Chapter 203 I’ll Help You Marry into the Pemberton Family
After leaving Jerald's place, I finally felt like half of the weight had been lifted off my chest.
Zachary was like a ticking time bomb. If I didn't set him off somewhere else. I'd never feel at ease.
I had just gotten back to the office and had barely sat down when someone burst through the door.
The loud noise startled me. I looked up and was surprised to see that it was Natasha.
She stormed in wearing high heels and immediately demanded, "Helena, what are you up to?"
She slammed her designer bag on the desk, looking like she wasn't going to back down. The security guards who had followed her up quickly explained, "Ms. Lockwood, we tried to stop Natasha, but we couldn't hold her back."
"I understand." I nodded and gestured for them to leave.
After the guards left, they stayed by the door without going far. I glanced at Natasha and said, "Natasha, after all these years you haven't learned much else, but you've certainly learned how to throw a tantrum."
Natasha was shaking with anger. "Stop putting on an act. Knox said you're forcing him to hand over his shares and threatening to sue him?"
"He won't even answer my calls now. He's been at the company all day looking miserable. Is this your doing?"
Hearing this, I wanted to laugh. Knox had really gotten good at playing the victim. He couldn't pay back what he owed, but he'd learned to hide behind a woman and twist the truth.
I stared at Natasha. "Pay back what you owe - it's only right. The Pemberton family made all kinds of promises when they borrowed the money. Now that it's time to pay it back, they can't just refuse."
Natasha was caught off guard, her face turning red. "That's no reason for you to pressure them like this. We're all family. Do you really want to destroy everything?"
I laughed coldly. "Now we're family? When you two were having your affair, did you think of me as family?"
Natasha knew she was in the wrong, so she just acted unreasonable. "I don't care. If you don't drop this, I'll have Grandma talk some sense into you!"
I stood up, walked over to Natasha, and said coldly, "Fine, go ahead and make a scene. The bigger the better. Let everyone see how you're helping outsiders scheme against your own family's money before you've even married him."
Natasha never expected me to be this tough. Frustrated and out of options, she said stiffly, "Helena, why are you so set on going after Knox?"
"Not really, but Natasha, I'm actually doing this to help you."
Natasha looked suspicious. "Help me? How?"
I explained, "Don't you want to marry into the Pemberton family soon?"
"I..."
Natasha started to speak, but I cut her off with a wave. "Don't say you don't want to. That would be fake. After all, everyone saw how you and Knox got together trying to replace me."
After I finished, Natasha opened her mouth, then swallowed her denial. After a moment, looking a bit awkward, she said, "Yes, I do want to marry into the Pemberton family, but you're demanding the debt from Knox now. How is that helping me?"
"The Pemberton family owes a lot of money. I'm sure they won't pay it all back at once. If they want to delay, fine, but my condition is that Knox marries you."
I turned to look at her with a smile. "Natasha, tell me - isn't that helping you?"
Natasha probably didn't expect me to actually help her, not just talk about it. But she quickly recovered and said suspiciously, "Helena, what are you really planning? I don't believe you don't hate us."
"Hate you? Of course I do. When I saw that video of you and Knox together, I wanted both of you dead. But then I had Atlas, and besides..."
I pulled open the curtains and had her look outside. "Look at those employees out there. Compared to them, I was born with endless wealth. Plus, I have parents who love me deeply, and I'm the only heir to the Lockwood Group. What kind of man can't I find? Why would I waste time on Knox?"
I smiled at her. "Rather than saying Knox cheated, it's more like I didn't want him anymore. I don't care about him, so how could I hate you?"
"But you're different. We're family after all, and we grew up together - that bond is special. Since you're determined to marry Knox, why shouldn't I help you? It's easy for me, no big deal. The important thing is - do you want my help or not?"
"I..."
Natasha's lips moved. After a moment, she looked at me seriously. "Helena, if you help me marry Knox, I won't compete with you for anything anymore."
Hearing this, I laughed to myself. Compete for what? How could she compete? My parents' things belong only to me. She could try if she wanted.
"Alright, then it's settled!"
I looked at her. "Just wait for my good news."
"Okay!"
Natasha finished speaking and left.
Right after she left, my phone rang. It was Atlas.
On the other end, Atlas's steady voice came through. "That man confessed."
My grip on the phone tightened as I pressed him. "Who's behind it?"
Atlas said, "He said he was following orders from John's driver, Winford Beckett, but Winford definitely isn't the mastermind. I'm still investigating who gave Winford his orders. Unfortunately, Winford quit and left a few days ago, supposedly going back to his hometown, but my people checked his hometown and he never went back."
Hearing this, I asked, "So it'll be hard to find Winford?"
"Not necessarily impossible to find. We'll keep looking."
Atlas reassured me. "But now we know who did it, so you need to be careful from now on."
I didn't need Atlas to tell me that. John's family had conspired with Knox in my past life to go after my family's fortune. I would settle that score with them sooner or later.
"I know."
Hearing my response, Atlas hung up.
After the call ended, I glanced outside and saw that Ivan and York hadn't returned yet. After thinking for a moment, I called York.
"Ms. Lockwood, did you need something?"
York's voice came through quietly on the other end.
I said, "You're with Ivan, right? How's it going?"
"Everything's normal, no problems at all. And you know what? Ivan is really thorough with his work. He's already checked the prices of all the similar products to ours on the market."
York's words surprised me. Ivan was actually this serious about work? What was he after?
Only Ivan himself probably knew the answer to that question. But hidden things eventually come to light. Thinking of this, I added another reminder: "Keep a close eye on him."