Chapter 173 Time Will Tell
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Paige gave Giselle''s hands a reassuring squeeze. "Don''t worry. You''re the only one I''ll ept as Leo''s wife."
After years of pining for Leo, Giselle had long outgrown the blushing schoolgirl routine.
Now her voice carried a note of mncholy. "But what if he never feels the same way?"
"Please. With me in your corner, who else could he possibly marry?"
Giselle threw her arms around Paige. "You''re the best! I don''t know what I''d do without you."
Paige stroked her cheek affectionately. "Sweetie, we''re going to be family. This is what family does."
"But what about Carol?" Giselle''s voice dropped with worry. "She''s your niece, Leo''s cousin. What if we never get along? I still don''t understand why she pushed me into that pool."
The truth was, Giselle knew exactly what she''d done-she just didn''t know the whole story.
At her birthday party, she''d made several snide remarks about Caroline''s poor taste in men.
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Chapter 173 Time Will Tell
5) 11 min lex
She''d assumed they were all adults who understood consequences-that Caroline might be upset but would never actually do anything about it.
How wrong she''d been.
Besides, Giselle didn''t know Caroline had lost her memory. She''d assumed their childhood grudges were water under the bridge, not realizing they''d be fresh wounds in Caroline''s mind-making her dunking inevitable.
"Giselle," Paige said firmly, "you''re going to be Leo''s wife. I won''t have you suffering in silence. You understand me?"
Their eyes met, and Giselle felt a surge of determination.
In her mind, Caroline only dared to attack her because she was the Ashbourne Group''s heiress, untouchable and above
consequences.
After that birthday party, Giselle had be theughingstock of their social circle.
She''d never been so humiliated in her entire life.
And now, with the Reeves family dragged through the mud alongside her, this was no longer just personal. This was war.
*****
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Chapter 173 Time Will Tell
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"Mr. Harlow! Is it true you have a personal vendetta against Reba Whitfield?"
"Mr. Nathaniel Whitfield and his wife died in that car crash just days ago. The police are calling you their prime suspect. Anyment?"
"Why choose If There''s a Next Second when Ster Films dropped it? When they crush you at the box office, won''t you be dragging down Yves Robinson and everyone else involved?"
"Sources say you didn''t even write the script yourself. Care to confirm?"
"Are you only this confident because you''ve got the Ashbourne Group backing you?"
The questions hammered at Alistair from all directions, cameras shing like strobe lights.
So this is what they mean by "fame has its price."
He''d spent the afternoon with Mabel at Ashbourne Manor until 3 pm, when exhaustion finally sent her to her room.
Worried about what she wasn''t telling him, he''d decided to track down her attending physician from the hospital.
Instead, his car had been ambushed halfway there by this media
circus.
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Chapter 173 Time Will Tell
Alistair held up a hand to his bodyguards-stay back-then raised both hands to quiet the crowd.
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When the shouting finally died down, he leaned toward the cluster of microphones with an easy smile. "Time will tell," he said simply. "That''s all I have to say."
Then he slipped back into the car and drove away.
Back at Vireon Technologies, Caroline watched the footage of Alistair''s video, frowning. "What the hell is wrong with these people? They''re harassing my husband!"
Before Julian could respond, she added, "God, he looks good, though."
Julian mentally rolled his eyes.
Great. I''m here to watch her moon over her husband.
One of the employees had been cking off, saw the footage of Alistair being
chased by reporters, and immediately reported it to Julian.
Everyone at thepany understood that Alistair was Caroline''s world.
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Chapter 173 Time Will Tell
The staff genuinely admired Caroline.
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Brilliant didn''t begin to cover it-she had razor-sharp instincts and an almost supernatural business sense. Fivepanies, all thriving under her leadership.
Sure, she was aloof. Arrogant, even. She didn''t schmooze or y politics, didn''t seem to know or care about winning people over.
Yet somehow, every single employee respected the hell out of her.
At first, a few old-timers had grumbled about taking orders from someone so young. One by one, she''d won them over with sheerpetence.
Her employees weren''t just loyal-they were devoted. Otherpanies had tried poaching her top people with obscene sry offers, but nobody budged.
They trusted herpletely and wore their association with herpanies like a badge of honor.
So naturally, they protected who mattered to their boss.
While the inte painted Alistair as some kind of viin, Caroline''s employees knew better. They''d floodment sections defending him, taking on every troll who dared suggest he was guilty of anything.
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*****
(11 min left
"Dr. Rollins, I need you to level with me about Mabel''s condition." Alistair leaned forward in his chair, his voice earnest. "I swear she''ll never know we talked."
Jaxon Rollins was the kind of physician who was brilliant, dedicated, and beloved by patients.
He smiled, "Mr. Harlow, I assure you, all of Madam Ashbourne''s test results are perfectly normal. What exactly has you so concerned?"
Alistair returned the smile. "Well, though I expect to hear more, since you''re telling me her numbers look good, I guess I can stop worrying."
Jaxon''s smile turned a bit awkward.
Before standing to leave, Alistair scribbled his phone number on a slip of paper, adding his surname below. He slid it across the desk, thanked the doctor politely, and walked out.
He hadn''t expected to get answers.
In some ways, no news was good news. If Mabel was healthy, there was nothing
to worry about.
But Alistair''s gut was screaming at him, and his instincts were rarely wrong.
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If Mabel was sick, they couldn''t afford to waste time. Maybe he could find solutions that conventional medicine couldn''t offer.
The Cancer Obliterator was still sitting in his system store. The price was astronomical, but he''d bankrupt himself in a heartbeat if it meant keeping Mabel
healthy.
Jaxon''s expression had told him everything he needed to know. Something was wrong with Mabel''s health—he just didn''t know what.
Mabel wasn''t just any patient. If she''d asked Jaxon to keep her condition secret,
he''d take it to his grave out of respect for her.
Alistair''s visit was meant to apply pressure. Write yourment