Chapter 397


    On a sweltering afternoon, everyone was cooped up at home, unwilling to face the zing sun.


    Mia was enjoying the cool of the air conditioning indoors. She wasying back in her chair. Her eyes


    were shielded by a sleeping mask. In this way, she could enjoy the rays of sunlight.


    Passersby couldn’t help but slow their pace, not daring to disturb the preciousdy of the Andre family.


    But Mia wasn’t asleep. Her mind was a whirlwind of thoughts, thinking of Cooper one moment and Leo


    the next.


    Molly’s words, as well as the sight of the pregnant girl she had encountered a few days ago, kept


    ying on her mind.


    In a few days, she was due for her prenatal check-up. If everything went ording to n, her family


    might switch hospitals just to avoid running into her.


    Mia’s hand rested on her belly, softly patting it. “What do you reckon, baby? Should Mama go snooping


    around to find out which hospital they’re going to?”


    There was no response from her belly.


    “So you agree, right?”


    The little one was basking in the warmth of the sun, shielded by her belly.


    The sun war scortching, but it seemed unable to prate the old Walton family mansion.


    As soon as someone stepped into the Walton residence, a chill would creep up on him. Whether it was


    due to theck of lighting, the direction of the house, or perhaps one’s mood, it was impossible not to


    get goosebumps at the Walton’s.


    And yet, Finley was in love with life here. In the remote mountain suburbs stood a vi, home to only


    one - Holly. He spent all his days within these four walls.


    Tom spoke up, “Boss, I found two potential businesses on the brink of bankruptcy, but they’re too small.


    If we act rashly, we might get caught. I did find apany that we could potentially use. They’re


    generating regr profits and as long as we handle it well, we won’t get caught. Thepany is


    Ashford Inc., owned by the Ashford family. The current leader is Jack Ashford.”


    Finley had never heard of thispany before. “What do they do?”


    “They’re in the fashion industry. They’repetitors with Chade Inc. The Ashford family has always


    wanted to forge an alliance with the Byrne family through marriage. They want Kendrick and Chad as


    backing. But the Byrnes don’t have a good impression of the Ashfords. They won’t allow Molly to marry


    Jack.”


    The Byrnes were out of reach. If they approached now, it would only push the Ashfords further away.


    “What’s their situation like?”


    Tom exined theplex situation of the Ashford family to Finley who immediately rejected the idea.


    “Tooplicated, not worth considering.”


    Tom hesitated before trying to persuade Finley again. “The current decision-maker in thepany is


    Jack. As long as he is easy to control, his parents shouldn’t pose a problem.”


    “The Marshal family is beyond saving. We urgently need a new puppet. Boss, why don’t you meet with


    the Ashfords, and see what Jack is like, before deciding whether or not to choose them?”


    Tom’s words left Finley in a state of indecision. “Arrange a private meeting with Jack for me.”


    “Understood!”


    ...


    Back at Andre’s office in Cedillo Inc., he received a call from his subordinate. “Sir, we have confirmed


    that Tom does indeed have a leaf tattoo.”


    Andre’s brow furrowed slightly. It was indeed him. “Keep watching. Notify me immediately of any


    changes.”


    “Understood, sir.”


    After hanging up, Andre immediately dialed Mars. “Mars, I need you to dig up everything on the Walton


    family from the past fifty years.”


    Mars retorted, “Bro, am I your personal assistant?”


    Andre replied, “This is about a kidnapping case from sixteen years ago.”


    Mars was unimpressed. “What’s that got to do with me?”


    “Too busy to help now?”


    Mars had a demand of his own. “I want to be your son’s godfather.”


    The thought of Andre’s son, who would surely resemble Andre, calling him “Godpapa” all day brought a


    blissful smile to Mars’ face. Of course, he didn’t dare voice this out loud.


    Unable to outdo Andre, he figured he could at least have the upper hand over his son.


    As for Mars’ little scheme, Andre already saw right through it. He squinted his eyes, and asked him,


    “You want a son?”


    Mars, in his naive ignorance, nodded. “Yes.”


    Without thinking too much about why Andre was asking this, Mars simply nodded.


    Andre smirked slyly. “Alright then.” When it came to schemes, Mars still had a lot to learn.


    Suddenly, Jack received a peculiar invitation. After much contemtion, he decided to ept.


    Upon his arrival, he was immediately frisked. Jack felt ufortable. He was the one being invited, so


    why were they confiscating his phone and other electronic devices?


    Tom warned, “Mr. Jack, you’re a smart man. You must know why you were invited here. For both our


    sakes, I hope you’ll cooperate.”


    After a moment’s hesitation, Jack agreed. Handing over his phone, car keys, and even his watch, Jack


    was then escorted onto an inconspicuous van.


    The whole scene was witnessed by the person tasked with tailing Tom.


    Text property ? N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org.


    “Sir, there’s a new development. Ashford Inc.’s Mr. Jack met with Tom. Jack handed over all his


    electronic devices and was frisked before being led onto a white van.”


    The familiar name was the same one his older brother had mentioned during dinner. “Switch personnel,


    and continue surveince.”


    As Andre calmed his mind, a timeline web began to form in his head. His thumb and forefinger rubbed


    together as if trying to unravel the mystery before him.


    The Mastin family, the Marshal family, now the Ashford Inc., and the Walton family.


    If Finley was the man behind the now non-existent Marshal Group, and now the Marshal family had


    be a Calder Corporation’s division, he would naturally be looking for a new conglomerate to


    amass wealth from.


    The Mastin family had once been closer to Finley, and it was only due to the bankruptcy of Mastin


    Corporation that the Marshal family made their move.


    Wyatt had once worked under Officer Rubin, who was Mr. Marlow’s protege, and Mr. Marlow was the


    one who rose to the top after Finley stepped down.


    Everything pointed towards Finley.


    Meanwhile, Chad received a picture. The picture he had sent to his coworkers on his first day of work


    was modified ording to his request.


    The driver who had hit him had a mole by his eye, which always distracted them. He had asked his


    colleagues to remove the mole out. In this way, it could reveal the possible appearance of the driver.


    Chad was holding the picture in the office. The image ovepped perfectly with the man who had


    appeared at the hospital!


    At this moment, he received a message from Andre on his phone. [Watch out for Ashford Inc.]


    Then, a picture of Jack and Tom meeting was sent to Chad. Chad also took a picture of the photo he


    had investigated and sent it to Andre.


    As evening fell, Andre had already gone home early.


    “Oh, you are home early today. Are you sleeping in the study or the guest room tonight?” Andre’s wife


    sauntered over, taking advantage of her husband’s affection, intentionally provoking her husband with a


    cheeky remark.


    Andre raised his hand to stroke his little wife’s lips. His eyes held a suggestive look, and his voice


    slightly rose. He said with a hint of a smile, “Did I kiss you too softly this morning, that your little mouth


    doesn’t know what pain is?”


    Mia opened her mouth, about to bite him.


    Andre quickly withdrew his hand, putting on a serious demeanor. He asked, “Where’s dad?”


    The disgruntled little Mia huffed in a haughty manner, “My mouth hurts. I’m not speaking.”