“I will call Bruce right away,” said Ben nervously.
“There’s no need. I already have a backup plan in place,” replied Zachary while waving his hand.
“Huh?” blurted Ben in confusion.
It didn’t take long before Bruce called and reported, “We have rescued her. What do we…?”
“Take her to Southridge and lock her in a room on the farm for now,” instructed Zachary.
“Understood,” replied Bruce, before he started working on the matter right away.
“Ah, so you’ve already anticipated this,” blurted Ben as the revelation hit him.
“I had it in place to prevent Charlotte from doing anything. Who would’ve thought that my backup plan will be up and running so soon?” said Zachary as he put a concerned expression on and added, “Danrique is truly powerful. I guess I have underestimated him.”
“I don’t understand,” asked Ben carefully, “Sharon is Ms. Lindberg’s enemy, right? So what’s so bad about Sharon being taken by the Lindberg family? Won’t it be more convenient to just have them solve the matter between themselves?”
“You’re not seeing the big picture. Think about it. What will happen to Sharon if the Lindberg family catches her?” said Zachary in an annoyed tone.
“Naturally, they would kill her,” replied Ben.
“Then tell me something. Why did Danrique let Sharon go when he could have killed her in T Nation? Moreover, why did he hide the truth and keep her safe?” challenge Zachary again.
“Uhm… I thought about this earlier. I think Danrique let Sharon go because he wanted to inspire Ms. Lindberg to become stronger. He wanted her to exact revenge on her own,” replied Ben after thinking about it.
“That is just one of the reasons. The most important bit is that Danrique wants to take advantage of the hatred Charlotte has for the Nacht family. He wants her to come after me so that he can bankrupt the company while I am distracted. He might even acquire the entire company,” said Zachary as he frowned deeply.
“Ah, I see. That is why we can’t let Danrique have Sharon. If he gets his hands on her, he would make her claim that the mastermind behind the incident wasn’t just Zara. She would name you and Mr. Henry as the accomplices as well!” blurted Ben.
“You’re finally seeing things clearly. Sharon will say anything Danrique told her to in order to survive. She might not name me as a mastermind though, because Charlotte is smart enough to see through that lie. However, Charlotte will definitely believe the lie if Grandpa is dragged into the mess,” replied Zachary with a complex expression.
“That’s true. If Sharon lies and claims that Henry worked with Zara to kill Ms. Windt in T Nation,” muttered Ben as a chill ran down his spine, “Given Ms. Windt’s current temperament, she will surely go after Mr. Henry, and you can’t ignore that.”
“Grandpa made a mistake as well, but his eyes were blinded by love,” said Zachary grimly, “Besides, he doesn’t have much time left, so I don’t want anyone to hurt him.”
“Then… why don’t you let Ms. Lindberg and Sharon talk things out in person?” asked Ben, “I’m sure Ms. Lindberg already knows the truth after her encounter with Zara yesterday.”
“Let them deal with the matter in person? What if Charlotte kills Sharon, and Zara makes up a story when she is caught afterward? No one will be able to refute Zara’s story or tell the truth once that happens,” replied Zachary.
“I see. I understand now. Every witness and every piece of evidence must be in place to show the whole truth,” said Ben while nodding.
“Sh*t!”
Zachary suddenly thought of something even more important. He called Charlotte right away.
No one picked up, so he called Raina instead.
“Hello?” greeted the woman on the other side of the line after she picked up.
Raina spoke softly and didn’t even dare to greet Zachary by his name.
“Don’t worry. Just answer yes or no,” informed Zachary calmly. “Are you with Charlotte?”
“Yes.”
“Is Danrique there?”
“No.”
“Are you on your way to Northridge?”
“Yeah,” replied Raina. Ellie was sitting on the side and the girl suddenly asked, “Is that Daddy on the line?”
Raina was stunned. She stared awkwardly at Charlotte.
“You don’t need to be on guard. It’s just a call,” said Charlotte, who was rather civil and understanding.
