?Chapter 340:


    Ste leaned on her cane, offering aposed smile that blended the grace of age with a touch of warmth.


    Everyone acknowledged her presence with a nod.


    Eileen was the only one who looked at Ste with mixed emotions. She wondered whether Ste’s return was a result of the unpleasant conversation she had with Bryan the day before.


    “Mrs. Dawson, you’ve arrived just in time. We were about to begin our meal. Would you care to join us?” Julio smoothly intervened, extending an invitation to Ste.


    With a gentle shake of her head and a polite smile, Ste declined. “Please, go ahead and celebrate your aplishments. I don’t want to dampen the spirit of your gathering. I came to speak with Eileen. It’s not appropriate for her to dine with so many men. She and I can dine separately.”


    Benjamin nced over at Eileen.


    Eileen met Ste’s gaze with a calm, unbothered expression, and responded softly, “There’s nothing inappropriate about it. We are all colleagues here. Moreover, I am the guest of honor at this small celebration. I need to be present. Whatever you wish to discuss can be addressed here, or we can talkter.”


    “Discussing it here isn’t right, andter will be toote,” Ste said, feeling slighted by the public refusal andck of consideration.


    But no one seemed to care about her displeasure. After all, she hadn’t considered Eileen’s feelings either.


    “If it’s inappropriate to discuss now, then we can wait, even if it bes toote. The sun is high and strong at noon; let’s avoid any health risks that could me the Freguson Group yet again: Eileen stepped to the side, shifting her attention to Jarred, who was standing behind Ste. “Jarred, please escort Mrs. Dawson back. It would be unfortunate if anything were to happen on your watch.”


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    After speaking, Eileen nodded to everyone, and they moved past Ste, leaving her behind.


    This marked the first time Eileen had ever turned down Ste.


    Visibly mortified, Ste paused for a moment before she couldpose herself and walk back to her car.


    “She may have won today, but I have my ways to make her understand,” Ste murmured to herself.


    While Eileen was in the middle of her meal, she received a photograph from Ste.


    The photo showed Bryan and Benita dining together in a restaurant. Benita’s affection for him was clear in the picture. Bryan’s back was the only part of him visible, but Eileen recognized it immediately.


    Ste’s apanying message was dripping with insinuation. “Even if he loves you, he’s pragmatic enough to seek a strategic marriage. He clearly knows who’ll be able to help him.”


    Ste’s message was clearly intended to stir trouble.


    Eileen couldn’t help butugh. It was clear Ste was out of options with Bryan and was now resorting to petty tactics.


    Replying to the message seemed pointless, yet ignoring it felt like conceding to her satisfaction and victory.


    Eileen texted back sharply, “Have you forgotten why you asked me to stay away from Bryan?”


    After that, Ste did not respond to her message.


    Eileen was concerned that getting entangled in the Freguson family’s internal conflicts could spell trouble for Bryan.


    Thus, even if Bryan were to enter into a marriage for strategic reasons, he would not choose the Freguson family.


    After their meal, several executives returned to thepany for a meeting, while Julio headed directly to the Freguson family estate.


    Eileen and Benjamin, on the other hand, stopped by a nearby coffee shop to order afternoon tea, arranging for it to be delivered to the Freguson Group offices at three o’clock.


    Meanwhile, Bryan continued his conversation with Benita.


    “Mr. Dawson, I can’t hand over the item without your agreement to my conditions,” Benita stated, her sh drive fashioned as a ring, which she twirled on her finger in front of Bryan.


    Bryan’s expression grew impatient. “I haven’t outlined your terms. How can I agree to them?”


    “It certainly doesn’t involve marrying,” Benita said with a smile, noticing his impatience. She paused, then added, “I’d like you to address the internal conflicts within my family.”


    “That’s absurd,” Bryan responded curtly.


    Unfazed by his reaction, Benita pressed on, “My parents are preparing to retaliate, starting with Eileen. Instead of aiding in resolving the internal family conflicts, you’re actually shielding Eileen and handling my parents.”


    After finishing her exnation, Benita removed the ring from her finger and handed it to Bryan. “This contains a recording. I overheard them nning to target Eileen, though I’m not sure of their exact strategy.”


    Bryan took a moment to look at the ring now in his hand. His features tightened, reflecting his tension. Abruptly, he stood and walked away.


    Given Benita’s willingness to part with the ring, Bryan concluded there must be truth to her ims.


    Watching Bryan hastily leave, Benita nonchntly resumed her meal.


    She worried that Bryan’s efforts to quell the discord within the Freguson family might provoke him to dismantle it entirely. If that were to happen, she would lose her luxury.


    Benita acknowledged her inability to sway Bryan’s decisions, so she refrained from dwelling on the issue.


    Her main aim, however, was to ensure that Bryan harbored resentment towards her parents, and that objective seemed to have been met.


    The streets were quiet at noon, allowing Bryan’s understated luxury car to weave through traffic effortlessly. He tried calling Eileen multiple times, but received no response.


    Visibly frustrated, he pressed the elerator harder, the veins in his hand throbbing against the steering wheel.


    Ten minutester, Bryan reached the Freguson Group building.


    Just as he was About to park, he spotted Eileen’s car exiting the underground garage.


    An SUV parked nearby immediately started and began tailing Eileen’s car. They headed in the opposite direction of Bryan’s route. By the time Bryan managed to turn around, they were already far ahead.


    Bryan attempted to call Eileen repeatedly. Inside her car, the phone continued to ring. Eileen nced at it, frowned, and chose not to answer.


    Ten minutes earlier, Eileen had received a call from Josue, informing her that Gabri was running a fever. Josue had taken Ruby and Gabri to the hospital.


    Since Gabri’s birth, this was the first time she had fallen ill. Eileen was so overwhelmed with worry that she found herself unable to answer her phone.


    Her bagy open next to her, the zipper undone. She noticed repeated calls from Bryan on her phone screen and sensed that something was amiss.


    While driving, she reached for her phone just as the SUV surged from behind on her left, gaining speed as it neared her car. As she approached the sea-crossing bridge, it seemed the SUV was trying to force her car off the bridge in a dangerous maneuver.


    Reacting quickly, Eileen pulled her hand back from her phone and hit the brakes, only to see the other vehicle also reduce its speed. It was a clear indication they were anticipating her move.


    Determined, she mmed the brakes and then elerated sharply, trying to provoke the following SUV into rear-ending her. For a moment, there were no other vehicles close behind her or the SUV.


    The SUV’s driver revved the engine loudly and sped up, ramming into her car with such force that Eileen’s fingers whitened around the steering wheel, nearly causing her to lose control of the vehicle.


    Amidst the chaos, thoughts of Gabri shed through Eileen’s mind, tightening her throat to the point where she found it hard to even make a sound, much less speak.


    The ringing phone in the car suddenly stopped.


    Eileen dared not halt her car. If she were to stop, the SUV might rush over and knock her off the bridge.


    Choosing not to stop felt like a gamble, a desperate chase for a sliver of hope on the bridge.


    The SUV’s driver seemed determined not to give her a chance to survive. After gaining some distance, he swerved his vehicle sharply and aimed it directly at Eileen’s car.


    Eileen had no way to avoid the oing SUV.


    Her eyes fixed on the vehicle as it charged towards her. She felt her heart sink, and despair began to cloud her vision.


    Out of nowhere, a discreet yet luxurious car appeared. It collided with the SUV, diverting it from its path towards Eileen.


    The impact was tremendous. The SUV flipped over, skidded across the road, and its front end waspletely destroyed, scattering debris everywhere.


    Finally, the SUV came to a halt against a pir, and ck smoke started to billow from it.


    Eileen mmed on her brakes. The screech of the tires echoed loudly, leaving a long ck streak on the pavement.


    She jumped out of her car and ran towards Bryan’s vehicle in a panic. As she approached, she saw the car door open, and Bryan stepped out. He managed to get one foot on the ground but copsed before he could fully exit the car.


    Hey on the ground with blood seeping from his forehead. It covered half of his face but didn’t obscure his gaze.


    In his gaze, he saw Eileen running towards him, unharmed. She knelt beside him, but hesitated to touch him as tears fell continuously.


    “Bryan, are you—” Her voice broke. “Don’t sleep; keep your eyes open and look at me,” she pleaded.


    Eileen positioned herself within his line of sight. She noticed his eyes flicker slightly, signaling he was still conscious.


    “Call an ambnce! Please call an ambnce!” She shouted, her voice trembling as she called out to bystanders, her emotions spiraling out of control.


    Due to the car ident that had just urred, an ambnce had already been summoned. It arrived within five to six minutes.


    Half an hourter, at the hospital, outside the emergency room, Eileen sat on the floor in a corner. Her mind was in turmoil, and she could not recall how she had gotten to the hospital.


    She only remembered that Bryan’s hand was very cold, despite it being early autumn and the temperature still warm.


    Now, Eileen was breaking out in a cold sweat.


    She was so overwhelmed that she couldn’t even think about Gabri. Josue, having learned of Bryan’s ident, hurried from the pediatric department to the emergency room.


    When he found Eileen sitting on the floor, disheveled, with her eyes red and swollen from crying, and her expression numb, he was taken aback.


    In his memory, Eileen had always been sharp and capable, strong and resilient, even during her pregnancy. However…


    “I just spoke with the emergency doctor from the ambnce,” Josue began to exin calmly. “Bryan has a head wound, which is why there’s so much blood. They didn’t find any life-threatening injuries during the initial check at the scene. Thea is likely due to the impact force, possibly a concussion. Try not to worry too much; he should be okay.”


    Josue had barely finished speaking when Eileen suddenly reached out, gripping his arm. “I haven’t told him that Gabri is his daughter. I should have told him earlier, but I forgot. I can’t even remember what I said just now.”


    He opened his mouth but hesitated, unsure how to offerfort as her tears began to fall once more.


    “Just now, when he swerved to deflect the SUV from me, it happened so quickly that I didn’t even react. If I had just slowed the car down a bit, he might not have crashed into the pir.”


    Eileen continued, her voiceden with regret, “If I hadn’t been rushing to the hospital and had answered his call, maybe this ident could have been avoided. He wouldn’t have had to risk himself to save me—”


    “Eileen!” Ste shouted, her voice full of anger and hatred. She was approaching with hurried footsteps from the end of the corridor.


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