Chapter 316 Lila Hart Is Coraline Harper
Lila Hart is Coraline Harper. Rachel’s mind instantly flashed to that hair-raising night five years ago. She didn’t even have time to thank Coraline at the time. Unfortunately, they never met each other again afterward. Why is she here? Why did she become Dillon’s bodyguard?
Thinking of Coraline’s identity in the Riverdale Investigation Bureau, she suddenly understood the situation, and her hand trembled uncontrollably. Afraid that somebody might notice, she quietly shifted her hand behind her back.
“What? Are you old classmates? What a coincidence!” Dillon looked like he wanted to get to the bottom of this matter.
Rachel was trying to think of a way to gloss over this incident when ‘Lila’ said, “Young Master Porter, let’s get back to business.”
Clearly unhappy, he glanced sideways at Lila. “I was kindly asking on your behalf. Who knows? Maybe you have a long-lost twin sister or something out there. You should get to know your family as soon as possible so that you won’t be alone for the rest of your life.”
“Thank you for your kindness, Young Master Porter. Compared to being alone for the rest of my life, I’m more worried that you won’t be able to provide the higher-ups with a satisfactory explanation if this matter does not go well.”
He was reminded of the situation with a single sentence. Having been embarrassed in front of Rachel, his expression turned even more sour.
Jason said, “Young Master Porter, you came all the way to Riverdale. I’m sure things will go beautifully. Look, I’ve already brought this person here. It only takes one sentence from her to prepare however much goods you need.”
The conversation was finally brought back on track and Rachel sat down.
On the opposite side, Dillon looked her up and down. “I’m sure you’re already aware of the reason I came here, Miss Hudson.”
She smiled. “Mr. Jason only gave me a rough explanation regarding the matter. Having only been notified of the banquet this afternoon, I did not have time to learn more.”
“Don’t worry. This is normal in our line of work. You will gradually get used to it.” Now that the conversation was much closer to the main topic, his expression became serious. He put away his playboy attitude and continued, “The quality of the drugs we received last time was good. Compared to the other supply channels where the quality is non-standard, what you supplied was way more excellent than the rest. Truly what you’d expect from a family of pharmaceuticals.”
“You’re too kind, Young Master Porter.”
“You don’t need to be humble. I would not have set up a meeting with you if your goods were substandard. I will only say that we are very satisfied with your goods, so we hope to build a long-term relationship with you. In the future, we will need a larger quantity of goods.”
“A larger quantity? Can you be a little more specific?”
“Ten times more than the last.”
Her eyes narrowed slightly. “The amount last time had already been very noticeable. With such a large barge of goods, it will be very difficult to ship them out in secret. What if something goes wrong?
“You don’t need to worry about that.” He cut her off with a single sentence. “You only need to tell me this: are you going to accept this order?”
She looked hesitant.
Next to her, Jason urged, “What are you hesitating for? Why are you hesitating when there’s such a great opportunity to make money? Do you know how much the remaining tariffs and miscellaneous fees cost?”
“The risks are very high after all. They’ve been very stringent with their investigation recently.”
“Doing business always comes with risks. Don’t worry, Miss Hudson. You will not be involved in anything else aside from providing the goods for our first official cooperation. Our people will be in charge of everything starting from the shipment of goods.” While speaking, Dillon pushed a document on the table over to Rachel. “This is the price we are offering for the drugs. You can have a look yourself.”
Rachel flipped through the document and clenched her fingers around the edges of the document when she saw the price they offered. Without the costs of the various customs duties and miscellaneous fees, the price he offered was the actual income. The profit was still several times higher than the market price even after deducting the original cost. This is just from a single order, but the income is already so high. It’s no wonder Dad took such a risk back then.
“You still have time to turn back if you are hesitating, Miss Hudson.”
“No.” She raised her head. “When will you make payment? I am in urgent need of money.”
He roared with laughter. “I knew you’d be a straightforward person, Miss Hudson. 30 percent of the deposit will be credited to your account within the next two days. The rest will be transferred to you once the goods have been safely received.”
“No problem.” She closed the document. “I need a month to prepare the amount you want.”
“A month?” He shook his head. “I can only give you half a month.”
“What’s the rush?”
“Undue delay may bring unwanted trouble.” Those concise words highlighted the risk tolerance value in this transaction.
She nodded slightly. “I will do my best to make the factory work overtime.”
Now that the business talks were over, all that was left was to enjoy the banquet.
“Miss Hudson, if you’re not in a hurry, you should stay on the boat tonight. The banquet is only just starting.”
She took a sip of tea. “With pleasure.”
Let’s agree for now. It will only ruin the mood if I say that I want to leave immediately.
After walking out of the private room, Rachel took out her phone from her bag to give Jolly a call. All of a sudden, she caught a glimpse of Lila avoiding the crowd in the banquet hall and walking toward the bathroom. Thus, she hurriedly followed.
She cautiously walked into the bathroom but did not see anybody inside. Is she inside the cubicle?
“Miss Hart?” She tentatively called out to Lila.
There was no response from the cubicles.
She frowned. She had only taken several steps forward to take a look when somebody suddenly dragged her backward from behind and pressed her against the wall. “Miss Hudson, can you explain why you’re following me?” Lila glared at her coldly.
Rachel could barely breathe from the pressure of being pressed against the wall. Struggling, she gasped out. “Caroline, it’s me…”
“Who is Caroline?”
“Aren’t you Caroline Harper? It’s impossible for me to mistake you for somebody else. You saved me five years ago.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. You’ve gotten the wrong person.” The look in Lila’s eyes was extremely cruel. It was not something Caroline from five years ago would have had.
Rachel suddenly recalled what Janice once said when she questioned Janice about Caroline’s whereabouts in the past. Janice claimed that Caroline had vanished after failing in an undercover mission. The Riverdale Investigation Bureau had been unable to contact Caroline until now.
The conversation had taken place in front of Hans’ grave. She had voluntarily offered to work undercover beside Jason and become an informant for Janice.
Janice had said, “Those who work as undercover informants either die in duty or come back alive. Most people believe that these are the only two outcomes, but it’s not.”
“Then, what else is there?”
“Identity disorientation. They forget who they are.”
When you stare into the abyss for too long, the abyss stares back at you. In the end, you will be swallowed by the abyss. You will forget who you are or why you’re here, unable to return to a normal life ever again. It is a common occurrence.
At that thought, Rachel felt her heart thump in fear.
Caroline had been missing for nearly five years. If she had been safe and sound during these five years, then she would have had the chance to contact Janice during that period. However, she obviously had not.
Is this the third outcome Janice meant? Rachel did not have time to wonder. Nevertheless, the strength pressing down harder and harder on her shoulders confirmed her conjecture. There was nobody here, but Lila had no intention of releasing her whatsoever.
“Speak. What is your true purpose for following me? Who sent you here? If you refuse to speak, then I don’t mind adding an extra person dying on this ship today. You only have five minutes to talk.” Lila’s voice echoed in Rachel’s ear like a basin of cold water pouring down on her head and chilling her heart. “Five… Four…”
