Fake heiress Real heroine

Chapter 172 When Calvin woke up, his nose and stomach were full of water. The shadow of death still loomed over him. Instinctively, he grabbed the hand of the person beside him. "Q-Quinlyn tried to kill me.” The person at his bedside immediately yanked their hand away.

Calvin froze and looked up, realizing the room was full of familiar faces, Jolie and the trainees who had once saved him, along with Bennett.

"Throwing you into the river was intentional. The moment Quinlyn left Hope Biotech Group, she activated her earpiece. We knew her every move," Bennett explained.

Calvin was confused. "But she didn't tell me. Besides, we had no idea we'd end up at a hotel by the river." He was curious how Quinlyn had planned everything in advance.

From the doorway, Larry let out a sharp laugh, his eyes flashing with obvious disdain as he shot Calvin a sideways glance. "Does she have to explain everything to you and wait for you to catch up? "What is she, your babysitter or your tutor? Your acting sucks, and now she's supposed to make allowances for you too? She set everything up the moment we passed that river." Just then, Donny walked in to discuss something with Bennett. He squeezed through the doorway and grinned, trying to reassure Calvin. "Don't take it personally. The last tI went undercover with Quinlyn, I almost blew my cover too.

"She slappedso hard I thought she knocked my teeth out. You got off easy. Looks like she went easy on you." Calvin's face turned red as he realized how lacking he was.

From the start, he had been desperate to uncover the truth and had even interacted with Lionel. He had assumed that, with his maturity and intelligence, he could handle it.

But in reality, deceiving criminals, pretending to be one of them, and lying with a straight face was much harder than he had imagined.

"All right, since he's awake, I'm going to tell Quinlyn. We're leaving." Larry, seeing that Calvin was fine, didn't spare him another glance and turned to leave with the trainees.

Calvin didn't even get a chance to say thanks.

Bennett was in a hurry to check on the investigation's progress and didn't stay long.

Seeing everyone busy dealing with Quinlyn's situation, Calvin followed them to the surveillance room. As soon as he stepped in, he saw Joseph's face on the big screen.

In just over half a month, the company had gone into a steep decline. Joseph, who had once been full of confidence and ambition, had lost a noticeable amount of weight, and stubble covered his jaw. Sitting in a large chair, he looked utterly exhausted.

The camera on Quinlyn's chest shifted slightly, capturing Lionel lounging on a couch, casually smoking a cigar. "Joseph, I heard Mr. Wilson is sick and in the hospital. I was worried about you, so I cto check in. Quinlyn cwith me. She behaves quite well when she's with me," Lionel said with a smug, taunting grin.

His arrogance made it clear he was only here to mock Joseph.

Joseph kept his eyes closed, his voice as cold as ice. "Kicking a man when he's down, huh? I took her in out of kindness. Whatever. Let's just say I got bitten by a snake." ☐☐80% Chapter 172 "Joseph, that's a pretty harsh thing to say. Quinlyn is going to be heartbroken," Lionel sneered sarcastically before waving his hand.

Two bodyguards immediately rushed forward, grabbed Joseph's arms, and twisted them behind his back, slamming him onto the table.

Bang! The impact of his face hitting the table echoed loudly, making everyone watching the screen tense up. To get revenge for the humiliation he had suffered that day at Westwood University, Lionel planned to cut off one of Joseph's hands.

One of the bodyguards pinned Joseph's elegant hand to the table and pulled out a military knife.

"Stop." Quinlyn suddenly spoke.

Calvin, who had been staring at the screen, felt his breath catch. His heart pounded furiously against his ribs. He remembered the way Joseph had been so gentle and attentive to Quinlyn in the Westwood University cafeteria and how Quinlyn had trusted him completely.

Even back at the farmers' market, when they were just putting on an act, Quinlyn had been unwilling to let Joseph get hurt. There was no way she would let him lose a hand now.

"What's wrong, Quinlyn? Are you going to beg for him?" Lionel's sharp gaze swept over her, filled with scrutiny and suspicion.

Through the screen, Calvin felt like he could barely breathe. His heart was pounding fiercely, thumping away non-stop.

On the screen, Quinlyn's voice remained steady. "I want to feed him something." Lionel paused for a moment before narrowing his eyes. The next second, Quinlyn extended her hand toward him. "Do you have any of that powder left?" "Yes." Lionel instinctively nodded, and then his eyes widened. "You are not seriously going to-" Quinlyn ignored him, took the bag, and walked straight to Joseph.

"Joseph," she said in an affectionate tone. "You used to keepfrom making drugs and threatened to kickout if I did. But now, I have a place where I am welcome. You must be happy for me, right?" As soon as she finished speaking, she grabbed Joseph's cheeks, forced his mouth open, and precisely poured the remaining powder inside. Then, she ordered the bodyguards to make him drink water.

Joseph collapsed onto the floor, gagging and trying to force himself to vomit, but it was useless.

A minute later, he lay on his back, his body twisting slightly like a snake, a dazed and intoxicated expression spreading across his face.

Quinlyn stared at Joseph and smiled. "Hey, I know you are happy." From the couch, Lionel's expression was priceless. 'Damn. She might actually be a crazy girl, he wondered.

After that, Lionel's tone toward Quinlyn carried not just friendliness but a hint of reverence. He even promised that once the Wilson Group collapsed, she would get a share. "If you like, I can give the Wilson Group to you." Quinlyn was uninterested. "I just want to do research." "That is easy. I have plenty of projects. You can take your pick," Lionel said.

"Okay, Quinlyn replied.

2/3 Fri, 28 Mar Chapter 172 Their conversation gradually faded as they walked out of the Wilson Group and disappeared gradually.

In the surveillance room, Calvin felt like his heart was being squeezed tight. He clutched Elsa's hand and asked absentmindedly. "How is Joseph?" Hearing his question, the operator at the control panel, Stanley, switched the feed back to the office.

80% At that moment, Joseph had already gotten up from the floor. He drank a glass of water to steady himself and straightened his suit.

If it were not for the bruises on his face, no one would have guessed what he had just been through.

The next second, Stanley slammed his fist on the table and burst into laughter. "Hey, Joseph Drecorded that embarrassing moment. It's so funny. I am going to laugh at you for the rest of your life." Larry, holding up his phone to record, laughed along and even complimented Quinlyn. "Quinlyn's camera work was on point." At his computer, Joseph let out a cold scoff. "It's so boring."

Bennett, watching their antics, sighed in exasperation. "Joseph, are you all Do you a right? Do you need doctor for your face? That powder has a strong aftereffect. Quinlyn said you should get srest."

ve Ignoring Stanley and Larry, Joseph shook his head. "It is just a minor injury. Quinlyn reduced the dosage when she fed it to me. I do not feel anything now. After this, she should have Lionel's trust. You all need to make sure she stays safe." "Got it. You take care of yourself," Bennett said.

The Wilson Group was a key part of the entire plan, so Joseph had been deliberately keeping his distance from the task force lately.

The screen switched back to the previous feed. Stanley was still fiddling with the footage of Joseph getting humiliated when he glanced at Calvin and let out a snort.

"Quinlyn noticed you were upset about being left out, so she let you tag along. But you are nothing but dead weight. She is a genius. She said everything would be fine, yet you kept asking questions.

"Do you even know what trust is? Joseph just gave you a perfect demonstration." Stanley jabbed a finger at Joseph's image on the screen.

Though they did not always see eye to eye, none of them had ever doubted Quinlyn's decisions. They had not even rehearsed this scene.

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