Chapter 158: Drink Up

At 6 p.m., Diana sent a message. As soon as Caroline received it, she couldn’t wait to head to Eclipse Nightclub. However, unbeknownst to her, just as she arrived at the entrance, a black sedan parked nearby, its window rolling down.

“Mr. Arthur Hawthorne, she’s confirmed to be here.” Seeing Caroline enter the nightclub, Shawn immediately pulled out his phone and dialed Arthur.

“Everything’s under control?” Arthur’s voice was calm, accompanied by the sound of him exhaling a puff of smoke.

Shawn nodded. “Yes, our people have gathered all the details. We know exactly what’s going on.”

Arthur smiled faintly. “Good. Carry on.”

Shawn hung up and pulled out another device, texting Claire: [Ms. Prescott, there’s an exclusive, adult-rated performance happening at Eclipse Nightclub, Suite 3066.] Just as Arthur had instructed, it was a vague message with no further details.

Claire, having just finished dinner, heard her phone buzz. She picked it up to see the unfamiliar message and stared, puzzled. An exclusive show? What kind of show? The message came from an unknown number, offering no clarity—no mention of whose show it was, no indication of its relevance to her, just a cryptic suite number.

She immediately sent four rapid-fire questions, but the reply was simply: [I’ve delivered the message. Whether you go or not is up to you.] She sent several more messages, but there was no further response. Claire stared at the message, the address lingering on her screen. After hesitating, she decided to head to Eclipse Nightclub.

Shawn saw Claire enter Eclipse Nightclub and chuckled. [Mr. Arthur Hawthorne, you were right. Claire actually came.] Arthur glanced at his phone and smiled faintly, not bothering to reply. Of course, he knew Claire would come. She had her own obsessions, her own grievances. If it hadn’t been for what happened four years ago, Claire wouldn’t be here now, responding to an ambiguous message and arriving at Eclipse Nightclub alone. Now, all that was left was to wait for the final outcome.

If possible, Arthur genuinely wanted to see what Claire, the pampered little princess of the Prescott family, would do after enduring years of suffering in prison—suffering orchestrated by the man she loved most. He wanted to see how she’d react after witnessing him with another woman sharing a bed. If she cared, it would surely be devastating. If she didn’t care, that would be another starting point of hope. Hope was the most dangerous weapon, after all. Pushing someone to the brink of despair, when they had the most to look forward to, only to have it slip away—that’s when the pain and backlash would be most explosive, most damaging. But for now, the pressure wasn’t enough. No matter, it would come with time. This was just the beginning—there would be more thrilling moments ahead.

The best way to make someone truly despair was to raise their hopes high enough, only to shatter them in the end. After all, the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment. Claire had worked as a cleaner at Eclipse Nightclub for many days, so she was naturally familiar with the location of the 3066 VIP room. She walked in without hesitation. However, it was precisely because she was so familiar with the place that she had arrived a step ahead of Caroline.

What puzzled Claire was that the message had clearly stated she was to watch an exclusive, adult-rated performance, but when she arrived, there wasn’t a soul in the room. What kind of show was she supposed to see? Had she arrived too late, after everyone had already left? She peered through the glass at the entrance, but the lighting inside was so dim she could hardly make anything out. After standing by the door for a while, Claire walked into the room.

Once inside, she saw that everything—alcohol, fruit, and all the other items—was neatly arranged just as it had been, clearly untouched. A chill ran down her spine. Something wasn’t right. She turned to leave, but then she saw the door open and Frederick step inside.

“Claire?” Frederick had only gone to the bathroom and certainly hadn’t expected to see Claire here. He had thought, upon returning, he would find Caroline.

“Frederick?” Claire froze in surprise. She hadn’t expected him to be the one walking in.

“Well, well, this is… quite something!” Frederick sneered and nodded deeply. He swiftly moved toward her, trapping her on the sofa.

“Claire, I truly underestimated your cleverness. Since you like me so much, since you want to be with me, then drink up!”

Because of what had happened four years ago, Frederick instinctively linked every scheme back to Claire. He even connected all the information Richard had uncovered the previous day to Claire, believing she had masterminded the whole thing to mislead others.

“Frederick, what are you saying…” Claire’s mind was filled with questions, but before she could finish her sentence, Frederick shoved a glass of wine laced with intoxicating Elysium Bliss into her hands, forcing it down her throat.