Chapter 161 The Watson Group Suffers an Unknown Attack
After Leo left, Anthony sat in the private room for a while before pulling out his phone to make a call.
On the other end, Cassidy couldn't believe her eyes when she saw who was calling.
"...Tony?" She answered, her voice carrying a hint of delight.
So Tony still couldn't forget her after all? She knew it. Before, he'd just been temporarily confused. He loved her so much—how could he not care whether she lived or died?
During this time, she'd been renting a small apartment. Her father had stabbed a doctor to death and she had to pay people off. Bentley's injuries were severe and he needed constant physical therapy—more money. And her mother kept hitting her up for cash. Her meager savings were nearly gone.
Caught up in all these family issues, she hadn't had time to maintain her relationship with Sawyer. A few days ago, when she finally found time to call him, his number had been disconnected!
She'd panicked completely then, making several trips to wait at Sawyer's apartment, only to have neighbors tell her the place had recently been sold and the previous owner's whereabouts were unknown.
Unable to contact Sawyer, she didn't even have a backup plan anymore. Meanwhile, family problems kept piling up, everyone expecting her to pay for everything. How could she not panic?
But just when things seemed darkest, Anthony called her.
God was still on her side, Cassidy thought smugly.
On the phone, Anthony's voice was cold and distant, without any of the tenderness from before. He seemed not to hear Cassidy's expectation at all. "I heard Molly came to find you."
Cassidy stiffened. What? He'd called specifically to ask about that little brat?
Wasn't he trying to win her back?
Cassidy bit her teeth, swallowing her displeasure, and put on her sweetest voice. "Oh? Molly? Yeah, she's been staying with me lately. You know she had nowhere to go. Originally wanted Arabella to adopt her, but Arabella... well, anyway, the poor child—who else could help her besides me?"
Cassidy's tone was full of sighs, like she was some great philanthropist.
In the bathroom, Molly was struggling to hand-wash Cassidy's clothes with her small hands. Hearing these words, her eyes reddened.
She'd ultimately been kept by Cassidy, the price being that she'd become Cassidy's personal maid. Not only could she never go to school again, but she had to do endless housework and serve Cassidy every day.
Cassidy was incredibly demanding. With someone to order around, she became even worse—water had to be boiled three times and cooled to exactly 45 degrees, meals required eight plates, clothes had to be hand-washed, bed linens changed daily, floors mopped twice a day...
She was only eleven years old, but during this time at Cassidy's place, she'd worked around the clock with almost no time to herself.
Originally she'd planned to work here while studying from books on her own, going out occasionally to see if she might meet some kind person who could rescue her from this hellish life... But eventually it all became an impossible dream.
She was like a bird with clipped wings, caged up, unable to do anything. She couldn't even go back to the orphanage—she'd contacted them, but they said her current living situation didn't meet their criteria for taking her back.
Molly had gone completely numb, but now suddenly Mr. Watson was calling Cassidy to ask about her... Could Mr. Watson want to take her back?
Hope stirred faintly in Molly's heart, but she didn't dare show any happiness. She could only scrub the clothes harder while straining her ears to hear Cassidy's phone conversation.
Thank God, because the apartment was small, she could vaguely hear Mr. Watson's voice.
"Give me your address. I'm coming over."
Joy spread across Cassidy's face. She stood up from the sofa, pacing aimlessly. "Tony, are you coming to see me?"
Anthony's tone sounded somewhat impatient. "Cassidy, don't have unrealistic fantasies."
Cassidy felt like she'd been struck by lightning. She suddenly remembered how not long ago, Anthony had said this exact line to Arabella while she'd stood by his side like a true victor, watching coldly.
How much time had passed before the same words were being thrown at her?
Her blazing enthusiasm cooled. She said somewhat pitifully, "Tony, I know you hate me, but I'll say it again—my love for you has never changed, whether you believe it or not."
She knew the essence of playing hard to get. After speaking, she adjusted her tone and said softly, "Why are you looking for Molly?"
Like her heart had died.
Anthony's voice indeed paused for a moment before responding, "I have some business with her. Give me your address."
Cassidy was annoyed he wouldn't reveal anything, but her tone remained gentle, every word seemingly concerned for Molly. "Tony, Molly's doing fine with me. We've finally returned to a peaceful life. If you disturb her now, can you provide her with good living conditions? If not, then don't see her. She's too young—ups and downs aren't good for her."
On the other end, Anthony frowned impatiently. "If I'm looking for her, it's because I can provide better material support."
Cassidy was silent for a moment before saying somewhat sadly, "Then come find me. I'm living in an apartment near Oldwood Revenue now."
Anthony tried to recall—wasn't that area all old buildings?
Before he could speak, Cassidy gave a self-deprecating bitter laugh. "Tony, I never thought that in the end, you wouldn't even leave me Molly... But that's good. She'll be much better off with you than with me. After all, I can't give her anything. I can't even pay rent anymore. Come take her away."
Hearing this, Anthony frowned, but before he could respond, Cassidy hung up directly.
He didn't think much more about it, grabbing his car keys from the table and heading out.
Walking out of the private room, he instinctively glanced toward the room at the end of the hallway.
That room was never open to the public, yet Alexander could get in.
Who exactly was that man?
Was he truly high-status, or just borrowing Frank and Blake's influence?
A heavy stone seemed to press on Anthony's heart. He hoped for the latter, because if Alexander really was someone important, getting back together with Arabella would be even harder.
Perhaps only by controlling Molly could he have a chance.
Anthony pressed his lips together, no longer hesitating, and turned to leave.
Not long after he left, a woman in a glamorous dress knocked gently on the door of that room at the end of the hallway.
---
Flora sashayed over to Alexander, laughing lightly. "Why didn't you call me when you came today?"
Alexander set down his glass, frowning at her with some displeasure. "You're getting more and more out of line lately."
Flora knew this was a warning. But who was she? She was the femme fatale who'd blown up drug dealer hideouts. Even if she cared about Alexander, she wouldn't be scared off by one look from him.
She still smiled charmingly. "Because I wanted to see you. When I heard you were here, I rushed right over without thinking."
Alexander said flatly, "Since you're here, sit down. Over there."
Flora didn't refuse, gracefully walking to Frank's sofa and sitting beside him.
A faint fragrance drifted over. Frank shifted away.
Flora looked at him with a mocking smile, reaching for a glass herself. "Frank, you still can't handle sitting next to other women? Tiffany's been married for years now, and you haven't made any progress."
Frank picked up the pitcher to pour her some water. "None of your damn business."
Flora glanced at him teasingly, saying coquettishly, "Meanie, being so fierce with me."
Frank's expression darkened. "If you can't talk normally, shut up."
Flora leaned over playfully, hooking his chin with interest. "You're not seriously planning to stay celibate for that woman, are you?"
Frank looked at her coldly. "Fuck off!"
Blake and Alexander, watching this, both instinctively sat up straighter.
Frank had always hated Flora, but Flora loved to mess with him. Whenever these two got together, there was bound to be a show.
Flora found it amusing. She waved dismissively. "Alright, alright, I'm done playing with you. I'm not even interested anyway."
Frank was already irritable today, and Flora's teasing made it worse. He shoved her aside and said to Alexander, "Alex, I'm leaving."
Alexander called out to him. "What's wrong?"
Frank stood there with his back to them, taking a deep breath. "Nothing."
Flora covered her mouth in surprise. "Don't tell me I actually hit the nail on the head? It's really about Tiffany? Didn't she get married ages ago?"
As soon as she finished speaking, she saw Frank's body stiffen.
Flora realized she'd guessed right and couldn't help laughing, bending over and clutching her stomach like she'd heard the funniest joke.
"You still like her? A married woman—and your cousin's wife at that. What are you trying to do?" Flora propped her chin, looking at him. "Little boy, as the young master of the Murphy family, could you not lower yourself like this? If you get mixed up with that woman again, what about your grandfather? Your parents? The family honor? Even if you don't care about all that, do you really want to marry some loose woman who'll sleep with any man she can flirt with?"
Frank's face turned from red to white. He stood there looking like he'd taken a heavy blow, his whole figure seeming thin and fragile.
Not just because Flora's words were harsh, but because... they were all true.
"You've just experienced too little, that's why you got caught by a gold-digger." Flora stood up, slinging her arm around his shoulder casually. "Me? I love sleeping with handsome young guys. If they look good, one-night stands aren't a big deal. You seem pretty pure—how about coming home with me tonight..."
Frank's expression was ugly. Without waiting for her to finish, he coldly walked out.
Flora's giggling laughter was left behind him.
Alexander looked at her, frowning. "You didn't need to attack him like that."
Flora ran her fingers through her hair. "I really do want to sleep with him though."
Alexander looked at her disapprovingly. "You think this is fun?"
Flora blinked seductively. "Don't you?"
Blake sighed, shaking his head with an indescribable expression, then got up to chase after Frank.
Flora casually pulled out a pack of women's cigarettes, lit one, and tossed the rest along with her lighter on the table. She glanced at Alexander. "I heard you've hit a bottleneck pursuing Ms. Bourbon? Why don't you tell me about it? Women understand women best—maybe I can help."
Alexander stood up, grabbed his jacket from the sofa, and headed out, tossing back, "No need."
Though he had zero experience with romance, he knew one iron rule—once you liked a woman, you needed to keep distance from all other women. Especially situations like this, alone with another woman in an enclosed space. If any misunderstanding arose, he'd never be able to explain it away.
Flora sat alone in the empty room, cigarette between her lips, letting out a heavy sigh. Then she slowly pulled her legs up on the sofa and hugged them.
Only around Alexander did she feel alive. Only then could she have emotional fluctuations, occasionally feel happiness.
But Alexander avoided her like the plague, as if she were some kind of monster.
She just wanted to feel a little more alive, wanted to live like a real person. What was wrong with that?
---
Leaving Crystal Club, Alexander immediately sensed he was being tailed.
It took three minutes to deal with those eyes, having his people take them away. Ten minutes later, his subordinate sent word—they'd gotten those people to talk.
They were sent by Anthony to monitor him.
Anthony.
Alexander laughed quietly. This annoying pest—if he weren't worried about alerting his prey, he would've dealt with him long ago.
Recently he'd obtained medical records—documentation of Arabella's IVF attempts during those two years of marriage. Pages and pages of injection records that made his scalp tingle.
He'd spent a whole night researching, unable to imagine those thick needles being stuck into her belly over and over again.
Just thinking about it made his chest ache unbearably. His disgust and hatred for Anthony and the Watson family had reached its peak.
He'd already been barely restraining his impulse to go after Anthony, and now Anthony had come knocking on his door.
Was it about Arabella, or had he sensed what Alexander was investigating?
Whatever the purpose, it was time to give him a little demonstration. A warning and a deterrent.
Alexander pulled out his phone, made a call, gave some instructions, then hung up.
---
On the other side, Anthony was driving toward Cassidy's place when he suddenly got word.
"Mr. Watson, our surveillance team has been taken out," Leo's voice was panicked. "And we're under attack from an unknown hacker. Company accounts have been leaked, including this month's unprocessed transactions!"