Chapter 378
"Gabriel, Liam has already fired Diana. Also, we've discovered that Brian hijacked a student's WeChat account and personal information—a certain Li Mo from Unity University. He's been lurking in the Unity college group chat for the past two months."
Hospital, just after five in the afternoon, while Katherine and Sophia kept Teresa company with a croissant in hand, Gabriel slipped out of the room.
Luke hurriedly briefed him with the information he'd gathered.
"Is that all?" Gabriel asked-offhandedly.
"There's more." Luke nodded, respectfully handing over a document to Gabriel, who continued, "Two months ago, a suspicious number contacted Diana. Just the night before last, Brian messaged Diana using Lee Morris's social media account."
Gabriel took a quick look at the document.
It was an A4 sheet detailing Diana's chat from the night before with "Lee Morris."
【Ready to proceed, preferably at night!】
【Understood.】
The exchange couldn't have been simpler—one line each.
This confirmed, without a doubt, that Diana had been in contact with Brian and knew all along that he was hiding in their college classmates' group chat. As for why she made her move only yesterday, the reason probably had something to do with Madison.
Recovering from surgery to alter Madison's appearance to match Teresa's would take more than a couple of days.
It was time for Gabriel to have a serious talk with Madison.
"Is Madison awake?" Gabriel crumpled the A4 sheet in his hand and coldly questioned Luke.
"She's awake and has been crying and begging for mercy," Luke replied with deference.
Gabriel gave a slight nod, silent, before tossing the crumpled paper into the trash and heading back into the room.
Inside, Teresa was playing a game of finger-grabbing with the Croissant.
Though Teresa had forgotten him and the Croissant too, blood was thicker than water. She had accepted him so readily once more—his son was no different!
Her pale little face glowed with softness, and her delicate features were filled with a gentle, loving smile—it was truly beautiful!
Not wanting to disturb the moment, Gabriel stood quietly to the side, his gaze burning with intensity as it fell upon Teresa's face.
After some time, Teresa felt the heat of his stare. Their eyes met, and there was a tangle of emotion in the brief exchange.
Suddenly, with just one look, Teresa's heart skipped a beat.
"What's wrong? Do I have something on my face?" she said, catching herself.
Teresa's face bloomed with imaginary flowers. "Wow, look at Mommy's flowery face. It's so pretty!" Croissant cheerfully clapped his little hands and stared at Teresa.
Gabriel chuckled, striding over and naturally bending down to kiss her head. His large hand gently brushed through her hair as he looked at her with a soft voice. "I've got some errands to run, but I'll be back soon. We can have dinner together."
Teresa's cheeks flushed at the devilishly gentle man so close to her. She could hardly contain herself.
Hurriedly, she murmured an "mm-hmm," then continued to play with her Croissant, adding, "You'd better hurry, though. I won't wait up for you for dinner."
Gabriel laughed, his demeanor glowing with contentment, as he agreed with a simple "Okay." He kissed Teresa once more on the crown of her head before turning on his heel and departing.
...
"Gabriel."
After Diana had packed up her personal belongings and left Evans Group, she headed straight to First Hospital.
As she was about to walk towards the VIP ward, she saw Gabriel stepping out briskly.
Right before Gabriel got into his car, Diana ran up to him and called his name to catch his attention.
Gabriel glanced at her, his gaze cool and detached, and without a word, he lifted his leg into the car.
If it weren't for Diana being Teresa's best friend for years and the godmother to little Croissant, given how much she had helped Teresa and her child back in Jena, there's no way he'd allow her to come before him.
She would have been long confined with her hands and feet tendons severed.
"Gabriel, can you give me just two minutes?" Diana rushed forward, blocking the car door in desperation, seeing that Gabriel was completely ignoring her.
She wasn't unaware of the havoc wrought by the Garcias and their influence over Gabriel. Now that things had come this far, she could only come clean and beg Gabriel and Teresa for forgiveness.
—Two minutes.
Once again, Gabriel lifted his eyes toward Diana. His dark gaze was deep and chilling. He raised his eyebrows slightly and said, "Fine, two minutes."
Considering her close friendship with Teresa, if it were to be her end, he would at least let her understand why.
"Gabriel, two months ago, Brian did contact me. He wanted me to create an opportunity for him to 'bump into' Teresa. Initially, I refused, knowing full well Teresa never had feelings for him, and now she was even less likely to. But Brian threatened me, saying that if I didn't comply, he would send an explicit video of us to Liam and post it on every social media platform."
Watching Gabriel, Diana took a deep breath and continued, "I've liked Liam ever since I first saw him. I fell for him, but his heart was always set on Teresa. So, I've had to hold back my feelings. Now, when Liam's finally warming up to me, even considering marriage, I can't let anyone tarnish my reputation in front of him. Plus, as Liam's executive assistant, a leak of this video online wouldn't just embarrass me—it could harm Liam and the Evans Group's public image. That's why I agreed to Brian's terms."
Gabriel looked at Diana calmly, his eyes narrowing as he listened.
"I agreed to give Brian the chance to 'bump into' Teresa unexpectedly, but I had no clue he planned to kidnap her, to do those twisted things. Teresa never mentioned any bad blood between them; I honestly thought he just wanted to see her," Diana explained, her words tumbling out without pause as she gazed at Gabriel.
"Where's the video of you and Brian?" Gabriel asked eyebrows knitted together as he scrutinized Diana.
Without hesitation, Diana pulled out her cell and showed Gabriel the explicit video that Brian had sent her.
At this point, if she wanted to stay alive, she couldn't worry about the intimate details of Brian getting out.
Back in Jena, at a party with friends, Teresa was a no-show, and Diana, drunk and barely conscious, was led away by Brian and ended up in his bed.
Brian, the creep, had taken advantage of her state, twisting her into various positions and, in the end, ejaculating on her face.
And there she was, foolishly and hazily licking away.
Watching the video made her want to bash her head in. If Liam ever saw it, she could only imagine how much he'd loathe her.
Gabriel's piercing gaze shifted to the screen of Diana's phone.
Sure enough, the screen showed an enthusiastic Brian with a dazed Diana, entangled in a way beyond words.
After one glance, Gabriel looked away from the screen and back at Diana.
