Chapter 179: Lacking a Societal Beatdown
Eugene Jennings and Beatrice Donovan instinctively perked up their ears, but to their surprise, Arabella Donovan simply let out a sigh and then fell silent.
The two of them were speechless.
’Just how mind-blowing is it? Say something! You can’t just drop a bomb like that and leave us hanging!’
Annoyed as they were, there was nothing they could do about it, so they could only suppress their curiosity for the time being.
Eugene Jennings hadn’t expected the seemingly shrewd and competent Chloe Ulrich to actually be such a love-struck fool with her head in the clouds. Recalling the conversation she’d just had with her best friend, he couldn’t help but feel a little worried.
He decided that when he got back, he would discuss with his older brother whether they should discreetly let Ulrich know about her boyfriend and half-sister, just in case.
Beatrice Donovan glanced at the shopping bags piled in Eugene Jennings’s arms and took the initiative to ask, "Are you two going to keep shopping?"
"No, I don’t think so." After what had happened, Arabella Donovan was in no mood to shop anymore. Besides, while she might have looked like a big shot throwing money around in the jewelry store...
...the money she’d just spent had already taken a fifth of her wallet’s HP. If she kept going, she was afraid her grand-uncle would genuinely have to come and bail her out tonight.
"Beatrice, if you have other things to attend to, you should get back to work. We’ll be fine," Arabella Donovan said. She paused, then suddenly leaned in close to Beatrice Donovan and asked in a low voice, "But... could I ask you for a favor?"
Beatrice Donovan was a little surprised. "What is it? Go ahead."
"Do you remember the young woman at the jewelry store, the one who rang up my purchase?"
"Yes, I remember." The one who had been slapped.
"Could you help me keep an eye on her for a while? That manager, Prescott, is a vicious-looking guy, and he seems to know some criminals. Every other word out of his mouth is about killing someone. I’m worried he’ll hold a grudge against that sales associate because of what happened today and try to get revenge on her in secret. She only got into this mess because of me, and she was even slapped today. If she faces retaliation over this, my conscience will never be clear."
Hearing this, Beatrice Donovan’s expression softened. "No problem. I’ll assign someone to keep an eye on her. I’ll make sure nothing happens to her."
Arabella Donovan finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Beatrice."
’Hearing Beatrice say that is a huge relief. Otherwise, if something were to happen to Miss Chamberlain, that love-struck fool Kieran Kerr would find his wife gone in three years and come after my head. Where am I supposed to find a replacement wife to give him then?’
Eugene Jennings was speechless. ’So that’s the real reason!’
A faint smile touched Beatrice Donovan’s lips. "You don’t have to thank me. Protecting ordinary citizens is our duty."
The moment Beatrice Donovan said this, Arabella Donovan’s eyes lit up like stars as she looked at her.
’So cool! When Beatrice said that, it was like she was glowing.’
’...I think it’s your eyes that are glowing.’
For a rare moment, Beatrice Donovan felt a twinge of awkward embarrassment. Just as she was about to say something, her expression suddenly changed. "Watch out."
"Huh?" Arabella Donovan froze. Before she could react, she felt a powerful force slam into her from behind, and then...
"Oof!" The person who got hit stood firm as a rock, while the one who did the hitting recoiled and nearly stumbled to the ground.
"Watch where you’re going! Are you blind?" The woman, teetering on bright red stilettos that were easily ten centimeters high, finally regained her balance and roared aggressively in Arabella Donovan’s direction.
Arabella Donovan: "???"
’Excuse me, lady, but if I recall correctly, I was standing perfectly still on the side of the path, and *you* ran into *me*, right? I’m the victim here and I haven’t said a word, yet you’re the one yelling? It’s obvious you’ve never been taught a lesson in your life.’
"You crazy woman—" Eugene Jennings was about to lose his mind. They had just gotten rid of a few troublemakers, and now here was another one trying to blame the victim. If he had known this would happen, he never would have recommended this stupid place yesterday.
"Who are you calling a crazy woman?" The woman raised her handbag to strike, but she froze when she saw Beatrice Donovan and the junior officer behind her. A flicker of panic crossed her face, and she lowered the bag.
Then, putting on a brave face, she snapped, "Don’t you know not to stand in the way?" before scurrying off as if fleeing the scene.
Arabella Donovan was speechless.
’Did I forget to check my horoscope today or something? Why do I keep running into these nutjobs?’
Eugene Jennings couldn’t agree more and genuinely felt bad for his little cousin.
Beatrice Donovan’s brow was also furrowed, her expression grim. After a moment, she suddenly said, "It’s her."
"Beatrice, you know her?"
Eugene Jennings also looked over in surprise.
"Do you remember that bombing at Jennings Plaza?"
"Ms. Donovan?" The young officer behind Beatrice Donovan blurted out instinctively, but then he suddenly remembered that this very girl had helped them with that case. He silently averted his gaze, pretending he was blind, deaf, and knew nothing about it.
Arabella Donovan naturally noticed his odd reaction and quickly said, "If it’s not convenient to talk about, don’t worry about it."
"It’s fine. Mr. Donovan said I could tell you."
Arabella Donovan blinked.
’Mr. Donovan? Who’s that? Oh, right, I remember now. That’s Chester Donovan.’
When Dennis Donovan had brought Chester Donovan to visit Arabella Donovan, neither Eugene Jennings nor Beatrice Donovan had been there. Beatrice had noticed something was off when she returned—Chester Donovan couldn’t seem to hear their little cousin’s thoughts.
Now, hearing the tone of Arabella’s inner grumbling about Chester Donovan, Beatrice became even more certain of her suspicion. Her eyes flickered slightly, but her expression remained impassive.
"The suspect who planned the Jennings Plaza bombing is a man named Vaughn from Yarrow Province. He came to Brynn for business opportunities. In the early years, his career was going quite well, so he started his own company and brought his entire family over."
Yarrow Province was where their fourth and fifth aunts lived. It was because of this connection that after Beatrice and her team caught the suspect, they had to coordinate with the authorities in Yarrow Province. That particular task had fallen to her second-oldest cousin.
"But then the financial crisis hit in the last couple of years. His company was impacted, and his cash flow dried up. To make matters worse, he was backstabbed by a business partner, a man from his own hometown, who transferred away a large portion of the company’s assets. Afterward, Vaughn went to confront his partner, but the man denied everything, had security beat him up and throw him out, and threatened to go after his family if he ever came back."
Arabella Donovan had never met this Mr. Vaughn. She could only piece together his situation from the report in the original novel and Beatrice’s description. "So, Mr. Vaughn gave in?"
"He did. After seeing the man’s true colors, Mr. Vaughn had no choice but to find another way. Unfortunately, the company’s financial hole was just too deep. After struggling to stay afloat for a while, he ultimately had to declare bankruptcy."
Arabella Donovan frowned, a sense of realization dawning on her. "So how does that woman from before fit into this?"
Beatrice Donovan pressed her lips together. "That woman... she’s the wife of the partner from his hometown, the one who made off with most of Vaughn’s money."
"What?" Arabella Donovan and Eugene Jennings exclaimed in unison.