The young assistant couldn’t help but speak up. “Mr. Harvey, our Director–General already has a fiancée.”
Ablett made no move to stop him, his expression unreadable as he fixed his gaze on Carney.
The secretary’s words were, in fact, his own as well.
Carney pressed on. “Leda’s wound is right over her heart. Even if she recovers, there will be a scar. With an injury like that, how could she possibly marry anyone
else?”
“She’s given her whole heart to you.”
“And the two of you–well, everyone knows what happened between you back then.” “Leda never let me tell you, but she was pregnant afterwards.”
“When they discovered it, there was a massive hemorrhage. It was an ectopic pregnancy–she nearly died, you know how dangerous that was?”
The young assistant glanced at Ablett in shock.
But the Director–General remained calm and impassive, as always impossible to
read, so the assistant kept quiet.
“She told you all this herself?” Ablett’s voice carried a chill.
“What, you’re still going to deny it?”
“Leda’s always been proper, she’s never been with any other man.”
“Out of respect for your reputation, she kept it all hidden.”
“If it weren’t for the hemorrhage, I’d never have known you’d already taken her back then.” Carney’s voice grew firmer, his tone rising. “You can’t just walk away from this engagement!”
“I’m thinking of the McCarthy family here. You know how much your parents value the family’s reputation. You wouldn’t want to tarnish that, would you?”
Sensing the icy air around Ablett, Carney softened his approach. “Leda’s a perfect society lady, I raised her myself. She has the poise to uphold the McCarthy family name, and the Harvey family would only benefit by your marriage.”
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Chapter 226
Ablett didn’t answer, merely said with a trace of detachment, “I’ll come visit Leda tomorrow.”
Noticing Ablett’s growing impatience, Carney realized he was pushing too hard and quickly backtracked. “Ablett, Leda is gentle, gracious, and remarkably open–minded. She’ll never constrain you after you’re married.”
“If you truly can’t let go of Miss Griffiths, then in the future-”
Carney, oblivious to the fact that every word he spoke was walking straight into a minefield, carried on.
Ablett rarely lost his temper; nothing ever seemed to rattle him. But at that moment, his
gaze fell on Carney like a bolt of lightning–cold, unreadable, yet so intense Carney felt a chill run down his spine, his bones aching with dread.
Carney fell silent.
Ablett rose and headed for the door. The assistant hurried to gather the files, while plainclothes officers opened the door to the hospital room and did a quick sweep.
“Ablett, I’ll let you know as soon as Leda wakes up,” Carney called after him, the darkness in his eyes deepening.
Once they’d left, Carney turned to his bodyguard. “If you find that useless Kermit, make sure he doesn’t open his mouth.”
The bodyguard made a call, then returned to report, “Mr. Harvey, Kermit says he has important information for you–he’s begging for his life.”
“Oh?”
“He says it’s about Ablett’s fiancée.”
Outside the hospital, Ablett glanced at the sky–it was still early–then turned to his assistant. “Have my parents gone home?”
“Mr. McCarthy, Mrs. McCarthy, and Miss McCarthy have all returned,” the assistant replied. “But there’s been a bit of trouble with Miss Griffiths.”
Ablett raised an eyebrow and slid into the back seat as the plainclothes o opened the car door.
The assistant quickly got in the passenger seat.
The moment the doors closed, the air inside seemed to freeze over. The young
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assistant, unnerved, immediately explained everything.
Next door, in the neighboring villa, Eddy sat on the balcony, keeping a watchful eye on the room across the street.
Inside, Blanche was playing with Terrell, helping him assemble a toy robot. The two of them burst into laughter when the robot emitted a series of spooky, garbled noises. Meanwhile, Fernando lingered at the doorway, his gaze lingering far too long on Blanche.
Eddy clenched his fists. Back in the day, if anyone had dared look at his wife like that, he’d have had the man’s legs broken.
Suddenly, Blanche glanced out the window, right at him.
Eddy’s heart thudded wildly, like a still pond suddenly struck by a stone.
He watched as Blanche stood and walked over to the window. She raised her hands, drew the curtains shut, and blocked his view completely.
His expression darkened. He got up, strode across to the neighboring villa, and rang the doorbell, ready to storm inside and drag his wife home.
