Chapter 279

Chapter 279

"I'm not going to see her."

After a brief moment of deep thought, William spoke again, his mind still unchanged.

Lavinia's eyes, which had been slightly bright with hope, gradually dimmed. She slowly lowered her gaze and let out a very soft sigh.

She had thought that after hearing about Cordelia's difficulties, William would soften and go to America to see Cordelia. But she hadn't expected William to be so hard-hearted.

However, just as this thought took root in her mind, Lavinia heard William's voice.

"But I'll send someone to hear what she wants to say." William's tone was flat, his gaze indifferent as he looked at Lavinia. Though his attitude seemed polite, there was no room for negotiation. "If she insists on seeing me, no."

Lavinia froze, taking a long moment before speaking. "Not even if she's dying?"

William shook his head, his determination clearly visible.

Evelyn, sitting nearby, was somewhat confused. She looked at William, wanting to ask, but considering Lavinia's presence, she pushed down her curiosity.

Watching this, Lavinia understood she probably couldn't change William's mind.

Her throat tightened for a moment, then she nodded. "Alright."

After saying this, Lavinia took a deep breath and looked directly into William's eyes. "Who does Mr. Brown plan to send to see her?"

"Francis," William spoke, slowly saying a name.

This name was unfamiliar to Lavinia. She frowned. "Why him?"

"He's the most suitable," William said calmly, not explaining. "When Cordelia sees him, she'll understand."

Lavinia licked her lips and said nothing more.

She left soon after.

Because Lavinia had become an American citizen many years ago, she needed a visa to return to Thalassia this time.

And her visa was only valid for a short week.

However, this amount of time was more than enough for Lavinia.

Under William's arrangements, she moved into the villa where Valentin had stayed.

Tristan's condition wasn't looking good. From the news Valentin sent back, Tristan couldn't hold on much longer.

The previous intensive chemotherapy had left Tristan's physical condition terrible. Even though the chemotherapy had stopped, that aging body still couldn't recover.

Because of this, Valentin couldn't return from America anytime soon.

"Why won't you go see her?" Evelyn didn't understand William's concerns. After Lavinia left, she sat on the sofa holding a water glass, slowly sipping, and asked.

"She knows some things she shouldn't know." William wasn't being direct. Halfway through, he frowned at Evelyn. "I can't go, understand?"

Evelyn nodded. She wasn't completely clueless, and from what Lavinia said, she could figure out that Cordelia had ended up in prison and in mortal danger precisely because she knew things she shouldn't.

She wouldn't blame William for valuing his life—after all, he was her husband.

What's more...

Evelyn glanced at William.

She didn't want anything to happen to William either. Whether from an emotional or practical standpoint, she didn't want to see that outcome.

"But why are you sending Francis?"

"The Johnson family deals in gray market business. He should handle it better than I."

Francis was still recovering when he received William's message.

Though he hadn't been injured, his prolonged mental stress had caused sleep problems, so he was receiving treatment from a family doctor.

"Go see Cordelia?" Francis was a bit confused when he first got the message. "Who's Cordelia?"

Still, despite his confusion, Francis went. After all, William's people had put in a lot of effort to rescue him.

He went to the prison the day after receiving the message.

He was taken there by Lavinia's cousin, Rufus Baldwin.

The moment Francis walked in and his eyes landed on Cordelia's face, he immediately understood her relationship to William—the almost identical eyes and face shape clearly showed this person was a relative from William's mother's side.

When Cordelia learned that William wouldn't see her, she felt melancholy.

But when she saw Francis, that melancholy eased considerably. The reason was simple.

In some ways, Francis was very similar to William, especially those seemingly cold eyes.

Cordelia realized William's intention almost instantly.

"Hello, Ms. Montague." Francis sat down across from her, greeting her with a smile.

Cordelia nodded back. "You must be Francis?"

"That's me." Francis looked around. Several guards stood in the four corners of the room, their gazes full of surveillance.

The words he wanted to say stuck in his throat, leaving him in a difficult position.

Fortunately, Cordelia knew what he wanted to say. However, she couldn't say it directly either, so she just said, "William told you everything, right?"

"He told me some things." He smiled in response. "He said you wanted to see him, but he really doesn't have time to come, so he could only have me make the trip."

Cordelia nodded. How could she not know whether William truly had no time or was just making excuses? But she didn't care anymore.

William wouldn't see her—this was a result she had already predicted, so she didn't feel sad.

Besides, William had specially sent someone over just to hear what she wanted to say.

William was still as soft-hearted as ever.

Cordelia chuckled softly. "Since you're here and you're his person, I won't beat around the bush."

Francis nodded, his eyes bright, looking like he was all ears.

"I have some money that I deposited at Evergreen Bank before going abroad—three million dollars." Cordelia smiled, saying each word clearly. "I plan to leave it to William."

Just this small matter?

Francis heard this and was a bit confused, but when he looked up and met Cordelia's gaze, he immediately realized the problem.

There was no Evergreen Bank in the country at all.

What's more, before going abroad? Cordelia had left the country ten years ago. Three million dollars wasn't a small sum back then.

If Cordelia really had this money, why wouldn't she do business in the country? Thalassia's economy was booming at that time—investing in any project could make money in no time.

Francis frowned. Though he didn't fully understand what Cordelia meant, he still nodded. "Alright, I understand."

"The password is written in my password book, on page three. Make sure not to flip to page ten." Cordelia also nodded and continued.

At this point, Francis completely understood.

The smile on his face deepened. "Okay, I get it. I'll pass this on to Mr. Brown. I'm sure after he sees what you're thinking of him, he'll come to America to see you."

"He can just come to my burial." Cordelia waved her hand, her voice calm.

This visit ended quickly.

Francis had just returned to the villa when he ran into Ewan in the living room.

"Mr. Johnson." Ewan shook hands with him.