Ch. 2781..2790

Chapter 2781 Nigel‘s reply came almost instantaneously.

(Nigel: Don‘t worry, neither of my parents knows about me contacting you. I just wanted to tell you some of the stuff I‘ve heard about you.)

Denise‘s entire body froze when she saw this. A split second later, something struck her...

The audio recording of Steven and Mr. and Mrs. Hughes, which she had heard from Luna‘s computer, had come from one of Joshua and Luna‘s children.

Therefore, this boy that contacted her...was probably none other than that skilled hacker son of theirs.

At the thought of this, Denise quickly typed another reply. (Denise: What have you heard about me?)

(Nigel: Plenty of interesting stuff, but I will only tell you under one condition.) (Denise: What condition is it?] [Nigel: You have to promise not to lay another finger on little Riley.)

Denise was silent for a moment when she saw this.

(Denise: Is that it?] (Nigel: Yes. I‘ve been keeping an eye on Riley all this while for fear that something bad would happen to her, so when you tried to steal Riley but was stopped by your brother last night, I saw everything. I don‘t know what‘s happening between you adults, but I sincerely hope you won‘t try to harm Riley again.) (Nigel: I‘ve already contacted Uncle Thomas, and he‘s already on his way to Saigen City. If you promise to hand Riley over to him, I‘ll tell you everything I know.]

Denise furrowed her brow at this.

(Denise: Is that it?]

She thought this little rascal would have asked her for something ludicrous, but to her surprise, all he wanted was for her to hand Riley over.

To be frank, this was not a difficult condition for her at all.

Previously, according to her and Tina‘s plan, they intended to kidnap Riley and use her as a hostage to threaten Thomas and Yannie. However, after discovering the Hughes family and Tina‘s true colors, she quickly gave up on this idea.

The reason she had gone ahead and taken Riley from the hospital...was not because she wanted to threaten Thomas and Yannie but because she did not want to burn her one and only bridge.

She knew that she had committed plenty of unforgivable mistakes, and all she wanted to do was make Thomas owe her a favor so that he would show her mercy in the future.

Therefore, it was not impossible for her to agree to Nigel‘s terms, and besides...

Even if Steven had taken Riley away the night before and kept her under his care, she would

not be 100% safe. After all, Steven was still a part of the Hughes family, and since Mr. and Mrs. Hughes had been watching Denise all the while, she would not be surprised if they had been doing the same for Steven. According to their greedy natures, they would try to steal Riley when they found out she was with Steven.

If that happened, things would take a turn for the worse.

All Denise wanted was for Thomas and Yannie to owe her a favor, not to create enemies.

Therefore, handing Riley over to Joshua was not only the best option for Riley but a reasonable choice for both her and Steven.

Seeing that Denise was taking such a long time to reply, Nigel furrowed his brow and quickly typed another message.

(Nigel: What‘s wrong? Are you not willing to accept these terms? Well, if you don‘t want to, I shall destroy those recordings right now.) (Denise: Please don‘t!)

The chime of the notification had finally broken Denise out of her stupor. She paused, then typed a reply.

(Denise: I agree with your condition, but how will you prove that you‘re indeed Joshua and Luna‘s son? I wouldn‘t want to be tricked, either.]

Chapter 2782 Nigel froze when he saw this. He was a little surprised that Denise would make such a request.

A split second later, he curled his lips into a smile.

(Nigel: I guess you‘re not as dumb as I thought.)

He initially thought that this woman, who had been brainwashed by her family into liking Thomas against her true will, would not be the sharpest tool in the shed. Therefore, he was surprised to see that she still had some basic awareness.

Denise furrowed her brow, feeling a little uneasy as she stared at the screen.

The more she thought about the fact that a seven–year–old child had called her ‘dumb‘, the more outraged she got.

She bit her lip and typed a response.

(Denise: Didn‘t Joshua or Luna ever teach you manners?]

[Nigel: I wasn‘t trying to be rude, I‘m just telling the truth.)

Nigel turned on the webcam.

The moment he did so, the screen of Denise‘s laptop was filled with the image of a young boy that was almost identical to Joshua. To be specific, Nigel‘s features resembled Luna‘s more, but the air of arrogance on his face was unmistakable.

The steely look in his eyes was as suffocating as his father‘s.

Denise froze when she saw this.

“Now do you trust me?” Nigel curled his lips into a smirk. “Do you need me to provide any more evidence?”

Denise paused, then quickly shook her head.

There was no need.

Nigel‘s face and the look in his eyes were more than enough to prove himself. Genetics could not lie. “Alright.” With that, Nigel turned off the camera and resumed talking to her through the chatbox

(Nigel: My Uncle Thomas is already in Saigen City. He‘s staying at Aurora Suites; I‘ll send his room number to you in a while. Please bring Riley over as soon as you can.)

With that, he proceeded to send her the address to the hotel, along with the room number and a long chain of numbers.

Denise knew that this was the combination to unlock the hotel room door. She bit her lip and took a photo of the information, then replied.

(Denise: I’ll try to bring Riley over before the day ends.]

With that, she let out an exhale and was about to ask Nigel about the recordings he had

promised, but before she could do so, a string of audio files appeared in the chat. Denise put on her earphones and began listening. The information contained within the recordings was so shocking that her face gradually turned white. By the time she emerged from her room, looking desolate, the Hughes family were already eating lunch. When they saw her coming downstairs, Mr. and Mrs. Hughes exchanged a glance, then smiled at her. “What time did you sleep last night, Denise?” Mrs. Hughes said with a hint of gentle scolding. “Why did you wake up so late?” Mr. Hughes was a little upset by this. “It‘s already noon! I‘ve never seen any young socialite commit such ludicrosity!” Denise could not help sneering when she heard this. She was not a young socialite at all but a daughter from a poor family. However, despite thinking this, she still put on a brave front and pursed her lips rather defiantly. “It‘s just this one time.”

Mr. Hughes scoffed and pretended to forgive her. “Alright. You‘re not to do this again! Come sit down and have lunch!” Denise trotted over to the dining table and sat down across from them. “Where‘s Steven? Isn‘t he home?”

Chapter 2783 “Steven? Where else do you think he‘d be?” Mrs. Hughes chuckled. “He went out to find Kate, of course. Your brother and Kate are growing closer and closer.” She glanced surreptitiously at Denise and added, “By the way, how are you and Thomas doing

now?

“This morning, your Aunt Tina told me she’d been trying to set you and Thomas up; how did everything go?”

Denise‘s heart turned cold when she heard this.

After listening to the audio recordings that Nigel had sent her, Denise finally knew the truth.

The reason Tina had so willingly treated her like a tool against Thomas was all because of Mrs. Hughes, her ‘mother.‘

Mrs. Hughes had once promised Tina that her daughter would listen to her every command. Not only that, but Mrs. Hughes was the one who had given Tina the idea to use Denise to seduce Thomas.

“She came from a poor family, and if she hadn‘t caught my eye when she was a child because of her looks, she might‘ve been sold by her family and be working as a prostitute by now. It‘s her blessing to be able to live such a comfortable life.

“Sleeping with Thomas once isn‘t going to do her any harm. If she‘s lucky and gets herself pregnant with Thomas‘ child, she‘ll be able to live the rest of her life worry–free.

“The best thing you can do is use this against Thomas to keep him tied to your side, but you can‘t overdo it either. If Thomas isn‘t willing to marry Denise, you shouldn‘t try to argue with him–think of it as Denise‘s loss.

“After all, with such modern technology nowadays, we can always reconstruct her hymen, and she‘ll be able to sleep with other rich men again...”

Mrs. Hughes and Tina‘s voices rang in her ear over and over.

Denise never thought that Mrs. Hughes, the woman who had treated her like her own daughter for so many years, turned out to be using her all along.

She never cared about Denise‘s thoughts or feelings. In her eyes, she was nothing more than a pretty girl who had managed to catch their attention.

“Denise?” Mrs. Hughes furrowed her brow when she noticed that Denise was staring into space instead of answering her question. “I‘m talking to you.”

Denise finally snapped out of her stupor. She curled her lips into a smile and said, “Don‘t worry, Mother; Aunt Tina‘s plan worked. I‘m sure that in no time, Thomas will change his mind and return to my side.”

As she said this, Denise placed her hand strategically on her belly as though there really was a baby in there.

Mrs. Hughes was happy to see this. She quickly ordered the servants to bring Denise another bowl of soup, then turned to grin at her. “I‘m so happy to hear this, my dear. It‘s always been a dream of mine to see you become Thomas‘ wife, and now it‘s finally coming true.”

Denise lowered her head, chuckling. “You‘re right, Mother.” After lunch. Mrs. Hughes had intended to sit Denise down for a chat, but she acted as though she was not feeling well and disappeared upstairs. She pretended to close the door but secretly hid behind the staircase railing and peeped around the side to watch Mr. and Mrs. Hughes.

“Didn’t Tina say that...they had failed?” Mr. Hughes furrowed his brow and asked in a low voice, “Didn‘t she say that Steven had even taken Denise‘s phone and stopped her from getting in touch with Denise again?”

Mrs. Hughes rolled her eyes at him. “Don‘t you know how soft–hearted your son is? I wouldn‘t be surprised if he gave her phone back. Besides, Denise is such an obedient girl, so even if Steven were in the way, she‘d find a way of accomplishing her task.” Then, she furrowed her brows and added, “However... I still want to straighten some things out with Tina in person.”

Mr. Hughes was silent for a moment, then nodded. “Let‘s go. I‘ll come with you.”

With that, the two of them put on their coats and left. Denise let out a sigh of relief when she heard the car pull away, then stood up and tiptoed towards Mr. Hughes‘ study. If she remembered correctly...all the evidence of Luke‘s surgery would be kept there.

Chapter 2784 At the hotel. Gwen had just finished her lunch and was about to invite Luna to go with her to visit Yannie when she received a call from Denise.

“Ms. Larson, I‘ve sent you an email. Please take a look at it.”

Gwen‘s eyebrows furrowed at this. “That‘s fast.”

Denise had just agreed to work with her to find evidence of the Hughes and Miller families‘ wrongdoings just a night before. All too quickly, she sent her an email less than 24 hours after their agreement. How was this possible?

“Of course.” Denise curled her lips into a smile. “I‘ve lived in this household for more than twenty years, so I know every nook and cranny where confidential information is stored.”

Then, she sighed and added, “Unfortunately, this is all I can find for today, and I‘m not sure if there are others. I‘ll continue searching for a few more days. Don‘t forget our promise.” Gwen nodded. “Yes, I still remember.”

With that, Denise hung up the phone. Gwen froze for a long time when she heard the dial tone, then finally tucked her phone away and strode into her room.

When she turned on her laptop, she discovered an email from an unknown sender. Gwen let out a sigh as she clicked on the email.

It was full of photos that Denise had taken less than 20 minutes ago. Not only were there contracts and agreements regarding Steven‘s surgery...but there was even a copy of an agreement Luke had signed himself.

According to the agreement, Luke was willing to give up all his assets and savings under his name, provided the Miller family could help him save Gwen.

Gwen could not stop her tears from falling when she saw this. She clamped her hand over her mouth as tears slid silently down her cheeks.

Luke‘s cold, steely face materialized in her mind, accompanied by the image of his smirk whenever he stared at her.

Gwen closed her eyes and muttered Luke‘s name over and over.

‘Don‘t worry, Luke. I‘ll come to you as soon as everything here is settled.

‘Even if we can‘t be husband and wife in this life, I‘m sure we‘ll be able to in heaven.‘

All of a sudden, someone knocked on her door.

Luna‘s voice rang out, “Gwen, get yourself ready; we need to head out soon. “Thomas‘ father died, and now Thomas has been captured as the prime suspect of murder. Joshua wants us to go over right now to keep Yannie company.”

Gwen‘s entire body froze when she heard this. A split second later, she shot up and flung the door open. “How did this happen?”

Joshua had been keeping an eye on Senior Howard since his accident the day before, and he had been perfectly fine. Senior Howard did not suffer any major injuries, and all he needed was some rest and rehabilitation, so why did he die all of a sudden?

Not only that, but Thomas had become the prime suspect!

“I‘m not too sure either.” Luna frowned and sighed when she saw the look of disbelief in Gwen‘s eyes. “I asked Joshua the same thing, and he couldn‘t give me a clear answer either. Perhaps he doesn‘t have much idea.

“Thomas was arrested while on his way to Yannie‘s place, and according to Joshua, Yannie isn‘t doing so well now. Not only that, but...” Luna paused for a moment before finally saying, “Riley is missing, too.”

Chapter 2785 Gwen‘s eyes widened in shock. “Riley has gone missing? How could that be?” Luna sighed and dragged Gwen out the door, then explained to her in a whisper, “Because of what happened with Riley previously, Thomas had specially conducted strict background checks and interviews on the doctors looking after her, but...

“None of us knew the full extent of the Miller family‘s influence in the medical community. Even after such strict conditions, the Miller family still managed to slip past Thomas‘ eye. The chief surgeon looking after Riley...turned out to be a member of the Miller family‘s inner circle.

Luna sighed and continued, “Last night, the doctor brought Riley out of the hospital and disappeared into thin air. Joshua is stressed out by this, but he has no idea where either of them is, so he decided to send someone close to him to figure this out...but there‘s no guarantee whether he‘ll find Riley or not.”

Gwen furrowed her brow as all the delight she had felt when she received Denise‘s email dissipated. She bit her lip and shot Luna a worried glance. “Who...is the person Joshua sent to investigate Riley‘s whereabouts?”

Luna shook her head. “I‘m not sure either. Joshua didn‘t tell me, and I forgot to ask, but I think it must be someone we can trust.” This was the best they could hope for.

She, like Joshua, was overwhelmed by all this and did not know what to do at this point.

“Alright.” Gwen could tell just how flustered Luna was, so she did not say anything further. Instead, she grasped Luna‘s hand and led her downstairs while comforting her. The car Lucas had sent to pick them up was already waiting at the hotel entrance. The driver got out of the car and nodded respectfully at Luna. “Ma‘am.” Luna did not even acknowledge this and instead flung the door open then quickly got in.” Let‘s go, quick.”

The driver got back into the car and started the engine.

Perhaps it was because he could sense Luna and Gwen‘s urgency, but the driver sped through the traffic so fast that he reached Yannie‘s house, which was 45 minutes away, in less than half an hour.

As soon as they arrived, Luna threw the door open and sprinted towards Yannie‘s house.

Gwen could not help sighing when she saw this.

It seemed that Yannie mattered to Luna like a sister. In the past, Gwen had only ever seen Luna so worried for her and Bonnie. She quickly followed Luna into the house, where Yannie was slumped in Mrs. Flores‘ arms, sobbing her heart out. “Mom, do you think...do you think I curse everyone I meet?” Yannie muttered. “Thomas had

never encountered anything like this before meeting me, and it‘s all my fault he got arrested today... “If I hadn‘t held my ego so high, Thomas wouldn‘t have been forced to eat the poisoned food with me yesterday. If he didn‘t eat the food, Tina and Denise‘s plan wouldn‘t have succeeded... “He wouldn‘t have been tricked, and his father wouldn‘t have died, nor would he have been accused of murder!

“And Riley...” Tears continued to slide down Yannie‘s cheeks. “There hasn‘t been a peaceful day in Riley‘s life from the moment I took her in. She‘s been plagued by her sickness, and now she‘s been kidnapped... Mom, do you think...I cursed them?”

Mrs. Flores opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out. “You didn‘t curse anyone,” Luna‘s clear voice rang out.

Chapter 2786

Yannie lifted her head dazedly.

Luna was standing in front of her with a coat draped over her loungewear.

It was clear that Luna had been in such a rush that she did not have time to change her clothes and threw on a jacket over her indoor clothes instead. Not only that, but Luna’s hair was a mess, and she was still wearing the hotel’s slippers.

This was the worst state Yannie had ever seen Luna in, but at this moment, a surge of warmth spread through her heart.

“Luna…” She met Luna’s gaze with tears brimming in her eyes.

“Yannie, you’re not a curse.” Luna let out an exhale and strode toward her. “Even though all this had something to do with you, you’re not the main cause at all.”

She fixed her gaze on Yannie’s face and continued, “Please believe that even without you, Thomas would’ve to go through these hardships somehow. The people who had deceived him never took you into their equation at all.”

Mrs. Flores curled her lips into a smile and stood up, handing Yannie over to Luna’s care before disappearing into the kitchen to make them some coffee.

Luna sat down on the sofa and pulled Yannie into her arms. “Yannie, you must believe that none of this happened because of you. On the contrary, you’re the only reason Thomas and Riley are still here today.

“If it weren’t for you, Thomas would’ve believed that he had slept with Denise when he awoke yesterday. Do you think he would’ve stayed calm after that, knowing how much he despises Denise?

“If it weren’t for you, Thomas wouldn’t have been arrested on only one count of murder, but two–his father and Denise. Isn’t that so?”

Yannie began to calm down when she heard this. She bit her lip and lifted her head to stare at Luna rather helplessly. “But Luna, if it weren’t for me…Thomas wouldn’t have been poisoned and…”

The more she tried to say it, the more upset she got. “I can’t possibly deny my responsibility in all this. Luna, you don’t have to try to comfort me… I…” me,

She sniffed and added, “I’ve caused Thomas so much trouble… If it weren’t for wouldn’t even be in jail right now…‘

||

Luna sighed and pulled Yannie closer. “Please don’t ever think that, Yannie…”

“There’s no use just reliving the past and continuously blaming yourself for it,” Gwen’s cold voice rang out before Luna could even finish her sentence.

Gwen strode into the room and sat down across from Yannie.

She could not help but be reminded of herself when she stared at the woman sitting in front of her, the girl who was constantly blaming herself and taking responsibility for every bad thing that had happened.

he

Was she not the same?

After finding out the reason for Luke‘s death, Gwen spent sleepless nights blaming herself over and over. There were even some instances when she could not help blaming herself for things that were clearly not her fault or not within her control.

It was as though she was compelled to tell herself that none of this would have happened if she had never existed.

Now that she had finally moved on from that state, she could not help feeling sad when she saw Yannie acting the same way.

“Yannie, the most important thing we can do now is to change our circumstance, not moping about it.”

She took the cup Mrs. Flores handed her and stared intently at Yannie. “What you have to do now is try to investigate Senior Howard‘s death and go in search of Riley.

“Crying and blaming yourself isn‘t going to solve the problem. What‘s happened has already happened, and no amount of tears will change anything. “Lucky for you, Thomas is only arrested, and Riley is still alive somewhere, albeit missing, so you still have time to make up for your mistakes. “Please don‘t commit the same mistake I did, which is regretting all my decisions after things are too late.”

Chapter 2787 Yannie bit her lip upon hearing this. She lifted her head to stare at Gwen, her gaze gradually becoming more resolute.

When she recalled what Gwen had gone through...she could not help realizing that what she was going through at the moment was nothing compared to Gwen‘s past.

At this thought, Yannie sniffed and lifted her head to meet Luna and Gwen‘s gaze. “What... should I do now? Is there any news from Mr. Lynch? Does he have any way to help Thomas prove his innocence?”

When Luna saw just how worried Yannie was, she could not bring herself to bring Yannie bad news, but at the same time, she could not hide the truth from her either.

Therefore, she let out an exhale and said, “So far, nothing yet. Joshua has managed to find a coroner to conduct a postmortem examination on Senior Howard to find the cause of his death. If he can prove that Senior Howard didn‘t die of the gunshot, Thomas will be released from captivity immediately.”

She grasped Yannie‘s hand in comfort as she continued, “What you have to do now is help Thomas get his emotions under control so that he can recall whether Senior Howard has said anything to him before his death.

“All this can eventually become evidence to prove his innocence.”

Yannie nodded.

“You always know what to do, Ms. Luna.” Mrs. Flores smiled as she handed Luna a cup of hot coffee. “When I tried to comfort Yannie before you arrived, nothing could seem to get in at all, but you managed to talk some sense into her after all.” Then, she sighed and gently caressed Yannie‘s hair. “Yannie...I‘m so happy that you‘ve found genuine friends like Ms. Luna and Ms. Larson. As long as they‘re here to help you, I can die in peace knowing you‘re in good hands...”

The color drained from Yannie‘s face when she heard this. She shot Mrs. Flores a look of disbelief. “How can you say something like that?”

With that, she stood up and disappeared into the bathroom to freshen up.

Yannie could not help letting out a bitter chuckle as she stared at her red, puffy face in the mirror.

She instinctively glanced in Luna and Gwen‘s direction out of the corner of her eye. Her mother said that she was happy she had found genuine friends like them, but...

Yannie closed her eyes.

She could not help feeling that she did not deserve such friends. Luna and Gwen could always keep their heads straight despite being caught in horrible circumstances, but she had grown up an ordinary girl who went with the flow of life. Therefore, she had never learned any healthy caping mechanisms, apart from running away and crying, when it came to dealing with obstacles.

At this thought, Yannie sniffed and stared at herself in the mirror, her gaze becoming more and more resolute.

Thomas had been helping her from the moment they met. It was time for her to stick up for him with his current predicament.

Gwen was right; crying was never the answer!

Yannie wiped her face with a clean towel and changed into a fresh set of clothes. Then, she emerged from the bathroom and put on her coat. “Let’s go, Luna, Gwen.”

Luna paused when she saw Yannie’s newfound resolution, then smiled. “Alright, let’s go. Are we going to visit Thomas at the holding cell?”

Chapter 2788 “I–I can handle Thomas on my own.” After hesitating for a moment, Yannie decided to reject Luna‘s offer. “Don‘t worry; I‘ll take care of this. You guys should...take care of whatever you need to.

“I‘m sure that Mr. Lynch will be overwhelmed by work. Not only does he have to look after Howard Group while Thomas is gone, but he needs to investigate Senior Howard‘s death and find Riley at the same time. I‘m sure that he could use the help.”

Luna paused when she heard this.

“Alright,” Gwen piped up before Luna could even reply. “I trust that you can take care of things on Thomas‘ side on your own. Luna and I shall head over to help Joshua now.”

She gave Yannie a finger–crossed gesture and added, “We‘ll await your good news.”

With that, she strode away, dragging Luna behind her.

Even after getting into the car, Luna still turned to glance in Yannie‘s direction with a concerned look. “Are we leaving just like this? I‘m worried that she‘ll lose it again–”

“She won‘t,” Gwen interrupted her curtly. “She‘s not a child anymore, so how will she change her mind just like that? Besides, didn‘t you notice that the look in her eyes changed as soon as she decided not to pout and do something about the situation instead?”

Gwen sighed and turned to stare out the window.“Luna, you‘re such a softie. You were worried about Aura back in Sea City and constantly treated her like a child, but in reality, Aura not only had a mind of her own, but she even took matters into her own hands to seduce Joshua behind your back and trick you.

“It‘s the same for Yannie. She‘s already in her twenties, and she even has a child. You should stop treating her like a kid. Since she‘s decided she‘ll stop crying and instead help Thomas prove his innocence, I‘m sure she‘ll stick to it. You shouldn‘t worry about her.” With that, Gwen turned to glance at Luna. “Where shall we go now?”

Luna paused for a moment, then sighed and replied, “Let‘s go to Howard Group. I‘m sure we can help Joshua in some way.”

Gwen nodded and ordered the driver to send them to Howard Group.

The driver started the car.

Luna watched in the rearview mirror as Yannie got into a taxi behind them.

Gwen was right; Yannie was a grown–up. She should not have assumed Yannie was still a child that needed coddling just because she was younger than her. Even Thomas could not guarantee that he would be able to protect Yannie forever, much less Luna. There were some things that Yannie needed to learn to face on her own. The car soon arrived at Howard Group Tower. Luna had always expected things to be a mess when they arrived...but not to this extent.

The entire building seemed to be clouded over by an ominous aura.

A crowd of people dressed in black and white–some were employees, whereas others were investors of the company–surrounded the building, chanting.

It was only until they got out of the car that Luna and Gwen could hear what these people were saying; they wanted Joshua to get out of the building and hand over all the company‘s shares because they did not want a murderer as the CEO.

“These people are insane,” said Gwen, frowning as she covered her ears. “Thomas‘ case is still under investigation, so how can they conclude that he‘s the murderer? “Besides, even if he did kill Senior Howard, it still isn‘t up to them to make such ludicrous demands.”

Gwen‘s voice was raised as she said this so that Luna could hear her.

However, as soon as she finished her sentence, a middle–aged woman in front of her turned to stare at her in disbelief. “What did you just say?”

Chapter 2789

This woman did not look pleased at all.

Luna immediately grabbed hold of Gwen’s arm. “Nothing, you must’ve misheard her.”

With that, she quickly dragged Gwen away from the scene.

However, the woman grabbed hold of her sleeve before she could even take another step. “I’m sure I heard correctly!”

With that, she raised her voice and shouted, “Everyone, listen to me! There’s someone here who’s on Thomas Howard’s side!”

All the protestors, who were shouting their demands, immediately quieted down upon hearing this.

Everyone turned to stare at Luna and Gwen in disbelief.

A few tall, burly men blocked Luna and Gwen’s way.

“Hey, isn’t this Joshua Lynch’s wife?” a woman exclaimed out of the blue. “According to what I read online, this woman has been with Joshua for about nine years. I never thought I’d see her here!”

The crowd erupted into murmurs and whispers.

“So this is Joshua Lynch’s wife… What is she doing here anyway?”

“Didn’t you hear that woman? She’s been together with Joshua for nine years, so of course they’d be close.”

“Joshua Lynch has refused to come out of the building despite us camping out here for hours… If we capture his wife, we might be able to force him to come out.”

“That’s a great idea…”

***

Luna and Gwen exchanged a glance as chills went down their spines.

These people looked like ordinary citizens yet capable of terrible things.

“Guards, seize them!” The leader of the protestors had also overheard the pedestrian’s conversation.

Prior to Luna and Gwen’s arrival, she had been cracking her brain trying to figure out a way to lure Joshua out of the building. It was the perfect opportunity to get what they wanted with Joshua’s wife in their midst!

The tall men immediately surrounded Luna and Gwen.

“I’m sorry; it’s all

it’s all my fault we ended up here.” Gwen shot Luna a sheepish look as she bit her lip, staring at the people around them. “I should’ve thought twice before I opened my mouth…

“I

She never thought her careless words would cause this to happen.

“It’s okay.” Luna curled her lips into a smile. “These people know me, so even if you hadn’t

said anything, they‘d recognize me anyway.” Despite this, Gwen still could not help feeling guilty about her actions.

Let‘s take out our phones and record this!” The woman who led the protest strode over and stared coldly at them. “Let‘s record this and show Joshua Lynch that his precious wife is with us! “If he doesn‘t love his wife, he should continue hiding in the building like a coward!

“Don‘t people always say he‘s devoted to the people close to him? He‘s come all the way to Saigen City to help his friend Thomas.” The woman scoffed. “Well, I‘d like to see just how true that is. If he doesn‘t even care to rescue his wife, it‘ll prove how fake he is!” The woman seemed unsatisfied and continued, “Two women should step up and take off these two‘s clothes, too!”

Chapter 2790 “Don‘t you dare!” When she heard this, Luna immediately took out her phone, dialed the emergency number, and glared at the people around her. “This is against the law! I–”

Before she could even finish, the leader lunged forward and swiped her phone out of her hand.

She brought Luna‘s phone up to her ear and said into the receiver, “Nothing, I misdialed.”

with that, she was about to toss the phone away but, upon noticing how expensive Luna‘s phone looked, tucked it into her pocket instead. Finally, she shot Luna a triumphant glance and said, “How are you supposed to call the police now?”

“Don‘t worry.” Gwen immediately turned around and shielded Luna behind her. She lifted her head to stare at the crowd before her. “I was the one who had said the stuff about Thomas, so if anything, you should target me instead, but no matter how mad you are, I won‘t change my mind!

“Thomas is just a suspect, and no one has yet found any evidence to convict him of murder. It should be up to the judiciary system to decide whether he‘s guilty of murder or not, not any of you.

“Besides, even if he truly murdered his father, it‘s not up to either of you to demand him to hand over his shares!”

The look in her eyes was so cold that the men surrounding them immediately shrunk backward out of fear.

The crowd fell silent.

Finally, murmurs spread throughout the crowd.

“She‘s right; the police haven‘t even said anything about Thomas Howard‘s capture yet...” “I heard that Senior Howard was admitted to the hospital after Thomas shot him yesterday, and he passed away at midnight... Who else could it be if not Thomas?” “But we can‘t possibly protest anything if there‘s no concrete evidence yet...”

The leader of the party overheard this and immediately flew into a rage. “Do you honestly believe everything she says? If we don‘t chase Joshua Lynch out and demand Thomas Howard to hand over his shares, are we supposed to wait until they‘ve evacuated the money and nothing is left?

“Have you forgotten what Mrs. Howard said? She promised us that she‘d split one–third of Howard Group‘s shares among us if we successfully chased Joshua Lynch out! Do you know just how much that is? That‘s tens of thousands of dollars! Are you going to give up on that money just because of what this woman said?”

The people immediately changed their minds upon hearing this.

They surrounded Luna and Gwen again, tugging at their shirts while pointing their cameras at them.

They wanted to get their hands on the money Tina promised.

Gwen narrowed her eyes when she heard this. It turned out that Tina was the one who had sent these people over. No wonder these people were acting like maniacs–they had been brainwashed by Tina!

Tina must have known that Joshua would never hand over Howard Group‘s shares despite the people‘s protests. Otherwise, she would not have made such an outrageous promise.

She was using the false promise of money to lure these people into doing her dirty work and preventing Joshua from investigating Senior Howard‘s death. The truth was, these people would not get anything out of this at all.

However, they would not think of blaming Tina at all. Instead, they would direct their blame on Joshua.

Tina was a cruel but cunning woman.

All of a sudden, someone grabbed hold of Gwen‘s parka.

Rip–! The sound of a blade slicing through fabric, and the next moment, down feathers poured out of the jacket.

However, this was not the end. Without her jacket, the people easily caught hold of Gwen‘s shirt, and as they tugged with all their might, her buttons were about to pop off “Stop!”