Wrong Flirt, Right Trouble: His Uncle Pulls Me Close

"If this is all you have to say, then there’s no need to continue. My time is valuable." Elijah Hawthorne had no interest in other people’s apologies or drinking.

If he wanted, countless people would line up to apologize to him. If he wanted to watch people drink, they wouldn’t dare stop, even if they drank themselves to death.

"Mr. Hawthorne, please wait. I asked you here today because there’s something else, of course," Caleb Blackwood said, quickly trying to make him stay.

After all, he had been trying to schedule a meeting with Elijah Hawthorne for several days.

A man like Elijah Hawthorne wouldn’t normally give him the time of day, which was why they were only just now meeting.

Caleb Blackwood began, "If I’m not mistaken, there’s some conflict and bad blood between you and Quentin Blackwood, isn’t there, Mr. Hawthorne?"

"You and my third brother have always been rivals, Mr. Hawthorne. That’s practically an open secret. But last time, you protected Ivy Sherwood. That same Ivy Sherwood was my son’s fiancée. To get revenge on my Blackwood Family, Quentin deliberately got involved with his nephew’s fiancée. Don’t laugh, Mr. Hawthorne, but in a way, this means we have a common enemy."

"Right now, that Ivy Sherwood’s relationship with Quentin is anything but ordinary. Aren’t you curious, Mr. Hawthorne, why Quentin chose her? I’m sure you know my third brother better than I do. Ivy is average-looking and has no connections, so how did she catch his eye?"

Caleb Blackwood’s words did manage to pique Elijah Hawthorne’s interest.

He leaned back lazily against the sofa as an attendant lit a cigar for him.

"Continue."

"To be honest with you, there really is something about Ivy Sherwood. Anyone who is with her can obtain a certain... something. I’m afraid Ivy herself doesn’t even know about it."

"But Quentin is just too despicable. He found out and wanted to take it all for himself, which is why he seduced Ivy Sherwood. She was supposed to be my daughter-in-law; they were already engaged!"

"Quentin has also been targeting my Blackwood Family at every turn. So even if there is something to be had, I’d rather you get it than him, Mr. Hawthorne. I just don’t know if you would be willing to... cooperate."

Elijah Hawthorne watched him with great interest. "Is what you’re saying true?"

’So, Ivy Sherwood has secrets.’

"Of course. It’s the absolute truth. I have no reason to deceive you, Mr. Hawthorne. I genuinely want to work with you."

Elijah Hawthorne took a drag from his cigar. "Cooperate? Then what do you want from me?"

Caleb Blackwood finally revealed his true objective. "After we get it, I hope you’ll give me half, Mr. Hawthorne. I also hope you’ll look after the Blackwood Group. The Blackwood Group is willing to serve you faithfully. If you ever have a use for me, I will be at your service without a second thought."

"That thing you mentioned," Elijah Hawthorne asked, "how do we get it?"

As for whether Caleb Blackwood was telling the truth, he would have his own people investigate.

Caleb Blackwood probably didn’t have the guts to lie to him.

"It’s simple. Marry Ivy Sherwood, and then present the marriage certificate along with a keepsake that I have."

"You want me to marry her?" Elijah Hawthorne scoffed as if he’d just heard a joke.

Caleb Blackwood quickly said, "Of course not! Anyone can marry Ivy Sherwood. It’s just a shame that she’s so infatuated with Quentin right now that she probably won’t marry anyone else. I have no other choice, which is why I came to you, Mr. Hawthorne."

"Ivy Sherwood knows nothing about this. I hope you can help me keep it a secret, Mr. Hawthorne. If she finds out, neither of us will be able to get it."

Elijah Hawthorne’s gaze drifted forward. ’Interesting. Very interesting.’

’No wonder Quentin Blackwood has been in Lustre for so long, and involved with such an unimpressive woman. So he had a motive after all.’

’Normally, whatever Quentin Blackwood wanted, I made a point to steal.’

’I just wonder whose charm is greater, his or Quentin’s. Who knows, maybe Ivy Sherwood will fall for me instead.’

"Alright," Elijah Hawthorne agreed. "In that case, President Blackwood, it’s a pleasure doing business with you."

...

The Blackwood family villa was cold and empty.

Anna Nash’s parents had been sent away. Anna had given them a large sum of money and agreed to buy them a house. When they called Ivy Sherwood to ask about Anna’s offer, Ivy had indeed advised them to take the deal and quit while they were ahead.

As for Silas Blackwood, he was busy at the office. He didn’t want to come home and had even grown to despise the place. He’d barely been back these last few days, not wanting to see Anna Nash.

Caleb Blackwood was still out, Mrs. Blackwood was out with her high-society friends, and Sylvia Blackwood hadn’t been seen for days, with no one knowing where she’d gone.

So, the only ones left in the villa were the pregnant Anna Nash and the servants.

For Anna Nash, this was undoubtedly a golden opportunity.

Anna Nash announced that she was going upstairs to rest and ordered the servants not to disturb her under any circumstances.

After making sure the second floor was empty, Anna Nash quietly made her way to the study.

She had already figured out the passcode to the study. Now, she was going to find out just what secrets it held.

Caleb Blackwood normally didn’t let anyone into his study, not even to clean. Anna Nash had been inside once before, searching for Ivy Sherwood’s mother’s ashes. At the time, there was nothing in the study; she hadn’t found them.

But a few days ago, Silas Blackwood had clearly carried the urn out of this very study. This meant the ashes really were here. She had searched before and found nothing, so it was highly likely there was a secret door or hidden compartment in the room.

If Anna Nash wanted to secure her footing in the Blackwood Family, the child in her belly wouldn’t be enough. She had to get ahold of Caleb Blackwood’s weakness.

Her intuition told her that there had to be a secret hidden in this study; otherwise, Caleb Blackwood wouldn’t be so secretive about it.

With everyone gone today, Anna Nash decided to go in and search again.

She slipped into the study silently. The room was just as it had been, with no changes. Anna Nash searched around but found nothing.

On the desk were just some company documents, nothing classified.

’If there’s really nothing here, why would Caleb Blackwood guard this study so jealously? I’m sure there’s a hiding place in here somewhere.’

Anna Nash went through almost the entire bookshelf but didn’t find anything out of the ordinary.

If there was anything unusual, it was this bookshelf. Why was the shelf closest to the floor so much thicker than the others?

’That’s thick enough to hide something inside.’

Anna Nash carefully removed all the books from the shelf, making sure to take a photo first so she could check later if Caleb Blackwood had left any marks to track tampering.

After the books were removed, the shelf still looked like a normal, flat shelf.

Anna Nash reached out and knocked on it. It seemed to be hollow, not solid wood. This made her even more convinced that there was something inside.

Anna Nash looked around again, trying to find something. Suddenly, after picking up two books, she heard a faint CLICK, as if something had dropped into place.

Looking again at the thick bottom shelf, a small hidden compartment had appeared, with a box resting inside.