Chapter 17
Roderick knew Laurel would dig into him, but he didn’t expect her to find even something as personal as a birthmark. That hit a nerve.
She was like a razorblade–sharp and dangerous. If he couldn’t control her, she’d become a weapon for his enemies to counterstrike with.
Roderick stared at Laurel for a while before chuckling, “How can y
you b
be certain your intelligence is accurate!”
Before
she could respond, he rugged her into his
is arms, his voice low and magnetic. “Why don’t we test it out tonight!”
Laurel gasped, murmuring inwardly. Seriously, why are we back to that again?
At this moment, she spotted the car turning into Sunset Avenue and quickly pressed the wireless intercom to talk to Hadley in the front. “Hadley, could you stop by Fortune Gallery on the way! I made a reservation there.
“Fortune Gallery?” Hadley sounded surprised.
“Not convenient? Laurel shot back.
“No, no. We’re almost there.” Hadley replied.
The car slowed to a stop right in front of the shop as soon as he finished.
he car door slammed shut..
“Give me five minutes. Laurel opened the car door. She was talking to Roderick, and before he could respond, the
Fortune Gallery–the biggest antique store in Oslonia, known as the go–to for local bigwigs looking for rare treasures.
Its name had spread far and wide, even drawing in many from out of town.
The door of the car closed, the partition window descended, and Hadley turned back with an expression of curiosity. “Sir, the owner of Fortune Gallery is quite eccentric. Most people find it difficult to purchase anything here.
“Yet, Ms. Lambert not only managed to buy something but also made a reservation. It’s my first time hearing that Fortune Gallery takes reservations. She is truly something!”
Roderick remained silent, merely glancing at the words “Fortune Gallery” above the shop entrance. The plaque was made of superior rosewood, with words inscribed in bold, sprawling strokes echoing vigor.
Laurel not only made a reservation but also entered so openly, suggesting a familiarity with the owner.
‘She actually has connections with Oslonia’s top antique shop. Interesting! Roderick said inwardly.
He suddenly recalled something and asked, “How did the investigation I assigned you earlier go?”
Upon hearing that, Hadley appeared somewhat awkward. “Sir, umm, well..” He fumbled with the briefcase on the passenger seat.
“Speak,” said Roderick impatiently.
Hadley took a deep breath and slid a thin sheet of paper through the partition window, “Sir, we only managed to find this.”
Scanning the contents, Roderick was totally speechless.
There was nothing more on the paper than Laurel’s name, age, birth details, and some basic info. A bit particular was her relationship with George as lovers.
But everyone in Oslonia knew that–what was the point of checking?
Over the past two days, he figured out that Laurel had close ties with the owner of Fortune Gallery, wasn’t the biological daughter of the Lambert family, and had overseas connections.
The document had got nowhere near as much as he knew.
As he turned visibly gloomy, Hadley tried to make amends. “Sir, I’ll arrange someone right away…
“Forget it, I’ve got plans for this,” Roderick handed back the paper. “Don’t embarrass yourself with such trash again!”
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Hadley moved the paper sheepishly and tacked it into his briefcase.
Roderick pondered for
pulled out his phone, opening an overseas social app he hadn’t used in years.
ugh his friends list, passing on a nickname “Ruby”
The aveva gry showing he was offic
Rodrick condered for a few seconds, then upped into the chatbox, typing quickly. [Help me check on someone. The eldest heiress of the Lambert family in Olonia, Laurel]
the stepped into Fortune Gallery, the distinctive music filled her ears.
Laurel miked glancing over the half–person–high counter–no one there. With a turn of her steps, she entered the cafe near the entrance.
his early this lay comfortably on a rattan chair, eyes closed in bliss. One hand held a delicate coffee cup, the other rested on the chair’s arm fingers tapping lightly to the beat.
she entered, she heard the man leisurely croon.
“Sir, bones is here” a staff reminded him.
The
popped abruptly. The man was annoyed being interrupted. Without opening his eyes, he waved impatiently. “Not in the mood today. bot tubing customer”
Laure leaned against the door frame, silently listening to him belt out two lines. Every word was off key, atrociously unpleasant to her ears.
ali unusually close to him at this moment. .
This place like before the accident in her previous life, was filled with the fragrant aroma of coffee and the intoxicating strains of music, offering a
and leisurely atmosphere, as if it were an idyllic haven beyond the world’s woes.
before her was every bit as willful and untamed as she remembered, content to indulge himself.
Everything here was what she cherished most
Sadly, in her past life, all of it was destroyed by George, including the man in front of her, her most trusted business partner, Miles Hayes.
Never did she expect that their next meeting would be across lifetimes.
With the soothing sounds of music echoing. Laurel’s thoughts drifted away.
Before the time traveled, she revealed many of her secrets to George on the night of the engagement, like how she owned half the shares of Fortune Gallery and was one of the bosses
When George learned of this, he was overjoyed. Laurel, I heard you knew the owner of Fortune Gallery before, but I didn’t expect you to be one of he owner yourdif
“My Laurel is so amazing, always surprising me! Laurel, marry me, I’ll sure make you the happiest woman in the world!”
Back then, she thought George genuinely wanted to marry her, swept away by his sweet words.
As she looked back now, he wasn’t interested in marrying her at all–he was eyeing Fortune Gallery!
was common knowledge that the antique biz was super profitable–like, no sales for months, then a single deal could fund you for years. Not just Cause everything in the store held its value, but because the profit could potentially multiply several times with a real treasure.
To George, Fortune Gallery was like a golden goose, funneling endless cash to help him secure the family biz.
After that, he started scheming to get his hands on Fortune Callery’s operations.
First, he offered to help manage Fortune Gallery, playing the “don’t wanna tire you out card. Mostly, he was just handling petty stuff like
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bookkeeping
Then Lynch Group tossed him a huge overseas project.
Knowing she had international connections, he sweet–talked her into jetting off on a biz trip overseas. With her out the way. Fortune Gallery, all in her name, of course.
waltzed in on
At first, he was only moping around, doing minor tasks like warehouse management and inventory checks. So, Miles didn’t think much of it.
Later, he started bringing random folks into the store–not super weird since most customers weren’t regulars.
But when Miles checked the end–of–month inventory logs, he noticed items listed that weren’t even in the store, all sold at premium prices.
He traced the store’s earnings and, sure enough, the money flowed into the store’s main account–only to be transferred straight to Laurel’s private
Miles fint thought she gave George the nod, but when this kept happening month after month, it raised red flags. He called to ask her about it.
By then, she was neck–deep in networking for resources and brushing shoulders with connections. She shrugged it off, saying “It’s okay. I trust
George.”
Little did she expect that trusting George would lead to the total ruin of Fortune Gallery
