Natalie waited for a moment, but still Grace remained silent. She let out a soft chuckle again. "Mrs. Langley Senior, let me ask you one more time-have you ever hidden anything from me, deceived me, or used me? I''d advise you to think carefully before answering."


    Natalie''s tone remained calm and steady as she lightly tapped the table with her fingers. Since the call was on speaker mode, she could pick up her teacup that Walter had just refilled and took a leisurely sip.


    "Mrs. Langley Senior, I''ve already given you a chance. This time, if you still can''t grasp it, then there will truly be nothing left between us."


    After saying this, Natalie fell silent.


    Walter looked at her with concern. She gazed up at him and gave a small smile.


    A hint of distress shed in Walter''s gaze, and he wanted to reach out and hug her, but a single look from Natalie stopped him.


    Having to put on an act in front of Celeste and Shawn was one thing, but in private, Natalie didn''t want things to be too ambiguous with Walter.


    Shawn''s subtle reactions all indicated that he held affection for her. However, Natalie was certain-she had never known him before, and they had never crossed paths.


    Conversely, since Walter had grown up with her, publicly portraying them as childhood sweethearts was entirely believable.


    Besides, Walter was one of her own people. If she was going to act, of course, she had to find someone she could trust.


    However, she couldn''t stand in the way of his romantic prospects. So, after ending this call, Natalie nned to make things clear with him.


    If he ever met a girl he truly liked, he could tell her at any time, and they could end this fake rtionship whenever he wanted.


    Walter lowered his gaze, and a trace of disappointment shed in his eyes. Still, he quicklyposed himself and sat quietly beside Natalie, listening as she spoke with Grace.


    The breathing on the other end of the call grew heavier, followed by a series of coughs.


    Natalie remained silent, listening as the coughing continued until it finally subsided with great difficulty.


    Only then did Grace''s weary, haggard voicee through. "Nattie,e to Amberton. Once we meet, I''ll tell you everything you want to know."


    "Alright," Natalie agreed without hesitation. She and Walter were nning to make a trip there anyway.


    "Mrs. Langley Senior, take this time to sort things out properly. After this visit, I don''t want to waste any more time with the Langleys."


    With that, Natalie didn''t wait for Grace to respond before hanging up.


    As soon as she ended the call, her expression darkened. She had already witnessed the ruthlessness of the Langleys before. She even suspected that when Victor and the others tricked her into returningst time and drugged her, Grace had yed a part.


    Once a seed of doubt was sown, it would only take root and continue to grow. At this point, Natalie didn''t trust a single word that came out of Grace''s mouth.


    "Don''t overthink it." Walter reached out and gently ruffled Natalie''s hair but quickly withdrew his hand. "The situation with Mrs. Langley Senior is far moreplicated than we think it is."


    "Walter, go see if Celeste has arrived."


    "Okay."


    When Walter stood up and left the private room, Natalie picked up her phone and called Kevin. "Hello, Mr. Zeller. Sell your shares in Langley Group as soon as possible."


    "I know, but that idiot, Victor, suddenly backed out of the deal." Kevin couldn''t help but sound frustrated when he mentioned this. "That bitch, Selena, even tried to use a suicide threat to force me into giving her my shares for free. How ridiculous."


    "Alright. I''m meeting with Mrs. Langley Senior tonight. Mr. Zeller, you can use this time while I''m keeping her upied to sell your shares to Victor. Even if the price is slightly lower, it doesn''t matter. Just cut your losses in time."


    "Understood." Kevin caught the hint in Natalie''s words. "I''ll inform the other shareholders. Whether they sell or not is up to them. But Jack will definitely sell


    his."


    "That''s all. I''m hanging up now," Natalie said before ending the call.


    Once the others sold their shares andpletely withdrew from Langley Group, any future turmoil within thepany would no longer concern them.


    As two longtime supporters who had been working hard with Grace for many years, Kevin and Jack had always supported Natalie ever since Grace made her join Langley Group.


    Since they had always looked out for her like a daughter, she wouldn''t allow them to face unrest in their old age. She wanted them to enjoy the rest of their days peacefully.


    Natalie pulled out her phone again and texted Connie, instructing her to keep an eye on Charles'' condition at home.


    For some reason, Natalie felt an


    inexplicable sense of unease about Charles. Though, that was just her intuition speaking. Without concrete evidence, she wouldn''t voicecher suspicions carelessly.


    Still, being cautious never hurt.


    Since Charles was her patient, she wouldn''t allow anything to happen to him during his treatment period.


    After instructing Connie, Natalie sent another message to Ophelia. Before long,


    she received an email in response.


    Ophelia and Charlotte and already


    discussed it regarding the dresses


    Charlotte ordered for Emma, she would be getting a 20% discount However, for the dresses she


    ordered for Natalie, there would be a


    50% price hike.


    Before Charlotte could object, Ophelia shut her down with a single response. "What''s wrong? Can Mrs. Walker spend generously on her adopted daughter, but not on her own biological daughter?"


    As expected, Charlotte was stung by that usation and immediately raised the price by another 20%.


    In the end, with Ophelia''s markup and Charlotte''s own additional offer, Nouvelle Zara profited 70% more than usual.


    Ophelia exined the situation to


    Natalie. "Boss, your birth mother


    doesn''t give you an allowance to spend but will give some to Emma. If that''s the case, why not take her money for yourself?


    "If Emma turns out to be sensible, you can throw her some scrapster on. But if


    she turns out to be another Selena, you can just get rid of her."


    Natalie read the message and said nothing. As usual, she simply let Ophelia handle things as she saw fit.


    She had always adhered to the principle of trusting those she chose to use. But if someone betrayed her even once, she would never trust them again.


    ...


    Before long, Walter returned with Celeste and Shawn in tow.


    As soon as Celeste spotted Noah in the adjacent room, she immediately ran over


    to greet Marcus.


    "Hi, Mr. Holden!"


    Marcus was in the middle of a conversation with another man when he heard her voice. He looked up toward the doorway, where Celeste was waving enthusiastically at him.


    Marcus gave her a slight nod, indicating he was upied.


    Celeste waved dismissively. "I just wanted to say hi. Go on with your business."


    With that, she turned and entered Natalie''s private room. "Did you guys know that Marcus is right next door?"


    "We did." Natalie, unfazed, calmly sipped her tea. "Celeste, let''s order."


    "You guys can handle spicy food, right?"


    "Of course!"


    Celeste picked up the menu and quickly ordered several dishes. After ordering,


    she rested her chin on her hands and stared directly at Natalie.