Chapter 222 Brief Peace

Chapter 222 Brief Peace

Olivia stood at Nathan's funeral, dressed in black, her face maintaining perfect composure without the slightest ripple of emotion. The service was simple and sparsely attended—aside from a few relatives from the Smith family, only two representatives from the Howard family had come to pay their respects. There were no friends or guests present.

Not far away, Seraphina and Aurora were sobbing heartrendingly. Seraphina pressed a handkerchief to her face, her shoulders shaking constantly as she murmured Nathan's name between broken sobs. Aurora leaned against Seraphina, her eyes red and swollen, tears streaming down continuously.

Olivia watched them, feeling nothing. She remembered what Nathan had done to Juniper, recalled his years of coldness and manipulation toward her, and her heart remained as cold as ice.

The funeral ceremony ended quickly, and the attendees began to leave one by one. Seraphina wiped her tears, hesitated for a moment, then approached Olivia.

"Olivia, can we talk?" Seraphina's voice was hoarse, her eyes filled with unease.

"Sure." Olivia nodded and followed Seraphina to a quiet area nearby.

Seraphina pulled out a document from her bag and handed it to Olivia. "These are the Smith Group shares I own—about ten percent of the total. I'd like to trade them for some money so Aurora and I can leave the country and never bother you again."

Olivia took the document and glanced at it without speaking.

Seraphina continued, "I know you hate us. I also know that if you wanted revenge, we'd have no way to fight back. This is the biggest concession I can make. I'm just asking you to spare us and let my daughter and me leave here peacefully."

Olivia studied Seraphina, seeing fear and pleading in her eyes. After a moment of consideration, she said, "Alright, I agree. I'll have John transfer the money to you. Once you receive it, leave the country immediately and never appear before me again."

Relief washed over Seraphina's face. "Thank you! I promise we'll never bother you again!"

With that, Seraphina clutched the document and hurried away, as if afraid Olivia might change her mind.

Olivia watched Seraphina's retreating figure without any emotion. She turned and walked toward Jasper, who stood waiting with John in the distance.

"Everything settled?" Jasper asked.

"Yes, all taken care of." Olivia nodded. "Let's go home."

Back at Howard Manor, Jasper called Olivia and Matthew into his study. He opened his computer and pulled up a file. "I've been investigating that email that framed Olivia, and I finally have results."

Olivia and Matthew leaned in to look at the computer screen.

"This email was sent from Joan's computer." Jasper pointed to the records on the screen. "I checked her computer's operation logs and found that on the day the email was sent, she logged into the company's internal system. The email's send time perfectly matches her system activity."

Matthew's expression darkened instantly. "Joan again! Looks like she was involved in the previous incidents too!"

"I'm calling John right now to have Joan brought in for questioning!"

Matthew reached for his phone to call John.

Jasper quickly stopped him. "Matthew, hold on. I already told John about this and had him check Joan's residence first."

Shortly after, John called. Matthew answered, and John's voice came through, "Sir, Joan is gone. I went to her place—it's empty, and many of her belongings are missing. I asked her neighbors, and they said she packed up this morning and took a taxi, probably to the airport."

Matthew's expression grew even darker. "How did she know we were looking for her? Did you leak information?"

"No, sir, I didn't." John quickly explained. "I only went to check her residence as Jasper requested. I didn't tell anyone we were looking for her."

Matthew hung up, frowning. "Looks like someone tipped her off."

Olivia thought for a moment. "Could it be Ryan? Joan has always worked with Ryan. Maybe Ryan found out and told her to escape."

Matthew nodded. "Very likely. Ryan's been opposing us constantly. He probably has moles planted around me."

Meanwhile, in a hotel abroad, Joan sat on a sofa, speaking into her phone to Ryan. "I've arrived overseas. Matthew and the others shouldn't be able to find me now."

Ryan's voice came through the phone, "Good. Stay there for now. I've arranged a position for you at my company—you start tomorrow. During this period, don't contact anyone back home, and don't let anyone know your whereabouts."

"Why? Are we just giving up?" Joan asked resentfully.

"Now isn't the time for confrontation," Ryan said. "Matthew is watching us closely. Any move we make will just give them ammunition. For now, we'll maintain friendly relations with the Howard family. When the opportunity arises, we'll get our revenge."

Though Joan felt unwilling, she knew Ryan was right and could only nod. "Fine, I'll listen to you."

A few days later, at Howard Manor, Olivia looked at the pregnancy test report in her hands, a smile spreading across her face. She walked over to Matthew and handed him the report.

"Take a look at this."

Matthew took the report and studied it carefully, his face lighting up with joy. "You're... you're pregnant?"

"Yes." Olivia nodded, her eyes filled with tenderness. "We're going to have a baby."

Matthew excitedly pulled Olivia into his arms, his voice trembling with emotion. "This is wonderful! Darling, this is amazing! I'm going to be a father!"

He held Olivia and spun around the living room, unable to contain his joy.

Olivia nestled in Matthew's embrace, feeling his excitement, her heart overflowing with happiness.

They were about to start a new family, and even Celeste and Molly's attitudes toward her had changed since she saved them—they were no longer as cold and arrogant as before.

Just then, Matthew's phone rang. He answered, and a police officer's voice came through, "Mr. Howard, we found Stanley's body in the downstream river. After identification, we've confirmed it's Stanley himself. He appears to have fallen into the river when the car went over the cliff and drowned."

Matthew hung up and told Olivia, "The police found Stanley's body. He's dead."

Olivia nodded, feeling a weight lift from her shoulders. Stanley's death meant all their previous troubles had finally come to an end.

She looked at Matthew, then gently touched her belly, her face glowing with happiness. She knew their future would only get better and better.



（I highly recommend a captivating book that I couldn't put down for three days and nights. It's incredibly engaging and a must-read. The title of the book is "The Disgraced Heiress’s Revenge " You can find it by searching for it in the search bar.
Here is the synopsis of the book:
I fought my way out of a living hell, only to find my family had erased me. They see my scars as shame, whispering that I'm "damaged." But Charles Howard, the detective who saved me, sees the truth.
Now, I'm reclaiming my life, my voice, and exposing the beautiful lies that hid an ugly betrayal.
I’m Emily, and my fight is just beginning. ）