Chapter 293 Tolerance
Jean listened as Zenith recalled memories he had long forgotten. Even though he couldn’t remember anything of use to her, it confirmed her suspicions. This bangle belonged to the Eyers.
Someone was selling her family’s belongings right under her nose. Who else besides Edgar would have the gall to do such a thing? Jean left the Rocher Residence with more questions than answers.
Meanwhile, Gigi was crying in pain while delivering the baby. They had injected her with an anesthetic, but it didn’t work. She waited for hours while in pain and was pushed back into her room to wait until she was fully dilated.
The doctor suggested for her to deliver naturally after checking up on her to avoid any unnecessary injuries to the body. Gigi was covered in sweat. She leaned against the pillow, all out of sorts.
“Where is Edgar? Has he arrived yet?” She asked in a weakened voice. “Something came up at work. He’s in a meeting.” A lone tear escaped the corner of her eye. “Why… Why doesn’t he feel sorry for me?”
Winnie sighed helplessly. “Just endure it a bit longer.” Gigi smiled bitterly. “Endure it?”
She had been enduring by herself all this while. “Leave. I want to be alone.” Why didn’t she see Jean the last time she went to Royden Residence? Gigi stared at Winnie’s side profile. She no longer trusted Winnie.
After Winnie had shut the door behind her, Gigi made a phone call. “I promise that I’ll work together with you as long as you promise me one thing. My child needs to be the heir to the Royden empire.”
Meanwhile, Edgar was still in a meeting at the company. Miles was reluctant to hand over the report that said that Eyer Group was about to break into the smart intelligence industry and had already formed their own team.
This was obviously aimed at the Royden Group. “Mr. Royden, Eyer Group’s designs and concept are extremely similar to Project A’s. However, they have announced it ahead of us…”
Which meant that Royden Group could no longer use Project A. An entire year’s worth of labor gone just like that.
Sighs echoed around the table.
First, they had lost the bidding. On top of that, they had also sold it for a million less than they had hoped for. And now, their project was stolen.
“How did Eyer Group find out about Project A? Someone in the company must have leaked it to her!”
While everybody was busy suspecting each other, Miles coughed when he saw the expression on Edgar’s face.
It was most likely that this was stolen right from Edgar’s home office.
Edgar grew somber. He studied the faces of his employees. “I’m going on a business trip to regain the company’s reputation. Right now, our focus needs to be on finding another project that will rival Project A. You have three days.”
“Three days?”
They were all baffled.
The project manager gathered his courage and said, “Mr. Royden, Project A is the fruit of a year’s worth of work. There is no way we can complete it now.”
Edgar nodded. He understood where he was coming from.
A few seconds later, his voice was heard.
“I’ll multiply your year-end bonus by five.”
Their morale immediately increased.
“Thank you sir!”
Edgar left the meeting room. He worked nonstop during the day and into the night. He was exhausted.
“Mr. Royden, you should take a day off.”
Edgar raised a hand. “What’s going on at the hospital?”
“Ms. Reece has not given birth yet. She is now waiting in her room.”
Edgar rubbed his temples. “Ready the car. I’ll need to be back here tomorrow.”
“Yes, sir.”
He would not break his promise to Gigi. He’ll take responsibility for his actions, but he’ll need to attend a ceremony if Royden Group were to recover from their losses.
In a town about eighty kilometers away, there was a newly built primary school. It was called Hope Elementary School. Royden Group had sponsored it.
Edgar had to attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Charitable events like this would help to save Royden Group’s reputation.
He was a generous man. He never held back from donating.
However, he didn’t expect to bump into Jean at the town station.
She was holding a photo and looked to be searching for something.
“Mr. Royden, do you want to talk to her?” Miles asked.
“It’s fine. Let’s go.”
She probably wanted nothing to do with him. What was there to say even if they met?
He suppressed the sadness he was feeling. He no longer had the right to talk to her.
Jean had circled the town for an hour but still couldn’t find the address on the back of the photo.
Someone had sent her a letter with the photograph in it. It was a photo of her dad when he was young. There was also a man that looked like Edgar in the photo.
She had to come to see for herself.
“Miss, you’re not from around here, are you? Do you need help?” Two rough looking men approached her. They cornered her in so she couldn’t escape.
“We grew up here. We can take you wherever you want to go.” One of them pulled her over to him.
He was strong. His nails were caked in dirt.
It was evening, and the sky had started to darken.
Jean glared warningly at them. “Stay away from me.”
She shoved his hand away and ran into an alley, trying to escape.
She made a mistake. It was a dead end.
The men sneered at her as they leisurely made their way toward her. “She’s feisty. We like a bit of fight in them, don’t we?”
“We’ll have lots of fun together,”
They quickly closed the distance between them.
“Don’t come near me!” Jean screamed. “Help! Anyone…”
The men snickered as they leered at her. “It’s no use. You had better save that energy for us.”
Suddenly, they heard the voice of an old man call out, “What are you doing? Leave her alone!”
Another yelled, “I’m calling the police.”
The two men swore and fled over the fence.
Jean breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”
A man in his sixties stood before her. He had a bad leg and limped when he walked.
“Are you okay?” He reached out to help her. He smiled kindly at her.
Jean shook her head. “Thank you for your help.”
The old man sighed and shook his head. “Youngsters nowadays are filled with such evil thoughts. A young girl like yourself needs to be more aware of your surroundings.”
He pointed in another direction, “There’s a police station a couple of blocks that way. You can talk to them if you need any help.”
“Thank you, mister.”
Jean thanked him gratefully. She suddenly remembered the photograph and caught up with him.
The police officers may not be from around here. Besides, her father looked to be quite young in that photo. This photo was taken about twenty years ago.
The old man may know this man if he was from around here.
“Excuse me, do you know these people?”
Jean didn’t really think he would know. She just thought she might as well ask. To her surprise, his expression changed when he saw the photo.
His eyes filled with fear as he stared at her.
He shoved the photo away from him.
“I don’t know them! I’ve never seen them before!”
