Chapter 592: Stay at Home
Hayley’s POV:
I gently squeezed Benjamin’s hand, trying to offer him some reassurance. Turning to the room full of Southwell family members, I broke the silence with my first words of the day. “You’ll soon see the consequences of today—two highly valuable assets lost.”
The room simmered with resentment as they shot angry glances our way. Despite the hostility, Benjamin and I kept our hands tightly interlocked as we turned to leave.
“Benjamin!” Henry, who had remained silent up to this point, quickly approached us. His voice firm, he said, “I’m coming with you.”
“I’ve had enough of this greed, all the scheming and manipulation,” he added.
Benjamin gave him a calm but firm look, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “Stay at home.”
“But—” Henry hesitated, but upon seeing Benjamin’s unwavering expression, he sighed and gave in. “Fine.”
After one last glance at Axel, Benjamin took my hand, and we walked out without another word. Once we left, I had Thomas assign people to keep an eye on the Southwell family.
It didn’t take long before we discovered that once we were gone, the Southwell family situation became even more disordered than before. Without Benjamin’s protection, they soon realized that Southwell Group was little more than an empty facade. When the news broke, their stock prices would drop sharply, leaving them facing heavy losses. Most of them were scrambling, trying to figure out a way to fix the situation, while some started regretting their part in the power struggle that had taken place. A few of the more astute family members had already contacted their brokers, selling off their Southwell Group shares and moving them into Ortega stocks.
But what they didn’t realize was that everything unfolding was part of a larger plan that Benjamin and I had carefully orchestrated. Things were going exactly as we had intended…
Virginia’s POV:
Taking advantage of Hayley’s absence, I quietly knocked on Bill’s door. “Come in.” Bill’s face fell slightly when he saw it was me.
“I thought it was Hayley,” he explained, disappointment lacing his voice.
“Mr. Carson,” I greeted him politely.
“Mrs. Virginia? What can I do for you?” Bill asked, his tone casual.
I nervously clasped my hands together, my fingers fidgeting as I hesitated, unsure of how to approach the conversation. After a long pause, I finally found the courage to speak. “I… I was wondering if I could borrow some money. Not a lot, just a few thousand.”
“I see.” Bill didn’t seem overly surprised. He nodded thoughtfully. “It might be easier for you to have the cash on hand, I suppose.”
“No, no,” I quickly waved my hand, eager to clarify. “It’s not for me. I… I need it for a test.”
The Carsons had always been kind to me, and I didn’t want to keep anything from them. Plus, Bill was an Alpha werewolf, and I knew he had a sharp sense of perception—there was no way I could hide anything from him.
“Oh? What kind of test?” Bill asked, his tone casual. Realizing that probing into my personal matters might be impolite, he quickly softened his approach. “If you’d rather not talk about it, that’s fine. I’ll just give you a card, and you can withdraw the money when you need it.”
“No, no, it’s not a problem,” I reassured him. Taking a deep breath, I spoke seriously, “I need to do a paternity test for Hayley and me.”
“You’re saying Hayley could be your daughter?!” Bill’s eyes widened in surprise as he turned to face me.