Chapter 598
Chapter 598
“I’ll see you off.” As soon as Claire finished speaking, Arthur immediately said.
Claire exclaimed in confusion. “That’s not appropriate, Mr. Jarrett, you must be joking.
“No. Thank you.”
She said as she bent down to pick up her bag from the sofa. Glancing outside, she turned to leave. “I’ll go look for Mateo outside; he should be able to hear me if I call his name.”
With that, she turned and took a step. But just as she was about to take the second, a strong hand grabbed her right wrist, stopping her in her tracks.
The warmth from her wrist made Claire, who had stopped abruptly, let out an involuntary moan.
Arthur’s voice came at the same time. “I’ll take you home. It’s fine. Besides, Mateo’s probably asleep at this hour.”
Mateo, who was guarding his phone, waiting for Arthur to summon him at any moment to take Claire home, yawned repeatedly, looking sleepy.
“Why is it taking so long? It’s been almost three hours. They sure can talk, good for them. I’ll reward myself with another episode of the show. No rush, no rush,” he hummed to himself.
Half an hour later, after some discussion, Claire found herself getting into Arthur’s car to go home. It was a sedan that looked quite ordinary but had been heavily modified.
The mature and steady man in the driver’s seat focused on driving, while the beautiful woman in the passenger seat was engrossed in her phone, illuminated by its faint light.
Claire: [Cherise, I’m going to die. Arthur’s dad is taking me home. How could I possibly deserve this? It’s more like I’m his driver.]
Claire: [I said I didn’t want him to, but he insisted. He didn’t even bring a bodyguard. If something happens to him, will I be a sinner for ages?]
Claire: [Mom knows you’re asleep, but I still have to send this to you. At least I’ll have one more witness. You can testify for me that I didn’t volunteer for this. Arthur’s dad forced me to do it.]
Below the text is a pitiful, crying emoji.
“It’s so late, and someone is still willing to chat with you,” Arthur, who was in the driver’s seat, suddenly asked.
Claire quickly put away her phone when she heard this and gave a dry laugh, thinking that he had caught her complaining. “No, I was sending a message to my daughter, asking if she was asleep.
“At this hour, who would want to chat with me? Besides, after all these years, the only friend I have left is Darrow, and she should be asleep by now.”
Arthur asked, “Oh, Darrow, man?”
This sentence seemed very bland, and Claire didn’t think much of it and answered directly, “Woman. Darrow is my best friend. She has taken good care of Arthur and me for so many years. If it weren’t for her, we would have been-”
As she spoke, she made a “snap” gesture with her head.
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16:08 Mon, 24 Feb
Chapter 598
Arthur nodded. “Darrow, so it was a close friend. That’s a rather misleading term. Well, it’s good. We should find an opportunity to thank her.” Claire agreed with this statement and nodded repeatedly.
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The road back was the same one they came from. To Claire, it felt just as long as the journey there, so long that by the time they reached the gate of Prosperous City Villas, she had fallen asleep, leaning against the seat.
After parking the car, Arthur glanced sideways at her and didn’t disturb her. He raised the corner of his lips, leaned back in his seat, and closed his eyes.
Upstairs, the moment the car engine stopped, Hank woke up. He opened the curtain a little, looked at the car parked at the door downstairs, and smiled slightly.
Instead of going downstairs, he got back into bed, pulled up the quilt, and said before closing his eyes, “Mom, Claire, please forgive my selfishness. I didn’t see you, I didn’t know, I was sleeping soundly.”
Several hours later, before dawn, there was a “click” of the door closing downstairs, followed by the hurried sounds of high heels rushing up the stairs.
As soon as the sound rang out, Hank knew his mother had come in. He still ignored it and continued to sleep soundly.
When Cherise woke up, she saw the message from her mother. She gave a faint smile and exited the message, as if she hadn’t seen it.
Morris caught that smile. “What’s so funny? Aren’t you going to share it with me?”
*****
In the late summer and early autumn, there were a few scorching hot days. Morris went to work, and Cherise stayed home alone.
Looking at the scorching sun outside, Cherise had no desire to go out, perhaps due to pregnancy hormones.
She just wanted to lie on the tatami in the study, read a book, enjoy the air conditioning, and have some occasional cold drinks, fruits, and naps. She had just turned a page when Crow’s phone call came in.
Cherise answered the phone, and a distinctive voice came from the other end, “Hello, Boss.”
Cherise said, “Yes, what’s up? Why are you calling me at this hour?”
Crow answered quickly, “Boss, someone is slandering Ms. Garcia on a political social networking site. And it’s not just her, they are also mentioning you, Hank, Arthur, and others.
“I haven’t been able to find out who it is yet. The other party seems to be an experienced hacker, but I have a general idea of their location.”
Cherise was not surprised at all and just let out a soft sigh as if she already knew what was going on.
She said, “I trust your abilities. Intercept it and create an illusion to make the person who posted the smear think that the news has been released.”
Crow said, “Okay, Boss, I’ve already intercepted it. The message wasn’t up for a minute, so not many people should have seen it. It won’t cause any substantial impact.
“But I’m not sure if anyone took screenshots or anything like that privately. I’ve sent you the details.”
Cherise said, “Alright, leave it at that for now. You keep an eye on it. I’ll talk to you later.” After saying that, she hung up the phone. The content that Crow had sent was already in Cherise’s inbox.
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Chapter 598
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She clicked it open, and sure enough, what was coming was coming. There were indeed quite a few posts slandering her mother.
“Claire, a woman who betrayed Jacob during their marriage and gave birth to Arthur’s son.”
“Exposed: The former second wife of the Leach family became pregnant with another man’s child while still married!”
“Shocking! Claire’s moral corruption exposed! She attempts to enter the Jarrett family with her son and blackmail Arthur into giving her status!”
“It turns out that Cherise is the daughter of Claire and Jacob.”
“Chaos! It turns out that it’s not just the wealthy who are messy; the powerful also have such complicated relationships.”
“What are Claire’s intentions? Her wolfish ambition is obvious to all.”
As soon as Crow’s link was clicked, the screen was filled with articles, all of which brought up Claire’s past.
She sneered. “It must be Stella. Besides you, I can’t think of anyone else who would do such a thing. You’re a little too impatient.
“It’s interesting that you only dare to post it in the circle of the powerful and don’t dare to spread it widely. Should I say you’re smart or stupid?”
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