Chapter 309 Good morning, Francesca!
Before long, Louis had downed most of the remaining bottle of wine himself.
He downed a mouthful of wine, looked up at Amelia, and gave a bitter smile. "I'm afraid her identity will be exposed before mine."
Amelia's attention was immediately drawn back.
Louis exposed first?
His identity?
Amelia suddenly grasped the key point in his words.
It seemed she had found a crucial breakthrough for Paige!
Amelia stood up. "The wine is finished. I'll go get a few more bottles."
They weren't staying at a hotel but at a house Quentin had built here, originally intended to host guests from various places.
There was plenty of wine in the cellar, but since the rooms were usually unoccupied, they didn't store wine in the rooms like a hotel would.
Louis nodded. "Grab a few more bottles. Tonight is a good night for drinking."
Amelia responded, "Okay."
After leaving Louis's room and walking a bit further, Amelia called Pearl.
Pearl had just left Francesca's place and answered the call immediately as soon as she saw it was from Amelia.
"Amelia, I think this Mrs. Carnegie is really suspicious. The questions she asked me were strange. How are things progressing on your end?"
As Amelia walked towards the wine cellar, she said, "I'm getting some wine. Louis is in a bad mood and talks a lot after drinking. By the way, he seems more eager to know the truth than Ms. Ellison, but it looks like Mrs. Carnegie is keeping things from him and hasn't told him anything."
"I'll head back to my room later. You can have the meal in my room, and also inform the kitchen to send some food that pairs well with wine."
Pearl replied, "Got it. You're so smart; I'll leave it to you to gather information from Louis."
Since they had come with Paige, they had to do something. This trip couldn't be in vain.
Amelia had a knack for clever ideas， and Pearl was well aware of her intentions.
Paige liked Amelia a lot. Now that the Smith family was allied with Paige, Amelia would naturally help her achieve her goals.
Around midnight, Amelia returned to her room drunk. Pearl, who hadn't slept and was waiting for her, opened the door. Amelia laughed as she threw herself into Pearl's arms.
Then, with a flushed face and a drunken haze, Amelia said to Pearl, "Pearl, let me tell you, Louis, he actually suspects he's not Mrs. Carnegie's son."
Pearl steadied Amelia, kicked the door shut with her foot, and asked as they walked, "If he suspects he's not Mrs. Carnegie's son, then who is he?"
Amelia laughed, too drunk to speak coherently. After waving her hands wildly in the air, she hugged Pearl's waist and even started jumping with joy.
"Pearl, Pearl, it's so funny. Louis, he's Louis! The heir of the Carnegie family! Do you know how many people in Northwind would be crushed by this revelation? If he's not Mrs. Carnegie's son, do you know what the consequences would be?
Pearl, do you know what it would mean if this got out?"
Pearl held down Amelia's flailing hands. "Never mind the consequences for now. How much did you drink? You usually hold your liquor well. How did you get this drunk?"
"Alright, let's not worry about the consequences now. You need to sleep first. We'll talk about it tomorrow, okay?"
Seeing Amelia so drunk she was about to start dancing, Pearl knew that if she listened to her now, they wouldn't get any rest tonight.
They had dealt with Xena's matter, and it wasn't convenient to stay at the border for too long. Paige would likely prepare to return to Northwind tomorrow.
If they didn't rest, the first consequence would be that they wouldn't be able to function properly the next day.
Amelia said, "We'll talk tomorrow after the wine wears off. Tell Ms. Ellison. she'll definitely be interested."
Pearl quickly nodded. "Yes, we'll tell Ms. Ellison. First thing in the morning, we'll have breakfast with her and tell her."
As she spoke, Pearl pressed Amelia onto the bed.
Amelia was truly drunk. Once on the bed, with its support, she hugged the blanket Pearl handed her and fell asleep in a comfortable position.
Pearl grabbed a blanket and squeezed onto the sofa to sleep.
Lying on the sofa, Pearl's mind was filled with Amelia's words.
Louis suspected he was not Francesca's son.
Then was he part of the Carnegie family lineage?
If he wasn't...
Pearl gasped at the thought. No wonder Amelia had such a strong reaction.
This issue was very serious.
Mr. Carnegie had always had a high reputation in Hawke Corporation, and many hoped he would become CEO.
The outside always thought Raymond didn't take the position because of his disability.
But Pearl, having been by Paige's side, had seen Raymond pretending to be disabled at the foot of the snowy mountain.
When he shielded Ms. Ellison from a bullet, he stood up quickly.
So, whether Raymond was pretending to be disabled or fully recovered, he had no intention of taking over Hawke Corporation.
With Raymond's capabilities, he could have been in charge long ago. Why wait until now?
In the Carnegie family, the only ones who could inherit that position were Raymond and Louis.
If Louis's identity was indeed problematic, Hawke Corporation would be forced into Raymond's hands.
That seemed not bad!
Pearl's lips curled into a slight smile. Mr. Carnegie holding absolute power would be a good thing for Ms. Ellison, wouldn't it?
Although Pearl considered everything from Paige's perspective, she realized that if Louis's identity was problematic, it would definitely be related to this matter.
With this in mind, Pearl dared not act rashly.
Pearl lay down to sleep, not daring to think further. After all, it was all just speculation and suspicion at this point, with no concrete evidence.
On the other side, Paige had tossed and turned in bed several times. Usually, at this hour, lying in Raymond's arms, no matter how heavy her thoughts were, the faint woody scent of Mr. Carnegie would quickly lull her to sleep.
Raymond knew Paige was feeling uneasy, and naturally, she couldn't sleep.
He had tried several times to hug her, but Paige had avoided him each time.
Raymond knew what she was worried about, but at this moment, he couldn't offer any comfort.
Some things had to wait for the right time. When the time comes, the mysteries will be resolved themselves.
Finally, as Paige rolled over in bed once more, Raymond precisely grabbed her and pulled her into a tight embrace.
He commanded, "It's late. Sleep now. No more overthinking tonight."
Paige suddenly felt a bit aggrieved. "I can sleep on my own."
Raymond replied, "It's been almost a month. Every night, you need me to hold you to fall asleep. Tonight is no different, so don't move. Stay in my arms and get a good night's sleep. Whatever happens, we can't solve it now."
Paige wanted to be close to him. That familiar warmth, that familiar scent, was like a sleeping pill for her, allowing her to temporarily forget her worries and get a good night's sleep.
But everything that had happened today made it impossible for her not to think. Her mind even resisted such intimate contact with Raymond.
That indescribable sense of guilt was suffocating her.
Instinctively, Paige tried to push Raymond away.
But Raymond held her tightly, showing no intention of letting go.
"If you don't sleep well, how will you confront Francesca tomorrow? Francesca has a strong mental fortitude; even I underestimated her before. If you want to find any flaws in her, you need to be well-rested."
Raymond had indeed been attentive.
He knew what Paige needed, so he paid attention to everything for her.
Paige stopped struggling and let Raymond hold her.
Her little tantrum seemed premature. Francesca hadn't admitted to anything, which was another point of suspicion.
Suppressing her emotions and trying not to overthink, Paige breathed in Raymond's scent again, familiar and reassuring.
She even decided in her heart. Even if it was a dangerous relationship, as Raymond said, their relationship didn't start today.
If it was a dangerous relationship, it was too late. The established relationship was hard to discard, wasn't it?
Moreover, she was different from others. She lacked emotions, lacked familial love, and romantic love.
She was only in her twenties, and her life had started with various abandonments and betrayals.
In her restarted life, Raymond was like an unexpected bonus.
Paige couldn't even imagine what losing Raymond would mean to her.
Thinking of this, Paige tightly hugged Raymond in return.
All the overthinking stopped there, she didn't want to think anymore.
She could control herself not to think, but she couldn't control her dreams. In her dreams, Xena died over and over again in Paige's mind, and her last words echoed repeatedly in Paige's dreams.
Perhaps out of fear, she even heard Xena shout, "You and Raymond are incestuous!"
Paige suddenly woke up from her dream, sitting up straight.
She sat up, and reached her head, realizing she was drenched in sweat.
Looking at the bed, Raymond was no longer there, and it was already daylight outside.
Paige panted heavily, unable to shake off the words from her dream.
She clearly remembered every word Xena said before she died, but Xena never mentioned that.
She remembered it clearly, so why did she dream of Xena saying that?
Sweating profusely, Paige buried her head in her hands.
At that moment, Raymond walked out of the bathroom. He had heard the commotion and came out immediately.
Seeing Paige's state, he knew she wasn't doing well.
Raymond was about to reach out to hug Paige, but she instinctively dodged.
Raymond froze, and Paige immediately realized she might have hurt Raymond, so she apologized at once. "I'm sorry, I wasn't fully awake."
Raymond asked, "Did you have a nightmare, dreaming of something bad?"
Paige replied, "I dreamt of Xena dying over and over again. The sun is up, why didn't you wake me?"
Raymond said, "You slept too late last night. I wanted you to sleep a bit longer. Had I known you were having a nightmare, I would have woken you sooner. I've asked Quentin to prepare some local breakfast specialties. Do you want to get up to try some now?"
Paige temporarily set aside her worries from the dream, knowing that a new day awaited with more tasks.
She nodded, freshened up, and let Raymond hold her hand as they walked to the dining room.
Last night, she hadn't eaten much at dinner, but she did eat some of the food Raymond had the kitchen prepare later.
After vomiting, her stomach felt uncomfortable, and eating a bit made her feel much better.
Paige didn't plan to miss breakfast. After all, she had a strong heart. Nightmares and Xena's death couldn't change the path she had to take.
However, as soon as they arrived at the dining room, everyone else was already there.
Pearl seemed normal, while Amelia was rubbing her head as she walked, and Louis looked exhausted as if he hadn't sobered up from drinking.
Francesca walked beside Louis, seemingly reminding him of something.
Pearl was the first to see Paige and alerted Amelia, then stood there waiting for Paige to come over.
Pearl and Amelia stopped in their tracks, and Francesca immediately noticed, turning around to see Paige.
Everyone seemed to be out of sorts. As Francesca saw Paige, she suddenly went still, with her face changed dramatically.
Paige, however, walked over as usual and stopped in front of her.
"Good morning, Francesca!"
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