Chapter 431 Forgot What Kind of Thing I Am
Ariana shook her head and said, "Nah, Sharon, it's cool. I live super close to the office, and it's a busy street. Lots of people around, so it's okay. Don't worry about me."
Sharon nodded, "Alright, just shoot me a text when you get home."
"Will do," Ariana replied.
Sharon and Seb hopped in their car and took off, while Ariana started walking home. Just as she was about to reach her place, her phone rang. It was Kirk. "Not home yet?"
Ariana felt a bit weird about his familiar tone and frowned, "I'm on my way, thanks for checking in, Mr. Marshall. Is there something you need?"
Kirk didn't seem to mind her cold tone. He replied gently, "Just be careful on your way. Let me know when you get home."
Ariana sighed, "Mr. Marshall, I thought I made it clear last time. I'm really grateful you saved me twice, but that's all I feel—gratitude."
Kirk was used to her pushing him away. "Ariana, why not give us a shot? If it doesn't work out, I'll back off."
Ariana shook her head, "There's no point in trying something that won't work."
They were both too similar, both raised in loveless homes, like two hedgehogs ready to prick at the slightest threat. Being together would just hurt them both, so she didn't see the point.
"How do you know it won't work?" Kirk pressed.
Ariana looked down, "Kirk, people like us, who grew up without love, don't have much to give. It's hard enough to love ourselves. I don't want us to hurt each other, and you had other motives when you first approached me, didn't you?"
In the lab, Adeline and Violet were prettier and more outgoing. Why would Kirk notice someone like her?
The line went silent. Just as Ariana was about to hang up, Kirk spoke again, "Ariana, I won't deny I had other reasons at first. But after learning about your past, I was drawn to your strength. I genuinely like you now, not for any other reason."
His tone was serious, and Ariana could almost picture him standing in front of her, looking down as he spoke. She gripped her phone tightly and, after a long pause, said, "But I don't like you, and please, stop liking me."
With a resolute flick, she ended the call, slipping her phone into her bag after silencing it. The decision steeled her resolve as she continued her walk down the quiet street.
Ariana was no stranger to solitude; it was almost a companion to her. Yet Kirk's heartfelt words had stirred something within her, causing an unfamiliar ache. But it was just a fleeting feeling.
She and Kirk were too alike, in their families and their experiences, which made them both stubborn and persistent. Two people so similar couldn't be together.
In his hospital room, Kirk slowly put down his phone and stared out the window. Being rejected by Ariana over and over was wearing him down. Suddenly, his phone rang. A flicker of hope crossed his eyes, but it quickly turned to ice when he saw the caller ID.
He answered, and Grace's hysterical voice blasted through, "Kirk, when are you going to make a move?"
Ever since Victor found out about her affair with Jesse, he'd been hitting her whenever he was pissed. She was done with this life and had already siphoned off some of Victor's money. She was ready to bolt as soon as Kirk acted.
Kirk's face remained expressionless as he listened to her breakdown, "Soon, don't worry."
Grace screamed, "Soon? You always say that. I don't think you ever planned to deal with Sharon. If that's the case, I won't hold back. Everyone will know about your embezzlement!"
She hung up before Kirk could respond. He gripped his phone tightly, his face darkening. If Grace wanted to play hardball, she couldn't blame him for being ruthless.
He took a deep breath and quickly sent an anonymous email to Victor, attaching all the evidence of Grace's secret transfers. Victor was in his study when the email notification pinged. He opened it, and within a minute, his face turned stormy.
He called his secretary to investigate, and sure enough, found that Grace had been siphoning off company funds.
He had thought keeping her out of the company would prevent any threats. He hadn't expected her to team up with several shareholders behind his back.
If it weren't for this anonymous tip, he might not have discovered it until it was too late! A fierce look crossed his face as he stormed towards the bedroom.
Grace was in the bedroom, organizing evidence of Kirk's embezzlement, when the door was suddenly kicked open. She jumped, her phone slipping from her hand.
She looked up and met Victor's terrifying gaze, her body trembling. "Victor... you!"
Before she could finish, Victor was at her side, his hand clamping around her neck. The feeling of suffocation hit her, fear surging through her. Victor had never looked at her like this before!
"Victor... Victor..." She gasped, her vision blurring as the oxygen drained from her lungs.
Desperately, she slapped at his arm, but it was useless. His grip was like iron, unyielding. Her strength ebbed away.
Just as she was about to pass out, Victor released her. She collapsed to the floor, air rushing into her lungs like needles, making her cough violently.
Victor looked down at her, his eyes cold and devoid of any warmth, as if she were nothing more than an insect. "Grace, how dare you play games behind my back and steal money from the company! I didn't know you had it in you."He looked at her disheveled appearance, each word squeezed out from between his teeth, cold enough to freeze.
Grace's coughing suddenly stopped, and she looked up at him in disbelief. How did he know? She had done it so secretly, how could he possibly know? Suddenly, she thought of Kirk.
She had just called Kirk, and Victor immediately found out about her transferring the company's funds. It couldn't be a coincidence. It must be Kirk! That ungrateful bastard!
But at this moment, she couldn't think about how to deal with Kirk. The most urgent thing was to ask for Victor's forgiveness.
She endured her fear and hugged Victor's leg, "Victor, I know I was wrong. I did this because I was afraid you might suddenly want to divorce me one day... I was so scared... If you let me go, I promise I will never..."
Before she could finish, Victor's boot connected with her chest, making her scream in pain. Her head hit the edge of the bed hard, almost knocking her out, and cold sweat appeared on her face.
However, Victor seemed not to see her painful expression, his expression didn't change at all. He squatted down, grabbed Grace's chin, and said slowly and coldly, "It seems I've been so good to you that you've forgotten who you are."
Victor's grip on her chin was very strong, as if he wanted to crush it. Seeing Grace frown, Victor sneered, "From today on, I will show you what real hell is."
His sinister expression was extremely terrifying, like a ghost crawling out of hell to claim a life, making Grace's soul tremble. "No... no, what are you going to do!"
At this moment, the only thought in her mind was running away. So she pushed Victor away in horror and tried to run out, but before she reached the door, her hair was grabbed.
She screamed in terror and was dragged back to the bedroom. The bedroom door closed in front of her, and her expression turned frantic and desperate.
Victor threw her onto the bed, took off his belt, and coldly whipped her with it. The sound of leather striking flesh was a sickening, dull thud, and the air itself seemed to vibrate with the vicious energy of each strike.
This time, instead of pleading for mercy like before, she locked eyes with Victor and laughed, "Hit me, you'd better kill me! What else can you do besides hitting women? You're just a useless piece of trash!"
Victor's eyes instantly became dark and terrifying, staring at Grace as if he wanted to eat her. "Say that again!"
Grace looked at him with contempt, knowing that no matter how much she begged for mercy today, he wouldn't let her go, so she didn't bother pretending anymore.
Grace yelled, "I said you're a piece of trash! Do you know why I approached you in the first place? Because you're the dumbest. I just had to shed a few tears in front of you, and you would believe everything and willingly be my dog to deal with Sharon. You're so stupid, no wonder Seb is dealing with the Edwards family! Trash!"
With every word she said, Victor's eyes grew colder. Finally, he suddenly laughed, "Grace, I will make you wish you were dead!"
After saying that, he threw the belt aside and slowly walked towards her. Seeing his extremely calm eyes, Grace finally felt a surge of fear, "What are you going to do?"
"You'll find out soon." He grabbed her hair and dragged her towards the living room like a toy.
The sharp pain from her scalp made Grace's unease grow. "Victor, let go of me! Let go!"
Victor turned back and gave her a cold look. At this moment, Grace's face was twisted, and her eyes were filled with fear, nothing like the ideal girlfriend she once was in school.
Thinking about how he had considered such a scheming woman as his ideal girlfriend for so many years, Victor felt disgusted from the bottom of his heart. He dragged Grace to the entrance of the basement and started to drag her down.
Fear flashed in Grace's eyes, and she struggled desperately. "Let go of me! Let go! I don't want to go in!"
She clung to the door frame with her hands, her nails turning blue and purple, but she was still dragged in by Victor.
The basement door slammed shut, cutting off the sound inside.
It was more than half an hour before Victor came out of the basement. After locking the basement door, he threw the key to the butler who was standing nearby with his head down, not daring to speak.
Victor said, "Feed her once a day, just make sure she doesn't starve to death."
The butler quickly took the key and bowed his head, "Yes, Mr. Edwards."
Not long after returning to the study, Victor received a call from his secretary. "Mr. Edwards, we found out that the person who sent you the anonymous email is an employee of Silvercrest Group named Kirk. Mrs. Edwards had helped him a few times when his family was sick."
Victor sneered. Being betrayed by someone she had once helped, Grace must have regretted helping him back then.
Victor asked, "Does he have anything to do with Grace transferring the company's funds?"
The secretary replied, "No, he doesn't."
Victor said, "Then don't worry about him. Go investigate those shareholders who secretly transferred the funds. I want them to return every penny with interest!"
After hanging up the phone, Victor's expression remained cold and terrifying. Thinking about how he had been manipulated by Grace, that idiot, he couldn't suppress the anger in his heart.
In the hospital room.
Kirk dialed Grace's number, but no one answered. A smile appeared on his lips.
Now that Victor knew she had transferred the company's funds, whether Grace could continue to live was uncertain.
After all, the Edwards Group, which used to be a big company on par with Silvercrest Group, had become a small, precarious company on the verge of collapse, partly because of Grace. And she still wanted to transfer all the company's funds. How could Victor bear that?
From now on, Grace could no longer threaten him.
Sharon and Seb had just returned to the villa when Seb received a call from Paul. "Mr. Smith, the people abroad have contacted Daniel, asking him to provide items like Ms. Roach's hair for DNA extraction within three days."
Seb lowered his eyes, a deep look in them. It seemed Daniel was preparing to act. But recently, he had been protecting Sharon very well, making it difficult for Daniel to get close to her.
Seb said, "Got it, keep an eye on him and inform me of his movements at all times."
After hanging up the phone, Seb followed Sharon upstairs.
Seeing Sharon take her pajamas to go shower, he immediately said, "Sharon, I'll shower with you."
Sharon raised an eyebrow and gave him a sidelong glance, "No need, I'm not used to showering with others."
Seb said, "You'll get used to it after a few times."
Sharon fell silent. In the end, she couldn't refuse Seb and had to agree.
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