down her breathing.

Fortunately, darkness had already fallen, limiting the visibility outside. Given that it was even darker inside the skyscraper, their pursuers would be further impeded.

When she heard the approaching footsteps, Sally-hiding in the darkness-grabbed the man's neck with her fingers the moment she saw the barrel of a gun peek out. After cracking his neck with a twist of her hand, she seized his gun and shot his comrade, who was ascending the stairs.

Her movements were so swift in the darkness that she managed to deal with them in three seconds.

When the men upstairs realized their companions had been killed, they began spraying bullets in Sally's direction. Tossing her victim's body away, Sally took cover behind a corner.

Even though there was only one staircase going up, their pursuers grew wary of ascending it after losing two men.

At the same time, Sally checked the remaining bullets in the magazine before inserting it back into the gun. Closing her eyes to listen intently, she tried to determine the number of enemies by their footsteps. Both sides consequently fell into a stalemate.

After more than ten minutes, their pursuers were raring to go up the stairs again.

Nevertheless, Sally didn't rush out hastily. It wasn't until she was sure all of them were coming up the stairwell and would be in her sights did she step out decisively. Leveraging her ability to see well in the dark, she fired a shot at every single one of them, killing everyone on the spot.

Once she was sure there was no one else, she lowered her guard and yelled upstairs, "Come down."

Sally then headed down first. Kneeling down by one of the dead men in the stairwell, she folded up his short sleeve and saw a crow tattoo on the man's right arm.

With her attention fixated on the tattoo, her gaze gradually darkened.

Chapter 929

Cooper, with the help of his phone's torchlight, was staring at the corpses on the ground. He couldn't help but feel a tingle down his spine when the stench of blood jolted his senses. The fact that Sally was skillful enough to make quick work of six to seven men came as a surprise to him.

It seems what they say about her isn't an exaggeration at all. Also, if Sally had really wanted to kill me in the parking lot that day, she could've done so easily.

Subsequently, Sally made a call. After reporting her location over the phone, she requested for the bodies in the building to be dealt with before leaving with Cooper.

Upon returning to the car, Cooper realized that Sally's right shoulder was grazed by a bullet when he noticed her body covered in blood.

Grabbing a towel from the back of the car, he wrapped it around her wound.

"Let me drive. I'll send you to the hospital." Worried that any major movement would aggravate the blood flow from her wound, Cooper circled over to the driver's seat and opened the door. However, the annoyed Sally attempted to close the door and protested, "It's just a scratch. I'll drive."

In spite of that, Cooper grabbed the door and looked down at her, refusing to budge.

It wasn't until Sally lost her patience after a few minutes of staring at each other that she moved over to the front passenger seat.

Only then did Cooper get into the car and close the door behind him.

Once Cooper began to drive, Sally said, "We're not going to the hospital. Otherwise, my mom is going to nag me when she finds out." With that, Sally gave her mom a call to make an excuse for not going home for dinner.

"Why aren't you coming home? I've already prepared dinner." Miranda asked over the phone, "Is it because you're with Armand?"

After responding in a cursory manner, Sally ended the call.

Cooper then snuck a quiet glance at her from the corner of his eye. After stopping at a pharmacy, he bought some antiseptic dressings before taking her back to his condominium. Upon entering, he placed them on the coffee table.

As the bullet had only grazed Sally's shoulder, she was more than capable of dressing her own wound.

"Help me clean my wound," Sally remarked. "Also, I would like to have some steak."

Speechless, Cooper furrowed his brows.

At the sight of the blood-drenched towel, he fell into a momentary silence before sitting down beside Sally. Subsequently, he made sure to unravel the towel carefully before treating her wound with antiseptic. At the same time, Cooper gave the boss of Golden Restaurant a call and ordered a steak with a request to go light on the pepper.

After ending the call, he trimmed the gauze into smaller pieces and placed them on top of Sally's wound. "Who are they? Why are they trying to kill you?"

"That's your car they're pursuing and their guns were aimed at you," Sally reminded him.

Cooper hadn't offended anyone recently, while a business competitor wouldn't be brazen enough to hire assassins to publicly kill him in broad daylight.

As Sally's clothes were already dirty, Cooper handed her a new shirt from his wardrobe, as he didn't have any women's clothing at home.

He had barely filled a glass of warm water from the bar counter when he turned around to see Sally taking off her torn shirt. With her back facing him, he could see her porcelain white skin in all its glory.

As a result of her constant training, her thin back and slender waist were accentuated by the two beautiful dimples of Venus.

Realizing that he was gawking at her. Cooper quickly averted his gaze. "Can't you change in the bedroom?"

"Since you have brought a change of clothes, why should I do something as troublesome as that?" Sally retorted as she spread the shirt out to put it on.

Given her petite figure, the shirt was oversized for her. In fact, its two sleeves extended further than her arms.

Scratching his nose, Cooper figured that the formidable Sally couldn't care less about anyone else's gender.

Just as he placed the glass of water on the coffee table, Sally looked up at him. All of a sudden, she grabbed his shirt and pulled him closer.

Before he knew it, Cooper found himself pinned on the couch by her.

She reached backward to pick up the glass without looking and gradually took a few sips of water while her powerful legs continued to restrain him. With no room to even struggle, Cooper's expression darkened. "What are you doing?"

Chapter 930

"Do you have any business dealings with the Carlo family of Lostaria?" Sally leaned downward. With her face inches away, Cooper could feel her breath showering his face.

As a tingling sensation descended upon him, he knitted his brows. "No. Please get off me first."

He then grabbed Sally by the arms, hoping to push her away.

Instead of budging, she questioned with narrowed eyes, "In that case, why are they targeting you and Genevieve?"

Cooper stared at her in shock.

After taking a few more sips of water, she casually explained, "My investigations point to the Carlo family as the ones responsible for attacking Genevieve on the cruise ship. Anonymous assassinations have been their modus operandi. That's why they tried to kill Genevieve and blame me for it. But this time, they actually sent men to openly take you out."

"I don't know any Carlo family." In fact, Cooper hadn't even heard of them before. "What sort of business are they in?"

"They're the infamous mafia of Lostaria," Sally answered.

As if something had occurred to him, Cooper adjusted his spectacles. "Genev has a friend called Jack Valentine. His godfather is Foster, who heads the largest mafia in Dartan. Perhaps the bad blood between Foster and the Carlo family has caused the latter to target those around Jack."

Staring intently at Cooper, Sally noticed the superficial veins on his long fingers.

The sight of him raising his hand to adjust his spectacles felt inexplicably seductive to her.

Without warning, she took off his spectacles and put them on herself. Scanning the surroundings through the spectacles, she asked with raised brows, "Why are you wearing spectacles when you're not short- sighted at all?"

"I'm a little short-" Cooper stopped abruptly with a grim expression on his face. "What does that have anything to do with you?"

Weren't we just talking about the Carlo family?

Sally climbed down from his legs before leaning against the couch's armrest and placing her feet on his lap. "I have a blister from wearing my heels. Take care of it for me."

"I'm not your servant. I'm not obliged to do this for you," Cooper replied in an indifferent tone as he pushed her leg aside.

Sally asserted, "If it wasn't for me today, you would have died on your journey home."

After a brief hesitation, Cooper picked up the iodine solution and applied it attentively to her heel.

Taking the spectacles off, Sally fiddled with them as she continued in a frosty tone, "It isn't just this. The Carlo family were also the ones who sent contaminated beef to Baykeep with the intention of ruining the Zeigler family by framing them for it."

Cooper inquired curiously, "Why are they targeting the Zeigler family?"

"I didn't understand initially. But later on, Armand informed me that Genevieve is General Zeigler's granddaughter." With a hand supporting her cheek, Sally watched Cooper dress her wound. Subsequently, she related to Cooper about how she ran into Armand while investigating the contaminated beef incident in Baykeep.

It was then that his mind suddenly clicked. He finally understood why Sylvie had threatened Jermaine back then.

The latter must have found out that Genevieve was Herbert's granddaughter. No wonder he instructed Armand to take Genevieve to Renee before he died. Even though Renee's aunt had disappeared when she saw six, the familial resemblance would still be there.

When Sally had finished, Cooper deduced, "It looks like the Carlo family was responsible for tampering with Genev and General Zeigler's DNA test report. Back then, Zayne wasn't aware that Genev was related to General Zeigler. He only instigated Faith to attack Genev and wasn't in touch with the Carlo family."

Grunting in acknowledgment, Sally agreed with his assessment. "The Carlo family switched the report to prevent others from learning that Genevieve is General Zeigler's granddaughter-■"

Cooper glanced at her before finishing her sentence. "And that was the reason why they initiated the contaminated beef scandal and framed the Zeigler family for it?"

"If the bad blood was between Jack's factions and the Carlo family, wouldn't they exact their revenge against him instead of coming all the way here to attack the Zeigler family?" Sally plainly added, "Evidently, they hold a deep grudge against Genevieve... and obviously you too."

Pulling Cooper closer by the collar, Sally put his spectacles back on for him. "Think hard about when both of you offended the Carlo family."

Without the couch's support, Cooper leaned into her. They were so close to each other that their noses almost touched.

Their intimacy elicited a smirk within Sally's narrowed eyes.