Chapter 139: Undercover

Michael didn't know how to answer that question.

Grace didn't expect him to, either. She turned to look out the window instead.

"I keep wondering—what kind of person is Carol, really? Was she deceiving me from the very beginning? Or did she approach me with some ulterior motive all along?"

"I don't even know when Charles first set his sights on me. I don't even know when Carol and Charles connected."

"I feel like such an idiot, being fooled like this the whole time. It wasn't until everything blew up that I realized just how badly I'd screwed up."

"Do you think Carol turned bad later on, or was she rotten from the start?"

"Grace, don't overthink this." Michael cut in.

"Whether you want to accept it or not, it's already happened. What we need to do now is get your research back. I'm sure Charles knows about this by now, which means he'll be preparing his next move early. If we don't act soon, it'll be too late."

"I know." Grace nodded, though her expression remained troubled.

She'd been betrayed more than once before. The worst had been Jonathan's betrayal.

She'd thought she'd learned her lesson—that she'd grown wiser, that something like this could never happen again.

Yet here she was, experiencing the sting of a friend's betrayal all over again. It was almost laughable.

"I'll come to terms with it," Grace said quietly. "But I know it's going to be a painful process, and it won't resolve itself overnight."

"Still, don't worry. I know what I'm doing. I know what needs to happen next."

Grace took a deep breath and looked ahead.

Being betrayed hurt, no question. But she couldn't let that pain stop her from moving forward—that would be foolish.

When she'd discovered what Jonathan had done to her, Grace had cut him off cleanly, no hesitation.

She'd done it then. She could do it now. It was no big deal.

Michael cast her an approving glance.

This was the Grace he admired—no matter what happened, she always managed to pull herself together quickly instead of wallowing in misery.

Sure, she needed a little time, but that time wouldn't derail anything. That was more than enough.

Michael was right. On Charles's end, he'd already learned that Carol had been arrested, and he was absolutely shocked.

Arranging for Carol to leave the country had been a spur-of-the-moment decision. There hadn't been any detailed plan beforehand.

How had Grace and Michael found out? And how had they pinpointed her route so precisely, intercepting her before she could escape?

Now Carol was locked up. If the police interrogated her hard enough, she might crack and spill everything—and that would drag him down with her.

Carol herself didn't matter much. But if it implicated him? That was a completely different story.

Charles had been in a foul mood all day.

The moment he'd learned Carol was arrested, he'd made his choice.

He'd sent people to help her—deliberately creating obstacles for the police, even staging a car accident to delay the squad cars from reaching the airport.

But none of it had worked. Carol had still been caught.

It left Charles with a gnawing sense of defeat.

Could he really not outmaneuver Grace?

Grace was a nobody with zero connections. Why couldn't he beat her?

It made no sense.

"Mr. Harrison, maybe we have a mole inside."

The butler, who'd been standing silently beside him for some time, suddenly spoke up.

Charles's gaze sharpened.

A mole would certainly explain things. Otherwise, none of this made any sense.

But who could it be?

After running through the possibilities, Charles's thoughts landed on Caroline.

A cold gleam flickered in his eyes.

"Go get Caroline," he ordered.

Whatever the truth was, he'd get to the bottom of it today.

If someone close to him had betrayed him, then there was no question—that person's fate would be grim.

Caroline happened to be home today. She had no idea what had happened with Grace. Her mind was entirely focused on how to win Jonathan over.

She also hoped Grace would wrap things up soon so she could lend a hand.

Then came a knock at her door. "Ms. Harrison, please come out for a moment."

Caroline opened the door. "What's wrong?"

"Mr. Harrison would like to see you."

"Huh?"

Caroline froze, instinctively taking a step back, her eyes wary.

"Uncle wants to see me?"

She stammered, "What for?"

The butler's smile carried a knowing edge. "Ms. Harrison will find out once she goes."

Caroline's stomach dropped.

Just looking at his expression told her this wasn't good news. Otherwise, he wouldn't be smiling like that.

Yes—smiling like that. Sly.

When she'd first arrived, she'd thought the butler was kind, always taking such good care of her.

Later, she'd realized it was just professional courtesy.

Deep down, he looked down on people like Caroline—people who'd traveled all this way to leech off Charles.

Caroline had no value to exploit. Offending her wouldn't bring any consequences from Charles.

"I'm not going!" Caroline shook her head quickly.

She wasn't stupid. If she went, there was no telling if she'd even make it back alive.

The butler's expression remained polite. "Ms. Harrison, Mr. Harrison has summoned you. Whether you go or not isn't your decision to make."

He gave a slight nod to the side.

That's when Caroline noticed—several bodyguards in black suits were standing nearby.

"What is this supposed to mean?" Caroline's face went pale. "I'm not feeling well. I don't want to see anyone. You can't do this to me—I'm not going, I'm not going!"

But no matter how much Caroline struggled, she was dragged over anyway and tossed into the study.

Charles stood with his back to her.

Caroline stumbled forward, nearly falling. She grabbed the edge of a nearby chair to steady herself, rubbing her aching wrist.

These bodyguards usually made her feel safe. Today, they'd manhandled her, yanking her arm hard enough to hurt.

It was in that moment that Caroline understood clearly—she had always been an outsider.

These servants—no, it was Charles himself—had never truly seen her as family.

Otherwise, even if they had a hundred times the nerve, they would never have dared treat her so roughly.

"Uncle."

Caroline greeted him nervously. "Did you need something?"