Chapter 586
Chapter 586
Why did Stella harm Jasmine when there was no bad blood between them?
Curtis' eyes narrowed when it dawned upon him that through her relationship with Gabriel, Stella was able to gain access to Faymon Group's secrets. Moreover, Jefferson had mentioned before that Arnaud had a spy in Faymon Group's senior management.
Having someone capable here must be how Arnaud achieved so much without being in Norwal City.
“Curtis?” Faced with Curtis' silence, Emma couldn't resist asking, “Do you want me to have her captured?”
“Not yet. I still need to clarify a few things.” If Stella was behind the incident at Summerbank that got Rayna arrested, Curtis was not going to let her off easily.
He still needed to find out what her real objective was given that she was still biding her time in Faymon Group.
After handing Emma's phone back to her, Curtis instructed, “Don't tell anyone about this and pretend that we never met. If she seeks you out, try to avoid raising her suspicion.”
Emma nodded. “I understand. Curtis... How is Theodore?”
“I'm just as clueless as you are.” Curtis glanced at his watch as he got up. “Anyway, that's all for now. I still need to be at the office.”
Nevertheless, Emma stopped him. “I wish to see Carl and maybe chat a little with him. Is that all right?”
Curtis turned and left without answering.
Emma's eyes brimmed with remorse as she watched his leaving silhouette. She knew the mistake was no one else's but her own. The fact that her son and his wife were now in a coma was all her fault.
Recently, Curtis wasn't the only one that was busy, as Gabriel had a lot on his plate too.
Curtis was beginning to feel upset that the mole who disrupted Faymon Group's Project C plans with Ocean International had yet to be uncovered. This, on top of other matters, led Gabriel to feel swamped by his responsibilities.
Hence, he was desperate for Rayna to be found. NôvelDrama.Org owns this.
Otherwise, he felt compelled to quit as Curtis' current state of mind was driving him up a wall.
It was Stella's birthday that day, and Gabriel wanted to celebrate it with her. Hence, he made the excuse that he was busy and left work early. Instead, he went to get a cake and gift, planning to give her a surprise when she came home.
As getting both items took less time than he expected, he was already home by five.
After storing the cake in the fridge and preparing the ingredients for dinner, he started decorating the living room.
With his head all covered in sweat, he received a call from Tilly requesting two documents the moment he was done.
When he went into his room to get his laptop, Gabriel realized that it wasn't charged as the adapter was faulty. He had not noticed it after plugging in his laptop the night before.
As a result, Gabriel turned on Stella's laptop instead, planning to inform her about it later.
Even though it was password-protected, he entered Stella's phone password and successfully unlocked it on the first try.
The laptop logged in to WhatsApp automatically the moment it loaded.
In an attempt to log out, Gabriel accidentally clicked on one of the messages. Just as he was about to close the window, his hand froze when he caught a glimpse of the message: Boniel is dead.
Inside the chat window with a contact named S, Stella expressed her relief that Jefferson had taken her advice and left Norwal City with Rayna, which had enabled the plan to proceed so smoothly. Gabriel was consequently stunned by what he saw.
It was Stella who advised Jefferson to leave Norwal City with Rayna?
Even though Gabriel was aware that going through someone else's WhatsApp was wrong, he still couldn't believe Stella was capable of such a vile act. Thus, he checked through the chat, hoping to find something to indicate that it was all a misunderstanding.
After going through the chat log, Gabriel could guess from the way the opposing party was instructing Stella that it was Arnaud. Stella turned out to be the mole that the latter had planted in Faymon Group.
Moreover, she was also responsible for helping Gianna from behind the scenes. It was she who had Jessica kidnapped and blinded. The latter was just lucky to have subsequently escaped.
Also, Gianna wasn't the one who informed Jessica about the death of her uncle and aunt. Instead, it was Stella who hired someone to make the call.
It was also Stella who contacted Vivi and ordered her to send the perfume to Egret Scents. She had come up with the plan for Vivi to accuse Rayna of the attempted murder of the pregnant lady, leading to the latter's arrest.
Furthermore, the attempt on Rayna's life in prison was also arranged by Stella.
“Oh my God...” The shocking chat log sent Gabriel's world crashing down on him.
He couldn't fathom how Stella could be so vicious underneath that sweet and gentle facade.
I can understand the enmity with Rayna, but Jessica has done nothing to her, so why is she helping Gianna and targeting Jessica too?
Gabriel's hand quivered while holding onto the mouse. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't calm himself down.
Thereafter, he clicked into the document folder to see what else Stella had done.
There were a few invalid documents titled Aoba Project, Ocean International and Faymon Group's partnership, and a few more commercial documents related to Faymon Group.
After spending so much time investigating, Gabriel was shocked to learn that the perpetrator was someone who shared his bed.
He had also inadvertently become her accomplice.
With his hands threaded through his hair, the devastated Gabriel sat down in a daze.
Scenes of Stella going through the documents on his computer and sending them to Arnaud while he was asleep flashed across his mind.
Corporate espionage is a crime punishable by death. Why did she do something like that? Am I a pawn of hers too? If it wasn't for the WhatsApp chat log, I would never have known.
Soon, Gabriel could hear the faint sound of footsteps from outside.
He swiftly turned off the computer and put it back in the bedroom. After that, he returned to the living room and sat down just as the door was opened.
“Did you do this?” Stella was stunned by the sight of flowers and ribbons decorating the living room. She then broke into a smile and asked, “What's with the beautiful decorations? Is today a special occasion?”
The sight of her reminded Gabriel of the chat log, a thought that weighed down on his heart.
Worried that Stella would suspect something, he forced himself to eke out a smile. “Have you forgotten? It's your birthday today.”
“It has indeed slipped my mind as it has been a long time since I celebrated it.”
Upon entering the living room, Stella threw her arms around Gabriel and gave him a kiss. “I didn't expect you to surprise me on my birthday. Thank you.”
Gabriel gulped. “As long as it makes you happy.”
“I am. Everything is beautiful.” As Stella gave him another kiss, she noticed the computer on the coffee table. “Do you still have work to do?”
“It's nothing. The adapter was spoilt. I'll deal with it in the office tomorrow.” Gabriel folded his laptop. “Anyway, I'm going to cook now.”
“Mmm-hmm.” Stella released her hug and flashed a faint smile at him. “After dinner, I have a surprise for you too.”
While he was cooking, Gabriel's mind was distracted as he kept thinking about the chat log.
Having developed feelings for Stella, he couldn't bear to see her go to prison in the event he exposed her crimes.
Finally, he made a decisive decision after deliberating on the matter.
He would pretend that he never saw the chat log and find an opportunity to break up with Stella. Thereafter, he would send her overseas and figure out how to clean up her mess.
For dinner, Gabriel prepared a scrumptious feast and even opened a bottle of wine.
After they had finished, he brought out the cake and sang her a birthday song. Finally, he presented her with the gift he had bought.
When Stella unwrapped the box and saw the limited edition bag she had had her eye on, her face lit up in delight. On impulse, she leaned over and gave him a kiss.
Before putting the bag away, she said to Gabriel, “Close your eyes and wait for me here.”
“All right.”
Gabriel did as he was told.
When Stella told him to open them, he was greeted by the sight of a pregnancy test kit.
There were two lines on it, one deeply colored, the other fainter.
The stunned look on his face elicited a smile from her. “I'm pregnant.”