Chapter 566
His words brought a chill to Laurel’s eyes.
Right, whenever something involved Helena, Lawrence’s immediate reaction was always to doubt everyone else.
He trusted his secretary far more than his wife.
Having no desire to argue, Laurel got straight to the point. “So, do you have time to come get the divorce finalized now or not?”
She seemed exceptionally eager for that piece of paper.
Lawrence frowned. “Are you in such a rush to get the divorce because your next arranged partner is waiting for you?”
His words were shockingly sharp, completely out of character.
The moment the words left his mouth, even he was surprised by what he had said.
Perhaps it was because Laurel was always too calm.
Before marriage, during marriage, no matter what happened—even when Helena occasionally displayed a level of intimacy that crossed the line-Laurel remained perfectly serene.
And now, even when facing divorce, she was so calm that Lawrence couldn’t hold back his frustration, feeling the urge to take a jab at her.
Lawrence really couldn’t understand why she insisted on a divorce. Their marriage was perfectly fine; they barely even argued.
Unexpectedly, Laurel chuckled. “I don’t have a habit of engaging in ambiguous relationships with the opposite sex while still married.”
Lawrence felt a strange sense of relief, yet he felt as if her words were pointing at something specific.
Just as he was about to speak, Helena came over to rush him back to the meeting.
By the time he gathered his thoughts and tried to explain things properly to Laurel, the call had already ended.
Laurel seemed exceptionally hostile toward Helena.
Before re-entering the conference room, Lawrence turned to Helena, who was a half-step behind him, and asked, “Why did you schedule city hall with Serena for three o’clock today? Didn’t I tell you to cancel it?”
He still didn’t believe their marriage had reached its end.
Once some time passed, Laurel would drop the idea.
Helena froze, looking surprised as she pulled out her phone to check her chat history, playing innocent. “That’s impossible, I definitely made it clear to Serena…”
Lawrence narrowed his eyes, getting straight to the point. “You didn’t call Laurel last night to apologize?”
“I…”
A flash of guilt crossed Helena’s eyes before she replied firmly, “I called, but Laurel probably doesn’t like me and didn’t answer. I had no choice but to tell Serena, who knew she would misunderstand…”
…
After hanging up, Laurel took a brief moment to compose herself, returned to the office to explain the situation to the staff, and quickly left.
Then, she headed straight to Wilkinson Manor.
The maid who had swapped the samples had been confined to her quarters for the past two days.
When she saw Laurel push the door open, panic flashed across her face. Before Laurel could even ask, she blurted out her explanation.
“Ms. Wilkinson, I swear I don’t know where that sample came from, or whose it is. Ms. Carson just gave it to me and told me to swap it…”
When Laurel wasn’t smiling, she could be quite intimidating. Her sharp gaze pinned the maid down, sending chills down the woman’s spine.
Laurel asked, “I’ll ask you one last time. Was it Marcia who gave it to you, or Maya?”
“M-Marcia!”
The maid answered without hesitation, insisting it was solely Marcia’s doing. Laurel gave a thin, humorless smile. “Oh, then tell me, what did she offer you?” “She… she promised me two hundred thousand dollars once it was done.”
The older maid tried to play the sympathy card. “Ms. Wilkinson, you know my husband died early. Lonly have my son who’s in college naturally have to find a way to build a nest egg for him.”
“Oh, right. I remember your son is quite a hard worker. He got accepted into Cresthaven University, didn’t he?”
Laurel seemed to empathize with
her, but her next words cut deep. “Then you should also know that half of the campus buildings were funded by the Wilkinson family We donate tens of millions every year so we carry quite a bit of weight there.”
The maid shuddered, her fingers beginning to tremble. “W-what do you mean?”
Laurel chuckled, her tone still calm. “Mrs. Thorne, I don’t have my grandfather’s
bottom line, nor do I believe in sparing the families of the guilty.”
“As long as I can find my sister, I’ll do whatever it takes, fair or foul.” She enunciated every word clearly.
The implication made the maid’s legs give out. She collapsed into the chair, grabbed Laurel’s arm, and stammered in panic, “Ms Wilkinson, arent aren’t you afraid that if this gets out, you’ll lose your position…”
Maya had assured her that as long as she denied everything, the Wilkinson family couldn’t do anything to her!
After all, Laurel was in politics and always had to maintain her reputation.
And Old Mr. Wilkinson was known for being strictly principled and would never resort to underhanded tactics.
Not a flicker of emotion showed on Laurel’s face. “If I can’t even protect my own family, what’s the point of my position?”
She had climbed step by step to reach the heights she was at today solely to protect everyone in the Wilkinson family.
Without giving the maid time to think, she pried the woman’s fingers off her arm one by one. “Since you can’t think clearly, I’ll take my leave.”
“No! I’ll talk!”
Before Laurel reached the door, the maid leaped up and blurted, “It was Maya! I… I also know where she got the hair sample.”
Her eyes red, she pleaded desperately, “I’ll tell you everything, just please… please let my son go!”