Chapter 17
After Kate lost sight of the person she thought resembled Lilly, she left her friends at the mall and hurried back to the Blake family residence. The Blake family home was in one of the most exclusive and secure estates in Aurora City. The Blakes, a powerful conglomerate family for over 100 years, were deeply entrenched in Aurora City’s power and wealth.
Kate arrived home in her luxury car and rushed inside.
"You're back so quickly, young Miss Kate," Emily, the head maid, greeted her.
"Where is my mother?"
"She is in the garden, young Miss."
Kate hurried to the garden, where she found her mother watering the flowers. She wondered why her mother was doing it herself when there were hundreds of maids available.
"Mother," Kate called out.
Lady Bella looked up to see her daughter approaching. "Why are you back so quickly from the mall?"
"There is something important we need to discuss, mother," Kate said, glancing at the maid nearby.
"Leave us," Bella instructed, and the maids bowed their heads and left.
"What is it?" Bella asked.
Kate looked around to ensure no one else was close before speaking. "I saw someone who looks like Lilly coming out of a jewelry store in the mall."
Bella's eyes widened. "Are you sure of what you're saying?"
"I'm not completely sure it's her, but she looked like her: her blonde hair, the way she walked, and her side profile."
"Are you sure?" Bella asked again, as her men had been searching for Lilly for the past six months without finding any trace of her.
"We need to confirm if it was her. I want you to request the CCTV footage from the jewelry store and the mall entrance, and any other nearby cameras. We need to confirm if it's her or not, mother. She can't just suddenly appear now that I'm back from Europe and ready to work in the family company so that grandfather can make me his third-generation heir," Kate said desperately.
Bella nodded, understanding the gravity of the situation. "Which mall are you talking about, Kate?"
"Kane family mall."
"That isn't our family mall, Kate. How do you expect me to get the footage?"
"Didn't you say one of the managers is your friend? Talk to him and make him let you see the footage," Kate urged.
"Then I will call him," Bella agreed.
Kate held her mother’s hand. "Thanks, mother. You do know we need to finish what we started, right?"
"Yes, we need to," Bella confirmed.
Kate was the illegitimate third daughter of the Blake family, born from Bella’s affair with Daniel Blake when he was still married to Lilly's mother, who already had two daughters and was pregnant with Lilly at the time. When Bella got pregnant, she used it as an opportunity to enter the family. Peter Blake, Daniel's father, wanted to disown his son for destroying the family reputation and cheating on his wife, Selina. But after everything, Selina allowed Bella and her daughter into the family. Despite this, Bella plotted against Selina until she succeeded in becoming the madam of the house after Selina died. Bella and her daughter were often criticized by elite society, calling them gold diggers and home wreckers. Bella did everything she could until people stopped calling her a mistress and her daughter an illegitimate child.
Bella contacted one of the mall managers and used her influence to convince him to let her see the footage, lying that someone had stolen from her daughter and they needed to check the footage.
*********
While the car was moving, Lilly was busy typing on her phone. She quickly sent a group message to Lucas and Michael, informing them she had seen Kate and suspected she had seen her.
Lucas: "Are you sure she saw you?"
Lilly: "She chased after me, meaning she suspected it was me."
Michael: "Damn! This is bad."
Lilly: "Yes, it is. So I want you to make sure she doesn't confirm that I'm the one."
Lucas: "Do you mean hacking into the Kane family mall’s system and removing the footage of you?"
Lilly: "Yes, do everything possible because now isn't the time for them to know I am alive. When the time is right, I will return in a grand way," Lilly smiled at what she typed, forgetting there was a cold man sitting with her in the car, watching her.
Lucas sent a jumping emoji while Michael smiled.
Michael: "It has to be soon because now that you are married to a powerful man, you might be exposed to the public soon."
Lucas: "I doubt it since Kane controls what the media says about him and his family."
Michael: "We still need to be prepared because once they find out you are alive and returning to claim what belongs to you and your sisters, they will attack you."
Lilly read their messages and thought about it.
Lilly: "Then be prepared for whatever happens. I will be prepared as well," she logged out and dropped her phone, only to feel someone's gaze on her.
Lilly looked toward the cold man sitting with her in the car, staring at her. He had a look on his face that made it hard to tell what was on his mind. They were still staring at each other when his phone rang.
Alexander answered the call when he saw the caller. "Grandma."
"I was told you came to the mall and took Lilly away! Didn't I say I would bring her back tomorrow evening?" Grandma Helen was upset.
Alexander was silent.
Grandma Helen grew more upset. "I bought things for her, so send your driver to take them to her. She said she has something for me, so tell the driver to bring it when he comes. Also, do not mistreat her. If you do, you will regret it. She is now my granddaughter-in-law, and even if you decide not to stay married to her in the future, she will still be my granddaughter-in-law, so watch it," Grandma Helen said and hung up.
Alexander dropped the phone and looked at Lilly with a cold gaze. His eyes went to the small gift package in her hand.
Lilly looked away and stared out the window. She couldn’t understand why he was always upset.
When they arrived at the mansion, one of the bodyguards opened the door for her. She was about to get out of the car when Alexander spoke.
"Leave the gift. It will be taken to my grandmother since you won't be going to the family house ever again," Alexander said, emphasizing the last part.
Lilly left the gift on the seat and walked into the house.
Alexander watched her enter the house before telling the driver to head back to the company. The chauffeur turned the car around and drove out of the mansion.
Alexander's eyes went to the gift, and he picked it up, curious about what kind of gift she had gotten for his grandmother. He raised his brow when he saw that it was a jewelry set, a very expensive kind.
Alexander took out his phone and called his assistant.
"Hello, boss."
"Didn't I tell you to report to me whenever Miss Evans used the card I issued to her?" He had given Lilly a card the day they got married.
"Yes, boss, but there hasn’t been a single transaction on the card issued to her."
"What do you mean she hasn't used the card?" Alexander asked, surprised as he looked at the expensive jewelry she got for his grandmother.
"Yes, boss, I'm checking it now, and there has not been a single transaction."
"Then whose money did she use to buy this expensive jewelry?" Alexander thought to himself, staring at the jewelry. This woman he married was becoming more suspicious.
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