Chapter 189

Chapter 189

Elizabeth didn't struggle. She wanted to leave anyway. She let Cornelius lead her out. Servants who saw them along the way didn't dare stop them.

The car drove smoothly down the road. Neither of them spoke. The only sound was the wind outside, until the car stopped in front of the villa.

Elizabeth was about to get out when she realized the door was locked. She turned to look at Cornelius, her gaze cold. "What's the meaning of this?"

Cornelius slowly turned to look at her. "There's a streamer competition coming up in the next couple days. Are you going to enter?"

"Not sure."

Sam had mentioned the competition to her. Elizabeth hadn't decided at the time, but now she was leaning toward a decision—she couldn't go for now.

She had more important things to do.

Cornelius frowned slightly. "Seems like a lot of things matter more to you than your career."

Elizabeth said flatly, "Do you have something else to say?"

Cornelius unlocked the doors directly. Elizabeth's fingertips had just touched the door handle when she heard him say something.

"Stop investigating Angelina."

Elizabeth wasn't surprised at all. She smiled. "You said before that everything requires evidence. That as long as there's proof, even you can't shield her. Regretting that now?"

If he was backing down, she wouldn't find it strange at all. He'd always protected Angelina.

Cornelius glanced at her. That look was too complicated—Elizabeth couldn't read it and was too lazy to try.

"I know what I need to do."

In other words: stay out of it.

She opened the car door to get out. But Cornelius said, "Today at the Habsburg Manor—what would have happened if I hadn't been there?"

Elizabeth planted one foot on the ground and looked back at him. "What do you mean?"

"Uncle Isaac, Ethan, the Sullivan family—none of them are people you can afford to offend." Cornelius's voice was deep. "I know you're angry, but if you want to keep developing your career, don't do anything unnecessary."

"What about Becky?" She could probably already guess his thought process. Elizabeth didn't feel angry—just absurd. If the people who did wrong shouldn't be held accountable, what about the people who were hurt?

Cornelius lowered his eyes, his voice low. "I can arrange a better job for her. Give her compensation for emotional damages. Guarantee she'll be financially secure for the rest of her life."

"With money?" Elizabeth's lips curved in a mocking smile. "If the person in that warehouse that day hadn't been Becky—if it had been Angelina, or Daisy, or someone important to you—would you still be saying this?"

"Hypotheticals that don't exist don't need to be considered." He never looked at 'what ifs.' Never believed in them. "You protect your family. Naturally, I protect mine. You need to think about your father and brother."

"You don't need to threaten me." Elizabeth got out of the car. Her body stood straight beside it, one hand still on the door. She bent slightly to look at Cornelius, saying coldly, "I'm very grateful now that my father's medical expenses are no longer being paid by you."

Otherwise, the moment the Habsburg family cut off those funds, she'd be screwed.

"And you have nothing to threaten me with. You don't want a divorce? That's fine. I don't want one anymore either. The title of the Habsburg family's young madam is actually pretty useful."

With that, she turned and left.

Cornelius stared at her retreating figure for a long time. The phone in his pocket suddenly rang. He took a deep breath and answered.

"Mr. Habsburg, I checked the club's surveillance. Every time Ethan goes out on business, he goes back to that same hotel, same room. Doesn't seem like a spur-of-the-moment thing."

Mark's voice came through.

Cornelius frowned thoughtfully. "What about Angelina?"

"Ms. Sullivan hasn't made any moves the past couple days. Only saw Mr. Glover once at the welcome banquet when he first came back." Mark also found it odd. Though they met, they didn't talk much.

"Watch Ethan."

"Yes. What about Ms. Sullivan?"

Cornelius was silent for a long time. His finger tapped lightly on the steering wheel. "Watch her too."

Cornelius closed his eyes gently.

He didn't want to suspect Angelina.

She was Daisy's cousin, after all. And she was carrying a child. A child that shouldn't exist—and if he was being honest, he bore some responsibility for that.

Cornelius sighed. In the end, he owed the Sullivan family.

Mark said quietly, "Mr. Habsburg... actually, you don't need to be so good to Ms. Sullivan. That child isn't even yours."

"You talk too much."

Hearing this, Mark didn't dare say more. He hung up quietly.

Their Mr. Habsburg was great in every way—just too responsible. And because of his guilt toward Daisy, he was especially good to Angelina. But whose child Angelina was carrying, no one knew.

If you asked him, Mr. Habsburg just took on too much responsibility.

Pure self-inflicted suffering.

That afternoon, Elizabeth went to the police station.

Nash was still in the detention center. Initially, when he got word she wanted to visit, Nash refused to see her. A police officer relayed the message.

Elizabeth said, "Please play him a recording for me."

The officer took the recording to Nash. The content was simple—just one sentence.

In Cornelius's voice.

"Nash was responsible for this. It has nothing to do with Angelina."

After listening to the recording, Nash's expression was unreadable. "Officer, please let her in."

He was willing to see Elizabeth now.

The two sat facing each other. There was surveillance in the observation room, police officers outside the door. The private meeting was at Elizabeth's request.

Nash had been locked up for several days. He looked haggard, his beard scruffy. "What do you want to say?"

Elizabeth studied him. "I should be asking you—why did you go see Becky?"

Nash's hands, resting on his knees, rubbed together lightly. "I wanted to see if there was any chance she'd drop the charges."

"You're dreaming."

After what Becky had been through, how could she possibly forgive him? Even if she hadn't suffered physical harm, the psychological damage was even worse.

Nash fell silent.

Elizabeth suddenly changed topics. "I went to the Habsburg Manor yesterday."

Nash looked up at her.

Elizabeth continued on her own. "The Habsburg family's attitude toward this matter is obvious. Protect Angelina. But I'm not letting this go. So someone needs to be the scapegoat."

That person was Nash.

Besides, Nash wasn't innocent. He was the one who carried it all out. He was guilty.

Nash gripped his hands tightly, his voice hoarse. "I admit—this thing, at first, I wanted to do it. I was the one who had Becky taken. But I didn't have the guts. Someone told me that as long as I did it, she'd protect me."

Hearing this, Elizabeth's eyes flickered.

Even the officers watching the surveillance outside had excited expressions flash across their faces.

This guy had been incredibly stubborn. They'd been interrogating him for ages, but Nash refused to crack—wouldn't say anything. Yet they all knew Nash couldn't have pulled off this plan alone. They'd been trying to draw out whoever was behind him.

In the observation room, Elizabeth suppressed her inner excitement, asking in a calm voice, "Where's the proof?"

Nash looked troubled.

Seeing his expression, Elizabeth's heart sank. "What you're saying isn't enough to be evidence. You need concrete, irrefutable proof. You understand?"

Video, audio recordings, chat logs—anything would work.

But Nash wiped his face, his voice bitter. "There isn't any. She was very careful. Every time she said these things to me, it was face-to-face. Every phone call, every exchange—she was watertight."

Seeing Elizabeth say nothing, Nash pushed himself up from the table, growing anxious.

"But she really did egg me on to do it! Even though I needed money, I didn't dare actually kidnap someone. The first time I took Becky, I just wanted to scare you into giving me some money. Who knew..."

Who knew Elizabeth would intercept them during a live stream, ruining the plan.

The second time, Nash really had planned to sell Becky.

But...

"Besides Angelina, there was another person. A man. He also contacted me..."