Chapter 176 Lauren and Bennett have been kidnapped
Violet paused. "Six years is certainly enough time."
"Mr. Jasper, why would you suddenly need to replace your assistant—" She stopped mid-sentence, abruptly frozen in place.
It dawned on her that it had been exactly six years since Adeline had left Jasper. And Adeline, she recalled, had undergone a transformative plastic surgery. It was a masterpiece crafted by top international surgeons.
Violet had initially met Adeline because her stunning transformation was the pride and joy of Violet's mentor.
Realizing this, Violet's face turned pale, and she quickly tried to patch things up. "Of course, different people have different issues; not everyone is successful with plastic surgery."
After speaking, she lowered her gaze to the photograph in her hand. "Take this photo you've given me, for instance. Although the man is handsome, his features aren't particularly refined—achieving a look like his with plastic surgery would actually be quite simple."
Just then, Jason Smith walked through the door just in time to catch Violet holding his picture, confidently critiquing his less-than-perfect features. His face darkened instantly.
"Who has imperfect features?"
Violet paused, then instinctively looked up. The man before her was the spitting image of the person in the photo she held.
Subconsciously furrowing her brow, she retorted, "You."
"You!" Jason walked over with clear annoyance and snatched the photo from Violet's hands. "Who gave you the right to critique my looks?"
Violet pursed her lips, realizing that the man from the photo was probably someone she couldn't afford to offend.
She silently pressed her lips together, cautiously pointing toward the man on a grand armchair. "It was Mr. Jasper."
Jason rolled his eyes and glanced at Jasper. "I bring you food from the best restaurant in town, as you asked, and this is how I'm greeted?"
With a muted smile, Jasper stood up, took the photo and the meal from Jason, and slowly placed them in Violet's hands. "I knew you hadn't had lunch; this is for you. As for the photo..."
With a light chuckle, he pulled out another picture of a man named Ryan. "If I wanted to transform my employee here to match this face within six years, I'd need you to draft a complete procedure and schedule. The payment will be generous."
Finishing his sentence, he even took out a check from his jacket pocket and wrote down the figure of 500,000. "This is just the down payment."
Violet's eyes widened.
It wasn't that she'd never seen so much money.
It was half a million down payment just for a draft of the plastic surgery, not the actual procedure.
The woman hastily stashed the check and photo into her purse, her eyes shining with gratitude. "I'll get this done as soon as possible, thank you, Mr. Jasper!"
With that, she clutched her lunch and dashed out of the diner.
"Ryan, see her off."
Standing in his downtown office, Jasper watched her retreating figure with an amused smirk.
Once the office door clicked shut again, Jason collapsed onto the couch with a bewildered sigh. "What's gotten into you, Jasper? Planning to give your assistant a makeover to look like me?"
"Do you not see it?" Jasper's voice was cool as he settled back into his executive chair. "Ryan's got a similar facial structure to Mavis Sterling, just like you resemble Claire Sterling.
"If bone structure can be altered, then complete transformation of one woman into another is actually possible."
Jason tensed for a moment, but then it clicked. "Are you suspecting that Claire Sterling isn't Adeline but is actually Mavis?"
Jasper closed his eyes, dodging the question. "Did you set up a meeting with Mavis, as I asked?"
"I did." Jason took a deep breath before continuing, "That's why I'm here—to give you an update."
He straightened up, his expression grave as he locked eyes with Jasper. "Mavis declined."
Jasper arched an eyebrow but didn't utter a word. "This is the first time you've ever reached out to Mavis. She shouldn't have declined."
"Yet, she has " Jasper quipped, lips curling with intrigue.
"What was her reason?"
"She said with your wife back, she saw no point in meeting."
"Tell her I must see her, or else I shall speak on behalf of the Foster family and sever all ties with the Sterling family from here on."
Jason furrowed his brows deeply at Jasper's words. "Jasper, don't you think you're...acting a bit insane? What if Mavis isn't Claire? What if they have no connection at all? You might not want to—"
"I need to find out." Jasper took a deep breath and walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing at his own reflection with a pale, forced smile. "I'd rather believe that the Claire Sterling of today is an imposter."
He rather believed so than to accept that the woman he once adored so profoundly had, over the course of six years, turned into someone cunning and unscrupulous.
...
"Adeline, there's something I need to tell you."
Exiting the Foster Group skyscraper, Violet hailed a cab and made her way to the Swan Lake Apartments.
She arrived at Adeline's just as she finished showering, preparing for a midday nap.
Violet plopped herself down on the carpet unceremoniously and set the takeout on the coffee table. Between bites, she began to speak, "I think Jasper is starting to suspect you."
Adeline was reclining on the chaise longue, dabbing the leftover water droplets from her hair.
She looked up, a puzzled expression on her face. "Suspect what?"
"He came at me today with a photo of his assistant and some guy, asking if it's possible for his assistant to undergo plastic surgery to look like his friend —after six years!"
While eating, Violet gazed up cautiously at Adeline. "Have you slipped up recently or something?"
Adeline stiffened slightly. She couldn't recall making any mistakes.
"Maybe you should keep your distance from him for a while, just to be safe." Violet pursed her lips. "He even asked me to draft a proposal for the whole procedure his assistant would need to undergo to transform into his friend."
After a moment, Adeline looked up. "Did you take it?"
"Of course, why turn down the cash? These major surgeries involve several dozen operations, spanning multiple specialties.
"I bet he wants the detailed procedure so he can start investigating from a medical perspective, looking into surgeons capable of the procedures to narrow down his search for the person."
Saying this, Violet chuckled. "But Adeline, I doubt he'll find anything on you through the surgery details. After all, what you had was reconstructive surgery after a complete disfigurement, nothing like traditional cosmetic surgeries."
Adeline paused, then smiled. "So you're saying, the procedure you gave him will only lead him astray?"
"Sort of."
Violet shrugged while continuing to eat. "But before I finish writing that report, you should still keep a low profile and not expose any flaws."
Adeline nodded. "I will."
After they finished talking about Jasper, Adeline briefly discussed the morning's press conference with Violet.
The two women sat shoulder to shoulder on the couch, half-watching a Korean drama, intermittently reflecting on life's ups and downs.
As they finished the second episode, Adeline's phone rang.
It was Alice.
"Ms. Adeline!" Alice's voice had a hint of panic, "The kindergarten just called and said Lauren and Bennett have been kidnapped!"
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