Chapter 573 Do You Have to Oppose Me?
As Darcy's words hung in the air, a swarm of men in black suddenly surrounded Carolyn and her crew.
Carolyn's face twisted with anger and frustration as she glared at Darcy. "Darcy, do you really have to go against me?"
Darcy smirked, "Carolyn, we've always been on opposite sides. You can take Jeremy if your people can beat mine."
His tone dripped with contempt, fully aware that Carolyn's team was no match for his.
The standoff lasted a tense moment before Carolyn clenched her teeth and spat, "Darcy, you'll regret this one day!"
"Carolyn, instead of wasting time on threats, you should focus on keeping your spot as the head of the Stoll family. Once Jeremy recovers, you won't have any chance to meddle in the family's affairs."
With that, Darcy left with Mary and Jeremy.
As their car merged into traffic, the men in black quickly dispersed.
On the way back, Carolyn's face remained stormy, wishing she could get rid of Darcy and Mary right then and there.
Meanwhile, in the car, Mary looked at Darcy with concern. "Jeremy's health is getting worse. We need to speed up our plan. If Jeremy dies, Carolyn will come after me and my son first."
When Jeremy was healthy, she could rely on his favor to ignore Carolyn and her children. But she knew that her power came from Jeremy. If he died, she would lose everything.
She had to ensure her son became the head of the Stoll family before Jeremy died. Only then would she and her son have a chance.
Seeing her anxiety and fear, Darcy said, "Don't worry, Mary. I'll handle it. I'm doing this not just because I've been with Jeremy for years, but also because I..."
Mary cut him off, "Darcy, don't say that. With Jeremy so ill, I just want to be by his side for his final days."
Darcy nodded, "I get it. I just hope that if you ever want to be with someone else, you'll give me a chance."
Mary turned to look out the window, not responding. She didn't like Darcy. If it weren't for Jeremy's illness, she wouldn't have had much to do with him. But now, Darcy was her only ally.
In Carolyn's estate garden, Sharon wandered around for a while before feeling tired and sitting in a gazebo.
Not long after she sat down, a man in a tuxedo with blond hair and blue eyes walked into the gazebo. Seeing someone there, he looked surprised but quickly recognized Sharon.
He smiled and greeted her, "Ms. Roach, hello."
"Hello, and you are?"
"My name is Andrew Sanchez. Nice to meet you."
His friendly smile was a bit overwhelming for Sharon, who responded in kind, "I'm Sharon. Nice to meet you too."
After exchanging names, Andrew looked at her curiously, "Ms. Roach, you're the star of honor tonight. Why are you sitting here alone?"
Sharon didn't know this fair-skinned, deep-eyed man's relationship with Carolyn and the others, so she was cautious. "I prefer quiet places."
Andrew nodded, "Me too. The party inside is too lively for me."
Sharon observed him discreetly. Anyone with an invitation to the estate must be in Carolyn's social circle, so this man was likely wealthy and influential.
However, she didn't intend to continue the conversation and stood up. "Mr. Sanchez, I have something to do. Excuse me."
Andrew smiled, "Alright, Ms. Roach. We'll meet again."
Sharon didn't take his words to heart and left.
Back in the living room, the party was still in full swing. There were business elites she had only seen in the news, as well as renowned musicians and actors. It was clear that Carolyn had a high social status to attract such important guests.
Sharon had no interest in mingling and went straight to her room.
Carolyn had just returned to the estate when she received a call from Gareth.
"Mom, I found out that Sharon was indeed with Darcy the day she disappeared."
Hearing Darcy's name reignited Carolyn's suppressed anger. Her expression turned cold. "Got it. Next, investigate Darcy. I remember he recently invested in a new project. I want that project to fail."
Gareth hesitated, "But that project involves the Stoll family's interests. If it fails, we could lose billions."
"The loss doesn't matter. What matters is getting him out of the Stoll family."
As long as Darcy was in the Stoll family, she couldn't be at ease or secure in her position. She didn't believe or care about Darcy's claim that Jeremy was getting better. She knew Jeremy's condition well; maintaining the status quo was the best they could hope for.
"Okay, Mom."
After hanging up, Carolyn put her phone in her bag, got out of the car, and walked into the hall with a smile.
As soon as she entered, many people surrounded her, wanting to chat. Some sought investments, others wanted to discuss collaborations. It was over an hour before she found a chance to rest.
Looking around, she noticed Sharon was missing and frowned, calling the butler to ask where Sharon was.
When the butler said Sharon had gone to her room, Carolyn's face turned grim. "Get her out here immediately. She can't leave the hall until the party is over!"
The main purpose of tonight's party was to introduce Sharon to everyone, showing her remorse and motherly love. This way, people would believe she genuinely intended to hand over the Stoll family to Sharon. Only then would Daisy and Gareth be relatively safe and have more time to strengthen themselves and learn to manage the Stoll family.
The butler quickly bowed his head, "Yes, ma'am. I'll go right away."
A few minutes later, the butler returned to the hall with a troubled expression.
"Madam, Ms. Sharon Roach has locked herself in her room and refuses to come out."
Carolyn's eyes narrowed with irritation. "Refuses, does she? Well, we'll see about that." She turned to the butler, her voice icy. "Tell her if she doesn't come out, I'll personally drag her out."
The butler hesitated, "Madam, isn't that a bit too much?"
After all, Sharon was Carolyn's daughter and half the master of the estate. It was against protocol for a servant to use a spare key to open the master's door.
"Do as I say!"
Carolyn didn't want to go this far, but Sharon's disrespect left her no choice.
The butler sighed and nodded, "Understood."
Leaving the hall, the butler went straight to Sharon's bedroom door with a few servants.
He knocked and said, "Ms. Roach, please come out. Otherwise, I'll have to use the spare key. Please don't make this difficult for me."
One of the servants behind the butler was puzzled and asked why he was so respectful to Sharon when it was clear Carolyn didn't care for her. Anyone could see Carolyn disliked Sharon.
The butler glanced back at the servant and said, "No matter how the madam treats her, she is still our master. And how do you know the madam won't suddenly favor her one day? Or what if she really inherits the Stoll family?"
The servant frowned, clearly disagreeing but didn't argue.
Seeing her discontent, the butler smiled and said no more.
Inside the bedroom, Sharon heard the butler mention using the spare key and frowned. After a moment's thought, she got up and opened the door.
As soon as the door opened, the butler bowed slightly, "Ms. Roach, the madam asked me to bring you to the hall. There are many guests to introduce to you."
"Alright, let's go."
Sharon didn't resist further. If Carolyn was willing to have the butler use a spare key to open her bedroom door, resisting would only lead to more trouble.
She had already achieved her goal of annoying Carolyn, so going now wouldn't hurt.
Arriving at the hall, the butler led Sharon to Carolyn's side.
"Madam, Ms. Roach is here."
Carolyn turned to look at Sharon, her expression indifferent. "Hmm, you may go."
After the butler left, Carolyn looked at Sharon with a smile that couldn't hide her disdain.
"Sharon, this party is for you. I won't pursue where you went the day you left the estate, but don't push your luck and test my limits."
Sharon raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Ms. Roach, are you really not pursuing it, or are you secretly investigating? You know the answer. And saying this party is for me is hypocritical and laughable. It's for your children and the position of head of the Stoll family."
Carolyn's gaze darkened, but her smile remained unchanged.
"No matter the reason, you have only one choice: to behave. I've assigned people to watch Seb and Demetrius. Do you really think the person behind you can protect them all the time?"
"If you dare harm them, I guarantee you'll regret it."
Carolyn reached out to pretend to smooth the loose strands of hair by Sharon's cheek, smiling as she said, "What I do with them depends on whether you behave. By the way, I've also had your father brought over for the occasion. After the party, I'll arrange for you two to meet."
Sharon looked up in disbelief, shocked. "What did you say?"
She actually brought Robert here from abroad?
Carolyn's smile deepened. "Don't look so worried. He's not in great health, and I thought it would be good for him to come here to recuperate. Just relax; as long as you behave, he will be fine."
Sharon's mind was buzzing; she never expected Carolyn to be this ruthless.
She wanted to confront Carolyn right there and then, but she knew she couldn’t.
The only reason Carolyn hadn't harmed Robert yet was because she was keeping her composure in public.
If she made a scene, she would lose her value as a pawn, and Robert would become useless as well.
Right now, Carolyn didn't even care about her own daughter, let alone an ex-husband she had divorced years ago.
Not only could she not confront Carolyn, but she also had to swallow her disgust and play along with Carolyn's act of a loving mother and obedient daughter.
Sharon's hands, hanging by her sides, tightened and then relaxed. After a few seconds, she managed to force a smile. "If anything happens to my dad, don’t think you can keep using me."
Carolyn wrapped her arm around her and whispered in her ear, "Don’t worry. As long as you behave, both your dad and Seb and Demetrius will be just fine."
Her tone was soft, but Sharon felt a chill run down her spine.
It was as if a venomous snake was coiled by her ear, ready to turn and bite her at any moment.
"How can I trust you?"
"You have no choice but to trust me."
Sharon's body trembled slightly; she had to exert all her strength to suppress the urge to push Carolyn away.
To the other guests at the party, it looked like the mother and daughter were sharing a secret conversation. Meanwhile, Daisy in the corner watched with jealousy that almost felt tangible, her thoughts about Carolyn's favoritism toward Sharon deepening.
For the next two hours, Sharon was forced by Carolyn to meet various people, walking back and forth in the hall.By the time the party ended, Sharon's legs were so sore that she could barely walk.
However, she hadn't forgotten Carolyn's earlier threat. As soon as all the guests had left, she immediately stopped Carolyn, who was heading back to her study.
"I want to see my dad!"
Carolyn didn't hesitate and directly instructed the butler to arrange a car.
The reason Sharon hadn't listened to her before was that Carolyn had no leverage over her.
Now, letting her see Robert would ensure that Sharon wouldn't dare to defy her again.
"Go ahead, but I'm only giving you half an hour. It was supposed to be an hour, but because of your stubbornness tonight, it's been cut down to half."
With that, Carolyn turned and walked toward the study.
Watching her retreating figure, a cold glint flickered in Sharon's eyes.
The butler approached her. "Ms. Sharon Roach, the car is ready and waiting for you at the front."
Sharon turned to the butler and nodded. "Thank you."
In this estate, the other servants, seeing Carolyn's disdain for her, either mocked her or ignored her completely. Only the butler treated her with consistent respect.
His demeanor was neither contemptuous nor obsequious, showing her the same level of courtesy he extended to Gareth and Daisy.
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