Chapter 87

 

The students watching nearby completely lost it.

Gasps and whispers broke out all around them.

"Holy crap... are those rubies?"

"That's their idea of a 'small token'?"

"Who are the Fosters, anyway?"

"Wait, isn't that Adrian's ex? The girl everyone used to call the prettiest girl on campus? I thought her family wasn't rich."

"Yeah. I heard Adrian was the one paying for everything."

"Doesn't look like it," someone muttered. "Look at her car. Look at her clothes and jewelry. Everything she has looks expensive. Honestly, her stuff looks better than his."

"Exactly. Maybe that whole story came from Adrian himself. His car might not even be worth as much as that jewelry. Could he afford something like that?"

Every whispered comment landed like an invisible slap across Adrian's face.

He couldn't hear every word, but he caught enough. The more he heard, the hotter his humiliation and anger burned.

More importantly—

What the hell was going on?

He had just warned Elena that the Foster family would come after her. Seconds later, their butler had arrived carrying antique jewelry worth a fortune and bowed to her in front of everyone.

Ryan's sister even wanted to apologize to her personally.

Adrian knew who Ryan was. He also knew the Foster family's standing. If he hadn't known Victoria, his own family would barely have had any reason to interact with people at that level.

And yet Ryan's sister was treating Elena with such extraordinary deference.

Why?

Just because Elena had found herself some wealthy older man?

Adrian's expression shifted between anger and disbelief, his chest tightening unpleasantly.

Victoria was even more shocked.

Unlike most of the students around them, she had seen enough rare jewelry and antiques to have a much better sense of what was sitting inside that rosewood box.

The Foster family was actually willing to give something like that away?

They might not be comparable to the Sterlings, but they were still an enormously wealthy family in their own right. Why would they lower themselves this far for an ordinary college student?

Then another possibility occurred to her.

Maybe the man behind Elena had leverage over the Foster family.

Perhaps he had discovered some devastating weakness in their business—or even evidence of illegal activity.

Families whose fortunes were built on large-scale supply chains and logistics rarely had perfectly clean books. There were always contracts, accounts, permits, or transactions that could become dangerous if the wrong person started digging.

Victoria glanced at Elena and silently shook her head.

Dirty tricks.

Sooner or later, she would get burned playing with people like that.

"...All right."

Elena, meanwhile, paid no attention to anyone else.

She looked at the antique ruby set and understood what Ryan's sister was really telling her.

She intended to draw a clear line between herself and her brother.

"I'll accept the jewelry, and I'll keep the letter."

Elena took the box without closing the door on the other woman completely.

"As for meeting her, my schedule is pretty full right now. I'll let you know when I have time."

If Ryan's sister really did come to visit, Elena didn't exactly have a place of her own suitable for receiving someone like her.

She would probably have to meet her at Richard's estate.

Which meant she would need to mention it to Richard first.

"Yes, of course! Whatever works best for you, Miss Hayes."

The butler visibly relaxed once Elena accepted the gift. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, bowed again, and respectfully backed away.

Elena opened the driver's door and got in.

A moment later, the Audi's engine came to life with a deep growl, and the black car pulled away from the curb.

After returning to Richard's estate, Elena ate a quick lunch and headed straight for the gym.

By the time she finished working out, showered, and came downstairs for dinner, night had already fallen.

Steady footsteps sounded outside the dining room.

Elena's face immediately lit up.

She hurried over and threw herself straight into Richard's arms.

"You're early today!"

Richard caught her easily, lifting her slightly before lowering his head to kiss her.

"I was worried someone might get impatient waiting for me."

Elena rubbed her cheek against his chest, then looked up at him.

"I know you're busy doing important things. Even if I get impatient, I'll still wait for you."

They settled at the table as dinner was brought out.

"The Foster family's butler came to see me at school today," Elena said, picking up her spoon. "He brought me a set of antique ruby jewelry that looks ridiculously expensive. He also said Ryan's sister wants to come apologize to me in person."

She tilted her head.

"Do you think I should meet her?"

Richard had been cutting into the short ribs on his plate. His hands paused briefly.

He looked up, his gaze resting on Elena's flushed face for a moment before a faint, indulgent smile touched his lips.

"That depends entirely on what you want."

He leaned back comfortably.

"If you find it annoying, don't see her. If you're curious, then meet her."

A trace of amusement entered his voice.

"You can treat it as practice."

"Practice for what?"

"Managing long-term relationships. Dealing with people."

Elena stared at him.

"She's about to become chair of the family company. She's going to be a major figure in her own right. Why do you make her sound like some kind of training exercise?"

Richard raised an eyebrow.

"Plenty of people would love the opportunity to be your training exercise."

Elena was speechless.

After a moment, she sighed.

"Fine. I'll think about it."

She took another bite before remembering something.

"Oh, right. What happened with Ryan after that?"

"I'll have one of my assistants contact you," Richard said. "Ask him directly."

Ryan Foster simply wasn't important enough for Richard to spend his time following every development personally.

Less than three minutes later, one of Richard's assistants sent an encrypted investigative report directly to Elena's inbox.

She continued eating as she opened it, scrolling through the document beneath the soft dining-room lights.

The report, compiled by Sterling Consortium's corporate intelligence team, was remarkably detailed.

It laid out what had happened to Ryan after he left home, where he had been found, and what happened afterward.

According to the report, Ryan had briefly regained consciousness after being discovered. He immediately begged the people who found him not to call the police and promised them a large sum of money if they kept quiet.

They didn't report the incident and instead got him to the hospital.

Ryan reacted much the same way there.

Elena frowned as she read.

Then she sent the assistant a message.

"About the boy Ryan bullied back in high school—the one who jumped from the building. Did he jump on his own, or did Ryan push him?"

The reply came quickly.

"Miss Hayes, there was surveillance footage of the incident. The boy jumped on his own. No one else was near him at the time."

Elena thought for a moment, then typed again.

"If the police reopened the old bullying case and uncovered everything Ryan did to him—the cigarette burns, the freezing water, forcing him to drink toilet water—would any of that be enough to put Ryan in prison now?"

The answer was immediate.

"No."

Another message followed.

"That was one of the most frustrating parts of the case. Ryan was still a minor when it happened, and based on the evidence available at the time, the abuse never resulted in injuries serious enough to support the kind of criminal charge that could still put him in prison now."

"The school intervened, the families reached a substantial civil settlement, and the matter was buried before it ever developed into a serious criminal case."

Elena stared at the screen.

"So if that's the case..."

She paused, thinking, then continued typing.

"What exactly is he afraid of?"

She glanced over the report again.

"His victim's family beat him badly enough to put him in intensive care. If Ryan went to the police now, he'd be the victim in this incident. But instead, he'd rather keep quiet."

Her fingers moved across the screen.

"Either he's planning to retaliate against that family privately... or he did something even worse back in high school. Something he knows could still put him in prison if the police started digging."

The reply came a moment later.

"I'll keep looking into it."

Elena hesitated, then raised her head toward the man sitting across from her.

Richard noticed immediately.

"What is it?"

Elena briefly explained the exchange, then looked a little sheepish.

"He works for you. I wasn't really trying to order your people around or anything..."

Richard watched her cautious expression, amusement and affection filling his eyes.

"Silly girl."

He reached across the table and took her slightly cool hand in his.

"My people are yours to use."

His thumb brushed lightly over her fingers.

"If there's someone you want investigated, have them investigated. If there's someone you want dealt with, tell them what you need."

Elena looked at him.

"You don't need to report every little thing to me first," Richard continued.

He leaned slightly closer, his voice calm.

"Whatever you want to do, do it."

His fingers tightened gently around hers.

"I'll always support you."