Chapter 179 Extortion
At that moment, it all clicked for Alistair.
19 min left
The woman had produced a stack of documents—evidence tying Alistair to the
Whitfield case.
And not just any evidence. The kind that, if made public, could utterly destroy him.
She had somehow gotten hold of Caroline''s contact information and arranged to
meet her in person.
And Caroline hade.
A storm of emotion stirred inside Alistair.
So her odd behavior today… was because of him.
Of course, Alistair knew the so-called “evidence” was fabricated. None of it could
actually incriminate him.
But Caroline showed up anyway. Was it because she didn’t fully believe he was
innocent?
He studied her face through the mental projection, searching for even a flicker of
hesitation. She gave him nothing.
The woman was still smiling, her expression a mix of ttery and threat.
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19 min left
And really, what else could Caroline do? No matter how powerful she seemed,
she was still just in her twenties. Driven by love, maybe she’d made a rash
decision.
But as the woman kept grinning, Caroline’s gaze stayed steady and unreadable.
Gradually, that smug smile began to falter.
Caroline tilted her head slightly, amusementcing her tone. “What’s wrong?”
The woman sneered, “Guess you don’t love your husband that much after all.
Can’t even cough up five million dors.”
“Are you done?” Caroline asked calmly.
The woman pouted, annoyed.
Just then, footsteps echoed from the hallway—several pairs, hurried and heavy.
Still hidden in the shadows, Alistair saw a group of uniformed officers heading
straight for the door.
Caroline opened it and pointed at the now-panicked woman. “Officer, this is the
one. She tried to extort five million dors from me.”
The woman panicked and immediately denied it. “She’s lying! I
never—”
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Her denial was weak. Caroline had clearlye prepared.
19 min left
Alistair watched as she calmly followed the officers out of the building. Was she
really going to be back at the office within two hours like she promised?
With the story already spinning out of control, the facts muddled and opportunists
circling like vultures, Caroline had every excuse to look the other way, but she
didn’t.
Not only had she shown up, but she had barely let the woman finish her demand
before secretly reporting her to the police.
It was like she came for one reason only—to personally bring a criminal to justice.
But Alistair knew better. It wasn’t that simple.
When the officers searched the woman and found a hidden camera, and after
hearing Caroline’s statement, everything became clear.
Caroline wasn’t about to take chances when it came to him.
If she hadn’te, she might’ve missed the opportunity to trace the person
behind it all.
But bying in person, she also risked something. No matter what answer she
gave that woman, her presence alone could be
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19 min left
used as leverage. After all, if she had nothing to hide, why would a CEO with a
packed schedule show up herself?
So instead, she flipped the script. She came, and then she had the woman
arrested. Loud and clear, she sent a message that she would stand by Alistair—
publicly, unequivocally.
Alistair watched through the windshield as Caroline exited the station alone, calm
andposed.
He had to fight the urge to jump out and hold her.
Momentster, his phone lit up with a call.
“Hey, babe,” she said, “I’m heading back now.”
Exactly on time, within the two-hour window.
“Okay.”
“You still out?”
“Yeah.”
“Come find me. I miss you.”
Just six simple words, yet theynded with… the weight of a spell that tugged at his
entire soul.
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Chapter 179 Extortion
19 min left
Two new trending topics had exploded online with hashtags: “Billionaire family
snubs Alistair—so much for that gold digger dream” and “Alistair trying so hard—the
Ashbournes could not care less”.
Both, of course, were about Alistair.
He had somehow be America’s most talked-about man. The chatter around
him was so loud it drowned out the usual buzz from even the most publicity-
hungry influencers.
And strangely, those trending posts weren’t disappearing. With Ashbourne
Group’s influence, removing a couple of hot topics would’ve been effortless.
So why were they still up?
The message couldn’t be clearer. Ashbourne Group was ready to cut ties with
Alistair.
Online haters who’d been convinced of Alistair’s guilt celebrated.
Without thepany shielding him, they felt like justice was finally on its way. The
truth, they believed, was about to shine through.
No matter how messy the headlines got, production on If There’s a Next Second
continued smoothly.
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Chapter 179 Extortion
(*) 19 min left
Of course, the drama brought attention. Each member of the cast gained
significant public exposure.
It was trending long before it hit the screen, but not for the right reasons. Most
people were skeptical of its sess.
XXXXX
In a sun-drenched sitting room that smelled faintly of flowers, Caroline popped
thest grape into Alistair’s mouth. “Gordon came to talk about Grandma,” she
said softly.
She didn’t mention the woman she had sent to jail, and Alistair pretended not to
know.
But in the quiet hours of the night, as he held her close in bed, he often wanted to
wake her up with a long, hard kiss.
Caroline nced cautiously at Eloise, who was focused on building blocks a few
feet away. She lowered her voice. “He wants to take her on a trip.”
Alistair’s heart sank.
Just as I feared.
“She seems happy here in New York,” he said. “Is this trip really necessary?”
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18 min left
“He says she’s too old to be stuck in one ce all the time. That she should get
out more, see the world while she still can.”
“And what does Grandma think?” He had a sinking feeling he already knew.
Caroline gave Eloise another quick nce before whispering, “She’s the one who
brought it up.”
“You’re worried Eloise won’t want to let her go?”
Caroline shook her head slightly. “It’s not just Eloise. I don’t want her to go either.”
Though Mabel wasn’t Caroline’s only family, she was the one who truly felt like
home.
She had a home now—a husband, a daughter—but maybe she was being selfish.
Maybe she wanted to keep being loved like a child, too.
Apart from that one year, she’d never really been away from Mabel for long.
But she also knew Mabel had already given her everything. Raised her with love
and patience, she had no obligation to spend her whole life orbiting around
Caroline.
And even though Caroline felt she could probably convince her to stay, she didn’t
want to be that selfish.
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1. C) 18 min left
A quiet sadness settled over her. She rested her head on Alistair’s shoulder and
said nothing.
“She’s just going on a trip,” he murmured, wrapping an arm around her. “It’s not
like she’s moving away. She’ll be back soon.”
Alistair nced at his phone.
Since giving Jaxon his contact information, he hadn’t heard from him once.
So the pressure didn’t work.
Maybe Gordon already found out what he needed to know about Mabel. Maybe
Jaxon felt safe backing off.
Caroline hesitated and then gave in.
“Babe, I don’t know why, but I’ve got a bad feeling. It’s probably just me being
paranoid, but… I keep thinking maybe once she leaves this time, she won’te
back.”
Alistair took her hand gently. “Don’t go there. Don’t even think
like that.”
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