Chapter 59

"It looks like Margot is still in custody, so Evelina went to the police station to sort things out," Florrie quickly explained when she noticed Jasper's anxious expression.

"Caleb went with her, didn't he? There shouldn't be any issues," she added reassuringly.

"That's unlikely. Caleb headed off to apologize to Aurora-I saw him myself. Evelina must have gone alone."Jasper's unease intensified.

After instructing lan to accompany Florrie back to Morningstar Villas, Jasper hurried straight tothe police station.

"Miss Marsh was here." The officer informed Jasper. "But she left almost immediately after arriving."

Concerned, Jasper asked urgently, "Where did she go after that?"

"She didn't leave any details," the officer replied apologetically.

Frustration welled up in Jasper until one of his bodyguards reminded him, saying, "Mr. Russell, Miss Marsh has been driving our'vehicles lately. They all have GPS trackers installed."

With Kristina and Jasper owning multiple cars, Evelina never saw the need to get her own. She just drove whichever one was free at the time.

Jasper glanced at his phone and saw that Evelina was definitely using one of the Russell family's cars.

What caught his attention, though, was where the car had ended up-

"Petal Creek Orphanage," Jasper murmured, puzzled.

This orphanage held Evelina's childhood memories, but how did Margot's situation connect to it?

Inside the orphanage office, Esme was arrogantly seated in the director's chair, observing smugly as-the elderly director, Kamryn Ramsey, awkwardly tried to please her.

Upon entering, Evelina witnessed Esme aggressively knocking away a cup of hot tea Kamryn was offering,causing the elderly woman to cry out as it scalded her skin.

"You've crossed the line, Esme! That qualifies as assault!" Evelina exclaimed sharply, swiftly attending to Kamryn's burn.

"I'm alright, Evelina." Kamryn quickly assured her, masking her pain. "Miss Barton didn't mean it-please,don't escalate the situation."

Though Evelina wanted justice, Kamryn's pleading eyes made her reluctantly drop it.

Esme now controlled the orphanage land, and if she wished, could displace hundreds of innocent children.

The children's welfare-housing, food, and education-hung by a thread, making Evelina pause before retaliating.

Taking a deep breath, Evelina gently guided Kamryn outside before confronting Esme directly.

"What exactly are you after, Esme?" Evelina slammed her hands onto the desk, glaring fiercely.

Caught off guard by Evelina's intensity, Esme shrank back but quickly masked her fear, saying, "I have three demands!"

"Are you sure you haven't overplayed your hand?" Evelina said coldly.

Esme replied defensively, "I've spent fifty million acquiring the rights to this land for five years! If I wanted,these children could all be out on the streets tomorrow."

The cost had been excessively high for her.

She didn't have much money. A while back, she had requested a ten-million-dollar advance from the Russell family for the surgery, but later, their lawyer had managed to take it back.

She didn't just lose the money-she had to cough up another ten million just to keep them from dragging her to court.

Evelina still held her twenty million surgery payment, leaving Esme desperate.

Selling Starry Night had provided her with a hundred million, and she'd recently handed Cary her last twenty million to help the struggling Gibson Group, only to receive ingratitude in return.

All that remained was the leverage provided by the orphanage's land rights.

Now, Esme was determined to use this leverage to reclaim her losses from Evelina.

"You really think you can use this orphanage against me? I've survived independently since I was sixteen.

These children have no personal connection to me," Evelina said confidently, wearing a cold smile.

Panic flashed through Esme.

If Evelina didn't actually care about the orphanage, then that fifty million would go straight down the drain!

Just as panic started creeping in, Esme heard a voice crackle through the hidden earpiece-Aurora's personal assistant.

The device had been tucked into her ear earlier, just in case.

Having suffered humiliation at Evelina's hands before, Esme had wisely enlisted powerful assistance.

With renewed confidence, she retorted sharply, "If you genuinely didn't care, you wouldn't have rushed here so desperately after one call. Your biggest flaw has always been your kindness!"