Chapter 210
Ralph came in carrying tea. "It must be hard work keeping Elowen company."
"Not at all! This is honestly the most relaxing thing for me." Lisbeth spoke from the heart.
Usually she worked hard at the company, and when she came home, she had to keep two children company. Anne and Dennis were actual, real children.
They needed their mother's companionship.
Ralph's lips held a gentle smile. "By the way, Leopold's company has stabilized."
Lisbeth wasn't surprised, just somewhat curious. "Who helped him?"
"Jake."
Lisbeth nodded knowingly. "Those two have always had a good relationship. It's not surprising he'd help."
"You don't seem worried at all?" Ralph had thought she'd be disappointed. After all, she'd spent so much time and energy setting things up, but the final result wasn't very satisfying.
Lisbeth smiled faintly. "What do I have to worry about? If Leopold were that easy to deal with, I wouldn't have left town three years ago."
This was just the beginning. The first clash between them. Who would be the ultimate winner was still unknown.
She wasn't in a rush.
There was a saying—haste makes waste.
Ralph nodded with satisfaction. "I knew I wasn't wrong about you. You have real talent for business warfare. But don't underestimate Leopold either."
"Of course not." Lisbeth hadn't forgotten that even though Leopold had once been a lawyer, he'd come from that kind of family, growing up around his father and absorbing everything by osmosis. And when he was a lawyer, he'd also handled corporate litigation.
He had natural advantages over her.
Besides, if it were so simple to bring Leopold down, Lisbeth would have to wonder if the person on the other side was really Leopold at all.
Ralph smiled slightly. "That's the right mindset. Business warfare is like this—back and forth, wins and losses. No one wins all the time, but no one loses all the time either."
Lisbeth deeply agreed.
Elowen suddenly ran over, pulling Ralph to look at a wildflower by the roadside. The garden here was maintained by staff. All the flowers bloomed neatly and beautifully, but occasionally, some unknown wildflowers would grow in the corners.
Elowen loved looking at them.
Lisbeth couldn't help but smile watching her. She thought Elowen was really quite interesting—to maintain childlike innocence in the adult world was a kind of happiness in itself.
Sebastian sat in his office, a stack of documents piled before him. Noah knocked and entered, his expression grave. "Mr. York, we've found out."
Sebastian looked up. "That fast?"
"The other party's methods weren't sophisticated." Noah placed a file on his desk. "Though they did make some attempts at disguise, they left traces when paying the fee. The mastermind behind the attack on Ms. Whitaker is Elora's assistant, named Beau Reed."
Sebastian's eyes instantly went cold.
Elora really couldn't stay quiet, always finding trouble. Looked like she needed to be taught a lesson.
In a rundown rental apartment in the suburbs.
Beau was packing his luggage, planning to leave the city. He'd been feeling panicked lately, sensing that sooner or later, everything would be exposed.
He was halfway through packing when the door was kicked open. Beau jumped in fright.
Sebastian walked in, followed by two large bodyguards.
Beau recognized Sebastian, and his face instantly went pale. "What... what are you doing? You're a movie star, you're the president of the York Group. You should know that private fighting is illegal..."
Sebastian walked up to him and kicked him directly in the stomach.
Beau was immediately sent flying, his body crashing hard onto the floor. His abdomen felt like it had been pounded by an iron fist. He curled up on the ground in pain, unable to catch his breath.
"Who put you up to this?" Sebastian's voice was frighteningly calm.
"No... no one..."
Another kick, this time to Beau's ribs.
Beau screamed in agony. His ribs throbbed with pain, as if broken. Covered in sweat, his vision blurred, and he nearly passed out.
Sebastian spoke. "I'll ask one more time. Who put you up to this?"
Looking at Sebastian's ice-cold eyes, Beau finally broke down. The pain made his brain foggy. "It was... I did it myself!"
"When did Lisbeth ever offend you?" Sebastian casually pulled over a chair and sat down, looking down at him.
Beau swallowed, lying on the ground, drenched in sweat from pain. "She never offended me... I barely knew her before this..."
"Then why did you do it?"
Beau closed his eyes, trembling all over. "I hate Lisbeth! Because of her, Elora's been unhappy every single day!"
He actually had no grudge against Lisbeth.
His hatred for Lisbeth came entirely from his infatuation with Elora. He simply couldn't bear to see Elora sad and hurt because of Lisbeth.
After listening, Sebastian's eyes grew even colder. "All for a woman?"
Beau said through tears, "I... I truly love Elora. I couldn't bear to see her abandoned..."
"So you hurt another innocent person?" Sebastian crouched down and grabbed his collar. "Do you know you nearly killed her?"
Beau couldn't speak, only cried.
Sebastian released him and stood up, telling the bodyguards, "Break both his legs."
"Yes."
Beau screamed in terror. "You... you can't do this! This is illegal!"
Sebastian glanced back at him, eyes cold as ice. "Then go ahead and report me. Let's see which is worse—your attempted murder or my assault."
Agonized screams rang out in the rental apartment.
Sebastian stood outside the door, lighting a cigarette, his face expressionless as he listened.
Half an hour later, Noah came out from inside, saying quietly, "Mr. York, everything's handled. We've notified the police. They'll come arrest him."
Sebastian nodded. "Let's go."
The news quickly reached Elora's ears.
Hearing that Beau had been caught for attacking Lisbeth and that Sebastian was the first to find him, she immediately panicked.
She knew about Beau's feelings for her and knew he'd done this for her sake.
If Beau spilled everything...
Elora didn't dare think further. She immediately filed a police report, claiming Sebastian had illegally detained and deliberately harmed someone.
When the police found Sebastian, he was having dinner with Lisbeth.
"Mr. York, someone has reported that you're suspected of illegal detention and deliberate harm. Please come with us to the station to assist with the investigation."
Lisbeth's expression changed. She instinctively grabbed Sebastian's hand.
Sebastian gently patted the back of her hand and said to the police, "Alright, I'll go with you."
Lisbeth grabbed his arm. "What's going on?"
The concern in her eyes was too real.
Sebastian looked at her, his gaze gentle. "It's just a small matter. Don't worry. Wait for me at home."
"No, I'm going with you." How could Lisbeth possibly let him go alone with peace of mind? No matter what, she had to go with him. Whatever happened, they'd face it together.