Chapter 67
Marigold let out a shriek and knocked the box to the floor.
The severed hand rolled out, leaving a trail of blood across the tiles.
She stared at the ring on the hand, her face going deathly pale. That was Jack's ring... Jack's hand!
She took several deep breaths, forcing herself to calm down.
"Eric," she said in a low voice, "go investigate. Find out exactly what happened."
Eric nodded and left quickly.
Marigold stood frozen, staring at the severed hand on the floor, her mind racing.
Matthew... how much did he know?
Unease crept over her. After a moment's thought, she dialed Emma's number.
---
That afternoon, at the Perkins Estate.
Matthew walked into the dining room and found Marigold there. His steps faltered, his expression darkening.
"I thought this was a family dinner?" He looked at his mother. "Why are outsiders here?"
Emma's face changed.
"How is Mary an outsider?" she said. "She's about to become your wife."
Matthew said nothing and sat down at the table.
Emma looked at him and continued, "I heard you're making a fuss with Mary again over that woman? You're about to be married. Get rid of that woman now. If you don't handle it, I will."
Matthew let out a cold laugh.
"Since when do you get to decide who I marry?"
Emma froze.
Matthew turned to Marigold, his gaze cold as a blade.
"What, you need my mother to fight your battles now?"
Marigold's expression stiffened.
She took a deep breath and spoke. "Matthew, Jack has disappeared. Was it you?"
"You know what the Quinn family is capable of. I'm just worried..."
Matthew looked at her with cool detachment. After a long moment, he spoke slowly.
"Do you have any proof?"
Marigold was speechless.
Eric had investigated and found nothing. All the surveillance footage, all the evidence—everything had been cleaned up perfectly. There was no proof linking Matthew to anything.
"Without evidence," Matthew said, "don't make accusations."
He paused.
"You're so anxious about this—does what Jack did represent the Quinn family's position?"
Marigold's fingers clenched tight.
"He harmed my company's vice president. Kidnapping," Matthew said, enunciating each word. "If that's the Quinn family's stance, I'll take appropriate measures."
Marigold's fingers turned white from gripping so hard.
Jack was just an illegitimate son. The Quinn family would never offend Matthew for his sake. But with this incident, her wedding to Matthew was going to be difficult to pull off.
As she was thinking, Matthew had already stood up and headed for the door.
"Matthew!" Emma called out. "Stop right there!"
Matthew ignored her and walked straight out.
Emma was so angry she could barely breathe. Marigold quickly collected herself and went to soothe her.
"Mrs. Perkins, don't be upset. He's probably just in a bad mood today..."
"What exactly is going on?" Emma stared at her. "Who is this Jack? What's his relationship with that woman?"
Marigold hesitated.
"Jack is part of the Quinn family," she said carefully. "He took a liking to Evelyn. There might have been... some misunderstanding."
She didn't finish the sentence.
But Emma understood.
After seeing Marigold off, she sat in the living room, her expression dark.
Evelyn. Always Evelyn.
She absolutely could not let Evelyn stay by Matthew's side any longer. The longer she stayed, the more out of control Matthew would become.
---
Marigold sat in the car, her face frighteningly cold.
Eric glanced at her in the rearview mirror, wanting to say something but swallowing it back.
Marigold suddenly spoke.
"Go to the black market. Hire some assassins."
Eric froze. "Miss Quinn, at a time like this..."
"Precisely because it's a time like this, no one will suspect," Marigold interrupted. "Before the wedding, that woman can't be allowed to stay."
Eric was silent for a few seconds, then nodded. "I'll arrange it."
---
At the nursing home.
The sunlight was beautiful, warm on the skin. A few elderly residents sat on the lawn soaking up the sun, with Lily the caregiver nearby.
Penny saw Evelyn and came over with a smile.
"Miss Arden, you're here! Your mother's been doing much better recently. Take a look."
Evelyn looked down at her mother. Her complexion was indeed better than before, her eyes more alert and not as vacant as they used to be.
"Mom," she tried calling out.
No response.
Evelyn wasn't in a hurry. She continued pushing the wheelchair.
"Penny, thank you for taking care of my mom," she said.
"No need to thank me, it's what I should do," Penny waved it off. "You two spend some time together. I'll go get busy."
Evelyn wheeled her mother to a large tree and stopped. She sat down on a nearby bench, looking at her mother.
"Mom, let me talk to you for a bit."
No response.
Evelyn began to talk. She spoke about recent events, about progress at work. She didn't mention the dangerous parts, only the good things.
"Mom, Matthew and I... we might actually be getting together."
She paused.
"I used to think we just had a contractual relationship. But he seems to... really care about me. He says he's going to call off the engagement."
"Mom, do you think I can trust him? If the baby is born and has a father around, would that be better?"
She murmured to herself. Her mother didn't respond.
Evelyn didn't mind, just kept talking.
"Eve!"
A shout from behind.
Evelyn turned to see Monica running toward her.
"How did you get here?"
Monica threw herself at Evelyn and hugged her tight.
"You scared me to death!" She wouldn't let go. "Matthew called me, said something happened to you, and asked me to come keep you company."
Evelyn was stunned.
"He said that?"
"Yeah." Monica released her. "He told me to come be with you, and I could tell the company it was to coordinate on the previous project. When my boss heard it was Perkins Group business, he was super supportive and approved my leave immediately."
Evelyn didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "I'm fine now."
"Still, just hearing about it was terrifying." Monica linked arms with her, looking frightened. "Don't always try to tough things out alone. Anyway, my boss doesn't care, so I'm staying to keep you company."
The two sat down on the bench.
Monica suddenly said, "Eve, I think Matthew is pretty different from what I imagined."
Evelyn looked at her.
"I used to think he was especially cold and ruthless. But when he called me today, he was so detailed about everything. How I should get here, what to watch out for—he thought of everything."
"It seems like... he really cares about you," Monica said.
Evelyn said nothing.
"Plus he's loaded," Monica teased. "Really not bad. It would be even better if there wasn't that engagement."
Evelyn laughed.
"You got won over pretty quick."
"I'm serious though," Monica looked at her. "For him to be so considerate of you isn't easy."
Evelyn thought for a moment and said, "He told me this morning he's planning to cancel the engagement."
Monica's eyes lit up. "Really?"
"Yeah."
Monica threw her arms around her again.
"I knew it! You're definitely going to find happiness!"