Chapter 317 Mysterious Woman
The countdown of the warning echoed in Rachel’s ears. She lowered her voice and said, “Are you afraid of being discovered? I checked before I came. There’s nobody following me.”
As soon as the statement came out of her mouth, a gun pressed against her forehead. The cold touch of metal spread out across her forehead, causing her to shudder. She finally understood that Lila was not joking around with her.
Lila questioned, “I’m curious now. Just who is the friend that you speak of?”
The blood drained out of her face, little by little. “I followed you here because you look like a friend of mine. I don’t have any other intentions. If I’ve offended you by mistaking you for somebody else, then I apologize.”
Lila studied her expressionlessly. Her gaze was extremely sharp, almost as though she could pierce a person’s heart.
Rachel did not know how long passed before the pressure on her shoulder eased and the cold feeling of metal against her forehead disappeared.
Putting away the gun, Lila stepped away from Rachel and coldly said, “Before you act, you had better consider first whether or not you can bear the consequences for every word you speak and every action you take on this ship. The ship will eventually come to shore, but a person may not be able to walk off the boat on their own two feet.”
Rachel jerked in surprise and subconsciously clenched her fingers. It was not until Lila left the bathroom that she leaned against the wall and clutched at her chest abruptly. Her heart was beating wildly through the layer of her dress. When Lila held the gun to her head just now, the cold gaze in those eyes had indicated no hesitation to kill her.
She isn’t Coraline? I don’t believe it. Although there are some differences in their appearances, it’s impossible for me to mistake those eyes and that voice which belong to Coraline. Nevertheless, she did not have the time to ponder over this matter. She felt like she was sitting on a bed of pins and needles on this ship. Since the business talks are over, I should leave this place as soon as possible.
When Rachel walked out of the bathroom, a waiter suddenly stopped her. “Are you Miss Hudson?”
“Yes, I am.” She glanced at the waiter in front of her warily. “How can I help you?”
“Please don’t be so nervous. It’s like this. The Madam wishes to talk to you.”
Madam? “Who is this ‘Madam’?”
“You will know once you’ve met her, Miss Hudson.”
She frowned slightly. “Does this Madam go by the surname ‘Bowman’?”
The waiter nodded and said nothing else.
Be that as it may, that response gave her a rough grasp of the situation. “Fine. I’ll come with you.”
While following the waiter, she sent a message to Jolly to say that she was going to meet an old friend of Jolly’s father.
They arrived at a private room and the waiter opened the door. “The Madam is waiting for you inside.”
Rachel nodded and walked straight into the room. The room was very luxuriously furnished. If she had not known that she was currently on board a ship, she would have thought that they were the furnishings of a villa. A golden chandelier illuminated the entire room with a golden brilliance.
“Miss Hudson.” A woman’s voice came from behind. She spun around and saw a middle-aged woman.
The middle-aged woman was dressed in a sky-blue traditional dress. She looked elegant and graceful. Although her skincare was so good that she appeared to be in her forties, the weather-beaten and calm gaze in her eyes betrayed her actual age.
“Hello.” Rachel observed the woman. “Are you Mrs. Bowman?”
“Do you know me? Did Richard mention me to you?”
Richard Carter was the name of Jolly’s father.
Rachel was in no rush to refute that statement. Instead, she countered with a question of her own. “Didn’t you bring me here to confirm whether or not Mr. Carter has told me about you?
A bitter expression appeared in the middle-aged woman’s face. “I knew he had not mentioned me to you before. If he did, you would not have agreed to meet me in the first place.”
Rachel looked at her in confusion.
“Sit.” The middle-aged woman raised a hand and indicated for Rachel to take a seat.
A Hermès blanket was draped over the genuine leather sofa. All the furniture in the room were very delicate and elegant. It didn’t look like a temporary residence. Rachel looked around and asked, “Do you usually live here?”
“How can you tell?”
“Few would have the leisure to arrange flowers in a hotel, especially if they’re only going to stay for a short while. Isn’t that right?”
Following Rachel’s gaze, the middle-aged lady turned to look behind her. There were fresh cut flowers and plants scattered across the table behind her. Moreover, they were next to a half-finished vase.
Then, she looked at Rachel with a measuring gaze. “No wonder Richard took you in as his goddaughter. You are smart and meticulous. I’m sure you’ll be of great help to Jolly in the future. I brought you here because I wanted your help to pass something to Jolly.
“What is it?”
“This.” In front of Rachel, the middle-aged woman opened the pink gift box at her feet to reveal the white gown inside.
“What is this? A wedding dress?” Rachel was confused.
The middle-aged woman noticed her doubts and explained, “This is what I promised Richard in the past. At the time, Jolly was still very young and there were no disputes over business matters between Richard and I. After I won the award in the Maynie Designer Competition, Richard told me that he wanted me to design his daughter’s wedding dress in the future. According to my calculations, Jolly should be nearly at the marriageable age by now.”
The Maynie Designer Competition was an international-level fashion design competition. Only the most popular fashion designers could win any awards in this competition.
“Are you a fashion designer?”
“I was. This wedding gown is the last piece that I worked on. This way, it can be considered that I’ve fulfilled the promise between Richard and I.” The middle-aged woman sounded sincere. “I hope you can help me with this.”
Rachel furrowed her eyebrows and did not answer immediately. “Jolly is also onboard this boat. You can hand it to her yourself.”
“I wouldn’t have needed to trouble you if I could hand it to her myself, right?”
“I’m sorry. I can’t help you with this.”
“Miss Hudson, I don’t know who else I can ask for help aside from you. You don’t need to tell them that this wedding dress was designed by me. You can just claim that you’re giving it to Jolly. Only you and I need to know about this. This is my thank-you gift for you.” The middle-aged woman took out a black suede jewelry box and opened the box in front of Rachel without further ado. Then, she pushed the box over to Rachel.
There was a jade bangle inside the jewelry box. Judging by the quality of the bangle, it was worth quite a lot.
Rachel immediately got to her feet and the scowl on her face deepened considerably. “What do you mean by this?”
“Don’t misunderstand me. This is just a small thank-you gift.”
“I have not promised to help you, but I can no longer help you because of this thank-you gift.” Rachel glanced at the box containing the wedding dress. The feeling that this situation was very odd became stronger.
“I’m sorry. I’m leaving now.” Just as Rachel hurried to the door, somebody threw open the door from the outside. “Chris!”
It was Jolly.
Jolly had rushed over as soon as she saw the message. At this moment, she looked very anxious. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine.” Rachel shook her head. “Let’s go.”
For some reason, she wanted Jolly to leave this place as soon as possible.
Jolly’s gaze slid past Rachel’s shoulder to land on the middle-aged woman behind them. However, she withdrew her gaze after a brief glance. “Yeah. Let’s go.”
“Jolly.” The middle-aged woman suddenly called out to Jolly.
