The Cherished Wife

"Well..." Ronald hesitated, but Charles took the phone.

"Send the video to my phone," Charles instructed before hanging up.

Noelle's demeanor was clearly disturbed. The moment Charles took the phone, she seemed dazed.

Although she had been groggy that day, she was still aware of what had happened to her. Now, she felt lost and unsure of what to do as she did not know who had done it. She looked at Charles, her eyes pleading for help. "Charles!"Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

"Don't worry," Charles said, holding the steering wheel with one hand while keeping the other around Noelle's hand.

"Nelly, don't be afraid. I'm here!" He gently squeezed her hand to reassure her. "Let me handle this."

Ronald quickly sent the video over. It was short but clear enough to identify who was in it.

Noelle was lying restlessly on a bed. The video was taken up close, probably with a phone. At that time, Noelle was still unconscious, and her movements were all subconscious. She stared at the person on the video, and her face turned pale. "It's Simon. It has to be Simon."

She remembered being alone in the room with Simon after being drugged by her closest family members and handed over to him. When she groggily woke up, she had been holding onto Simon.

Noelle bit her lip while shaking her head. "It... It must be Simon. Why would he do this? How did this video end up with Mr. Wells?"

Panic filled Noelle's heart. "It's a video of me. Why did Mr. Wells...?"

"I had Ronald monitor Simon and the Shaw family'swork," Charles explained. He had pieced together some of the puzzle from the scattered clues. "This wasn't sent to Ronald. Simon probably sent it to the Shaw family."

Simon sent it to the Shaw family?

Noelle turned even paler, not reassured by Charles' words. "Do you mean to say that Simon is using this to blackmail or negotiate with my family because of what did to him?"

"That's a possibility," Charles agreed while squinting his eyes. He had not expected Simon to pull such a stunt.

Although the video did not show Noelle and Simon doing anything inappropriate, it could still damage Noelle's reputation if it was deliberately released.

"What should we do?" Noelle was already panicking. "They failed last time, and now, Simon is threatening my parents with this video. I'm worried they'll-"

"Don't be afraid," Charles interrupted, pulling the car over to the side of the road.

He tapped the steering wheel with both hands and then opened the car window.

Noelle looked at Charles. He was probably thinking about how to resolve this. He pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, taking one out but not lighting it.

Holding the cigarette between his long fingers, he finally asked, "Do you want to go racing?"

"Racing?" Noelle was taken aback, not understanding Charles' intent. "You want to go racing? Now?"

Charles raised an eyebrow, his fingers tapping rhythmically on the steering wheel. His deep eyes looked ahead through the windshield.

Under the dim streetlights, the shadows of trees were slanted, occasionally rustling with the wind. "Right now."

Noelle gasped. "Now? But where will you get a racing car? And who will race with you?"

Charles smirked. "Who said I was going racing?" He unbuckled his seatbelt.

Noelle was still puzzled. She watched as Charles leaned over and unbuckled her seatbelt too.