Chapter 180: About to Make a Move

After moving into the Ross estate, Jocelyn hired several servants to manage the household, though Mia remained solely responsible for Simon's daily care.

With Mia looking after Simon, Jocelyn could devote herself entirely to work.

However, having spent years as a laboratory researcher, she found herself navigating unfamiliar territory when it came to corporate management. Fortunately, her grandfather had assigned two trusted senior executives to help her rebuild Ross Corporation.

Jocelyn's days blurred together in a whirlwind of work and learning.

Shortly after she took the helm at Ross Corporation, Raymond extended an olive branch.

The company had accumulated significant problems under Michael's mismanagement, and Jocelyn faced no shortage of challenges as the new CEO. A partnership with Murphy Corporation represented an invaluable opportunity—one she couldn't afford to pass up.

Which meant unavoidable encounters with Raymond.

Since the incident at the Ross estate, Raymond had maintained a respectful distance. Over the past few months, aside from necessary business meetings, he hadn't sought her out. Even when they crossed paths in public, he merely nodded in greeting before moving on.

Jocelyn assumed he was trying to avoid upsetting Nora, which explained his newfound restraint.

As long as he left her alone, she couldn't care less.

Nora, however, had been keeping herself busy—or rather, the tabloids had. Her name seemed permanently affixed to the trending topics list.

The tax evasion scandal continued to dominate headlines, but that was just the beginning. Everything from her acting skills to her reputation in the industry, plastic surgery rumors, and various other scandals made regular appearances.

Not a single positive story among them.

During rare moments of downtime, Jocelyn would scroll through her phone and inevitably encounter yet another damning video about Nora.

It struck her as odd. Why would Raymond allow his fiancée's reputation to be dragged through the mud like this?

Out of curiosity, she'd even checked Murphy Corporation's official social media accounts. Not a single post defending or even mentioning Nora. In other words, Murphy Corporation had offered her zero support.

Raymond was actually letting his fiancée get eviscerated online without lifting a finger?

Closing her phone, Jocelyn pushed all thoughts of Raymond and Nora aside and returned her focus to work.

Whatever drama unfolded between those two was none of her business.

One evening, Jocelyn finally had the rare luxury of leaving work early. She'd barely made it out of the office when her phone rang.

It was Mia.

"Mia, what's wrong?"

"Jocelyn, you need to get to the hospital. Simon and I are in the ER at Hopewell Hospital."

Jocelyn's heart lurched. "What happened? Is Simon okay?"

"Simon's fine, don't worry. But Charles got hurt. Just come over and I'll explain everything."

"I'm on my way."

Hearing that Simon was unharmed allowed Jocelyn's racing heart to slow slightly as she hurried toward her car.

She drove as fast as safety permitted, but despite her anxiety, she noticed something peculiar.

A car had been following her.

Ever since the drunk driver incident orchestrated by Robin, she'd become hypervigilant behind the wheel. The route from Ross Corporation to Hopewell Hospital included five traffic lights, and at every single one, she spotted the same vehicle in her rearview mirror.

The car followed her all the way into the hospital parking garage.

When she parked, Jocelyn deliberately slowed her movements, remaining in her seat for several minutes.

She watched the suspicious vehicle through her side mirror with narrowed eyes. Soon enough, the driver's door opened and a man wearing a face mask emerged. He didn't so much as glance in her direction before heading straight toward the hospital entrance.

Through the mirror, Jocelyn tracked his movements until he disappeared through the main doors. Only then did she exit her vehicle.

She couldn't tell whether this was mere coincidence—someone happening to visit the same hospital—or something more sinister. But she wasn't about to take chances.

Better safe than sorry.

Mia, Simon, and Charles were waiting in the second-floor emergency department.

Simon appeared completely unscathed. Mia had sustained minor injuries, nothing serious. Charles, however, had suffered a hairline fracture in his arm and some facial bruising. Fortunately, the damage wasn't severe.

When parking earlier, Jocelyn had deliberately chosen a spot visible from the ER windows. Rather than immediately asking what had happened, she positioned herself by the window, casually observing the parking area below.

Sure enough, the masked man soon reappeared. But instead of getting into his car and leaving, he glanced around furtively. Whenever someone passed nearby, he immediately pretended to check his phone. Once the coast was clear, he approached Jocelyn's car.

He didn't touch it—just circled it twice, glancing around nervously before finally returning to his own vehicle and driving away.

Standing at the window, Jocelyn watched his every move with cold calculation.

She couldn't make sense of it yet.

But one thing was certain: this man hadn't coincidentally ended up at the same hospital.

He'd been tailing her.

The mask obscured his features, and his build didn't trigger any recognition.

Noticing Jocelyn's sharp gaze fixed on something outside, Mia approached and followed her line of sight to the departing vehicle.

"You know that guy?"

Jocelyn pulled her gaze away and took a deep breath. "He followed me here. I don't know what he wanted."

Mia's brow furrowed. She glanced back at Charles and Simon, her expression darkening.

"Jocelyn, I don't think today's accident was an accident."

Jocelyn's eyes widened. "What do you mean?"

"This is just my gut feeling." Mia recounted the incident. "We were stopped at a red light with two cars ahead of us. When the light turned green, a vehicle suddenly came flying through the intersection from another direction and slammed right into us. I managed to swerve at the last second, but... Charles threw himself in front of Simon. That's how he got hurt."

Guilt flooded her features. "Jocelyn, I'm sorry. I failed to protect Simon."

After hearing Mia's account, Jocelyn's frown deepened.

The car crash wasn't an accident?

And now someone had been following her...

If these weren't coincidences, then someone was actively targeting her and her family.

Jocelyn squeezed Mia's shoulder reassuringly. "Don't say that. I trust you completely. I just didn't expect someone to make such a brazen move. Stay alert from now on. I'll get to the bottom of this."

She turned and walked over to Charles, her expression softening with genuine remorse.

They spoke for several minutes, Jocelyn repeatedly expressing her gratitude.

She knew Mia's capabilities well. If someone had still managed to fracture Charles's bone despite Mia's reflexes, the attacker must have been aiming to kill.

If not for Charles's quick thinking, Simon would have been seriously injured.

It seemed the calm before the storm had passed.

The tempest was here.