Chapter 656 Killing Two Birds With One Stone
Azure was skeptical of Christina’s words. To prove she hadn’t made a mistake, she immediately dialed Barnaby’s number, only to find that his phone had been unreachable.
Unwilling to give up, Azure summoned Chandler and asked, “Did something happen to Old Mr. Stone? I haven’t been able to reach him on his phone.”
The butler, who had just spoken to Barnaby, knew that there was only one reason why no one answered the phone: Barnaby was ignoring her on purpose.
He replied calmly. “Perhaps he’s busy.”
Since Barnaby was on vacation, he had left Stone Corporation in Sheridan’s hands. No matter how busy Barnaby was, he could definitely still spare a moment to answer her call.
Although Azure was almost convinced by what Christina had said, she couldn’t give up completely without having witnessed it personally first.
“Deliver a message to Old Mr. Stone. I wish to meet him in person.”
“All right. I will convey your message as soon as possible.”
“That’s not enough. I must meet him latest by tomorrow.”
“I will do my best. I suppose you understand Old Mr. Stone’s temperament well. He dislikes others disturbing him during his vacation.”
He actually thinks that I’m being unreasonable?
Azure’s frustration caused a pang in her heart. However, she couldn’t afford to have a falling out with Barnaby’s subordinates at this point.
Once she successfully met Barnaby, she would have various ways to deal with that annoying butler.
“Remove all this food from the ward. I need to rest. Once you’ve tidied up, you may leave,” ordered Azure as she turned around and lay down.
Chandler summoned the caretaker in to clean up the mess on the floor before silently leaving the ward.
“Old Mr. Stone, Mrs. Lazuli wishes to meet you tomorrow.” The butler called Barnaby in the hospital corridor. “Mrs. Hadley visited half an hour ago. They had a lengthy conversation in the ward. They seemed to have talked about Mr. Nigel’s return to the family. Mrs. Lazuli still has feelings for you.”
If Barnaby heard that Azure was still in love with him in the past, he would have been so overjoyed that he wouldn’t be able to sleep.
However, he felt troubled now. He couldn’t allow a woman he had loved in the past to jeopardize his family’s reputation or undermine his authority in front of the younger family members.
“Tell her that I am busy preparing for my mother’s birthday celebration. It’s inconvenient for me to meet her. Let her rest well. If she needs any money, fulfill her requests. Just ignore everything else. When the time is right, you can come back.”
“Understood.”
That day, the butler found an opportunity to inform Azure about Barnaby’s refusal to meet her. She threw such a huge tantrum in the hospital ward that news even reached Christina.
Christina was not surprised.
Azure had masqueraded as a virtuous wife and mother for so many years. Now that everyone knew that Nigel was an illegitimate child, she would become a laughing stock should she continue with her act.
“Next week marks the hundredth birthday of the Stone family elder?” When Christina was browsing her phone, she saw that almost half of the news headlines were dedicated to the upcoming grand banquet hosted by the Stone family. Suddenly, she had a different idea.
“Yes. Mr. Stone has already sent over the invitation,” Lyle said, then turned to leave. Shortly after, he returned with an exquisitely designed invitation card.
“Prepare a generous gift. The Stone family is quite prominent in Hallsbay. Since I’ve only recently taken over Gibson Corporation, I cannot be absent from this banquet.”
This was a chance for Christina to expand her social network. She would never miss this opportunity.
Moreover, something interesting would definitely happen at the Stone family’s birthday banquet. If she attended, she would be able to witness the spectacle too.
I hope they won’t disappoint me.
“Mrs. Hadley, Mr. Hadley will be attending the Stone family’s banquet as well,” said Lyle, having just received the updates.
It had been nearly half a month since Christina had last seen Nathaniel, so the news filled her with uncontrollable delight. “Will he be coming to Hallsbay ahead of time?”
Lyle hesitated before responding, “If everything in Erihal is settled without a hiccup, Mr. Hadley will make his way directly to Hallsbay.”
“Take some rest for now. I’d like to be alone for a while,” Christina dismissed Lyle and immediately dialed Rayne’s number. “Have you picked a new workspace for our studio?”
She had been so busy caring for Timothy and handling the company’s affairs that she had no time to ask about the progress of the restart of the studio.
Rayne was also overwhelmed with work. As they were unable to meet the project deadlines, she had to personally apologize to the clients, who would sometimes deliberately make things difficult for her. At the same time, she had to prepare for the lawsuit.
All the responsibilities in the studios seemed to rest solely on Rayne’s shoulders. Although Christina had a*signed two a*sistants to her, Rayne, mindful of the past experiences, preferred to personally oversee certain core aspects of the business.
Several days had pa*sed since Rayne last contacted Christina. Christina could not help but feel worried.
Rayne’s voice sounded weary and weak as if she had just woken up. “Um…”
An awkward silence followed, which was then interrupted by Rayne’s exclamation. “Christina, I’ve already found a promising workspace. We were about to sign the contract, but someone sabotaged it midway! The owner of the office building is Emilia’s sponsor. Even though she is unable to attend any events during this period, she frequently accompanies the sponsor to various drinking gatherings. This sponsor, who lost his wife a long time ago, has now set his sights on Emilia. He even publicly announced his intention to marry her. This news has spread all over Jadeborough.”
Rayne couldn’t stop ranting. “And that’s not all! I’ve previously reached an agreement with a client regarding the compensation, but they suddenly backtracked and demanded to increase the amount. If we refuse, they threaten to seek justice through the media and ensure that we’ll be blacklisted in Jadeborough!”
Having suffered significant losses from the devastating fire, the studio had limited funds available for its operation.
They had dedicated so much effort to building a reputation for their brand. If they were forced to close down, all the painstaking work and investments they had put in earlier would go down the drain.
To protect the studio’s reputation, Rayne had been tirelessly running around to persuade the clients to honor the original contracts and resolve the issues.
“I have thoroughly investigated the backgrounds of those troublesome clients. It turns out that their husbands’ companies are desperate to collaborate with Emilia’s sponsor. Hence, they have no choice but to curry favor with her,” spat Rayne through gritted teeth. “Christina, if our studio wants to reopen, we must deal with Emilia as quickly as possible.”
Christina said coldly, “I’ve got a lot of incriminating evidence against Emilia. Get someone to release them. Give extra coverage to how she managed to get Melissa to become her manager.
Emilia’s rise to stardom was completely financed by Anya. However, the money came from dubious sources. If Emilia were to get into trouble. Anya would inevitably find herself dragged into a precarious
situation.
By killing two birds with one stone. Christina could quickly resolve this matter.
