Chapter 306: Reversal

Penelope Drake thought she had secured her victory.

Vivian Lowell, however, simply smiled. She propped herself up with effort. Before she could say a word, hurried footsteps echoed from behind her as Vance Wyatt and Julian Faulkner rushed into the room.

“You!”

Penelope’s eyes widened. She likely never expected a CEO like Julian to barge into a women’s restroom!

She had arranged everything perfectly. The restroom door was supposed to lock automatically the moment Vivian stepped inside.

“How did you get in here?!”

With no time to think, Penelope turned to the burly man in black standing behind her. She gritted her teeth and ordered, “Ken! Don’t waste any more time!

“Get rid of this woman, and let’s get out of here!”

Ken remained entirely motionless. Penelope grew irritated, but as a sense of dread washed over her, she slowly backed away, staring at him in disbelief.

“Ken? What is the meaning of this? Don’t forget, I saved your life! If it weren’t for me, you would have died a long time ago!”

As her voice faded, the man in black pulled off his mask, revealing a pair of striking blue eyes.

He glared at Penelope with equal icy detachment. “Yes, if it weren’t for you, I’d be dead. And I almost forgot—you were the one who killed my wife and daughter!

“That whole incident was nothing but your scheme! You murdered my family and pretended to save me, all so you could use me as your pawn!

“What a brilliant performance, Penelope! When you did something so vile, did you never stop to think that one day, everyone would turn against you?”

Penelope bit her lip. Knowing that further words were useless, she turned and bolted toward the small room Ken had emerged from.

She hurled her handbag directly at Ken as a makeshift weapon, hoping to buy herself some time to retreat.

But Ken wasn’t about to give her the chance.

The moment the bag flew at him, he slapped it away. Drawing an object from somewhere on his person, he threw it straight at the back of Penelope’s head.

His aim was impeccable.

The object struck her instantly. Penelope’s eyes rolled back, and she collapsed to the ground. It was over.

Vivian watched the entire scene unfold in silence. Julian walked over and supported her arm. “Are you alright?” he asked.

“I’m fine,” Vivian shook her head, her voice still a bit hoarse.

“Let’s go. We’ll head out first,” Julian said. “Now that Penelope has been caught, those hiding behind her won’t be able to run for much longer.”

Vivian nodded. She wanted to say more, but Julian cut in, “Even though you took some antidotes beforehand, the poison used here was much stronger than we anticipated.

“Whatever you want to say, save it until we are completely safe and sure that you are healthy. Mr. Drake is very worried about you. He’s waiting for us.”

Vivian said no more.

Before leaving, she picked up the group photo. It showed her parents, her mother pregnant with her. Filled with nostalgia, Vivian couldn’t bear to throw it away.

As for Penelope and her husband in the picture?

She could simply find a chance to cut them out later.

A few minutes later, in a guest room at the Grand West Aethelburg Hotel, the doctor gave Vivian a brief examination. After prescribing some medication, he updated Julian and Mr. Drake on her condition.

“Mrs. Faulkner is doing reasonably well. Although she inhaled some anesthetic, a day or two of bed rest will clear it up without causing any lasting harm, nor will it affect the baby.”

Relieved by the doctor’s words, both Julian and Mr. Drake let out a breath.

Mr. Drake spoke with earnest gravity, “Vivian, Julian. You two have been running around exhausted all night. Just stay and rest at the hotel tonight.

“Head back first thing in the morning. Leave the aftermath here to me. Thank you for your hard work, Vivian. You really are…”

Vivian offered Mr. Drake a reassuring smile.

Since her throat hadn’t fully recovered yet, Mr. Drake understood and stepped out of the room without saying much more.

Watching Mr. Drake’s retreating back, a heavy weight finally lifted from Vivian’s heart.

With things reaching this point, everything else should proceed much more smoothly. Tonight had truly been a perilous ordeal.

The events of the evening had been planned out in advance by Vivian and Mr. Drake.

A few nights prior, Vivian had received a message from Mr. Drake regarding tonight’s banquet, mentioning his intent to introduce her to some of his older friends.

She had found the message extremely suspicious the moment she received it.

Publicly, Shelly Drake was the granddaughter Mr. Drake had acknowledged. If he wanted everyone to believe that narrative, why would he arrange such an introduction at a critical time like this?

Either those old friends were absolutely trustworthy, or…

Vivian was no fool. Upon noticing the discrepancy, she found an excuse to go next door to feed the cats and took the opportunity to ask the neighbor’s housekeeper about the situation.

The housekeeper was someone Mr. Drake trusted implicitly. As soon as Vivian spoke with her, the irregularities became glaringly obvious.

“The old master didn’t arrange any such banquet,” the housekeeper had said. “However, Miss Drake… I mean Joy Drake… she mentioned wanting to host a social mixer and invited quite a few people.

“It’s quite a grand affair. Because she extended the invitations personally, many people are willing to give her face and attend, even if they aren’t particularly keen on it. Could it be this banquet?”

The housekeeper didn’t know much more about the inner workings.

But after hearing this, Vivian deduced that this banquet was undoubtedly a trap with a sinister conspiracy lurking behind it!

“Then please find a chance to contact Mr. Drake for me,” Vivian had requested. “If there’s a problem, I definitely won’t go.”

“Alright.” The housekeeper agreed.

A day later, Vivian received a reply. The housekeeper made a special trip to the Faulkner family’s home to find Vivian and discuss the banquet.

After conferring with him, Mr. Drake confirmed that he had never sent Vivian such a message. Moreover, lately, someone had been attempting to wiretap his phone.

Because of this, Mr. Drake had largely refrained from contacting Vivian.

If Vivian had received a text like that, someone must have accessed Mr. Drake’s phone and deliberately sent it to bait her!

Furthermore, through his investigations, Mr. Drake had gradually uncovered clues regarding the events from all those years ago.

He discovered that certain members of the Drake family didn’t actually believe Shelly was his biological granddaughter and were secretly planning to conduct another paternity test.

Mr. Drake deduced that someone might have uncovered Vivian’s true identity and intended to use this banquet to make a move against her. He urged her not to attend.

He insisted that he would handle everything. He wanted to protect his only granddaughter.

Vivian had refused.

She felt that this banquet was actually a prime opportunity.

There was a common saying in Veridia: “How can you catch tiger cubs without entering the tiger’s den?”

For the longest time, Vivian had been hiding behind Mr. Drake. She hadn’t participated in anything; she was simply being protected, which made her feel deeply unsettled.

Mr. Drake was her elder, and he was getting on in years. Dangerous tasks ought to be handled by the younger generation. Her parents were no longer around, so the responsibility of guarding this old man should fall squarely on her shoulders.

Vivian proposed a plan to beat them at their own game.

Mr. Drake had initially been reluctant, but under Vivian’s insistence, he finally agreed.

That was what led to today’s events.

Someone had sought out the female executive, instructing her to deliberately approach Julian and promising her a substantial reward afterward.

The female executive hadn’t known the other party’s true motives. However, because the promise came from the Drake family, she was heavily enticed and agreed to the arrangement.

Everything that followed aligned closely with what Vivian had anticipated.

Because Mr. Drake had been relentlessly investigating the past, many people within the Drake family were now in a highly precarious position, unable to act recklessly.

Left with no other choice, they had to send Penelope!

She was the only one who hadn’t exposed any flaws over the years—and the very person Mr. Drake had been searching for, the one who had hidden the deepest!