Chapter 596 Trap
Vincent overheard Gabriel chatting secretly with someone, spilling the beans that Arthur was planning to sell the company in Emerald Isle.
It was obvious Arthur was gearing up to leave again.
Every time Arthur took off in the past, he vanished without a trace. And this time, he was already on high alert, making it super tough to track him down next time.
Jasper frowned deeply; it was clear this plan had to work. If they blew this chance, they'd lose any hope of finding Elodie again.
The banquet was in three days, and he had no clue if Harper would be up for it. If not, he'd have to find someone to stand in for her, fast.
When Harper woke up, she found herself in a hospital bed. Her head felt heavy, and she had a bunch of chaotic dreams.
In her dream, Francis was walking away from her, getting farther and farther, and no matter how much she called out to him, he just left her with a cold shoulder.
"How are you feeling?" Francis's deep voice sounded in her ear.
Harper blinked and saw the Francis from her dream sitting by her bed. Immediately, the anger from her dream spilled into reality.
"Why are you ignoring me?" she snapped.
Francis was caught off guard by her question, and all the explanations he had prepared flew out the window.
"In my dream, I kept calling you, but you ignored me." Harper's eyes reddened, and the more she thought about it, the more upset she got.
Hearing her fragmented description, Francis realized it was just a dream.
He chuckled softly.
But then, he felt more relieved that he had figured things out.
Did it really matter if she pitied him? What mattered was that Harper, whom he couldn't bear to lose, was right by his side.
Harper's dream had him in it, and her eyes had him in them, and that was enough.
"Yeah, it's my fault. You can hit me," Francis said, extending his hand with a look that invited a beating.
Harper couldn't bring herself to hit him, but she was still mad! Plus, a lot of Francis's actions now felt strange to her.
"Why didn't you message me that night?" Harper asked. She felt really let down when she woke up in the morning to nothing.
In the past, Francis wouldn't stop messaging just because Harper didn't reply. At the very least, he would ask, "Are you asleep?"
Women, in relationships, paid more attention to these small details than men did. Especially someone like Harper, who had received treatment for psychological issues.
Even a small change would make her wonder if the other person had changed or if she had done something wrong.
For people like her, they needed enough security to completely put their minds at ease.
Francis lowered his eyes and said in a deep, magnetic voice, "I was afraid you were asleep."
To Harper, this sounded like an excuse. Her sending him a message was actually a signal. She didn't believe that someone as smart as Francis wouldn't understand this.
Of course, Francis understood, but he also had moments of insecurity. For someone who was once extremely arrogant, it was hard to say these things.
But for Harper, Francis was willing to say, "And I didn't know what you were thinking. If I asked too much, would you find me annoying? I was afraid you'd hate me."
In Francis's soft voice, Harper heard a hint of insecurity.
She was shocked. When did Francis, a man who was always looked up to, start feeling insecure?
She didn't even know how to respond.
But Harper also felt very aggrieved. She had fallen asleep in the office waiting for him, and when she woke up, it was dark and cold, and she was all alone, nearly freezing.
"You didn't come back to find me," Harper said in a low voice.
Thinking about that darkness and cold, the grievance welled up again.
If Harper hadn't been waiting to tell Francis her thoughts, she wouldn't have fallen asleep on the sofa and been locked inside without being noticed.
Francis said, "It's all my fault. I swear, I'll never leave you again."
Francis had thought about letting her go, but when Jasper suggested he stay away from Harper, it felt like a piece of his heart was being ripped out.
He knew clearly that he wanted to fight for her. If Harper didn't hate him, he didn't want to give up.
Even with his mobility issues, Francis would do everything he could to protect Harper, as long as he was alive.
When Francis found out her marriage with Vincent was fake, he no longer wanted to be a bystander.
He wanted to be part of Harper and the babies' lives, they were the most important people to him in this life.
Harper blushed.
Why had Francis changed so quickly? Wasn't he cold and indifferent before? Now he was suddenly saying all the things she wanted to hear.
But thinking about Francis had left her and didn't come to find her, Harper was still a bit angry.
Harper wanted to vent her frustration and said, "What do you mean by not leaving me? I'm a married woman. Do you want to be someone who breaks up a family?"
Francis's expression changed slightly, it seemed Harper didn't know that he knew the truth.
He went along with her, "If it's you who married, I'm willing to be that person."
Now it was Harper's turn to be surprised.
Francis's eyes were full of deep emotion as he said, "As long as you don't mind, we can be together."
When Francis said this, his heart suddenly raced.
His palms began to sweat slightly, as if he was facing the first major decision of his life, and he was very afraid that Harper no longer wanted him.
But Francis was eager to clarify. Every time he faced a crisis, the suffocating feeling of his heart stopping made him realize that life only existed in the present, not in the future.What needed to be done at the moment had to be done quickly; the person he wanted to cherish had to be held tightly.
Harper felt panicked, not knowing why Francis was suddenly confessing to her.
And it was when she wasn't prepared at all. She quickly pulled the blanket over her head and mumbled, "I'm a bit tired. Let's talk next time."
Even though he knew she was trying to avoid the issue, Francis was helpless.
Francis's eyes darkened slightly, and he said softly, "Rest well."
Then he closed the door and left.
Harper only pulled her head out after hearing the door close. Staring at the white ceiling, she fell into deep thought.
She hadn't figured out whether she wanted to be with Francis again. Suddenly, she felt very scared and wanted to avoid it.
Maybe it was the darkness of the previous night that made her relive the feeling of being abandoned. She was just really scared.
Harper had a strong constitution and bounced back before the banquet.
Facing the upcoming event, Jasper suddenly thought about roping Francis into the plan.
Jasper was going to lead a team into Arthur's villa, and since Arthur would be at the banquet, he was worried about Harper's safety. He feared Vincent might not be enough to protect her. Having an extra person could be a good idea.
But Harper wasn't on board. Francis's leg wasn't in great shape, and his presence at the banquet might tip Arthur off.
Jasper's concern wasn't baseless; the plan had its flaws.
Both the folks at the banquet and those sneaking into the villa were in considerable danger.
Plus, time was running out, and there wasn't enough time to gather more people.
Elodie couldn't wait any longer. Arthur had already scheduled to sign the contract to transfer the company the day after tomorrow.
Once Arthur left, they'd have no shot at finding Elodie.
Francis knew about the banquet and thought it was just as Jasper had said, to help Vincent.
The Perry family had a tradition that after hosting a banquet for their children, Vincent could officially become independent.
Although Francis was super jealous, he kept it in check. And even though Vincent admired Harper, he had always pursued her openly and without any shady tactics, making him a respectable rival.
The next day was the day of the banquet.
Harper wore a red dress paired with a gray fur coat, looking both noble and stunning.
Arthur, who hadn't shown up in ages, appeared at the main entrance of the banquet.
In Emerald Isle, invitations sent to families like the Perry family and the Charles family required attendance; otherwise, it would be seen as severing ties.
So when Arthur, who had been in hiding for a long time, showed up, he became the center of attention.
Today, Arthur was unusually dressed in a cream-colored velvet suit, looking very elegant.
But Harper knew that Arthur was not as refined as he appeared. In fact, his inner evil always revealed itself inadvertently.
For some reason, Harper always felt nervous whenever she saw Arthur, especially since he would always fix his gaze on her for a long time as soon as he entered.
Through the invisible earpiece hidden in her pearl earrings, Harper heard Jasper saying they had already incapacitated all of Arthur's security personnel and servants and had entered the Hernandez Mansion.
They had also frozen the surveillance footage, setting it to loop every ten minutes.
As long as Arthur didn't stare at the surveillance screen for too long, he wouldn't notice anything amiss.
To prevent Arthur from having time to check the surveillance, Harper deliberately walked over to engage him in conversation.
"Arthur." Harper walked over with an empty wine glass and said politely, "Thank you very much for attending our banquet."
Arthur replied gracefully, "Ms. Sackler, you're too kind."
He wasn't holding a wine glass, so Harper raised her hand to call a servant, angrily saying, "What's going on? Why hasn't Arthur been served a drink?"
The servant stammered, "I'm sorry, I'll pour it right away."
The servant quickly poured a glass of wine and handed it to Arthur, but he didn't take it, so the servant just stood there holding it.
Finally, Arthur raised his hand, signaling the servant to place the glass on the nearby table.
After the servant put it down, Harper handed her glass over and said, "Pour it."
The servant picked up the bottle and filled Harper's glass.
Then, Harper raised her glass and said to Arthur, "Arthur, here's to you!"
To prove the wine wasn't poisoned, Harper downed her glass in one go.
After drinking, Harper's heart raced. The wine contained a special ingredient that would make someone sleep for several hours.
She had taken an antidote beforehand to prove that she and Arthur were drinking from the same bottle, to eliminate his suspicion.
After all, dealing with someone as cunning as Arthur, delaying tactics and conversation weren't reliable; the safest way was to knock him out directly.
But even after Harper finished her glass, Arthur showed no reaction. She panicked and signaled the servant to refill her glass, using it as a reminder, "Arthur, let me raise a glass to you again."
As an elder, Arthur couldn't keep avoiding the drink.
Arthur finally slowly picked up his glass, looked at Harper, and smiled.
Just as the glass was about to touch his lips, Arthur suddenly put it down and said, "Oh, I took some medication prescribed by my doctor before coming, so I can't drink for the next three hours."
Arthur finished speaking and put the glass down.
Harper was furious, but what he said was reasonable, and she couldn't find a way to refute it.
The first plan had obviously failed.
They had to move to the second plan. Seeing that Arthur seemed to want to go somewhere else, Harper reached out to stop him and said, "Arthur, I heard you're very knowledgeable about cross-border trade. You know my family is in international shipping, and I have a few related questions I'd like to ask you. Is that convenient?"
Arthur stopped and said kindly, "Go ahead."
Harper asked a few questions, all difficult issues in cross-border trade, not simple ones, and not easy to arouse suspicion.
Arthur was quite patient and answered them all with clear logic, without any issues.
After answering, Arthur was ready to leave again. Harper had no choice but to spill her drink on him intentionally.
Harper covered her mouth and exclaimed, "I'm so sorry, Arthur. Look at your clothes, it's all my fault."
She then took out a handkerchief to wipe it, but Arthur seemed to dislike being touched by others and stepped back.
Harper awkwardly withdrew her hand and said, "Arthur, it's all my fault. Let me handle this. We have a few new suits prepared by a fashion designer. Let me have someone bring you one that suits you."
Harper's logic was sound, and Arthur couldn't refuse. The smell of the wine was quite strong and sticky, making it very uncomfortable.
Although Arthur was unhappy, he hadn't brought a change of clothes and had no other options, so he reluctantly agreed.
Harper signaled a servant to come over.
She instructed, "Take Arthur to a guest room to change."
The servant bowed and said, "Mr. Hernandez, please follow me."
Arthur followed the servant.
Watching Arthur's departing figure, Harper whispered into her earpiece, "Jasper, he's on his way."
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