Only then did Linda and Kevin breathe a sigh of relief.
"Thank goodness, all our effort wasn't in vain," Kevin couldn't help saying.
"Honestly, the rich have their own troubles too." He thought such things would never happen in his own family. His parents loved him dearly, terrified he might suffer even the slightest hurt outside. But Miss Rovella? Stabbed in the back by her own father. She must be heartbroken.
"No matter what, I'll stay by Miss Rovella's side. I will make those villains pay dearly," Linda declared, hugging the laptop as she left.
To make it convincing, Amber had called an ambulance. Westin was carried onto it. Once inside, he immediately sat up. He'd been thoroughly humiliated today, but anything was better than being officially ousted. As long as the final decision wasn't made, he could still find a way.
"Sir, are you alright?" a paramedic asked, startled as he sat up before they could even act.
"I'm fine. Take me home now."
"..."
The paramedics were speechless. Someone called an ambulance just for a ride home? Didn't he have a car?
"Sir, misusing public resources like this is really irresponsible," a doctor couldn't help but admonish. The emergency center dealt with life-or-death situations daily; they were far too busy for this nonsense.
Westin, already in a foul mood, bristled at being challenged by a mere doctor. "What's your problem? I fainted earlier, and now I'm better. Is that not allowed? And you call yourself a doctor? Where's your compassion?" He insisted they drive him straight home.
He hadn't been home long when Amber arrived.
"Well? How did the meeting end? Wasn't I brilliant, thinking of that tactic?" He felt incredibly clever. If he hadn't "fainted," things would have been disastrous.
"The meeting is postponed. But postponing isn't a solution. Most shareholders are firmly on Janelle's side now. You can't just sit back. You must find a way."
"So what do you suggest? I still don't understand why that project failed. We did everything perfectly! I think it was just bad luck. Do you have any resources left? Anything we can salvage?" Westin refused to believe he could lose to a mere girl.
"I have nothing left right now. The only solution now is to ensure they don't make it back... though ultimately, that's up to you. After all, it's your wife and daughter." Amber's tone was icy. She was exhausted from constantly cleaning up his messes, while he... got another woman pregnant. It disgusted her.
"Darling, what are you saying? You and Lillie are the only ones in my heart! I just want a son, that's all. Once she gives birth, I'll kick her out." Westin tried to placate her.
Amber remained silent.
"Try contacting Du Ming again. Tell them if the targets don't come back, we'll pay much more." Westin tried to call again, but both Du brothers were unreachable. Utterly unreachable. They frantically tried contacting other Eagle Gang members. Someone finally answered, but flatly refused the job.
"Find someone else. We can't handle this matter for you." The fates of Du Ying and Du Ming were stark warnings. The line went dead. They wanted nothing to do with the Rovellas.
"The Eagle Gang won't take it! What the hell is going on? What happened over there?" The unknown made everything more terrifying.
"Then we find professional killers. I've heard of a mysterious assassin organization operating overseas. Find a way to contact them." Amber stated coldly. They were willing to pay any price to eliminate Janelle.
Westin used all his connections to reach an overseas assassin organization and hired a supposedly formidable killer.
Border
Janelle returned from the video conference to find Sara had coaxed Madalyn to sleep.
"Did everything get resolved?" Sara asked anxiously. With them all in the border region and no truly trustworthy allies in Graham City, Sara had been deeply worried about the meeting.
"Don't worry, it's all handled," Janelle reassured her. Finding Madalyn had removed her last major obstacle.
"Sara, you should rest too. Your room is next door. Thank you for everything." Sara had flown over ten hours and hadn't rested properly since arriving.
"Okay." Sara moved to hug her. "Janelle, I finally understand how hard these past years in the border have been for you. You've endured so much. Let me help you take care of Godmother from now on, okay?"
"Okay. Go rest now." Janelle watched Sara leave, then walked to the bed. She slipped under the covers and gently embraced her mother. Though physically exhausted, sleep eluded her. She simply gazed at Madalyn.
"Mom, I'm sorry. I didn't protect you well enough." Her voice was a whisper. "It will never happen again." A deep-seated fear still lingered. Thank goodness... thank goodness she was back safely. What would she have done otherwise? If something had happened to her mother... Madalyn was her only anchor, her sole reason to keep fighting.
Sara stepped out to find Bryan waiting for her.
"Room key. Get some proper rest," he said, his eyes softening at the dark circles under hers.
"Thank you."
Erik sent Janelle a text. Knowing she needed this time with her mother most, he didn't intrude.
[Get some rest. Once you're recovered, I'll take you all back to Graham City.]
Madalyn wanted to return to Graham City? So be it. Perhaps familiar surroundings would help her condition. As for the people waiting there... they had nothing to fear.
Janelle saw the message. Before, she might have ignored it. But remembering the moment he gave his bulletproof vest to her mother, she replied.
[Erik, thank you.]
She truly owed him a profound debt this time.
[How do you plan to thank me? Offer yourself to me?] Erik couldn't resist teasing.
[...]
Janelle replied with six dots. Offer herself? Impossible. They could share a bed. But anything more... that door was firmly closed.
[Alright, don't overthink it. Good night.]
Good night, my princess. Erik added silently in his heart.