Chapter 129 The Only Clue

Chapter 129 The Only Clue

"I'll keep my word—you can record this conversation if you want. I won't stop you," Grace said after a moment's thought. "But I can't wait that long, so I need you to give me some evidence now."

Caroline was about to protest, then suddenly stopped herself.

Come to think of it, she wouldn't be at a disadvantage.

Grace was indeed someone who kept her promises.

Back home, when Caroline had spread those rumors, many netizens had defended Grace, which had made Caroline feel guilty.

But from another angle, if she hadn't spread those rumors and Grace had broken her word, wouldn't the netizens have taken Caroline's side instead?

Still, Caroline had to consider her own safety net.

If she really helped Grace, it would mean crossing Charles.

Right now, everything she had in Lumaria—food, clothing, shelter—all depended on Charles. What good would it do her to offend him?

So Caroline hesitated again.

"You still have other concerns?"

Seeing her reaction, Grace felt a sudden sense of foreboding.

Caroline definitely had evidence—that much was certain.

But whether she was willing to help was another matter entirely.

She'd already offered such generous terms. Why was Caroline still hesitating?

After a long silence, Caroline let out a quiet sigh. "Grace, I can't help you with this."

She discreetly pushed the check back across the table. "If Charles retaliates against me, I'm not like you—I don't have anyone to back me up. I'm all alone. Jonathan won't help me. Even if I take your money, I might not live long enough to spend it."

She shook her head. "I think we should just forget about this. Take your money back and find someone else to help you."

"I'll back you up," Grace said without hesitation. "If it turns out Charles really is behind this, do you think I'll let him off the hook? Besides, he might even end up in prison. How could he possibly come after you then?"

"Don't overthink this. As long as you're willing to help me, no matter what happens afterward, I'll protect you."

"And as for Jonathan, as soon as I divorce him, you can marry him right away."

"Don't you want your baby to have a father? Don't you want to give them a happy family?"

Caroline's eyes flickered.

If that was really the case, then the risk might be worth it.

"Caroline, please help me this once," Grace pleaded, forcing herself to swallow her disgust and use Caroline's first name.

Because only then would Caroline relent.

Sure enough, Caroline's expression shifted.

Strictly speaking, there was no real enmity between her and Grace.

If there was anything, it was only their rivalry over a man.

But things were different now.

Before, Grace had still loved Jonathan, so they were enemies.

Now Grace had Michael, and she was desperate to divorce Jonathan. So there was no more enmity between them.

In that case, becoming allies might actually be a good choice.

"Fine, I'll help you," Caroline said through gritted teeth, finally agreeing.

"But you have to guarantee my personal safety. If anything happens to me or my baby, don't blame me if I turn on you."

"Deal," Grace agreed readily.

That settled it.

As long as Caroline didn't drop the ball, it looked like she'd have the evidence soon.

"I won't hide it from you—Charles did steal your research," Caroline said.

Now that things had come to this, there was nothing she couldn't say.

"How he did it, I don't know, but he definitely did it. And he covered his tracks completely."

"You said earlier you wanted to send him to prison. I'd advise you to forget that idea—it's impossible."

"Someone as clever as him, do you really think he wouldn't leave himself a way out?"

"Instead of going through all that trouble to send him to prison, you'd be better off just taking back your research and pretending nothing happened."

Grace clenched her fists under the table.

Pretend nothing happened? What about all the suffering she'd endured these past days?

Caroline spoke as if it were obvious. "You need to be clear about what you're dealing with. Even if you really want to go head-to-head with Charles, don't drag me into it."

Grace said nothing, only nodded.

Caroline continued describing what she knew.

That day when Grace had stormed over to confront Charles, demanding answers.

At first, Caroline had blindly taken Charles's side.

In her view, although Grace was a member of the research institute, she wasn't particularly talented. What groundbreaking research could she possibly produce?

Why would Charles take such a huge risk for her research?

So at the time, Caroline had unconditionally supported Charles.

But after Grace left, during that short month, she'd noticed something was off about Charles.

He kept meeting with various people, discussing things in secret.

They'd go in looking fine, but come out with complicated expressions on their faces.

Caroline was intensely curious. Each time she tried to probe indirectly, Charles deflected her questions seamlessly.

But the more he did that, the more it proved something was wrong.

Until that day, when she saw a woman come to see Charles—a woman who was a member of the research institute.

Only then did Caroline fully understand what was going on.

It wasn't the woman's first visit. Judging by how familiar she was with the place, not even needing the butler to show her the way, it was clear she and Charles had a close relationship.

Combined with the research institute theft, Caroline had figured it out—Charles must have arranged for someone to steal Grace's research.

As for why that woman was there, Caroline wasn't sure.

"Do you know who she is?" Grace asked urgently. "Did you see her face? What did she look like? Or did she have any distinguishing marks?"

Caroline shook her head. "That woman was completely covered up. I couldn't see anything."

"How is that possible?" Grace exclaimed, her hopes sinking.

If she wanted to close this case, she needed to catch everyone involved in one sweep.

But now she didn't even know who the middleman was. How could she catch them all?

But quickly, Caroline's tone shifted. "But I remember that woman was very tall. Exceptionally tall. She seemed like a full head taller than me, maybe more."

"Very tall?" Grace murmured, repeating the words. Then her eyes suddenly lit up.

If what Caroline said was true, then she should know who Charles's planted informant was.