Chapter 269: What If I Wasn’t Relying on Luck?
After the abrupt realization that the world she lived in might one day connect with a so-called "infinite flow world," Arabella Donovan found herself consumed by a dilemma.
On one hand, she worried that if this really happened, it would catch people unawares and harm her family, friends, and the innocent people she’d never met. On the other, she feared that if she got involved rashly, she would fail to gain anyone’s trust and could easily be exploited by those with ulterior motives, implicating her family and friends and causing them to suffer harm even before the calamity arrived.
Guinevere Preston noticed her inner struggle and asked if she had run into some kind of intractable problem.
Looking at the elder before her, whose eyes were filled with nothing but love and acceptance, Arabella felt like a lost fledgling that had heard its mother’s call, finally able to return to the nest for a moment’s peace.
She asked Guinevere Preston cautiously, "Grandma, what if there’s something really important... and if I don’t do it, a lot of people could get hurt? I have a chance to stop them from getting hurt, but..."
"But?"
"But... I’m not confident that everyone would believe me. I’m worried that if I speak up, I’ll be dismissed as a liar or a madwoman. And I’m even more afraid that because of me, the people I care about will face unjust accusations and be harmed."
Guinevere Preston was taken aback for a moment. She hadn’t realized that so many complex worries were swirling around in Arabella’s mind.
She contemplated this for a long moment before finally asking, "Then do you believe that what you want to do is right? Do you want to do it?"
"I believe it’s right, and I want to do it."
"Then go and do it. Family is family because we can depend on, trust, understand, and accept one another. No matter what you do, or what consequences it may bring, your grand-uncle and I are willing to believe in you, support you, and shoulder any outcome. I’m sure the rest of your family feels the same way."
"Maybe not everyone will believe you, but your family will. And so will the people who love this land and its people as much as you do. They will be willing to believe you, too."
Guinevere Preston’s words were like a ray of light, piercing the gloom that had settled over Arabella’s heart and giving her the courage and conviction to risk everything.
Arabella had originally planned to use the wedding as an opportunity to identify one or two reliable, powerful figures among the guests. Afterward, she could ask Dennis Donovan for an introduction or use his connections to find the right people to talk to.
Little did she expect that just as she was about to make her move, the very people she needed had come right to her.
’In that case, I can’t let this golden opportunity slip away!’
Everyone present, including Dennis Donovan, was taken aback by her words. Mr. Cole instinctively turned to Dennis Donovan, his expression questioning.
Dennis Donovan recovered quickly. "My girl doesn’t stir up trouble for no reason," he said, his tone meaningful. "For her to say something like that, she must have something extremely important to discuss with you. It’s up to you—shall we eat first, or would you rather find a place to talk with her now?"
Mr. Cole couldn’t help but laugh. "If it’s something that important, it’s always better to deal with it sooner rather than later. We can always eat afterward."
At these words, Dennis Donovan shot Miles Donovan a look. Miles immediately stepped forward to lead the way. "If you would all please follow our Young Miss to the study in the rear courtyard."
Though it was called a study, it was actually a separate courtyard compound. Dennis Donovan conducted his daily business there, and the security was the tightest and most reliable—absolutely airtight.
Because the matter she was about to discuss was of grave importance, Arabella chose not to have the rest of the Donovan family accompany them. Instead, she entered the study with Dennis Donovan and the other senior figures.
"This is where I typically conduct my business. It’s guarded on all sides, and unless I give the word, no one will disturb us. Now, you can tell them what you wanted to talk about."
Arabella took a deep breath. Under the watchful eyes of everyone in the room, she bit the bullet and began. "I’m not sure if you gentlemen have heard about the recent bombing at Jennings Plaza?"
The men exchanged a look, then one nodded. "We’re all aware of it. And we also know you played a significant part in the matter."
Surprise showed on Arabella’s face. She instinctively glanced at Dennis Donovan, and when she saw him nod, she let out another sigh of relief.
’If that’s the case, this will be much easier.’
"Since you gentlemen know I played a part in that case, then you probably also know how I played that part. A little over a week ago, I attended an auction at the Pavilion of Many Treasures. I won two items that night."
"One was a parcel of land in the lakeside area of the Southward District, bundled with the Norwall Barrens. The other was a raw jade stone. From that stone came a Blessing, Fortune, Longevity, Joy Original Stone, as well as a piece of imperial green, old-mine, glassy jade."
Mr. Cole had indeed heard about the raw jade. Rumor had it the two bracelets the bride was wearing today, one on each wrist, had been carved from that very stone.
But he knew nothing about the second piece—the imperial green glassy jade. And so, he once again turned his gaze to Dennis Donovan.
"It’s true. That stone was cut right in my front yard."
The moment Dennis Donovan finished speaking, the room erupted in a flurry of discussion.
Even Mr. Cole couldn’t help but exclaim once more, "Elder Donovan, this granddaughter of yours... she must be blessed with immense fortune."
After the Pavilion of Many Treasures’ year-end auction, two things became the talk of the town. The first was that the bundled plot of land in the Southward District’s lakeside area and the Norwall Barrens had been snapped up by a young woman not even twenty years old.
The other was that this same young woman had spent 2.05 million on a worthless-looking rock that nobody else wanted, only for it to be cut open to reveal a piece of peerless jade worth hundreds of millions.
Mr. Cole hadn’t been terribly interested in such gossip, but his wife had mentioned it in passing, marveling at Arabella Donovan’s good fortune.
Now, learning that the 2.05-million-yuan stone had yielded not just one treasure worth hundreds of millions, but a second piece of no lesser value... this wasn’t a return of a few times or a few dozen times their investment. This was a return of hundreds, even thousands of times over!
"What if I told you that my ability to obtain these things has nothing to do with luck?"
Arabella hadn’t brought this up to boast. She was laying the groundwork, building credibility for what she had to say next.
Mr. Cole raised an eyebrow. "And how is that?"
"I targeted that stone from the very beginning because I knew it held a treasure. The same goes for the land. My goal was never the lakeside plot in the Southward District; it was the Norwall Barrens. I knew there was a gold mine buried beneath that land, and that it would soon be discovered. The land’s value would then skyrocket, transforming it from a wasteland into a key development area."
"How is that possible?!"