In the shadows off to the side, Nolan and Benjamin had been standing there for a while.
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Benjamin had already found out Solana was the one who got switched at birth with the Roberton Properties heiress. Word was, her real family was dirt poor, and she was about to be sent back to live with them.
After hearing what Averie said just now, Nolan gave a subtle signal for Benjamin to step in.
But Benjamin had only taken a few steps when a calm, confident voice called out from ahead.
Solana said calmly, “Go ahead, call whoever you want. File a police report too if that makes you feel better. Just so you know, the side entrance camera already caught everything.“.
Averie froze for a second, then snapped back, “Stop bluffing! That camera couldn’t have possibly caught-” But even as she said it, she glanced over her shoulder. And the second she saw the camera pointing directly their way, she stood there stunned. “No way…”
Back when Solana got into the hotel’s security room, she had all the movable exterior cameras turned to face outward. And she’d done it using the identity of the Webb family’s daughter. She’d also ordered no one to touch their angles.
The security staff had only just learned about the family switch today. It hadn’t even occurred to them to reset the cameras yet.
Solana wrapped her arm around Charles’s and said, “Let’s go home, Dad.”
Nolan chuckled softly. ‘That girl really has something special. But it’s a shame–I’m too far away to get a good look at her face.‘
Charles hadn’t expected his daughter to be so brave for him. Of course he couldn’t back down now. He was about to put Averie in her place when suddenly–thud–Solana’s forehead knocked right into his chest.
“Solana!” Charles’s expression changed in an instant. He caught her before she could collapse.
Solana’s head had already been pounding, and after getting worked up over Averie, she’d barely managed a few steps before feeling dizzy.
The moment everything went black, Solana vaguely remembered not falling onto the hard cold ground, but into a warm, comforting embrace.
“Solana!” Charles didn’t care about lecturing Averie anymore. He scooped Solana up and rushed off.
Averie let out a breath of relief seeing them leave–finally–but then saw Mateo stepping forward. She panicked and tried to stop him, but her hand grasped in empty air.
“Hey! Stop right there!” Mateo’s expression turned cold as he moved to block Charles from taking Solana away.
Mateo had just gotten curious about this new version of Solana, and he wasn’t done playing around yet. No way was he letting her walk off that easily.
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Chapter 20
But before Mateo could even get close, a man in a black suit stepped in his way.
Mateo looked irritated. “Move. Who the hell are you blocking?”
Mateo reached out to shove the guy aside. But the man grabbed Mateo’s wrist with precision, stepped in close, and said in a low voice, “My boss wants to know… remember that little incident by the Perce Hotel elevator last time?”
Mateo’s face went pale immediately. He followed Benjamin’s line of sight and spotted a silver Rolls–Royce Phantom parked quietly at the curb.
The window was slightly rolled down, and through the tinted glass, Mateo could just barely make out the person’s profile in the back seat.
Mateo stumbled back a step in panic. ‘What the hell? Why is the heir of Sandoval Group here? Hasn’t Dad said that whole thing is already taken care of?‘
Averie had no idea what was going on, but she knew that was a very expensive car. She tugged on Mateo’s sleeve. “Mateo, is that your friend?”
Benjamin smiled. “Friend? Mr. Porter probably hopes so. But I’m afraid… my boss doesn’t really feel the same way.” With that, he turned and headed back toward the Phantom.
Averie scoffed angrily. “So what? It’s not like we wanna be friends with him either… mmph—”
Mateo quickly slapped his hand over Averie’s mouth. He was drenched in cold sweat. When he saw that Benjamin didn’t seem to catch what Averie had said, he let out a breath of relief.
Averie pushed his hand away and pouted. “Why’d you stop me? I wasn’t wrong! Your dad owns Hickum Constru-”
“Shut up!” Mateo snapped, shooting her a sharp glare. “You idiot. You don’t get it at all.”
Averie finally shut her mouth, thoroughly spooked.
Sure, Hickum Construction was one of the top firms in Embridge City–but compared to the Sandoval Group, it was basically a drop in the bucket.
In Ofada City, the three corporate giants like Sandoval were leagues above them, unreachable no matter how hard they tried.
Mateo didn’t dare look back again. He grabbed Averie and turned to leave.
Averie was still annoyed about Mateo calling her an idiot, but she didn’t dare talk back.
In the car, Nolan glanced in the direction where Charles and Solana had disappeared. There was no sign of them now.
Nolan thought, ‘Guess the world really does run in class. If you’ve got no money, you’ve got no voice. No matter how strong you are, you can’t fight back.
‘That tough girl… she just had terrible luck. Getting switched into the wrong family, her real troubles are probably only just starting.
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Chapter 20
I’ve helped as much as he could.‘
The window rolled up slowly. Nolan leaned back in the seat and closed his eyes. “Let’s go.”
The car started up. Half an hour later, Benjamin pulled the car over, sweating like crazy.
Benjamin looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings. He murmured, ‘Great. I’ve no idea where we are. I swear I
remembered the route.“‘
Sneaking a glance at Nolan in the back seat with his eyes closed, Benjamin frantically pulled up every navigation app on the dash. But somehow, he couldn’t even tell north from south anymore.
Finally unable to keep pretending, Nolan opened his eyes with a frown and stared at him. “Again?”
Is this senior–level direction blindness ever going to get better?‘ Nolan muttered.
Benjamin said quickly, “I got it! Just give me a second!”
Another thirty minutes passed. Nolan kicked open the door, walked over to the driver’s side, and knocked on the window.
“Out.”
‘Might as well drive myself,‘ Nolan thought.
Benjamin thought, ‘Is it easy for me to be the bodyguard and the driver all the time?‘
