Chapter 514
A couple of days later, I received a call from Faith.
She sounded pissed off. “Rena, Karina is actually in Rosemont! We’ve been fooled!”
I was taken aback. How did Faith find out?
“Faith, where are you?” I asked.
“I’m back in Eldoria. I’ve had a hunch something was off. Hiram is usually so clingy, always begging me to come back home whenever I step out. But this time, he kept insisting I take my time. So, I decided to go back to Eldoria without telling anyone. Surprise, surprise, only Hiram was home alone with a nanny who looked after him, and no sign of Karina at all!” Faith’s voice was seething with anger, and she continued without waiting for my response.
“Hiram and the nanny lied to me, saying Karina was at work. I visited her hospital where she should be working at, but they told me she was on an extended leave! What is she doing sneaking back to Rosemont? I bet it’s no good!”
Indeed, it was no good. Karina had returned to see Russel. Whether or not she was involved in the previous attacks on Whitmore Co., I still had no concrete proof. Russel certainly wouldn’t give me that.
I didn’t know what to say, so I just listened to Faith.
Finally, she was done, and I asked, “Faith, how do you plan to deal with this?”
“Deal with it? I’ll find a way to get Karina out of the Whitmore family. Hiram has to stay. She’s using her own child as a pawn! She’ll ruin him if this goes on!” Faith sounded firm.
“And what if Hiram insists on keeping Karina?” I asked.
Faith seemed stumped by my question. She sighed, “Yeah, if Hiram wasn’t so infatuated with Karina, I would have kicked her out ages ago.”
I didn’t know how to solve this either, so I left it to Faith.
Now that Faith knew Karina was in Rosemont, Neil must’ve known it, too.
I had no idea how he would deal with Karina.
However, I didn’t expect Karina to reach out to me and propose a meeting.
I was curious about the secret between Dylan and Karina, so I agreed to meet.
“Irene, did you tell Neil’s mom that I’m in Rosemont?” As soon as we met, Karina asked straight out. She was abrupt, even calling me by my first name, unlike her usual “Ms. Finch”.
“I didn’t. Why would I have anything to do with this?” I took a sip of my water, responding coldly.
“But Russel told me you knew I was in Rosemont. Who else could have told her?” There was suspicion in Karina’s eyes. “I know you might be wondering why I am with Russel. There’s nothing between us. I just came back to dissuade him from targeting Neil because of you.”
She sounded so innocent. But it was completely different from what Russel had told me.
In fact, I didn’t realize Karina was so obsessed with Neil. She was willing to risk everything, including Whitmore Co., as long as she could marry Neil.
She was as ruthless as ever.
“Then go explain to Neil. Why are you here with me?” I was more puzzled.
Karina put on a troubled face. Finally, she revealed her true purpose.
She was here to persuade me to go back to Russel.
This surprised me. But with a second thought, it made sense. With Russel and I separated, she was bound to worry. What if I went back to Neil, considering my two children were his?
“You’ve got some charm, to have a man go to such lengths for you. I admire that.” Karina said, even praising me begrudgingly in the end.
Throughout our conversation, she was emphasizing everything that Russel had done for me, hoping I would appreciate it. Besides, the true identity of my two children was something I didn’t want the Whitmore family to know, so staying with Russel was my best option.
Everything she said was nonsense to me, since I had already thought it through.
“Karina, there’s no need for you to say all these. Even if Russel and I break up, I would never go back to Neil. As for whether you can win his heart, that’s your problem.” I finished my water, got up, and prepared to leave.
Karina seemed desperate. She stood up abruptly and raised her voice, “You’ll regret losing a man who loves you so much!”
I stopped, turned around, and looked at her. “I won’t.”
Karina looked at me, her brow furrowed, as if she wanted to say something but held back. I quickly left. I had driven Stella’s car today, and it was parked not far from the entrance. As soon as I got in, I received a call from Stella.
She knew I was meeting Karina today and was worried, and I reassured her. I was about to drive home when I saw a familiar figure rushing into the same cafe I had just left.
It was Louis Aldridge.
Was he also in Rosemont? I remembered what Russel had said, even if he didn’t target Neil, there were others who would. Was he referring to Louis?
Louis hated Neil deeply. He was convinced he was the illegitimate son of the Whitmore family, deserving the same status and lifestyle as Neil.
And he was close to Russel. It wouldn’t be far-fetched if the two of them were collaborating.
Poor Neil, the two childhood friends he grew up with turned into his enemies.
I felt sad for Neil for a moment, then drove back to Stella’s house.
“Just when we had a few days of peace, they’re at each other’s throats again?” Stella was deeply invested in the affairs of Russel and Neil. During my time at her place, she spent two-thirds of it fretting over their issues.
When I had just met with Karina a couple of days ago, Stella had spent some time analyzing her psyche for me.
“Neil’s the type who never allows himself to suffer. After what Russel did to him, he’s definitely out for revenge.”
I was trimming Brandon’s nails when I recalled the words Neil had said, and my mood turned heavy.
I didn’t want Russel to target Whitmore Co., and I certainly didn’t want Neil to stir up trouble with the Dawson family.
But it seemed like I didn’t have any power to stop it.
“This is turning into a full-blown battle.” Stella sighed wistfully, “Their feud is starting to affect my family’s company. They really are using their personal interests to throw tantrums.”
I stayed silent, moving on to trim Serena’s nails. I wanted to speak to Neil and try to dissuade him, but after I had asked him to cut back on visiting other people’s kids, he seemed to be angry. He hadn’t contacted me since, nor sought me out.
Besides, with Karina’s situation probably causing him much stress, how would he even have the time to pick a fight with Russel?
