Chapter 277

Chapter 277

"The main company's business won't change, and I won't take it over." Francis chuckled softly. "It's just an investment. Starting a small company to play around with isn't a waste of time."

Hearing Francis say this, Daryl immediately frowned. "Francis, why don't you just take back all the shares? Let me handle the playing around part..."

He'd been playing around his whole life—when it came to playing, he was the expert.

"Come on." Francis really wanted to roll his eyes, but he was too exhausted and could only sigh. "You learned from William, too. How could you not know anything?"

"I..."

Daryl wanted to play the sympathy card, but Francis raised his hand and cut him off.

"Alright, that's settled then."

Seeing Francis's serious expression, Daryl knew that saying more wouldn't help, so he could only quiet down.

Meanwhile, when Ewan received news that the special forces mission was successful, he was already preparing to board a plane to Thalassia.

His time from the government was up, and he'd even stayed an extra day in America waiting for the special forces team to arrive.

The plane was a private jet arranged by William.

Lavinia was on it, too.

William initially didn't want to see her, but he changed his mind a day later.

Ewan didn't know what made William change his mind. It wasn't his place to ask—he just needed to bring Lavinia over so William could see her.

Lavinia was very nervous about boarding the private jet.

The moment she stepped onto the plane, she immediately sensed the gap between them.

Before Jagger was arrested, Lavinia's life was the kind of luxurious lifestyle many envied.

But even at her most extravagant moments, she'd never been on a private jet, let alone owned one.

Yet just before boarding, she learned from Ewan's phone call that this plane was just one of several that William owned.

She couldn't help thinking of Cordelia, now in prison.

Cordelia had never talked about what kind of person William was. Lavinia only knew William was wealthy, but she never imagined he was this rich.

Would someone like this really care about Cordelia's fate?

Lavinia clutched what Cordelia had insisted she bring to Thalassia—a small cloth bag.

She pressed her lips together, sitting in her chair, feeling anxious and uneasy.

She'd heard that William and Cordelia had a serious conflict long ago. Would William really care about Cordelia's current situation?

Lavinia couldn't find answers in her own questions.

Even a private jet had to follow proper flight routes. After about three hours, the plane finally landed.

The luxury car that came to pick them up was another thing Lavinia had only seen but never ridden in.

She got in the car, looking around with her head raised.

Since leaving Thalassia years ago, she'd never returned.

Thalassia had changed a lot—so much that she felt a bit lost.

Fortunately, someone guided them the whole way, so Lavinia didn't need to worry about getting lost.

William had known since last night that he needed to free up an hour this afternoon to meet someone connected to Cordelia.

He wasn't too pleased about it.

But Evelyn seemed very interested in this person.

After he gave her the ring that day, their relationship had warmed up a bit. Though it hadn't reached William's ideal state, Evelyn was being very proactive in caring about him.

Just this alone was enough to make William happy.

So when Evelyn asked why he was unhappy, William didn't hesitate to explain the whole situation.

"Then go meet her," Evelyn answered very quickly.

So quickly that William even thought she was brushing him off.

But Evelyn quickly continued, "It's not like you'll lose anything. You're meeting her in the country, not abroad."

When Evelyn said this, her voice was gentle as she trimmed Katya's nails.

William had tried doing this delicate work before, but he gave up as soon as he picked up Katya's hand.

He simply couldn't bring himself to do it. Those tiny little fingers—what was there to trim?

But Evelyn could always patiently get things done.

William truly admired this, so for this meeting with Lavinia, he asked Evelyn to accompany him.

When Lavinia entered the office, she saw Evelyn first.

Recently, the couple Evelyn and William had been quite popular both on foreign websites and domestically.

But the two sides cared about different things.

Domestically, people were more concerned about whether Evelyn and William's actions were criminal, while abroad, most attention was on their looks and careers.

Of course, both sides were equally concerned about Katya's background.

So Lavinia recognized Evelyn immediately. The moment they met, she widened her eyes, extended her hand, and said with a smile, "Hello, Mrs. Brown."

Evelyn smiled softly. "Hello, Ms. Patel."

William wasn't in the office at the moment. He'd just received an urgent call and had to rush downstairs to meet a client. So, currently, only Evelyn and Lavinia were in the office.

Ewan and Theo hadn't followed into the office.

They stood guard on either side of the door.

Lavinia didn't know what to say to Evelyn, so she just sat quietly.

But Evelyn was very curious about Lavinia. She hadn't looked at Lavinia's file—she only knew Lavinia was connected to William's aunt, but as for what exactly that relationship was, William hadn't told her.

"Does Ms. Patel work for William's aunt?" Evelyn asked proactively.

"No, we're family," Lavinia answered immediately. This question helped her relax a bit. From Evelyn's proactive questioning, it wasn't hard to see that they probably weren't unwelcoming.

This information greatly encouraged Lavinia.

She gradually sat up straighter, her spirits brightening considerably.

Evelyn hadn't expected this answer. She paused, then nodded, her voice gentle. "So you're family. Then how should I address you?"

Lavinia paused. "The relationship is a bit complicated, and Aunt Cordelia and I aren't blood-related. Mrs. Brown, you can just call me Ms. Patel."

Evelyn nodded, not dwelling too much on the form of address.

"How much longer until Mr. Brown arrives?"

After waiting a while longer, Lavinia grew restless and asked.

Evelyn glanced at her watch. "Should be soon."

As soon as she finished speaking, the office door lock moved, then the door was pushed open, and William appeared in the doorway.

"Mr. Brown."

Lavinia immediately stood up. Her gaze fell on William's face, the amazement in her eyes almost impossible to hide.

She'd seen William's face in the news before, but she never expected him to be even more refined and handsome in person than on TV.

William's gaze only lingered on her briefly, his eyes lowering as he acknowledged her with a light hum.

He stepped forward into the room and closed the door behind him, shutting out the sounds from outside.

"Go ahead."

William wasn't like Evelyn—he had no intention of catching up with Lavinia, and clearly, he didn't have much interest in what she had to say.

Looking at William like this, Lavinia suddenly remembered Cordelia's instructions.

"If he seems indifferent, give him the small cloth bag from the bedside table."