After She She Stopped Loving Him

Chapter 124

Chapter 124

Upstairs in the study.

Wyatt sat with a tablet in front of him, watching a video of Grady’s death playing on the screen.

He looked at Charles. “Did you do this?”

Charles knew he couldn't hide anything from Wyatt-Wyatt knew him far too well.

“Grandpa, Grady was really strutting his stuff at the Crimson Gallery. He was already eyeing the boss's chair. The

Andrade family is strong enough as it is-if Grady took over the Crimson Gallery, there'd be no stopping him, and

no one left who could knock him down a peg,” Charles said.

He sat in a nearby chair, looking every bit the aristocrat as he casually swirled his teacup. “Taking him out hit the

Andrade family hard. Vivian's too busy putting out fires to care about our joint projects-which leaves us with a lot

more chances to line our pockets.”

Wyatt snorted and slammed the tablet shut. “You've got snerve.”

Who could've imagined Grady would get taken out like that? Bet he didn’t even see it coming before the end.

Wyatt rubbed his temples and let out a long sigh. “Charles, | trust you. But the Andrade family isn’t just Grady -

Grandpa Jonathan's there too, along with the rest of their crew. If any of them get suspicious of you, have you

really thought about your exit plan?”

Charles chuckled, his elegant fingers playing absently with his teacup. “Right now, Minister Howard's the one

hell-bent on pinning the gun on Grady. That's got nothing to do with me-I never even showed my face. Howard's

famous for getting obsessed over tiny details, and you cannot buy this guy-he won't even look at a bribe. If the

Andrades try to grease his palms, the whole thing just blows up even worse. Grandpa, I've kept my head down;

from beginning to end, | stayed invisible.”

He made sure the risky business was handled by someone else. If the Andrades want to take action, they'd go

after Minister Howard, not me.

Right now, Minister Howard's the key witness-he’s the only thing keeping the Andrades in check.

If Howard ends up dead, the Andrades will be the first suspects, no question.

A faint smile flickered in Charles's eyes. “Minister Howard won't last much longer. This whole Grady mess is only

going to get bigger. As for the Crimson Gallery—I'm taking it.”

In Beloris, everyone knew the name-the Crimson Gallery.

It was the city’s underworld playground, where boxing, gambling, auctions, and assassinations were just another

day’s work. Every shady deal you could imagine happened there-if you wanted it, the Crimson Gallery had it.

Still, this place was sheer chaos, with no single boss reigning over it. Every zone had its own shot-caller, and the

only law they respected was brute strength.

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Chapter 124

Put them down in a fight, and they'd fall right in line to be your muscle.

Even the privileged Beloris kids who'd seen military action weren't a match for these wild street thugs-guys

who'd learned to survive by lighting their way out of a pile of corpses.

Because of the way things were run, the Crimson Gallery had a target painted on it-everyone in town wanted in.

But it was one hell of a hard case-no one’s managed to sink their teeth into it yet.

Charles had already sent in his own crew, but out of ten territories, they'd only taken four.

Snagging the whole joint was next to impossible-it'd take someone absolutely ruthless and nuts to even try.

Still, grabbing the Crimson Gallery was the ultimate prize on everyone's wish list.

Wyatt didn’t weigh in on whether Charles's move was right or wrong-he just let silence hang heavy for a few

seconds before letting out a sigh. “As long as you've got a plan, that’s enough for me. I just don’t want you

making reckless moves over a woman. Word is, Vivian's been stirring up trouble with Yolanda lately?”

Charles wasn’t the type to get blindsided by a woman-not now, not ever, and especially not enough to go

making this kind of play. ‘Letting feelings tripup? That's not my style,‘ he thought.

Even Wyatt had a hard tbelieving he was saying this aloud. He waved his hand, as if to clear the whole

thing. “Never mind. Head out.”

“Grandpa, you know me-I'd never lose my head over a woman. But Vivian thought she could walk all over me-

that’s not happening. If you're gonna smack a dog, you better be sure you can face the owner too,” Charles

replied.

Wyatt's expression eased, satisfied. This was typical Charles: cool-headed and never swayed by personal

feelings.

As the two cdownstairs, Charles noticed he didn’t see Yolanda anywhere.

“Where's Yolanda?” he asked.

May tipped her chin. “She's helping out inside.”

Charles frowned for a moment and took a seat. “Is the Andrade family short on staff or something? If so, | can

always hire a few more people.”

May let out a cold snort, clearly taking Yolanda's side. She knew exactly what Charles was getting at.

“We're not short on staff. What getsis how she acts like she’s got nothing to worry about. You have no clue

how shattered Renee's been lately-and all because of that baby. And don’t forget, Yolanda nearly ran her over in

that car.”

At the mention of Renee, Charles clammed up.

He'd always had a soft spot for his little sister.

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Chapter 124

0g

Before long, dinner started coming out one dish after another. As usual, Dylan was nowhere to be seen-he was

always off on business trips overseas.

But tonight, Renee didn’t show up either.

Charles picked up his chopsticks and put sfood onto Yolanda’s plate, then asked, “Where's Renec?”

May couldn’t be bothered to even look at Yolanda and just ordered, “Yolanda, go take something up to your

grandma. How do you have the nerve to eat before the elders do? Besides, she’s been saying how much she

misses your massages lately. Stop hanging around here and get going.”

Yolanda stood up and took the plate the servant handed her-it was a special medicinal dish made just for

Grandma Flora.

Grandma Flora hadn't been in great health these past years. Mostly, she stayed upstairs resting, only coming

down to get ssun every now and then.

After Yolanda headed upstairs, May glared at her back, biting back a bitter snarl. “Charles, seriously-when are

you finally divorcing that woman?” she muttered, not bothering to hide her contempt.

Charles ignored the jab completely and just coolly asked, “Has Renee called you lately?”

“Yeah, she seems to be in decent spirits. Must've found something fun to do out there. A whole lot better than

her being stuck at home, blowing up at everyone whenever she feels like it,” May said.

A hint of something cold flickered in Charles’s eyes, but he just took his tfinishing his meal, not letting any

emotion show.

Upstairs, Yolanda set the tray aside and leaned closer. “Grandma, tto rise and have something to eat.”

Grandma Flora slowly pushed herself up from bed, sounding tired. “Yoyo, you finally came. It's been more than

half a month since your last visit.”

Yolanda helped her over to the table. The air was full of sandalwood, its soothing scent lingering and calming the

mind.

Grandma Flora peered over at Yolanda. “So, did those things | gave you last thelp at all?”

She'd been hoping for a grandchild, and even sent her hwith five jars of herbal wine.

Yolanda just smiled. “These things happen when they're meant to.”

Grandma Flora’s wrist still sported her familiar jade bead bracelet as she helped herself to a bite of food. “Let

nature take its course? If you don’t even try, there are plenty of women out there who'd be happy to step up.

Yoyo, you really are well-behaved, but you don’t know how to act cute at all. You're just too straight-laced for

your own good-and that’s why Charles doesn’t care for you.”

Honestly, Grandma Flora had nagged her with these words so many times Yolanda had lost count.

Yolanda just kept her head down and quietly pressed her hands to Grandma Flora’s shoulders.

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Chapter 124

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All Grandma Flora ever wanted was for her grandson to marry a sweet, obedient woman-and in her eyes..

Yolanda was just that.

But if you can’t give him a child, then that spot’s not guaranteed-someone else will take your place.

A glint flickered in her eyes. “That herbal wine really does the trick. If he hasn't had any yet, just coax him into

drinking it. If you're lucky, you might get results on the first try,”

AD