Chapter 475 No One Could Save Him Except Her
Keith wasn't even fazed; he knew Audrey was a piece of work from way back.
"Chill out, Audrey, I'm on your side," he said, trying to calm her down.
"On my side?" Audrey scoffed. "You're just gunning for the CEO spot. For a bastard, you sure think you're hot stuff!"
Keith's face went cold for a sec, but he bounced back quick. "Audrey, right now, you're Francis's only shot, you know that?"
Audrey was taken aback. Keith went on, "If you help him now, he'll owe you big time."
Audrey mulled it over and thought he had a point. Francis was in deep trouble, and she was the only one who could bail him out. Plus, she figured Keith's schemes wouldn't really sink Francis. They'd just stir up some drama, which could actually work in her favor.
When Francis came out, the CEO's office was already cleared out by the pros, who took all the files and docs. Abigail was outside, holding Audrey up, giving Francis a sidelong glance.
"Francis, can't you just be nice to Audrey for once?" Abigail pleaded. She still naively thought that if Francis and Audrey got together, everything would be peachy.
Audrey's nails dug into her palm as she cried, "Francis, I had no idea Keith would pull that. I'll do whatever it takes to make it right."
Of course, this "help" came with strings attached. Francis had to show some real effort in return.
Abigail chimed in, "Francis, Audrey didn't know. I believe she really cares about you."
Francis laughed, "Is this what you want?"
Audrey tried to explain, "Francis, you got it all wrong, I..."
Francis cut her off, "Audrey, I thought you were sharp, but you can't even outplay Keith."
Audrey's brow twitched hard. Her eyes welled up as she sobbed, "Francis, I swear I didn't know. You have to believe me, I'm your only shot now, right?"
Francis sneered, "Not really."
Audrey started to panic, doubting Keith's plan might be a bust. As Francis walked away, Audrey thought about hitting up Keith for more advice.
Abigail caught up to Francis, trying to reason with him, "Francis..."
He stopped.
"Francis, why can't you see my side? I'm getting old, and I want a grandkid. Audrey's great and can help you. Look at the company's numbers the past two years..."
"Mom!" Francis cut in, "I'm not the dad."
Abigail was floored. Logically, Francis had no reason to lie, but she had personally taken the samples and gone with Audrey for the paternity test, it couldn't be fake.
"Francis, don't be so sure. If it turns out to be true, you'll regret it."
"I'm absolutely sure." Francis looked at Abigail and said, "Mom, I'll say it one last time. Audrey is not who you think she is."
"You have a bias against Audrey," Abigail insisted.
Francis pulled out a medicine box and handed it to Abigail, "Did Audrey give you this?"
Abigail's eyes flickered with guilt. "No, it's just some vitamins."
Francis didn't call her out but said, "This is for Class A mental patients. It's for mental illness, but for normal folks, it can mess you up—confusion, hallucinations, delusions."
Abigail was stunned. "This is a psych drug?"
"Test it anywhere if you don't believe me," Francis said. "Stop taking it, and be careful with anything Audrey gives you."
"I... Audrey really didn't give it to me," Abigail stammered.
Francis's eyes were a mix of disappointment and indifference. He said casually, "Hope you don't end up regretting this."
With that, he turned and walked away. Abigail stood there, hands shaking. She'd always been mentally stable, but she'd been popping psych meds for who knew how long. No wonder her mind felt scrambled and her body did things she didn't want.
If Francis was right, Audrey had been playing her all along. How many times had she wronged Francis and Harper because of Audrey?
Just then, Audrey walked over and saw Abigail still standing there.
"Mom, what's up?" Audrey asked sweetly.
"Nothing, just my hands acting up," Abigail replied.
Audrey brushed it off, thinking it was just the meds kicking in. She took Abigail's hand and said softly, "Mom, you gotta help me talk to Francis. He's so wrapped up in Harper that he won't listen to reason. Think about his well-being!"
Abigail nodded numbly, "Yeah, I'll talk to him."
"Do it today. Francis is probably going to be with Harper right now," Audrey said darkly. "You don't know, do you? Harper even brought a kid. Francis won't acknowledge his own child but is all about raising that brat. He's totally under Harper's spell."
Abigail listened, her memories of Harper all jumbled up. She remembered Harper as a good kid, but her thoughts were telling her Audrey was right and Harper was bad news, trying to mess with her son!
Her head started to pound. "Audrey, my head hurts. I need to rest."
Audrey was a bit annoyed but hid it well. "Okay, I'll have someone take you home."
Abigail got into the car and soon arrived at the Getty Mansion. As she got out, she noticed the driver texting, probably reporting to Audrey. It hit her that Audrey had quietly taken over her life. Even the driver was Audrey's plant. Her every move was under Audrey's watch.
Back home, Abigail found all the meds hidden in the cabinet and dumped them down the drain. She replaced them with similarly shaped vitamins. Then, she picked up her phone to make a call but hesitated, remembering it was a gift from Audrey.
She dug through a drawer and found an old phone she used to contact the housekeeper. She dialed a number. "Mr. Brown? It's Abigail. I need your help investigating a woman."
That evening, Harper got a call from Jasper saying Francis was under investigation. She quickly called Francis.
"Francis, what's going on?" she asked.
There was a brief silence.
"It's no big deal, don't worry," Francis finally said.
How could she not worry? Jasper had made it sound serious. Ryan and Keith were clearly up to something.
"You're trying to fool me again. Where are you?" Harper demanded.
The doorbell rang. "Hold on," Harper said. She thought it was Zoey, probably juggling groceries. She opened the door. Francis's stunningly handsome face was right there.
Harper looked at her phone, then at him, her mouth slightly open, speechless. Francis raised an eyebrow, his voice low and teasing, "Ms. Murphy, there's a stray here. Can you take him in?"
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