Chapter 397
Chapter 397
On a sweltering afternoon, everyone was cooped up at home, unwilling to face the blazing sun.
Mia was enjoying the cool of the air conditioning indoors. She was laying back in her chair. Her eyes
were shielded by a sleeping mask. In this way, she could enjoy the rays of sunlight.
Passersby couldn’t help but slow their pace, not daring to disturb the precious lady of the Andre family.
But Mia wasn’t asleep. Her mind was a whirlwind of thoughts, thinking of Cooper one moment and Leo
the next.
Molly’s words, as well as the sight of the pregnant girl she had encountered a few days ago, kept
playing on her mind.
In a few days, she was due for her prenatal check-up. If everything went according to plan, her family
might switch hospitals just to avoid running into her.
Mia’s hand rested on her belly, softly patting it. “What do you reckon, baby? Should Mama go snooping
around to find out which hospital they’re going to?”
There was no response from her belly.
“So you agree, right?”
The little one was basking in the warmth of the sun, shielded by her belly.
The sun war scortching, but it seemed unable to penetrate the old Walton family mansion.
As soon as someone stepped into the Walton residence, a chill would creep up on him. Whether it was
due to the lack of lighting, the direction of the house, or perhaps one’s mood, it was impossible not to
get goosebumps at the Walton’s.
And yet, Finley was in love with life here. In the remote mountain suburbs stood a villa, home to only
one - Holly. He spent all his days within these four walls.
Tom spoke up, “Boss, I found two potential businesses on the brink of bankruptcy, but they’re too small.
If we act rashly, we might get caught. I did find a company that we could potentially use. They’re
generating regular profits and as long as we handle it well, we won’t get caught. The company is
Ashford Inc., owned by the Ashford family. The current leader is Jack Ashford.”
Finley had never heard of this company before. “What do they do?”
“They’re in the fashion industry. They’re competitors with Chade Inc. The Ashford family has always
wanted to forge an alliance with the Byrne family through marriage. They want Kendrick and Chad as
backing. But the Byrnes don’t have a good impression of the Ashfords. They won’t allow Molly to marry
Jack.”
The Byrnes were out of reach. If they approached now, it would only push the Ashfords further away.
“What’s their situation like?”
Tom explained the complex situation of the Ashford family to Finley who immediately rejected the idea.
“Too complicated, not worth considering.”
Tom hesitated before trying to persuade Finley again. “The current decision-maker in the company is
Jack. As long as he is easy to control, his parents shouldn’t pose a problem.”
“The Marshal family is beyond saving. We urgently need a new puppet. Boss, why don’t you meet with
the Ashfords, and see what Jack is like, before deciding whether or not to choose them?”
Tom’s words left Finley in a state of indecision. “Arrange a private meeting with Jack for me.”
“Understood!”
...
Back at Andre’s office in Cedillo Inc., he received a call from his subordinate. “Sir, we have confirmed
that Tom does indeed have a leaf tattoo.”
Andre’s brow furrowed slightly. It was indeed him. “Keep watching. Notify me immediately of any
changes.”
“Understood, sir.”
After hanging up, Andre immediately dialed Mars. “Mars, I need you to dig up everything on the Walton
family from the past fifty years.”
Mars retorted, “Bro, am I your personal assistant?” Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.
Andre replied, “This is about a kidnapping case from sixteen years ago.”
Mars was unimpressed. “What’s that got to do with me?”
“Too busy to help now?”
Mars had a demand of his own. “I want to be your son’s godfather.”
The thought of Andre’s son, who would surely resemble Andre, calling him “Godpapa” all day brought a
blissful smile to Mars’ face. Of course, he didn’t dare voice this out loud.
Unable to outdo Andre, he figured he could at least have the upper hand over his son.
As for Mars’ little scheme, Andre already saw right through it. He squinted his eyes, and asked him,
“You want a son?”
Mars, in his naive ignorance, nodded. “Yes.”
Without thinking too much about why Andre was asking this, Mars simply nodded.
Andre smirked slyly. “Alright then.” When it came to schemes, Mars still had a lot to learn.
Suddenly, Jack received a peculiar invitation. After much contemplation, he decided to accept.
Upon his arrival, he was immediately frisked. Jack felt uncomfortable. He was the one being invited, so
why were they confiscating his phone and other electronic devices?
Tom warned, “Mr. Jack, you’re a smart man. You must know why you were invited here. For both our
sakes, I hope you’ll cooperate.”
After a moment’s hesitation, Jack agreed. Handing over his phone, car keys, and even his watch, Jack
was then escorted onto an inconspicuous van.
The whole scene was witnessed by the person tasked with tailing Tom.
“Sir, there’s a new development. Ashford Inc.’s Mr. Jack met with Tom. Jack handed over all his
electronic devices and was frisked before being led onto a white van.”
The familiar name was the same one his older brother had mentioned during dinner. “Switch personnel,
and continue surveillance.”
As Andre calmed his mind, a timeline web began to form in his head. His thumb and forefinger rubbed
together as if trying to unravel the mystery before him.
The Mastin family, the Marshal family, now the Ashford Inc., and the Walton family.
If Finley was the man behind the now non-existent Marshal Group, and now the Marshal family had
become a Calder Corporation’s division, he would naturally be looking for a new conglomerate to
amass wealth from.
The Mastin family had once been closer to Finley, and it was only due to the bankruptcy of Mastin
Corporation that the Marshal family made their move.
Wyatt had once worked under Officer Rubin, who was Mr. Marlow’s protege, and Mr. Marlow was the
one who rose to the top after Finley stepped down.
Everything pointed towards Finley.
Meanwhile, Chad received a picture. The picture he had sent to his coworkers on his first day of work
was modified according to his request.
The driver who had hit him had a mole by his eye, which always distracted them. He had asked his
colleagues to remove the mole out. In this way, it could reveal the possible appearance of the driver.
Chad was holding the picture in the office. The image overlapped perfectly with the man who had
appeared at the hospital!
At this moment, he received a message from Andre on his phone. [Watch out for Ashford Inc.]
Then, a picture of Jack and Tom meeting was sent to Chad. Chad also took a picture of the photo he
had investigated and sent it to Andre.
As evening fell, Andre had already gone home early.
“Oh, you are home early today. Are you sleeping in the study or the guest room tonight?” Andre’s wife
sauntered over, taking advantage of her husband’s affection, intentionally provoking her husband with a
cheeky remark.
Andre raised his hand to stroke his little wife’s lips. His eyes held a suggestive look, and his voice
slightly rose. He said with a hint of a smile, “Did I kiss you too softly this morning, that your little mouth
doesn’t know what pain is?”
Mia opened her mouth, about to bite him.
Andre quickly withdrew his hand, putting on a serious demeanor. He asked, “Where’s dad?”
The disgruntled little Mia huffed in a haughty manner, “My mouth hurts. I’m not speaking.”