Chapter 372

Outside, the maid who had been wailing moments before went silent in an instant

With a single swipe of her sleeve, she erased any trace of tears, her face flat and unreadable.

All that weeping had been an act, staged for the benefit of anyone watching from the house.

When she had made that deal, she had seen this coming.

No matter how things turned out, she would lose her job.

As she started to walk away, she noticed Elora stepped out from her hiding spot.

The maid paused, her gaze flashing with scorn.

Needing her to fix such an easy problem? Pathetic.

She didn't even bother talking to Elora. Instead, she just kept walking, unfazed.

Yet to Elora, the air of superiority the maid carried set off alarm bells. Clearly,the maid believed she had leverage now-and that confidence made her dangerous

Feeling a surge of panic, Elora chased after her.

"Hold on!" she called out, moving to block the maid's way, "Give me your bank details."

The maid raised an eyebrow, letting out a mocking laugh as if Elora had just told the world's worst joke.

That smug look told Elora everything she needed to know. Grinding her teeth, she explained, "I'll wire you some money. Take it, disappear from Elepdon for good, and forget anything that happened tonight. If you breathe a word, you'll regret it."

A deal like this was more than the maid had hoped for.

Ady had already handed over a hefty sum to keep her quiet-more than enough for an easy life.

Now Elora, not knowing any better, was piling on even more.

Wasting no time, the maid rattled off her bank details.

Elora scribbled the numbers quickly before hurrying back inside.

She opened her banking app, her eyes landing on the fresh allowance Nolan had given her, her stomach in knots.

Hesitation was a luxury she couldn't afford.

Moving fast, she transferred half a million to a disposable prepaid card, then sent it straight to the maid.

As if spent, Elora collapsed on her bed.

The transfer confirmation glared back at her from the screen,unforgiving and bright.

With a shaky sigh, Elora cleared the transaction logs,erasing every trace.

Everything should be airtight-no one could connect the dots now.

What she didn't know was that this so-called perfect plan had already set off a chain reaction she couldn't control.

By sunrise, the tension lingered like fog. Nolan's mood was stormy, his face set in stone.

"Good morning, Nolan!" Fannie called out as she bounded into the dining room in her bright pink sweats.

She caught sight of his ice-cold stare and raised an eyebrow in amusement. "What's got you all grumpy this early? Did someone mess up the great CEO's morning?"

His eyes softened just a fraction as he glanced at her."Stay out of it. This isn't something you need to worry about."

Fannie plopped down across from him, grabbing a piece of toast and waving it around. "So, what's going on with Elora? I haven't seen her in a couple of days."

Nolan's mug hovered in midair, the question making him freeze.

A couple of days?

Last night's story from Elora replayed in Nolan's mind.

She had said she was looking for Fannie, stopping by his room on the way.

Yet here was Fannie,admitting she hadn't even seen Elora for several days.

It was clear-Elora had lied to his face.

Nolan lowered his mug onto the table, silent.

Instead of speaking, he reached for his phone and fired off a quick text to Erick.

When it came to digging up information, Erick never disappointed. Before the day was even halfway through, a neatly organized report landed on Nolan's desk.

"Mr. Stewart, our team looked into it. There's no record of Ms. Guyton having direct contact with the maid who was let go," Erick explained, his voice formal. "But that maid isn't clean. She's tied to Ady and was planted here as an informant."

Nolan's eyes grew even colder.

So Ady was stirring up trouble again.

He should have known.

But if Ady was pulling the strings, why would Elora make things up?

Where did Elora actually fit into this tangled mess?

Erick's voice broke through his concentration."There's something else. The maid received a five hundred thousand dollar deposit last night, just after she was let go. The transfer came from an anonymous account."

Nolan drummed his fingers on the desk, thinking

An anonymous payment.

Was someone paying her off?

"Look into it. I want everything," Nolan instructed,his tone cold and firm.

"Understood, sir," Erick answered, turning to leave.

Quiet settled over the study once more.

Nolan leaned back in his chair, absently running his thumb along his pen.

There was nothing concrete tying Elora to any of this -at least not yet.

Still, every instinct he had told him Elora wasn't innocent in all of this.

Images from the other night flashed through his mind -Elora collapsing, revealing her legs, everything just a little too convenient.

At the time, he hadn't dwelled on it.

Now,those scenes looked staged-awkward attempts at bait.

Was she really trying to entice him?

A storm gathered in his expression.

His mother's old connection to Elora wouldn't protect her from the consequences.

If he discovered even a shred of proof she was orchestrating any of this, he wouldn't go easy on her.