Chapter 128 Three Requests

Chapter 128 Three Requests

"But I can help you. I'm absolutely confident I can make you marry him—it just depends on whether you're willing to accept my terms."

"Oh, I see what you're getting at." Caroline's eyes widened in realization. "You want me to betray Charles, don't you?"

"Betray? Hardly." Grace gave a contemptuous laugh. "You really think I don't know anything?"

"Charles is the Harrison family's illegitimate son. For years he didn't dare return to the family, afraid of gossip, so he had to stay abroad. Grandfather felt guilty and could only compensate him with money. The fortune Charles has now—it all started with seed money from Grandfather."

"You and Charles barely have any real affection for each other. How can you call it betrayal?"

"So what?" Caroline's eyes flickered with a hint of guilt, but she quickly straightened her spine. "At least during these two months I've been in Lumaria, he's treated me well—really treated me like family. You want me to betray my uncle? Absolutely not! Even if you help me win Jonathan back, I could never agree to that."

"So you've made up your mind?" Grace nodded. "Fine. In that case, let's pretend I never said anything. This coffee's on me. Goodbye."

Grace drained her coffee in one gulp, stood up, and walked away without hesitation.

Caroline froze, seemingly caught off guard by Grace's decisiveness. Panic flashed across her face, and she quickly called out, "You're just leaving like that?"

"What else would I do?"

Grace didn't even slow her pace. "You've made yourself perfectly clear. Am I supposed to stick around and let you humiliate me?"

"Can't you say a bit more?" Caroline stamped her foot in frustration. "You know how much I care about Jonathan. I can't resist this temptation."

"But what you're offering is too little. Can't you sweeten the deal?"

"You're asking me to betray Charles—at least make it worth my while, won't you?"

"After all, I'll still be in Lumaria for some time. If I have the baby, I'll be supporting two people. Haven't you thought about my situation?"

So it was money she was after.

Grace understood now, but another question arose in her mind.

Caroline was the Harrison family's biological daughter, and Alton and Natasha had always treated her well.

Logically, when Caroline came to Lumaria to lay low, Alton and Natasha would have given her plenty of money.

All Caroline had to do was ask, and wouldn't they provide for her?

So why was she now trying to extort money from Grace?

Grace didn't believe the Harrison family had stopped caring about Caroline.

That left only one possibility—the Harrison family was in trouble, too preoccupied to look after Caroline.

With that realization, many things started to make sense.

For instance, when Caroline came to Lumaria to escape scrutiny, Charles, as her uncle, had never shown his face before. Why would she suddenly turn to him for shelter this time?

Most likely, the Harrison family was in crisis, and Alton and Natasha were afraid Caroline would be vulnerable without support, forcing them to resort to this arrangement.

In an instant, Grace understood many things.

Turning around, she saw Caroline walking over angrily, her coffee untouched.

"Fine, stop wasting my time. What do you want to know? As long as your price is right, I'll tell you everything."

"But you have to promise me—our conversation today absolutely cannot get out, especially not to my uncle. Otherwise, if I don't benefit from this, you won't either."

"Understood."

Grace nodded in agreement.

The case of her stolen research had already dragged on far too long. This time, there had to be a resolution.

"Actually, you've already guessed the truth."

When they sat down again, Caroline began to confess. "But you said you have evidence—I'm guessing it's not solid enough."

"Otherwise you wouldn't be wasting time talking to me. You'd go straight to my uncle, right?"

Grace neither nodded nor shook her head, tacitly confirming it.

Caroline snorted softly. "Here's the deal. I'm not greedy. Give me 30 million—no, 50 million."

"As long as you transfer the money to me and promise to make sure Jonathan marries me and I can safely have this baby, I'll hand over the real evidence to you."

The terms were indeed tempting to Grace.

She believed that Caroline, staying close to Charles all this time, might not monitor his every move, but would certainly notice some clues.

And so far, Charles probably hadn't been on guard against Caroline.

Caroline was the perfect person for this task.

But her demands were a bit too harsh.

"Sorry, I can't guarantee the third condition."

Grace shrugged and spread her hands. "I'll give you the money, and I can help you get Jonathan, but whether you can safely deliver the baby is your business, not mine."

"Because I can't be sure Jonathan won't hurt you. If he slips you abortion pills or uses other methods to make you lose the baby, I can't exactly become your bodyguard and protect you around the clock, can I?"

"Nonsense. Jonathan would never do that to me." Caroline rolled her eyes. "I don't care. Those are my terms. Take them or leave them."

"Anyway, I'm the only one who can get close to my uncle and find evidence right now. Who knows, I might even recover your research for you."

"You know it's already been a month. Any day now, some genius might emerge in the academic world and claim your research as their own. Then you'll have nowhere to cry."

Grace's fists clenched imperceptibly.

This was exactly what had been worrying her these past days.

She absolutely could not let someone else take credit for her hard work.

But how could she guarantee Caroline would safely deliver the baby?

Lock her up and keep Jonathan completely away from her?

That was impossible.

Seeing Grace's continued hesitation, Caroline's eyes darted around. "Alright, alright, I admit that demand is a bit harsh. Just do the first two."

"Forget everything else—at the very least, you have to make Jonathan and me get a marriage certificate. Then you'll have fulfilled your end of the bargain."

"Deal."

This time, Grace agreed readily.

For Jonathan and Caroline to marry, he would first have to divorce her.

And to divorce, they'd have to go to court, which meant returning home—a lengthy process.

With this in mind, Grace continued negotiating with Caroline.

She pulled out a checkbook, filled in the amount of 50 million, and handed it to Caroline.