Chapter 345

After a while, Mars let out a cold chuckle. "Well, we're just a few helpers short. Look at that woman over there."

"Do you know who she is?" the subordinate asked, his gaze trailing Mars's and landing on Winnie. Having assisted Mars in gathering information about people connected to Lawrence, he looked puzzled and continued, "Isn't she Lawrence's ex-wife and the granddaughter of the Granger family? They say she is related with someone named Matthew."

Mars laughed deeply, playing with his ring as he squinted his eyes. "Foolish. Her background is not simple at all. She's from Trento City and her status is even higher than Darcy's." The subordinate widened his eyes in surprise.

Mars shifted his gaze back, a cold smirk on his lips. "Get Darcy to come meet me. It's time to have a serious talk with this sarcastic woman."

In the afternoon, Darcy was discharged from the hospital.

Mars had sent a secret message for their rendezvous, but she wasn't in the mood to go sleep with him so she ignored it. The next second, Mars sent a picture of them in bed together. Darcy's expression turned sour, and she gritted her teeth in anger as she reluctantly sneaked away to Mars's place.

As soon as she entered, Darcy couldn't help but demand answers. "Mars, what do you mean by this? You were so careless in handling the kidnapping of the child, and I haven't held you accountable yet. As for these pictures, I'm getting married to Mr. Rodriguez next month. I absolutely cannot let him see them. You better delete them in front of my eyes!"

Mars casually walked up and embraced her waist. "You asked me to kidnap the child, and there were a few mishaps that were out of my control. Yet, you're blaming me? You surely have no conscience."

Darcy stared at his wicked face and suspicion creeping in. "You left a bomb in the cave, showing no concern for my safety. You didn't handle things properly for me."

Mars smirked, seemingly amused. "That was to blow up the kidnapper. If we left one alive, what would you do?"

Darcy lamented, "But one kidnapper actually escaped! We have no idea where he went. You better deal with him quickly. Mr. Rodriguez has been investigating the kidnapping case. If he finds out about you and me, the consequences will be unimaginable."

Mars stared at her, gradually revealing a cold, mocking smile. "Dealing with the escaped kidnapper depends on my mood."

"What do you mean? Are you threatening me?" Darcy felt a surge of anger and silently bit her lip. She felt that Mars's aura had completely changed, and an inexplicable sense of unease settled in.

Mars tugged at his smile, raising an eyebrow and gripping her chin. "Yes, I am threatening you. If you want me to eliminate the threat of the kidnapper and these pictures of us in bed, then you better listen to me obediently."

In the depths of his eyes, there was no longer the infatuation and fascination he had shown before. All pretenses fell away, leaving behind a cold, mocking indifference, devoid of any regard for her. Darcy felt like she had been hit with a wave of icy reality, leaving her heart unsettled and chilled. "Mars, how dare you threaten me?"

"Why wouldn't I dare? You used to be the grand debutante of Trento City, young and exquisite. But look at you now, desperately craving attention and lacking the charm that comes with a successful career. I have no reason to waste my time seducing you. Anyways, now that you've been taken care of, it's time to get to work."

Darcy gritted her teeth out of frustration. "I cannot believe you're actually doing this to me, Mars."

"It seems like you don't have a choice, Darcy. Like I said, I know that you have both kidneys intact and you know best how Lawrence's mother ended up in a persistent vegetative state, right?"

Darcy shivered from head to toe and suddenly felt that the person in front of her was a devil. Her impulsive thought of finding a man to sleep with was completely wrong.

Mars smirked with malice and added, "I still have pictures of you in bed and records of us staying in a hotel together. You don't want any trouble with your perfect wedding, do you? And besides, Darcy, when the Ordelia family had trouble, Lawrence was heartless and didn't help you. I heard that in the end, it was this Ray guy who helped you. I've become cold toward Lawrence because of that. After three years together, he never treated you as his woman at all. Why don't you just leave him?"

Mars's words made her eyes well up with tears as she bit her lip, looking unpleasant. The way Lawrence handled the Ordelia family incident had indeed disappointed her and filled her with resentment. At the same time, she became uncertain about her future with him.

Mars approached her aggressively, lowering his voice and said, "I heard that Island Electronics is soon releasing a new chip. At least you used to be Lawrence's competent assistant at work, going in and out of his lab without any pressure, right?"

Darcy's nerves tightened. "What do you want to do?"

"Steal some data without anyone knowing, damage something. It shouldn't be difficult for you."

"Forget it, I won't harm Mr. Rodriguez. Don't think I don't know that you're trying to bring him down because of Bob, the powerful force from the Blanchet family in Trento City." She was going to marry Lawrence and become the first lady of the top family in the country. What she wanted was for Lawrence to smoothly return to the Rodriguez family in Trento City.

Mars sneered. His gaze turned cold, and he viciously pressed down against her neck. "Just perform a small action for me. I just want to stabilize my current position in front of my adoptive father. Lawrence cannot bring me down! Besides, he is now entangled with Winnie and has two children for support. Don't you think he's in a precarious situation? Let him be in crisis first, and then you can be the woman who saves him. Isn't that great?"

Darcy tightened her lips, battling against the restricted breathing that left her head deprived of oxygen. As she fought for each breath, some thoughts started to surface, gradually emerging from the haze of her mind.

Mars dropped another bombshell, saying, "Let me reveal one more interesting piece of information. You're familiar with the Blanchet family in Trento City where you grew up, right?"

Darcy frowned. The Ordelia family was one of the most distinguished families in Trento City, but in terms of overall ranking, it was not that impressive. The first prominent family in the country is the Rodriguez family, whose power is invincible due to Bob's armed forces. And among the top three is the Blanchet family, a formidable financial conglomerate that even the Ordelia family can't compare to.

"Why are you talking about the Blanchet family?" Darcy didn't understand his intention.

Mars grinned wickedly. "Have you met Ms. Blanchet? Don't you think she bears some resemblance to Winnie from Lymington?"

As Darcy was forming an impression of Ms. Blanchet, her expression gradually shifted. Mars had a hidden meaning in his words and she quickly caught on. Even her heart raced with astonishment. Instinctively, she shook her head in disbelief. "How is that possible? With someone like Winnie..."

"The Blanchet family is quite formidable, just my guess." Mars grinned mischievously, tapping her face. "Who knows, maybe Winnie is more suited for Lawrence's esteemed status, Darcy. Don't you feel a sense of crisis? It's time to sell your soul a little and protect your own marriage, isn't it?"

"It's not possible." Darcy kept shaking her head, increasingly feeling uneasy. She clenched her fists tightly, her lips turning pale.

A surge of overwhelming jealousy rushed into her mind.

Restless, Darcy returned home. Upon catching a glimpse of Sidney's irritating face, she felt an almost irresistible urge to strangle him. But she suppressed her anger and held it in. The most important thing then was to have a smooth wedding with Lawrence. She couldn't give Winnie any opportunity to take advantage. If Winnie really resembled Ava Anderson from the Blanchet family as Mars suspected, it could only mean one thing.

Darcy dared not dwell on it. She needed to have Lawrence; she had loved him for so long, even in the face of Mars's threats and temptation. She would have to betray Mr. Rodriguez but as long as she could hold onto him, Darcy would endure it.

Calming her thoughts, Darcy took a deep breath and glanced at Sidney from the corner of her eye. In the days leading up to the wedding, she felt the need to mend their relationship. Otherwise, Mr. Rodriguez might not even have a chance to talk to her, making it challenging for them to develop a bond.

Darcy placed the ingredients she personally bought into the kitchen and cooked a lavish meal. She took a photo and sent it to Lawrence. "Mr. Rodriguez, I've been discharged from the hospital. The maid said Sidney wants to eat fish, so I made it right away. What do you think? Hurry back from work and have dinner with Sidney!"

When it came to having dinner with their son, Lawrence always made it a priority. He promptly set aside his busy work, got up, picked up his suit and drove back to the mansion. In the dim light, he parked the car and entered the house.

Seeing Sidney and Darcy sitting harmoniously at the dining table, Lawrence raised an eyebrow in surprise. However, in the next second, he noticed something was off with Sidney. The little guy was holding his own neck, appearing uncomfortable.

"Sidney?" Lawrence walked over quickly.

Darcy still hadn't realized anything, happily raising her head.