Chapter 709
709 Chapter 708
Keira froze for a moment, frowning slightly as she asked, "Oh? What's up?"
The voice on the other end was female, altered through a voice changer. She laughed and said, "You're the one who took Professor Barry Brandt, aren't you?"
Keira raised an eyebrow. "What if I did? And what if I didn't?"
"Impressive, but not quite enough," the woman sneered. "You think just because you've got access to Crera's resources, you can compete with me? Let me tell you, I'm not some pushover in Crera."
Keira's voice remained calm. "So?"
"I'm going to absorb your faction! That's the endgame of this battle for the inheritance of the Olsen family!"
All the heirs had to compete, and the one who emerged victorious would merge the others' forces into their own, bringing this new power back to the Olsen family. No wonder the Olsens kept growing stronger over the years. Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.
Keira felt like she was starting to understand the bigger picture. She glanced at Lewis, who had already started tracing the call.
Drawing out her words deliberately, she asked, "How exactly do you plan to merge with me? Why don't we talk about a partnership instead?"
The woman chuckled. "That's what this call is for. I know you've already teamed up with Fox, though I don't know who she is. If you help me take down Fox, I'll consider accepting your surrender."
"Take down Fox?" Keira shot a glance at Erin, who was standing a bit further away. Erin suddenly felt a chill down her spine, instinctively rubbing the back of her neck before looking over at Keira.
Keira smiled. "It's not entirely out of the question, but how do I know that once Fox is gone, you'll actually let me join you?"
The woman replied, "Take down Fox, and I'll let you come to Country A to meet me."
Keira looked back at Lewis, who nodded. She smiled. "I'll think about it."
After hanging up, she turned to Lewis. "Did you trace it?"
Lewis answered, "It was a VoIP call, so tracking it to a specific person is impossible, but I got the general region."
Keira was familiar with tech too, so she nodded. "But you can at least track the location of the IP."
Lewis grinned. "Exactly. Lion's not in Country A. Can you guess where she is?"
Keira's eyes widened. "Crera?"
Lewis nodded.
Keira's jaw dropped. "She's really in Crera? She's got some nerve!"
Country A was her home turf, but if she was in Crera, that meant she was here alone, deep in enemy territory.
Keira clenched her jaw.
Erin had been right—people in their line of work shouldn't expose their identities. Keira had no idea who this 'Lion' was, but apparently, everyone knew who she was. That kind of imbalance was dangerous.
Lewis patted her shoulder reassuringly. "Don't worry. We may not know who she is yet, but things always have a way of sorting themselves out. We'll deal with her when the time comes."
Keira nodded. "Alright, but until then, everyone needs to be extra careful when going out."
"Don't sweat it," Lewis said with a calm smile. "Crera has strict regulations. She won't dare to make a move here."
—
The next morning, after breakfast with old Mrs. Horton, Keira got ready to head out.
Although she was investing in Jake, this was more of a partnership. And even though it was labeled an 'investment,' she wasn't about to just throw everything his way and stay hands-off.
Today, she was headed to attend their first board meeting together.
However, just as she was about to leave, Jake arrived.
Keira was a bit surprised. "What are you doing here?"
Jake smiled politely. "Just wanted to stop by and say hi to Great-Grandma."
Keira stepped aside to let him in.
Jake walked over to old Mrs. Horton, bowing slightly. "Great-Grandma, I came to check in on you."
Now that he was out of the oppressive atmosphere of the main Horton household, Jake felt like he was finally waking up.
Back then, his father, Oliver, constantly complained about how biased old Mrs. Horton was toward Lewis, accusing her of treating their side of the family poorly. That had made Jake keep his distance from her, too.
But just yesterday, someone had secretly approached him and handed him a bank card with a hundred grand in it. The person was Fiona.
The money was a gift from old Mrs. Horton.
Jake realized she hadn't even known about Keira's investment in him, yet she still gave him money.
A memory flashed in his mind—when he was little, he once snuck into Great-Grandma's house. His father always told him that she was a monster. But when he saw her that day, she had smiled at him kindly, waving him over and offering him a cookie.
It tasted amazing. But when he got home, his father screamed at him and beat him, warning him never to go there again.
Looking back, Jake had always kept his distance from old Mrs. Horton—not out of hate, but because of the way he'd been raised.