Chapter 58 Esme Gets Kidnapped
As soon as she thought of this, Esme got all jittery and blurted out, "Hey, don't you dare mess with me! Do you even know who I am? Do you know who my grandpa is? I'm from the Windsor family!"
"Ms. Windsor? Well, ain't that a twist of fate. I've been lookin' for you. Since you took my order, you gotta play by the rules."
Esme was totally lost. 'Order? What order?'
'I've been broke lately, haven't played cards in ages. There shouldn't be any orders, right?'
The driver's voice turned all nasty, and the veins on his arm, with that mountain peak tattoo, popped out. The scar on his face made him look even scarier!
"Ethan's order. Since you took it, whether you're Phantom Doctor Moon or not, you're coming with me today!"
Esme was baffled.
'What the heck is he talking about? Is he talking about that billion-dollar order on the dark web?'
She wanted to say something, but then, she got smacked hard from behind and blacked out.
The taxi quietly drove off, vanishing into the night.
---
The Smith Villa, Serenitia City.
Oliver slammed the surveillance footage on the table, his mustache twitching with rage.
"Clara, spill it! What's going on here? How many of our family's orders have you shown to the Johnson family?"
"Not many, Oliver. I had no choice. Lucas said if I didn't show him, he'd dump me. He said once we're married, we'd be one family anyway."
Celeste tried to calm Oliver down too, "Yeah, Oliver, besides, our business is different from the Johnson family's. A lot of orders are just coincidences. Now that Clara's shown our contracts to the Johnson family, when they get married, won't she be able to show you the Johnson family's contracts too?"
Oliver couldn't argue with that.
'It kinda makes sense.'
'Even though the Johnson family hasn't been doing great lately, they're still better off than us. Plus, Lucas is a good kid. Otherwise, he wouldn't have helped us renovate the old house.'
"Don't do this again, but if you get the chance, show me the Johnson family's contracts." Oliver said.
Seeing Oliver wasn't pushing it further, Clara quickly agreed, "When I marry into the Johnson family, I'll let you know everything. Lucas treats me well and won't hide anything from you."
Oliver nodded but started worrying about the Smith family's recent business troubles again.
He'd spent a fortune entertaining four bosses without even meeting them. All the fancy food ended up in his stomach, and it wasn't fresh, giving him diarrhea for days.
Thinking about the Catherine poster Clara saw in the university town, she bit her lip and shared her idea.
"Oliver, I think Catherine's planning to debut. I don't know if she wants to act or sing. I haven't heard of Catherine having any talent in this area. If she plans to shoot something inappropriate, it wouldn't be good."
Oliver got mad just thinking about Catherine.
'That Catherine has clearly latched onto Philip, and when I asked her for an intro, she blocked me!'
'What an ungrateful traitor!'
"It's none of our business. Anyway, she's already cut ties with the Smith family. Clara, you're a lady of a noble family. Don't you dare learn from her. She's full of bad habits." Oliver said.
"I know. Our family is being sued by Harmony Enterprises. Why don't you let me debut? I also want to do something for the family."
'With my looks and talent, once I debut, I'd definitely do better than Catherine.
When I marry into the Johnson family, they wouldn't look down on me as a nanny's kid!' Clara thought.
Oliver immediately refused, "No way, you're my precious darling. How can you show your face in public? If you have time, you should sweet-talk Lucas and get him to marry you soon."
'The most important thing is, Clara couldn't do anything.' he thought.
Oliver had it all planned out. 'We'd marry off Clara and get the Johnson family to bail us out with some cash, just enough to cover the compensation claims from several companies!'
Clara felt a bit miffed. 'Why could Catherine do things that I couldn't?'
'If I debut, I'd definitely be more successful than Catherine!'
"Alright, let's drop it. Once I get all this sorted, I'll hook you up with a killer dowry!"
'When Clara ties the knot, she should at least have a five-million-dollar dowry, but the Smith family is flat broke right now,' Oliver thought.
Clara's eyes lit up. "I heard Lucas say yesterday that the president of the Howard Group has been hitting up Bright Heal Hospital every day lately. Why don't we try our luck there?"
"You mean Alexander? Is he sick or something? He's a major player you don't usually get to see," Oliver said.
'If we could get in good with the Howard Group, I wouldn't have to sweat business anymore.'
'Forget the Johnson family giving me attitude, I'd kick them to the curb!'
'The compensation amounts wouldn't mean squat to the Howard Group. Alexander probably drops that much on a single meal,' he thought.
"Make arrangements. We're heading to Imperia City tomorrow!" he said.
"Okay."
Oliver was all smiles making the arrangements when his secretary called.
"Mr. Smith, someone is offering three million dollars to buy the Smith family's old house in Osflow."
"Who? That place is ancient. I haven't set foot there in over twenty years. Who'd want it?"
"Someone from the village. They said they like the trees in the yard. If you don't agree, I'll turn them down."
Oliver shot up from the couch and said, "I agree! How could I not? That house's market value is at most two hundred grand. Now someone wants to drop three million on it? Of course, I'll sell it!"
'I have zero attachment to that house. Besides, isn't the villa I live in now good enough? Why bother with that old, rundown place?'
'Now that someone is offering three million, I'd definitely sell it to get some cash.'
"Agree to their offer, and see if you can bump up the price. If not, three million is fine."
"Understood."
---
President's Office of the Evergreen Group.
"What did you say? Oliver wants five million dollars? How does he get the nerve!" Charles fumed.
The secretary was also speechless. 'Mr. Windsor is willing to offer three million dollars for that house as a favor to Elodie for her feelings towards Catherine. How could Oliver have the audacity to ask for five?'
Catherine, lounging on the couch, spoke coolly, "It's probably Oliver's secretary trying to pocket two million dollars. Just contact Oliver directly and tell him our original offer was five, but now it's only one million dollars. Take it or leave it."
Charles couldn't help but laugh. 'Given Oliver's character, he'd not only beat his chest in regret for not getting a good deal but also want to strangle his secretary.'
"Do as Catherine says," Charles said.
"Yes."
Catherine picked up the latest financial news, wanting to check the recent trends. As soon as she picked it up, she saw Alexander in a suit on the cover.
His face was front and center, with a subtle smile. Even in a photo, he exuded an intimidating aura.
He seemed to be showcasing something, deliberately revealing a pair of ruby cufflinks on his sleeves. The newspaper specifically noted that they were put on by his fiancée.
Catherine fell silent. 'If I remember correctly, how long ago was that?'
When Alexander's call came, Catherine waited three rings before answering. She put down the newspaper and picked up the phone without avoiding Charles.
"What's up?" she asked.
"Can't I just miss you?"
Catherine was speechless, about to hang up.
"The most important thing is that I miss you. The less important thing is that Esme was taken by Ethan's people, possibly mistaking her for Phantom Doctor Moon," Alexander said.
"Got it. Anything else?"
"Do I have the honor of having dinner with you tonight? Of course, we can take five minutes to talk about Ethan. Any longer wouldn't be appropriate. I don't like you talking about other men."
Catherine was silent. 'Is this guy nuts?'
Catherine thought for a moment and coldly refused, "Then we can skip dinner and just talk for five minutes."
"No, we haven't seen each other for days. I've been working overtime just to have dinner with you. If you say that, it'll break my heart!" he said.
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