As soon as she finished speaking, Seth''s call came through.
Bianca''s voice was warm and cheerful as she answered. "Seth, I''m done with my exam."
"Yes, it went pretty well."
"Okay, I''ll be right out."
She gave Henry a quick wave and left.
Henry then turned and went to find Halley.
Once Bianca hung up, Lillian brought up Henry again. "My dear cousin, that Henry
is as smitten with you as ever. He''s always keeping an eye on you."
Bianca just gave a faint smile, unconcerned.
Just as Henry reached Halley''s office, he heard people inside discussing the papers from that day''s exam.
"This thesis is of exceptionally high quality! The ck box investing technique it mentions is particrly brilliant! It has incredible research potential!"
"I agree, Professor Joyner. I''m very optimistic about this student."
Halley asked casually, "What''s her name?"
"Bianca."
Outside the door, Henry froze.
Bianca.
ck box investing.
The painting.
The girl who gave up a future in mathematics for love.
In that instant, everything connected, forming a clear, undeniable line.
He was now absolutely, positively certain.
Bianca was the Brooke family''s benefactor!
She was the person Sanford had been searching for all this time!
Because the very thing that had saved the Brooke family from the brink of copse
was the ck box investing technique.
Henry spun around and jogged back downstairs, hoping to catch Bianca.
But by the time he got there, she was long gone.
And in his haste, he missed what Halley said next.
"ck box investing? Let me see." Halley took Bianca''s paper.
The more he read, the tighter his brow furrowed, his expression growing colder by the second.
The other two professors fell silent.
"I''m taking this with me to study more closely."
Halley tucked the paper away.
The two professors exchanged a look, both assuming Halley was also impressed by the paper''s caliber.
It seemed the student named Bianca was as good as selected.
...
Dn had thought Noreen was only treating him to dinner and was quite pleased about it.
It wasn''t until he arrived that he realized she had invited several other people.
Carman and the others were back from their vacation and had brought Noreen plenty of gifts.
Most of them had been picked out by Mina Holt, mainly because Carman was clueless in that department, leaving his sister steer him right.
"It''s such a shame you didn''te, Noreen! The ind was gorgeous! The water was as clear as blue crystal. So many people hold their weddings there!"
"I''m just d you all had a good time."
After all, her goal had been for everyone to rx.
"One of the locals told me that earlier this year, some big-shot tycoon held his engagement ceremony there. The entire ind was covered in flowers-it was incredibly extravagant! He even had helicopters circling the ind dropping flower petals! It was an incredible spectacle!"
Mina, at an age where she dreamed of such things, couldn''t stop gushing.
Sophia poured cold water on her excitement. "You conveniently forgot to mention that the tycoon''s fiancée got kidnapped. You only talk about the good parts."
"Ahem, well, it was because the
tycoon was so shy that he
attracted the attention of pirates
That''s why they kidnapped his
fiancee for ransom! I heard they paid
eight hundred million!"
Noreen hadn''t paid much attention to the news before, but the mention of a
kidnapping piqued her interest.
"Was this back in May?"
Mina nodded. "Yeah!"
Noreen nced at Sophia.
Sophia nodded in confirmation.
So, the ce they went for their team-building trip was the same ind where Seth
and Bianca had gotten engaged?
What a coincidence.
Mina''s gossip-loving soul was
burning bright. Cupping a hand to
her mouth, she lowered her voice.
her voice
"The inder also said that they tycoon''s fiancée... the kidnappers... you know..."