Chapter 499
Meeting her father’s gaze , Anabel gripped her fork tightly , hesitated , then nodded . “ Dad , you’ve always been like this . As long as it doesn’t affect your interests , you don’t care about much else . ”
Tom got up in a daze and left . It wasn’t until he got in the car that he gradually came to his senses .
‘ Have I been this selfish all along ? ‘ Tom thought to himself .
He rubbed his temples , took out his phone , and called the HR director . “ Is Aria the guardian of that top female student from Mandino City ? ”
The director replied , “ Yes , Mr. Shaw . Lily is Aria’s sister , but they’re not biologically related . ”
Tom asked for the details , and the director told him what he’d found . Tom was shocked . He never expected a girl around his daughter’s age to come from such a troubled family background .
Tom asked , “ Then what about the other girl ? Is Aria her guardian , too ? ”
The director replied , “ Does Aria have another sister ? I’m sorry , Mr. Shaw . I wasn’t aware of that . I’ll look into it immediately . ”
“ No , forget it . I’ve already met that top female student . She’s not joining Shaw Family Group . Focus on recruiting other students ,” Tom said .
“ Got it , ” the director replied .
With Anabel joining them , the group of five set off toward the hills behind the villa .
Just as they reached the entrance , Clayton hurried over , looking anxious . “ Ms. Saxon , may I speak with you privately ? ”
Aria turned to Owen . “ You guys go ahead and wait for me downstairs , ” she said .
“ Alright , ” Owen replied .
As the others left , Clayton hurried over and said urgently , “ Ms. Saxon , our security team has apprehended some suspicious individuals lurking near th estate . They claim to be targeting you . ”
Aria frowned . “ Let’s go check it out . ”
Clayton promptly led the way . “ Right this way , Ms. Saxon . ”
As Aria walked , she texted Owen : [ Go ahead with the kids . Got something to handle . I’ll be right there . ]
Owen replied promptly : [ Got it . ]
As Clayton and Aria stepped out of the elevator , a security guard rushed over in a panic . “ Mr. Douglas , they got away . ”
Clayton’s expression darkened instantly , and he roared angrily , “ What good are you ? How could you let them escape ! ”
‘ Bad enough they got away , but they just had to wait until I brought Ms. Saxon here before saying anything , Clayton thought angrily.
Aria said , “ Let me see the surveillance footage . ”
The security guard just stood there frozen . Clayton snapped , “ What are you standing around for ? Get mov
“ Okay , ” the security guard said and left .
Moments later , Clayton received the surveillance footage . It showed the same two guys Aria had dealt with last time .
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499
Aria’s lips curved in a cold smirk . “ I’ll handle this myself . Sorry for the trouble , Clayton . ”
Clayton quickly replied , “ Just doing my job , Ms. Saxon . ”
Aria thought , ‘ These two look like amateurs . They’re not some professionals sent to deal with me . Just Olivia’s decoys . Unable to find a chance to strike at Pearl , Olivia sent out those two useless pawns again to muddy the waters . ‘
After that , Aria headed to the back hills of the estate to rejoin the others .
Owen lowered his voice as Aria approached . “ Those two again ? ”
Aria glanced at Pearl and gave a slight nod . “ Yeah , ” she replied .
Owen scoffed , “ Seems Russell’s influence in the Wolfshade Syndicate isn’t all that impressive if he can’t even handle something this simple . ”
“ If he can’t handle it , we’ll deal with it ourselves , ” Aria said confidently , “ Let’s set a trap and catch them all in one go . ”
After spending a few days at the summer villa , Anabel went home , while Aria and the others spent another two weeks traveling around .
Pearl continued with her classes . Lily was interested in the banjo , so Aria signed her up for lessons .
Aría dropped Lily off at the training center . “ Call me before class ends , and I’ll pick you up , ” she said .
“ Okay , Aria ,” Lily replied .
Aria made a U – turn and drove off , her eyes briefly scanning the rearview mirror before heading to a shooting range .
AD