Chapter 425

Eleanor replied, "Yes, he had suspected something amiss was going on. He thinks it's too coincidental that you brought Lawrence back. He asked if I was the one who encouraged your romance with Lawrence."

A delicate smile spread across Ishara's pale face, her eyes cast down, her thick and long eyelashes curling upward with a contented arc. "Seeing Winnie defeated today was quite satisfying. Father had always kept a place for her. I knew she meant something to him. We weren't worried when rumors of her death circulated; the Blanchet family would eventually be mine.

"But her sudden return is an eyesore. Father, in an attempt to make up to her, will surely give her the best marriage alliance with the Rodriguez family. That's why I went straight to Lymington after getting off the plane, thinking of a perfect way to secure Lawrence first. Everything has been seamless, Mum, no one will notice."

"But that Winnie, I felt her animosity toward you tonight. What if she suspects something? That little wretch deliberately took that 10% of shares from your father... She's more difficult to deal with than her self-righteous mother," Eleanor said with a furrowed brow, thinking Winnie, coming from a small place, would be easy to control. But after several encounters tonight, she, an elder, didn't get the upper hand in their conversations. That little wretch was not simple to deal with.

Ishara wasn't worried. She laughed coldly as her eyes gleamed mischievously. "After all, I took her man, so of course, she'd be hostile. Even if she suspects something, I appear 'pure and innocent' in front of Lawrence. And now, I'm his mother's lifesaver, so he's very concerned about me. But what if she has 10% of the shares? Do you, Mother, think she can acquire them smoothly? Does she believe Grandma won't be wary of her? The waters of the Blanchet family, if we stir them up, will be enough to drown her."

Her gaze was calm, and she let out a light cough.

Eleanor sneered coldly, "I'm not worried, she dreams of being Miss Blanchet and competing with us. I've seen all sorts of people in my life. If I could take down Irene back then, surely, I can handle her daughter."

After a pause, Eleanor leaned in closer to her daughter and lowered her voice, saying, "Ishara, that child, you must"

"Don't worry, Mother." Ishara tightened her grip on the milk glass, her smile deep and meaningful. "No one will find where he is."

In the car, Winnie closed her eyes, recalling the night's brutal battlefield, feeling utterly exhausted...

The car suddenly stopped on the downhill road. Camellia Mount was vast, the roads were wide, and the streetlights were evenly spaced.

A blinding set of headlights approached from ahead, forcing Winnie to open her eyes.

"Who's this? Miss, please wait a moment" the driver turned and said to her.

But Winnie saw that in front of their car, another vehicle had stopped across the road, its headlights glaring directly at them, clearly a deliberate blockade. Her brows furrowed when she recognized the Bentley, its long and distinguished body chilling her heart.

The Blanchet family's driver had just gotten out when the other driver approached and simply said in front of the Blanchet driver, "Winnie, Mr. Rodriguez would like to greet you. Could you please step into our car?"

The Blanchet family's driver was a bit puzzled. He was then lured by the Rodriguez family's driver to go down the hill to smoke.

Winnie sat in the car, remaining still as the night air, which mirrored her cool demeanor. As she contemplated whether to head straight to the driver's seat and depart, the rear door of the Bentley swung open, revealing a man with long legs stepping out. His suit, catching the chill of the night air, exuded a hint of hostility as he strode toward her car.

Winnie, not wanting to even glance at his face, pressed the door lock. She had forgotten that the window was down, and the man's deep, elusive voice came through. "Winnie, let's talk"

Him calling her name made her stomach churn. With a cold look in her eyes, Winnie stared straight ahead.

Suddenly, the man's arm reached in through the window, clearly unlocking her car door. Winnie turned irritably to grab it back, but she was no match to his strength. The car door opened quickly.

Lawrence bent down, his dark eyes looking at her. After a moment of silence, he scooped her up with both hands, his usual dominance lifting her from the car.

"What are you doing? Lawrence, I'm calling for help! Disgusting, let me go!" She kicked furiously in mid-air, her whole body shaking with anger.

In the end, she was carried a few steps to his Bentley, the car door closing behind her, sealing her in.

Winnie's glare was accompanied by a mocking, cold laugh. "Lawrence, this isn't right. You clearly don't know me, do you?"

The car's interior light was switched off, leaving only the faint illumination from the streetlights to reveal his face beside her. His sharply defined features cast deep shadows, exuding an aura of hostility.

Lawrence lit a cigarette, smoke drifting from his thin lips, revealing a sense of heartlessness and terror.

In this enclosed space, she was ultimately face-to-face with the formidable body of a man she once knew so well...

Winnie swallowed hard, her fists clenched tightly, suppressing fear-

"Leave Trento City. There's nothing for you in the Blanchet family, so please go back to Lymington." He turned his head, his breath suppressed, emotionless in his speech.

It took Winnie a moment to understand what he meant.

He was driving her away.

She found it ludicrously funny and laughed, her gaze sorrowful and defiant. "Are you in such a hurry to drive me away because my presence here interferes with you and your precious new love, and your romantic escapades?"

Lawrence's fingers tightened around the cigarette, clenched firmly. His heart felt suffocated, and his tone grew colder as he retorted, "Heh, since you know, why ask again? Winnie, I thought you were sensible. Your presence in the Blanchet family will oppress Ishara... If you want shares or if you want money, I'll give it to you from Island Electronics.

"There's no place for you in the Blanchet family, nor in Trento City, so please go back to Lymington!"

In truth, he was afraid that if she continued to stay, she would be hurt like she was tonight... Because his "relationship" with Ishara was inevitable, he would often visit the Blanchet family, and the "affectionate" scenes like tonight, would only hurt her again and again.

He didn't know what had happened in Lymington or how she had suddenly become the Blanchet family's eldest daughter. But integrating into a new family wasn't so easy, and her return to Lymington would allow him to face the situation here alone, enabling him to quickly overcome his mother's difficulties.

Suddenly, a resounding slap struck his face. Lawrence's head was jerked to one side.

Winnie's heart spasmed, the pain gradually numbing. A tear finally fell from the corner of her eye as she laughed bitterly. "I am sensible, but why should I make it easy for you, Lawrence? What right do you have to drive me away?!"

She painfully recalled his words earlier, 'Your presence in the Blanchet family will oppress Ishara.' This was the man she had loved, and being stabbed in the heart with a knife would not have been as painful.

Her sincere heart was truly wasted.

She finally saw clearly.

Winnie breathed heavily, attempting to suppress the thick stuffiness in her nostrils. Like a wounded animal, she hissed with wide eyes, her vulnerable posture seemingly a defense mechanism, yet pitiable in its fragility.

His heart softened, nearly unable to hold on.

Lawrence averted his deep gaze as a trace of a bitter smile seeped out. "Can't you just indulge me?"