Chapter 274: Chapter 275

Richard was dressed in a black suit, looking quite like Wayne. However, they appeared to be two completely different people: Richard seemed much friendlier than Wayne.

Anna glanced at him, but she sensed that his gentleness was deceptive.

She said, “No, thanks. | need to return to the office and then place the order at the factory. It’s the only way | can repay the Joan Group’s trust in us.”

Richard said with a smile, “Oh, it seems that you really take your job very seriously. I’ve heard that my cousin now works for the Gabriel Group. Is that true? | didn’t expect that you’d be able to persuade someone as conceited as him to work in a small company. He appears to be willing to do whatever you want him to.”

Anna was irritated by Richard, who was speaking in such a strange tone. Impatiently, she said, “Okay, stop asking me any more questions. | think you’d better do what you have to do. Otherwise, you will be fired again, just like before.”

Hearing that, Richard’s face darkened, and his tone became gloomy.

“Oh, it appears that he would tell you everything,” he said.

Til find out from someone else if he doesn’t tell me. | used to work for the Carousel Group, so I’m familiar with the company.”

Anna said.

Richard snorted and remarked, “Well, you only know what’s on the surface instead of knowing the facts.”

“Actually, | don’t need to know. If you’ve lost once, chances are you’ll lose again, or even three times.”

Richard lifted his chin and said coldly, “I’ve never lost. I’ve just spent the last three years strengthening myself. So, | have no idea what it means to lose, and | refuse to admit that | have lost.”

“What exactly do you mean?” Ann asked, her brow furrowed.

Richard didn’t explain anything further but said, “Well, since you don’t want to have lunch with me, I’m going to leave.”

He then took a stride into the elevator.

Anna remained motionless, the words Richard had just said echoed in her mind. She had the impression that his words had a deeper meaning. Plus, she had no idea what he meant by “strengthening myself.”

Anna then slowly walked out of the hall and reflected on these two words.

Several minutes later, Mona pulled up in the Gabriel Group parking garage and reminded Anna that they had arrived.

It was at that moment that Anna suddenly realized what Richard meant.

Seeing that Anna didn’t seem to hear her, Mona said again, “Miss Gabriel, we’ve arrived at the company. Aren’t you going to get out of the car?”

Anna regained her composure and said, “Thank you. Mona, will you please deliver these papers to Andrew for me? I’ve got some other things to do.”

“Okay,” Mona said after a brief pause.

Anna then drove directly to the Military Academy.

Ryan was attending lectures at the time.

The university was different from others. It was much more strictly managed. As a result, Anna was unable to drive her car into campus.

Anna waited for Ryan to arrive on his bike for ten minutes at the entrance.

“What’s the matter, Anna? You told me something emergency happened.” Ryan asked Anna as soon as he stopped his bike.

‘j suspect that Richard was the one who harmed Matthew before,” Anna said immediately. Then she told Ryan about what Richard had said to her in the hall.

Ryan frowned briefly as he pondered over Richard’s words.

He looked up at the sky for a while, patted the back of his bike, and said, “Hop on, Anna. I’ll show you around my school. And then we’ll find a quiet place to talk about it in detail.”

“Huh?” Anna froze when she saw the back of the bike.

Ryan joked, “What’s the problem? You think my bike is too shabby, don’t you? If you could drive into the school, I’ll show you the way. Well, the rules at my school are so strict that even the headmaster is not permitted to drive in.”

“All right, let’s go.” Anna hesitated for a moment before sitting on the back of his bike.

The reason why Anna was hesitant was not that she didn’t want to sit on Ryan’s bike but because of what she was wearing.

She was dressed in a long beige cashmere coat and a dark green lace skirt that reached her calves.

Right after she got on the bike, Anna clutched the coat tightly, so it wouldn’t get churned inside the wheels.

Anna immediately stood on the ground when they arrived at the cafe. However, the wire from the bike hooked into her skirt and tore a large gash.

Ryan said as he felt sorry, “Ah! I’m sorry! Anna, are you okay?”

Anna chuckled and said, “That’s all right. Before | sat on it, | knew my dress was going to fall apart.”

“I’ll get you another one later, okay?”

“Oh, no, thank you. It’s a pricey skirt.”

“I can still afford it.”

Then they entered the school’s only cafe and took a seat in the corner.

“Two caramel macchiatos, please. Iced!” Ryan said.

Just as he finished, a girl behind the counter growled, “Are you sure? It’s quite cool out there. Only morons will want cold drinks now.”

Ryan rolled his eyes at the girl, “Who said that? Whether | want it hot or iced is none of your business. Don’t ever speak to me like that again, or I’ll complain to your boss!”

“I’m not scared of you! I’ll spit in your drinks, if you dare!”

“Emily, you’ll scare your guests away! Don’t you dare to do this! I’ll tell your mother that you threatened me.”

Anna gave the girl a curious look and noticed that she was about the same as Ryan. She looked lovely in a blue striped jumper and a burgundy beret. Besides, her eyes were as beautiful as sapphires.

After hearing Ryan’s words, the girl looked toward Anna as well. However, she froze and turned her head away for some unknown reason. Then, she stopped talking to Ryan.

“Well, don’t let her disturb us. She’s mean, and | don’t even want to talk to her.” Ryan said to Anna, slightly frowning.

Anna snapped back, smiled at Ryan, and said, “Actually, when Henry said those words to me, | had a feeling that something was wrong. And after Richard told me about what happened three years ago, | couldn’t stop thinking about it. Then | understood what he meant by that by connecting the dots to lines.”

“What exactly did he mean?” Ryan asked with curiosity.

“Wayne hadn’t even been home for Christmas the year Matthew was born, according to Henry. And he only allowed Matthew to live with him after the accident. So, what made Mary so certain that Wayne forced her to do it? Had she ever met Wayne?”

Anna assumed that Mary hardly ever watched the news, and It was even less likely that she’d been paying attention to the financial news. Furthermore, Wayne had never been interviewed because he was not in charge of the entire Carousel Group at the time.

So, Anna found Mary’s words suspicious.

Mary was sure that she had seen Wayne several times at the Wright house and on television. So, she was pretty sure that the man was Wayne.

Ryan was silent for a moment and said softly, “Journalists would only interview the CEO of the group, right? And at that time, Richard was the CEO, wasn’t he?”

With that, he looked up at Anna.

Anna didn’t say anything or nod, but Ryan could tell from her eyes that he got to the point.