Chapter 161 Last Time He Said He Wasn't Right for Me
Kayla didn't dare to ask more, just acknowledged with a "yes," and the man on the other end ended the call.
The man's gaze lingered on the computer, his fingers twirling a ring, lost in thought.
After a moment, he turned to the person beside him. "Xiao Zhai, which do you think would gall Charles more? Destroying his company and killing him or helping him win Daphne over only to have his beloved be the one to end him?"
"The latter, of course," Xiao Zhai said with a slight smile.
"Arrange for someone to assist him in pursuing her," the man ordered, his eyes holding a depth that was hard to read, an aura of danger surrounding him, "And it would be best if that led to a child."
"Understood," Xiao Zhai replied.
Left alone in his study, the man lit a cigarette, his mind already devising ways to inflict pain and despair on Charles.
The idea of his beloved turning on him might hurt, but it wouldn’t be as compelling if Charles was lovesick. It was better to have more than one option.
For instance, if Charles succeeded in winning over Daphne, and a child was involved, he could then order Daphne and the child to be seized, using them to manipulate Charles. That might be a more captivating scenario.
With this in mind, he was in no hurry. He had time to toy with Charles slowly.
Unaware of the man’s change of heart or new schemes, Kayla used her regular phone after the call to contact Daphne.
In the dead of night, just as Daphne had finished her nightly routine and was about to go to sleep, her phone rang. It was a call from Kayla.
She suspected it had something to do with their ongoing issue, so she answered, "What's up?"
"He said he can't move Charles anymore," Kayla sounded utterly confused and certainly didn't know what was going on.
More importantly, she was worried about being exposed, fearing that the other party had discovered her.
Daphne, feeling befuddled by this cryptic statement, asked for clarification, "What do you mean 'can't move'?"
"The man said he can't move Charles anymore," Kayla repeated, voice laced with her fears and concerns, "Did I say something wrong and give myself away?"
The mere thought of that possibility sent her into a panic.
Daphne perked up a bit. She was not as frazzled as Kayla and asked her, "Did you record the video like I told you to?"
"I did."
"Send it to me."
"Okay." Kayla was now all ears for Daphne's instructions.
To ensure that Kayla wouldn't slip up during her conversations, Daphne had instructed her to record a video of the interaction using another device.
It wasn't until Kayla tried to send the video that she realized she didn't have Daphne's WhatsApp, so when asked, Daphne provided her with an email address.
After the hustle, Kayla still felt nervous.
Just as she was about to share her apprehensions with Daphne, Daphne probed further, "Other than saying he can't move Charles, what else did he tell you?"
"He told me to stay put in Gedser and to answer the phone promptly whenever he calls," Kayla confessed to everything.
She never imagined that she would one day trust someone so completely, trusting them with her most worrisome secrets.
After a noncommittal hum, Daphne said she'd get back to Kayla after watching the video and hung up.
The video wasn't particularly long, just a few minutes.
Before today, if there had been the slightest sliver of doubt in her mind about this man, it was erased after hearing his voice. Everything matched up, the voice and appearance.
She watched the video from start to finish. The device must have been focused on Kayla because the video captured only the man's voice and not his face.
Ten minutes later, Daphne assured Kayla that she hadn't blown her cover and advised her not to lose her composure before she went to sleep.
Before ceasing movements on Charles, the man had inquired about Charles' pursuit of Kayla. If her guess was right, he might have a new method of tormenting up his sleeve. Since his motives were unclear, the best course of action was to play it by ear.
"Let's cross that bridge when we come to it," she thought.
With these thoughts in mind, she quickly fell into a deep sleep.
The next morning, Daphne went about her usual workday. In the morning while at Frontier Capital Group, after reviewing a few bidding documents, she noticed that Jesse's typically stoic face was shadowed with a darker expression.
As Daphne set the document down, she looked up and inquired, "What seems to be the problem?"
"Do I look like someone who's easily bought?" Jesse asked earnestly.
After giving him a serious once-over, Daphne replied, "Yes."
That face could be bought off and nobody would know. Too composed. No giveaways.
"Did someone try to bribe you?" Daphne ventured after thinking it over.
"Yes," Jesse said, solemnly with no hint of jest, "and they insulted me."
Daphne was puzzled, "huh?"
Now she was genuinely curious.
"They offered a million a year to spy on you, feeding them your information," Jesse explained with gravity.
"And then?" Daphne asked as if following a suspenseful TV series.
"There is no 'then',” he said.
"Why not?"
"The offer was too low, not worth my time," Jesse said with all seriousness, "If it were fifty million, I might give them a minute."
Picking up the bid document again, Daphne shot back, "Next time they approach you, hike up your price and accept."
"That was my thought too," Jesse said, his expression cool.
Daphne couldn't help but smile and then returned her attention to the bidding papers.
Jesse loved money. Making money was his passion. The person trying to bribe him must have heard about his love for money and thought it could be exploited.
Though Jesse had said what he did, Daphne was aware, regardless of the offer, whether it was fifty million, a hundred million, or even more, Jesse would never betray her.
"Oh, by the way," Daphne suddenly remembered something, "how's the establishment of the charity foundation going?"
"It's in the final stages," he assured her.
"Good."
With that, Daphne didn't inquire further. She had used the entire fourteen billion given to her by Charles to set up a charity foundation to support children who couldn't afford education.
Moreover, both Frontier Capital Group and the Murphy Group had established numerous charity funds under their wing.
Having wrapped up her morning work with Frontier Capital Group, she headed off to the Murphy Group in the afternoon.
Gavin, seeing her rushing back and forth daily, couldn't help but indulge in a bit of gossip, "How much is Frontier Capital Group paying you for this kind of devotion?"
Daphne paused. Her business with Frontier Capital Group was not something Gavin was privy to.
"Why don't you take a full-time position at the Murphy Group? I could bump up your salary," Gavin teased her, but his curiosity was genuine.
Finding an excuse, Daphne dodged, "I need to get going."
"What's the rush? The folks from the Lancelot Group are here; come with me to meet them," Gavin said, his grip firm on her arm as he changed his previous stance. "These past few days, I've been keeping a close eye on Charles from the Lancelot Group, and I've found that he's a decent guy, not as cold as I imagined."
Daphne just stared blankly back.
She had a feeling she knew what he was getting at. "Didn't you say last time he wasn't right for me?"
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