Chapter 266 This Person Cannot Withstand Temptation

Chapter 266 This Person Cannot Withstand Temptation

Leonard opened his mouth, as if completely stumped by those words.

He turned around, his back to Frederick, his voice squeezing through clenched teeth.

"Three days then. But remember, if Yvonne loses even a single hair during these three days..."

"Don't worry," Frederick immediately cut in.

"Yvonne is the most important person to me right now. I'd treasure her like a precious gem - how could I possibly let her suffer?"

He bowed slightly to Leonard and Elizabeth, his posture respectful, though his eyes couldn't hide his smugness.

Then he turned and strode quickly back to the car, pulled open the door, and plopped into the driver's seat.

Veronica had been waiting anxiously in the passenger seat. Seeing him get in, she couldn't wait to ask, "Well? Did they agree?"

Frederick started the engine, and the car slowly pulled away from the Ravenwood Estate gates.

Only after the iron gates had completely disappeared into the morning mist in the rearview mirror did he let out a long breath. He turned to his mother with a relieved smile, "They agreed. They'll give us an answer in three days."

Veronica grabbed her son's arm, her face brimming with excitement.

"We did it! Frederick, we won this bet!" She let go and leaned back in her seat. Her eyes darted around quickly before she urged him on.

"Make the most of these three days - get close to Yvonne as quickly as possible. Better yet, get her pregnant. Once there's a child, the Montgomery family won't be able to back out even if they want to. Then we'll truly be in-laws with the Montgomery family, and who would dare look down on us? If your deadbeat father knew, he'd probably sit right up in the ICU!"

......

When Catherine returned from the main house to Tranquil Villa, it was already evening.

Elizabeth recounted the entire confrontation at the estate gates that morning from start to finish. When she got to the part where Frederick used Gilbert to pressure them, Elizabeth couldn't help cursing a few times.

After listening, Catherine felt the last weight lift from her heart.

She wasn't afraid of Frederick being greedy - she was afraid of him not being greedy.

As long as he was still scheming about how to swallow that money with interest, he wouldn't run, and wouldn't want to run.

Now they just needed to wait.

Wait for Frederick and Veronica to play out this act to what they thought would be their moment of triumph, then close the net.

For now, she could finally focus her energy on more important matters.

Early the next morning, Ian's call came through.

The buyer had been caught and was being held at the usual place.

Catherine hung up, changed into a sleek dark outfit, and drove straight to the warehouse where the man was being held.

From the outside, the warehouse looked no different from any ordinary warehouse - the iron-gray rolling door was tightly shut, with only two inconspicuous black sedans parked at the entrance.

When she pushed open the heavy iron door to the innermost room, the man sitting in the folding chair jerked violently.

He looked up toward the door, and by the light filtering in from the corridor, he made out the visitor's face. His pupils immediately contracted, his lips trembled several times before he managed to force out a smile that looked worse than crying.

Catherine sat down in the folding chair across from him, tilted her head, and studied his face, slightly contorted with fear.

"You're very afraid of me?"

The man shook his head frantically, then realized that was wrong and quickly nodded instead. He rubbed his hands bound in front of him, his tone desperately ingratiating.

"Ms. Montgomery, you're joking. This isn't fear - it's respect, respect! Your reputation precedes you. I've always admired you greatly!"

"Admired?" Catherine laughed lightly.

"If you admired me, you'd dare to make trouble? You've got some nerve. Back when I was still with the Thornton family, you teamed up with Tobias to swindle my grandfather's gold mine. Now you know I'm with the Montgomery family, yet you still dare to receive Frederick's stolen goods and buy the Montgomery family's estate. Seems you're so greedy for money you don't even care about your life."

The man's face instantly turned deathly pale, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

Catherine knew everything - there was no point in trying to lie anymore.

He could only say tearfully, "Ms. Montgomery, I really was just someone who buys things. Who wouldn't make money when it's there to be made? I swear, everything back then was Tobias's doing. From start to finish, it was all his idea. I just took money to do a job - I absolutely never came up with any ideas myself! At most... at most I just knew about it and didn't report it. Really, I wouldn't dare lie to you about a single word!"

Catherine leaned back in her chair, studying him.

Though this man was greedy, misers generally weren't tough guys. What she could get out of his mouth would most likely be true.

In that transaction four years ago, he really was just a middleman.

Tobias needed someone to help him fence the goods, and he happened to have the connections.

As for whether he was a mastermind - she didn't believe that.

Someone like Tobias, who dared to harm even his own uncle, how could he possibly let an outsider into the core decision-making?

"Do you still have contact with Tobias?"

The man nodded hastily, "Yes! Yes, yes, yes! We contact each other occasionally, because... because we each have dirt on the other. He's afraid I'll rat him out, and I'm afraid he'll turn on me, so we've kept in touch."

He paused, carefully glanced up at Catherine, then quickly lowered his eyes again, his voice dropping.

"Ms. Montgomery, he... he knows about you uncovering the truth behind William's brain hemorrhage. Although no one abroad can touch him, he's afraid you'll close the domestic cases and hand the evidence over to Interpol. He's more scared than anyone. He may look rich and powerful now, but he's actually on edge every day, can't even sleep well."

Catherine gave a soft hum - all of this was within her expectations.

She was silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "Help me with something. Do it well, and I can let bygones be bygones."

The man's head shot up, "Ms. Montgomery, just say the word! Whatever I can do, I'll go through fire and water, risk my life!"

"Tell Tobias you recently received a batch of Montgomery family shares, and ask if he wants them."

The man's face immediately went pale again, "Ms. Montgomery, this... this really won't work. Tobias is especially wary of the Montgomery family now. He told me before that if there's any movement from the Montgomery family, absolutely don't touch it. If I suddenly tell him I have Montgomery family shares, his first reaction will definitely be that it's a trap. He won't believe it, he won't fall for it!"

But Catherine said unhurriedly, "Whether he believes it or not depends on your skill. Whether I hold things against you depends on your sincerity."

The man's Adam's apple bobbed up and down, fresh beads of sweat forming on his forehead even more densely than before.

He kept his head down, his eyes darting rapidly.

Clearly, Catherine was now the biggest threat.

After a long while, he finally looked up.

"Ms. Montgomery, what exactly do you want to do?"

Catherine pulled out a pre-prepared share transfer contract from her document bag and pushed it in front of him.

"Tobias may look rich and powerful now, but he knows better than anyone that things keep going wrong domestically. Hank's in prison, Winnie's in prison, Brandon's in prison too - every single one of these cases is connected to him. What he's afraid of isn't running out of money - he's afraid that one day the investigation will reach him and he won't be able to escape. But if he has Montgomery family shares in hand, the situation would be completely different."

Montgomery family shares would be like a protective charm. Even if an international arrest warrant came down, he could use the Montgomery family's trade secrets and the Montgomery Group's equity structure to negotiate.

The man's gaze lingered on the contract for a long time. He swallowed and said, his voice still carrying a trace of hesitation.

"But... but where would the shares come from? He'll definitely ask. Such a large block of shares has to have a source."

"From Yvonne, of course," Catherine said.

"Yvonne has already been abandoned by the Montgomery family. After her attempts to seduce Charles and harm me were exposed, the Montgomery family locked her up in Tranquil Mind Villa and ignored her - even Leonard won't see her. She's completely desperate now, so she's decided to liquidate all her assets and run. She sold the estate, sold her jewelry, and now she wants to sell off the last bit of Montgomery Group shares she has. You happen to be in this business, so she came to you - perfectly reasonable. Mix truth with lies, and he won't be able to tell them apart. The key is, this person can't resist temptation."