novelraw Chapter 240: Because of Offending Someone
Chapter 240: Because of Offending Someone
Chapter 240: Because They Offended Someone
「That day.」
The family was having breakfast together.
Melissa was chatting with Johnson Royce and Florence Preston, making the two of them roar with laughter. In Florence’s arms, little Bobby gurgled so happily it was as if he was trying to talk.
The air was filled with warmth and happiness.
Rachel Royce couldn’t help but curve her lips into a smile.
Just then, the nanny came in.
"Miss Royce, your phone is ringing." Rachel Royce went to the living room, took her phone out of her bag, and saw it was a call from Joanna Sutton. She answered, and upon hearing what Joanna said, her expression changed drastically.
"I’m heading to the office right away." Rachel Royce put down her phone.
She returned to the dining room.
"Dad, Mom, there’s an emergency at work, so I have to go to the office now. Mom, can you take Melissa to kindergarten later?"
Seeing her in such a hurry, Johnson Royce and Florence Preston didn’t ask too many questions.
She said goodbye to Melissa.
"Drive safely, Mommy." Rachel Royce nodded, planted a kiss on Melissa’s forehead, and then drove away from the villa.
Just as she drove out of the villa community’s gate, a middle-aged man sitting in the driver’s seat of a white sedan parked across the street squinted, peering at her carefully through the window.
After Rachel Royce drove away, the man pushed open his door and got out.
He walked over to the security guard at the gate and asked, "Excuse me, is there a resident here by the name of Johnson Royce?" The guard looked at the man warily. "Who are you?"
"Oh, I’m a friend of his."
The guard said, "You’ll have to call Mr. Royce. We can only let you in after we’ve confirmed your identity."
The man quickly replied, "Oh, okay, okay."
With that, he turned and went straight back to his car. He then pulled a cigarette from his pocket and lit it. Noticing the guard watching him, he picked up his phone and pretended to make a call.
Then he continued to sit in his car and wait.
「More than ten minutes later.」
The guard, seeing the man still parked there, was about to go over and ask what was going on when a car drove up. The guard saluted, then gently tapped on the rear window.
The man was watching the gate intently. The distance was a bit far, so he could only vaguely make out the person in the backseat. When the passenger looked in his direction, he recognized her at a glance.
Zachary Dudley drove away.
The man started his car and followed close behind.
"Ma’am, the car behind us is following us."
Florence Preston glanced back and frowned. Just now, the guard had told her someone claiming to be a friend of Johnson Royce had shown up. The guard told him to make a call, but he just sat in his car and did nothing.
From such a distance, Florence Preston hadn’t recognized who it was.
Melissa looked at Florence Preston and asked, "Grandma Preston, is it a bad guy?"
Florence Preston squeezed Melissa’s little hand. "Don’t you worry, Melissa."
"Ma’am, I can lose him."
"Yes. Let’s get Melissa to kindergarten first."
Zachary Dudley easily shook the car that was tailing them.
Florence Preston dropped Melissa off at the kindergarten. As she turned and walked back toward the car, she was pulling the door open to get in when she heard someone call out to her, "Florence, it really is you!"
Florence Preston’s hand froze on the car door. She whipped her head around and saw the middle-aged man. He was lean and wiry, with sharp, prominent features, sunken eyes, and a vicious glint in his murky gaze.
Even after so many years, she would never forget that face, not even in death.
Desmond Howard.
Her ex-husband.
He was the one who had been following them. Seeing Desmond Howard approach,
Zachary Dudley pushed his door open, got out, and blocked his path with an outstretched arm. His voice was cold and sharp. "Who are you?"
Desmond Howard grinned, looking at Florence Preston. "Florence, you’ve really got the air of a rich man’s wife now. Look at you, even more beautiful than when you were young. I almost didn’t recognize you."
Florence Preston ignored him and pulled the car door open, about to get in.
Desmond Howard suddenly said, "We haven’t seen each other in over a decade. I’d like to chat. I heard our little Peter is a success now, even started his own company. That’s incredible. I never thought my son would turn out so promising." His tone was thick with excitement and greed.
Florence Preston’s movements froze. She turned back to stare at him and demanded, "How in the world did you find me?"
Years ago, Desmond Howard had gambled away his family’s fortune and racked up huge debts. During that time, he got into a brawl with his creditors, seriously injuring one of them, and was sentenced to eighteen years in prison.
It was while he was serving his sentence that she divorced him. But a condition of the divorce was that she had to pay off his two hundred thousand yuan debt.
Back then, two hundred thousand was an astronomical sum for her.
But she agreed. She went to work in Kingsland, paying off Desmond Howard’s debt while also earning money for Peter Preston’s school fees.
Besides running a small business of her own, she also cooked for workers at a construction site. The site happened to belong to Johnson Royce’s company, and after eating her food, Johnson Royce praised her excellent cooking skills.
At that time, Johnson Royce had just divorced his wife and was completely despondent. Because her mother and brother had left, Rachel Royce had also started to lose her appetite.
So, Johnson Royce hired her to come to their home and cook for Rachel Royce.
And so, she stayed with the Royce family.
Her accomplished son earned a full scholarship to a university in Kingsland.
She thought she would never have anything to do with this man again in her life.
Desmond Howard smiled amicably. "Come on, we were married once. I just wanted to know how your son is doing. And wow, I never expected you to become a rich man’s wife, Florence."
How could Florence Preston not sense his ill intentions? Her face hardened. "If you have something to say, say it. Don’t beat around the bush with me."
Desmond Howard’s smile faded slightly. "It’s just that I’ve been doing some business lately, and cash is a little tight. I was hoping to borrow a little from you. It’s not much—just thirty million."
Florence Preston frowned. "Did sitting in prison rot your brain? You and I have had nothing to do with each other for a long time."
"Why say something so nasty? We were married, after all. And I know the villa you live in now is worth tens of millions. Thirty million should be a piece of cake for you!"
"You’re dreaming." Florence Preston didn’t waste any more words on him, pulling open the car door and getting in.
Zachary Dudley followed her into the car and drove off.
Desmond Howard watched the car leave, not at all concerned. Now that his son and ex-wife were both rich, how could they leave him, the father, behind?
Sitting in the car, Florence Preston felt a deep sense of unease.
Desmond Howard had suddenly appeared at their doorstep and even knew where they lived. This was definitely not a simple matter.
Just then, her phone vibrated. It was a call from her younger brother. "Wesley, what’s wrong?" Hearing his words, Florence Preston’s expression changed once again.
Wesley Preston now ran a trucking company in their hometown county. He had originally landed several large projects, but his clients had all suddenly canceled their contracts. With the end of the year approaching, the losses would be substantial.
They had no idea what was happening. They asked a long-time client, who told them they had offended someone. But they had always done business honestly—who could they possibly have offended?
With no other options, he had called Florence Preston to see if Peter Preston could use his connections to help.
First, Desmond Howard shows up. Now, Wesley’s company is suddenly in trouble, also because they "offended someone."
Such a coincidence.
Florence Preston now understood everything.