The Source of the Problem
Shocked, Anastasia couldn’t help covering her mouth. The young boy beside her had seen it as well,
and he exclaimed in surprise, “Mommy, look!”
Elliot’s car had come to a stop beside the truck then. After he got out of the driver’s seat, he went and
opened the door Anastasia was at. “Come on,” he said, prompting her to step out.
Still astonished, she asked, “Is this a gift from you?”
“This is the prize you won during the annual celebration!” He gazed at her with deep eyes and smiled.
“Of course the boss has to make it come true.”
Upon hearing that, Anastasia went red in the face. She couldn’t even begin to describe her joy. She
had to admit that the man had his way of pleasing women.
“Okay! I will gladly accept it, then.” She had stopped rejecting him out of courtesy because at some
point, Anastasia was sure that Elliot was the one.
She could take a present from him without feeling like she needed to justify her actions.
“Mommy, Mr. Presgrave is so kind to you!” Jared also said something nice on Elliot’s behalf in hopes
that she would be so touched she immediately agreed to marry him that night.
Anastasia got out of the car, and after standing in front of the glass case to admire the new sports car,
she got her phone and took a photo of it for commemorative purposes.
“It is late now. I will accompany you to test out the car tomorrow,” Elliot suggested.
She quickly nodded and answered, “Sure!” The car was exactly the way she liked it, in terms of both
appearance and color.
It was safe to say that she had fallen in love with it.
Meanwhile, Aliona was at Lucas’ villa that night. She was slightly angered when she questioned him,
“Did you go to Riley behind my back? Are you not afraid that Elliot will find out about our relationship?”
The man’s face dimmed as he heard her accusatory tone. “Miss Dora, I suggest you finish your father’s
plan as soon as you can!”
“What did Father say?” she asked again.
“He told me that you can’t get yourself out of this as long as you don’t get done with it. We are all going
to die because of you.”
Aliona felt her heart quiver at that. She knew full well that Riley raised her for the sole purpose of
carrying out his plan. Their ‘father-daughter relationship’ wouldn’t mean a thing, and could never save
her life if she didn’t do as he planned.
Through gritted teeth, she told Lucas, “I am already planning it out. I won’t let Father wait too long.”
Her face was glum after she came out of Lucas’ villa. She asked her subordinate who was sitting
beside her, “How is the arrangement going?”
“We have done the necessary preparations. All we are doing now is wait for an opportunity to kidnap
Anastasia’s son.”
“Plan it out carefully,” she instructed with just a few words.
Her goal this time was to target Anastasia’s son because a child was easier to kidnap. Plus, Aliona
detested Anastasia. She knew that kidnapping Anastasia’s son would tear the woman apart, and if
Elliot loved her, he would definitely try to save her son no matter what.
Lucas’ plan this time involved a lot of risky operations, but she had to do it to get Riley out of prison as
soon as she could.
Back at Elliot’s villa, Elliot received a call from the police right after he took a shower.
“Young Master Presgrave, please be informed that a close friend of your father’s, Lucas Dora, has
come to visit Riley Presgrave this afternoon.”
His eyes showed a slight surprise after he heard the officer’s words. Lucas and Riley grew up together,
but Lucas cut off contact with him at a later time. Elliot had never expected that Lucas would drop by
Riley’s.
Curious about what went on, Elliot asked, “How did their conversation go?”
“They were just like old friends. They only greeted each other without saying anything of importance in
particular.”
“Thank you.” Elliot hung up the phone. He began to recall what happened at the last charity auction
held by Lucas. He kept thinking about which drink it was that must have been laced with drugs. It took
him a while to finally remember how the last drink he had was brought to him by Lucas himself.
That glass of alcohol was the true source of the problem.
Elliot didn’t understand why Lucas would help his daughter do such a shameless thing. Lucas used to
be a top dog in the business world, until the moment his son had wasted and lost all the family fortune.
He had been getting by in recent years through investments and connections he had made.
Elliot truly hoped that Lucas wouldn’t involve him in his plans.
But then again, was Lucas really only greeting an old friend when he went to Riley, or did he have
some other ideas up his sleeve?
Elliot then immediately gave Rey a call. “Investigate Lucas’ son who is abroad for me and also, find out
the blood relation between Lucas and his illegitimate daughter, Aliona Dora.”
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