Chapter 48: Chapter 48: The Person Behind Them Is Sebastian Hawthorne
Cecilia Croft: "Not yet. I’ve only managed to raise half of it."
Her hands tightened slightly on the steering wheel as her mind raced, trying to figure out how to handle what the person on the other end would say next.
The explosion of anger she’d been expecting never came. Instead, there was a moment of silence, followed by a tone laced with ridicule and contempt.
"President Croft, you had a whole day and you couldn’t even raise three million? It seems you’re not as capable as the rumors say."
Cecilia Croft pressed her lips together. "You know I haven’t been to the company in six months. The dividends Jude Sheridan has given me during this time have been next to nothing. I don’t have that much liquid cash."
"Heh..." The person on the other end let out a disdainful laugh.
Cecilia Croft remained silent.
A few seconds later, the person’s voice grew heavy again.
"You have one hour left. Remember what I said: come to Maplewood Court alone. If a third person finds out about this, I’ll release the information tomorrow."
Cecilia Croft said quickly.
"Don’t worry, I haven’t told anyone. It’s just that you gave me too little time, so I couldn’t get the full three million. You see..."
The person scoffed, not forgetting to belittle Cecilia Croft.
"I didn’t think you were so pathetic. Just bring the one and a half million you have and come over."
With that, he hung up.
Cecilia Croft took a quiet, deep breath, then found Jude Sheridan’s number and called him.
Their wedding was tomorrow. For the past few days, Jude Sheridan had been hounding her, showing up constantly to beg for her forgiveness. Today, however, he had only sent a single text in the afternoon to check in and hadn’t contacted her since.
It was strangely quiet.
She didn’t believe he was actually listening to her—that just because she told him not to come see her, he wouldn’t.
Cecilia Croft tried calling Jude Sheridan twice, then gave up and called Assistant Zimmer instead.
Assistant Zimmer answered quickly.
It was noisy on his end.
"President Croft."
Cecilia Croft got straight to the point.
"Where is Jude Sheridan? Think carefully before you answer whether you want to help him lie to me."
Assistant Zimmer was silent for a few seconds, then spoke in a low voice.
"Mr. Keller and the others are throwing a bachelor party for President Sheridan. He’s at a club, drinking, with quite a few beautiful women around him. Do you need President Sheridan to take the call?"
He was planning on quitting anyway, so he might as well just spill everything he knew.
Cecilia Croft’s expression grew cold. "Don’t tell him I called," she said in a heavy voice.
Assistant Zimmer: "Understood."
Before hanging up, Cecilia Croft added one more thing.
"Assistant Zimmer, you’ve been with me for six years. You should know my temperament. I’m giving you a chance to make amends. I hope you’ll take it."
Of course, Assistant Zimmer wasn’t going to refuse.
Ever since the last time he went to the villa to get a suit for Jude Sheridan, he had suspected that Cecilia Croft already knew everything Jude Sheridan had done.
Her unusual behavior recently had only confirmed his suspicions.
After her discussion with Assistant Zimmer, Cecilia Croft ended the call.
Maplewood Court was a recreational club located in the suburbs.
It operated on a members-only basis, barring entry to all non-members. That was how it had managed to stay in business for years, despite having very few customers.
Cecilia Croft parked her car in the Maplewood Court parking lot.
The lot was filled with luxury business sedans of the same color and model. In a far corner, however, sat a van that was completely out of place among the lavish cars.
Her expression darkened. She opened her trunk, walked to the back of the car, and got out with the money.
As soon as she entered the lobby, she saw an entire wall covered in a bas-relief.
The content of the relief was rather indecent. Various lifelike figurines, illuminated by the dim, yellow light, gave off an intensely suggestive air.
She glanced at it once before looking away.
Cecilia Croft had never been to Maplewood Court before, but she had heard rumors about the establishment.
It was a place dedicated to the pleasure of the rich and powerful men of Silvercrest’s high society.
Even the receptionists at the front desk were all stunningly beautiful.
As soon as Cecilia Croft entered, they approached with welcoming smiles.
She gave the private room number. The corners of the receptionist’s mouth twitched with a strange expression, but she maintained a polite, professional smile as she led Cecilia upstairs.
After exiting the elevator, Cecilia Croft’s feet sank into the plush carpet, and a wave of anxiety washed over her.
The receptionist walked up and knocked on the door.
Standing beside her, Cecilia Croft felt the bag of money in her hand suddenly grow heavier.
A thin layer of sweat formed on her palms.
A small screen by the door lit up; clearly, the person inside was watching them.
A few seconds later, the door opened a crack. Not a sliver of light escaped from the room; the people inside obviously hadn’t turned on the lights.
The receptionist smiled politely. "I hope you all have a good time."
With that, she turned to leave. As she went, she shot Cecilia Croft a look of disdain.
Cecilia Croft’s face stiffened, and she couldn’t help but take a few steps back.
Soon after, the door flew open. A heavily tattooed arm shot out, grabbed Cecilia Croft’s wrist, and started to drag her inside.
"Trying to run?"
The man’s voice was rough and deep.
Cecilia Croft’s heart leaped in alarm. Just as she was about to be dragged into the room, the door behind her opened. A hand grabbed her arm and yanked her back, pulling her from the man’s grasp.
She stumbled into a warm embrace, her senses filled with a faint, clean scent that was inexplicably reassuring.
Seeing that things had gone wrong, the people inside the room reacted quickly and tried to slam the door shut. But in the split second before it closed, Assistant Scott rushed forward and kicked it open.
Several well-trained bodyguards charged into the room with Assistant Scott.
Only after they had all been subdued did Cecilia Croft and Sebastian Hawthorne enter the room.
Five burly men were pinned to the floor by Sebastian Hawthorne’s people.
Someone had lit aphrodisiac incense in the room, and all of them were in a state of high excitement.
Cecilia Croft immediately recognized the man who had just grabbed her.
He was still struggling on the floor, glaring defiantly at Sebastian Hawthorne, the whites of his eyes an unhealthy red.
"You dare ruin our fun? You don’t want to make it in Silvercrest anymore?"
Sebastian Hawthorne stood before the man, looking down on him with cold indifference, as if gazing at an ant.
"Oh? In that case, I’d love to know who, exactly, could stop me from making it in Silvercrest."
The man on the floor spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva and sneered.
"I could say a name that would scare the shit out of you!"
Assistant Scott was on a rare day off and had been urgently summoned by Sebastian Hawthorne while still in his slippers.
Seeing the man still acting so arrogant even while pinned to the floor by his people, he became enraged, took off his slipper, and started slapping the man’s face with it.
"SCARE! THE! LIVING! SHIT! OUT! OF! ME?!"
Assistant Scott gritted his teeth, punctuating each word with a slap. The man’s face quickly began to swell.
He mumbled a name.
Assistant Scott stopped, thinking he’d misheard. "Who did you say?"
Seeing his shocked expression, the man grinned with his swollen mouth.
"Scared now, aren’t you?"
"The man backing us is Sebastian Hawthorne! If you offend the Hawthorne family, forget making it in Silvercrest—he’ll make sure you can’t survive anywhere in the country!"
"Just leave the bitch here and get lost, and my buddies and I will pretend we never saw you."
A silence fell over the room. Everyone’s gaze landed on Sebastian Hawthorne.
Even Cecilia Croft was stunned for a moment.
