Chapter 217 Manuel Finds Elizabeth
Ron's rented place was in a messy alley.
You could smell the stench from the sewage ditches all along the way.
The electric scooter stopped in front of an old, rundown building.
During her years in prison, Calista had pretty much gotten rid of her upper-class lady habits.
But when she followed Ron into that cramped room, she couldn't help crying.
The room could barely fit a bed, a small table, and a tiny bathroom.
The whole place was shabby and cramped.
"Mom, stop crying. I need to go to work. If you're hungry, you can cook some noodles yourself. The noodles are over there."
Ron pointed to the only table.
On the table were an induction cooker, noodles, and some seasonings.
Calista wiped her tears. She had been hoping to have a good meal after getting out of that place today, but instead she was greeted with noodles.
She forced a slight smile. "I got it."
Ron was in a hurry, so after giving instructions, he rushed off to work.
"Ron, wait, give me your phone."
Ron pulled out his secondhand phone from his pants pocket, gave it to Calista, and left.
Calista pulled out a low stool from under the table and sat down.
She looked around, finally realizing that even after getting out of prison, life ahead would be tough.
She had gotten out on early release this time, otherwise she'd still be stuck in prison.
Thinking of Elizabeth made Calista's teeth itch with hatred.
Emma said Elizabeth had now become the chairwoman of the Sherman Group.
This made Calista even more furious.
She opened the phone and searched for Border Ridge City's Sherman Group.
The internet quickly pulled up reports about Elizabeth taking over as chairwoman of the Sherman Group.
In the photos, Elizabeth wore a sharp business suit, looking confident and composed.
Calista stared hard at Elizabeth.
"Elizabeth, you just wait!" Calista gritted her teeth and swore hatefully.
She continued browsing the reports, her eyes glued to the screen without blinking.
It was all Elizabeth's fault that she'd spent so many years in prison.
Calista's heart was full of resentment.
Calista figured Elizabeth must have slept her way up and latched onto some rich man again.
Damn slut! Calista thought angrily.
Back then, she should have thrown Elizabeth in the river and drowned her, getting rid of that menace for good.
Hungry now, Calista cursed Elizabeth in her mind while going to get a pot to boil water for noodles.
Calista's gaze kept glancing at Elizabeth's photo on the phone screen, her eyes full of disgust.
Elizabeth's bright smile really got on Calista's nerves.
The water boiled, and Calista put the noodles in the hot water, but her mind was plotting to find the right moment to get revenge on Elizabeth.
The plain noodles tasted bland, with no vegetables, no egg.
This sense of disappointment only bred more hatred in Calista.
Timothy came out of the bedroom after his shower.
Elizabeth looked up and saw his hair wasn't dried, so she put down her phone and quickly pushed him back into the bathroom. "Dry your hair first."
"My hair's short, it'll dry fast." He cooperated and walked into the bathroom, a satisfied smile on his lips.
"Just blow-dry it, it won't take long. You're so lazy," Elizabeth scolded while taking out the hairdryer. "Bend down."
Timothy was too tall for Elizabeth to reach, so she had to make him lower his head.
Timothy bent over and lowered his head to cooperate with her.
The hairdryer turned on, warm air blowing on his hair.
Her fingers ran through his hair, and after two or three minutes his hair was dry. She turned off the hairdryer.
Timothy straightened up, touched his now-dry hair, a faint smile on his lips.
Elizabeth rolled her eyes at him, but there was a smile in her eyes too.
When Elizabeth went to bed that night, she closed her legs.
Timothy, ready to make love, paused.
"Let's talk for a bit first." Elizabeth's face flushed slightly as she lifted her chin.
Timothy fell silent.
His dick was already impatient, but she called a halt.
He lay down helplessly and pulled the blanket over himself, somewhat traumatized. "Talk about what?"
Elizabeth turned on her side, propping her head up with one hand, looking at Timothy with some confusion in her eyes. "What's the deal with Alfonso? He clearly seems to like Mabel."
Timothy sighed, suppressing his desire, and reached out to gently stroke Elizabeth's hair. "Sometimes feelings between people are complicated, especially after misunderstandings and separation."
Elizabeth frowned slightly. "But why doesn't he explain things clearly? If they don't resolve what happened back then, Mabel will always have this knot in her heart."
Mr. Robinson raised an eyebrow. "What happened?"
Elizabeth told him what Mabel had shared with her.
After listening, Timothy kissed Elizabeth on the forehead. "Let Mabel handle it herself. We can support her, but we can't interfere in their relationship."
Elizabeth knew outsiders couldn't meddle in such matters. She moved closer, resting her face against Timothy's chest. "Okay."
She drew circles on his chest, saying lazily, "The night is tempting. Should we continue?"
Timothy grabbed her hand and instantly rolled over, pinning her down again.
Sometimes Elizabeth really enjoyed seeing the usually refined Timothy's face showing restraint.
She parted her red lips slightly and lightly bit his finger.
Her long hair spread across the white sheets, her fingers clutching the sheets tightly.
The next morning.
Elizabeth had to go to a meeting as soon as she got to the office.
This morning's meeting finally finalized the materials for competing with the Collins Group for cooperation with Zenith Enterprises Group.
After the meeting ended, she walked out of the conference room.
Robbie lowered his voice. "Chairwoman Penrose, Chairman Robinson from the Robinson Group is waiting for you in the reception room."
Elizabeth raised an eyebrow. She suddenly stopped, asking in surprise, "Manuel?"
Robbie nodded.
Elizabeth didn't return to her office but went straight to the reception room.
She pushed open the door and saw Manuel sitting on the sofa, looking stern.
"Mr. Robinson, what brings you here?" Elizabeth walked over calmly and sat down, asking with confusion.
Manuel looked at Elizabeth before him, a flash of complexity in his eyes. "Elizabeth, I came today to talk to you about Jane and the others."
After what happened at the kindergarten yesterday, he heard Zander's report when he got home from work.
Manuel was angry but also thought Timothy and Elizabeth were too cold-hearted.
A child had fallen and they didn't even come back to help.
But he came to find Elizabeth today not about the kindergarten incident, but about sending Tommy and Jane abroad.
Elizabeth smiled. "Please go ahead."
Manuel looked at her and said slowly, "Jane and Tommy are my grandchildren. I don't want them to be hurt because of conflicts between adults. Elizabeth, I hope you can understand a grandparent's feelings."
The two sat facing each other, the atmosphere somewhat heavy.
He said with a stern face, "If you can get Timothy to change his mind and not send Jane and the others abroad, I'll publicly acknowledge Seraphina's identity, and I'll also give her shares in the Robinson Group."
Hearing this, Elizabeth smiled faintly. "Mr. Robinson, Seraphina has my last name. She's a Penrose. Whether you acknowledge her or not doesn't really matter. As for the Robinson Group shares, we're not interested. Timothy and I are both capable of giving Seraphina the best of everything."
Manuel's expression changed slightly.
He knew coming to find Elizabeth probably wouldn't work.
Fine then.
He stood up with a cold face and left.
Elizabeth stood up calmly and went to open the door for him.
After seeing Manuel off, Elizabeth returned to her office and called Timothy.
She told Timothy word for word what Manuel had said.
Timothy on the other end of the phone listened to Elizabeth's robotic recounting and let out a light laugh. "One after another, they all know only you can persuade me."
Elizabeth was instantly speechless. Timothy's focus was way off. "Is this something you should be proud of?"
Timothy's smile deepened as he said thoughtfully, "Of course I'm proud. In this world, you're the only one who can control me."
Caught off guard by his sweet talk.
Elizabeth smiled. "I'm hanging up now. Busy."
"Okay."
Timothy's deep response reached her ears.
He listened as Elizabeth hung up, then put down his phone.
Thinking about what Manuel had said to Elizabeth, Timothy thought casually that Manuel must be getting senile.
As Timothy's daughter, Seraphina would naturally have her identity announced at a banquet when the time came.