Rachel and Andy headed upstairs to the study.Rachel closed the door behind them once they were
inside.As she walked closer to Andy, she pulled a bank card out of her pocket and held it out to him.
"There are five million dollars in this account," she said.
Andy's eyes widened when he looked at the card.
When he heard what she said, his eyebrows nearly shot up into his hairline.
"Miss Bennet, where did you get so much money?"
He was so surprised because he knew that Rachel was down on her luck when it came to money.He
knew she only had this villa, and 1% shares of the Bennet Group.
Apart from this, she had next to nothing.
As far as he was concerned, she'd be lucky to have even one hundred thousand dollars in her account
at this stage.
In the past, when things had been going well, five million dollars would have seemed like a trivial
amount.
But now, with all that was currently going on, five million dollars felt like a fortune.
Rachel grabbed his quivering hand and shoved the card into his palm.She curled his fingers tightly
around it, then let him go.
"You don't need to know where I got the money from.All you need to know for now is that I got it
legally.Just take it.Use it for emergencies and if something happens to the Bennet Group or your law
firm.You don't need to ask my permission to use it; consider this me granting you all the rights to it.I
don't know when I'll be able to come back here.So please, take it."!
What she said was true.The five million dollars was all legal.She'd asked Quintin to lend her the
money; in fact, she had only asked for two million.
But Quintin had been only too excited to help his boss.
He'd agreed without hesitation and transferred the required amount, plus an extra three million, to
Rachel's account.
"I… I don't need all this money… I'm only running a small law firm.But Miss Bennet, you can be rest
assured that I will keep an eye on the Bennet Group for you.You don't have to worry about a thing,"
Andy said, standing up a little straighter and raising his chin.
"There is one last thing," Rachel said.
"Anything."
"I know you used to work in the legal department of the Bennet Group.Do you still have those
connections? I know you quit quite a while ago, but I was just wondering," Rachel said slowly.
"In all honesty, I'm not sure.I haven't spoken to anyone from there in a very long time.If I may ask, Miss
Bennet, why do you want to get into contact with them?"
Andy asked with a frown.
Rachel went to sit at the desk.She leaned back in the chair and comfortably rested her arms on the
desk in front of her.
"I want to go over all the project contracts that Jack and Caroline handled over the last twenty-four
years,"she said, pursing her lips and raising her eyebrows.
At that, the two of them entered in a deep, important conversation.
Afterwards, Rachel returned to the Sue Garden.
As she got to the door, she heard the sounds of muffled voices talking.
She recognized them as two maids.She then stopped to listen.
"I'm really pissed off.After all the shameless things that woman has done, I can't believe Lukas told me
not to say anything bad about her.I mean, what has she done to bewitch Lukas?" one maid said angrily.
"What do you think?" the other maid sneered.
"It must have been something truly nasty.Lukas was always too soft on her when she was Mr.Sullivan's
wife.But even now that they're divorced, he's still protecting her.There must be something going on
between them!"
"You mean to say they're…?" The first maid couldn't even finish her sentence.
She was too shocked at what her companion had said.
"It makes sense, doesn't it? Why else would he always be so nice to her? It makes me wonder who the
real father of her baby is…"
"Don't talk such nonsense!" the first maid cried out.
She couldn't believe her friend was saying such scandalous things.
"It's not nonsense! I have my reasons!" the second maid said stubbornly.
She fixed her friend with a serious, piercing gaze.
Rachel had stopped to listen to the gossip, hoping it would be something lighthearted and laughable.
But the longer she listened, the darker her expression became.
It made sense now why Lukas had suspicions of her having an affair.
Obviously, it was because these two maids were gossiping about her.
She gritted her jaw and let herself in as quietly as she could.
Then she snuck up to stand behind the two maids.
With her hands held behind her back and a pleasant smile on her face she said, "Oh? You have
reasons? Well, I'd like to hear them."
The two maids didn't realize that it was Rachel standing behind them; they thought she was another
maid.
They didn't even glance at her to see who she was.
The maid that had made such bold claims raised her chin arrogantly and said, "Well, firstly, Mr.Sullivan
has always hated Rachel.I'm almost certain she lied and cheated her way into his bed that night.And!
They only had sex once! What are the odds of…"
She trailed off as she was suddenly taken by the strangest feeling that something was wrong.
Her expression creased thoughtfully.
Who'd asked the question? Simultaneously, the two maids jumped around to face Rachel.
Their faces paled when they saw her, and their eyes widened in horror..
"What… What are you doing here?" the second maid said, swallowing heavily as a nervous sweat
broke out on her forehead.
"Where else am I supposed to be?" Rachel said in the most innocent voice she could muster.
"Please, don't let me stop you.I want to hear the rest.I'm listening."
The maids looked at each other, terror clearly evident all over their faces.
But the more arrogant maid of the two quickly gathered her wits about her and said, "I don't want to
discuss it anymore.
Who do you think you are? Why should we listen to you? Come on.
Let's get to work."
She grabbed the other maid's hand and started dragging her away.
Rachel stepped in front of them and held her hand up to stop them.
The innocent, fake curious expression on her face had disappeared, to be replaced by a cold light.
"How about you finish what you were about to say?"
"Who do you think you are to demand that of me, Rachel?" the maid said.
"Who do I think I am?"
Rachel narrowed her eyes at the maid and stepped closer.
As fast as a striking cobra, she reached out and grabbed the maid's chin.
"I am the biological mother of the future heir of the Sullivan Group.That is who I know I am.Who do you
think you are to tarnish my name behind my back?"
The maid averted her eyes, choosing instead to look down at the floor.
"I didn't! That's absolute nonsense!" she whined.
Rachel let go of her chin, roughly shoving her away.
"Right.So let's settle this then.You have two choices in this matter, as far as I can see.Either you
apologize to me right now, or we go to Lukas and ask him to add some insight into this matter.I'm sure
he'll be able to clear up whether I'm talking nonsense or not."
"No!" the maid said in a shrill voice.
"Everyone knows that you and Lukas are having an affair."
The rest of her words were lost as a sharp, solid slap rang through the air.
Rachel's hand stung a little from how hard she'd slapped the maid, but it was worth it.
The sound was so loud that it brought Lukas running out to see what was going on.
"Miss Bennet, what happened?" he asked as he approached.
"How dare you lay a hand on me?" the maid cried, covering her burning cheek with her hands.
She looked absolutely furious.
Rachel briefly glanced at Lukas, then back at the maid.
"How dare I?" she sneered.
Lukas immediately realized what had happened.
He'd already spoken to these two maids about gossiping about Rachel behind her back, but it seemed
that they had paid him no heed.
"You two! Apologize to Miss Bennet! Right now!" he said strictly.
The more timid maid instantly went even paler than before.
She lowered her eyes to the ground so she wouldn't have to look into Rachel's furious stare anymore.
Her lips trembled as she started to form an apology, but before she could say anything, her companion
piped up again.
The second maid pointed an accusing finger at Rachel and seethed, "Lukas! She's the one who
slapped me! Why should we apologize to her?"
"You…" Lukas' face darkened.
"What's going on here?" said a low, cold voice near the door.
Rachel felt her skin prickle at the sound, and she was sure she could feel his eyes boring into her.
"Mr.Sullivan, you're back," Lukas said and turned around to face him.
Before he could say anything else, the arrogant maid threw herself to her knees in front of Victor.She
gazed up at him with eyes shimmering with tears, making herself look as pathetic as possible.
"Mr.Sullivan, please help me!"
Victor looked down at her with that neutral expression he wore so well.
But that changed when he saw the angry red handprint on her cheek.
His face darkened as he said, "Who hit you?"
The maid reached up and covered the mark with her hands.
Her lips were quivering as though she were struggling to speak, and her body was shaking.
But it was all for show, that much was obvious.
In a halting voice she said, "Tell me!"
Victor cut in roughly.His icy eyes were glittering with impatience at her show.
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