Back to Love: A New Beginning
Chapter 424

Chapter 424:.

In the afternoon, Alvaro dropped me off at my office. Just as I was walking into the hallway, I saw Ady come out of my office.

She was puzzled, as if she didn’t expect me to be back soon.

“The water dispenser outside ran out of water. I was thirsty, so I went to your office to get water,” she explained calmly.

I looked at his hand: he was holding a glass in his hand.

“It’s okay.” I smiled at him.

I walked into my office and looked around. The room was simply decorated and I could see everything at a glance. I had locked all the important documents in the drawers. The computer was encrypted and I could replace no trace that anyone had broken in. Therefore, I was confident that I had come just for water.

A few days later, Alvaro found me a small apartment. It was fully furnished and I took an instant liking to it. Apparently, the owner needed money urgently and wanted to sell the house.

I loved everything about it: it met all my needs and I liked its aesthetics. Plus, it was very close to the beauty salon. So I bought it without hesitation.

The day before I moved in, I invited Dr. Swain and his family over for dinner to express my gratitude.

When I started my business, Dr. Swain invested two hundred thousand dollars, which was the only capital for my start-up. I prepared a check for five hundred thousand dollars for Dr. Swain, the first bonus.

However, he refused to accept it. He said he wouldn’t talk about paying the money back until I got stronger and got a foothold in the beauty industry. Dr. Swain and his family took me in and helped me when I had nowhere else to go.

No matter how far I went, I would never forget them. They were my benefactors and my family. Sometimes, in the middle of the night, I would think that God was compensating me for all the pain and torture I had endured for the past twenty-seven years.

One morning in early August, I suddenly received a call from my secretary. After listening to her nervous report, I immediately ran to the beauty parlor.

Upon arrival, I was dumbfounded. Just as she told me, my salon door and the floor in front of it were splattered with red paint. At first I thought it was blood. Later, I realized that someone had splattered paint everywhere.

I looked around calmly. All the employees were standing nervously to one side, surrounded by passers-by. Journalists had also arrived and were taking pictures.

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One journalist saw me and hurried over. “Miss Stone, who do you think is behind this?”.

“I think only the Chinston police can answer that question,” I said.

“Miss Stone, your brand, Jolly Beauty Salon, has achieved success and glory in a short time. Everyone is amazed at your rate of growth – do you think your competitor would have done it?”.

Why did he bother to ask? I scoffed in my heart.

Even though I was annoyed and frustrated, I forced a smile at the reporters.

“I don’t think so. Chinston businessmen are all friendly and open-minded. I don’t think they would have done anything so vindictive to me. Besides, competition is healthy. It allows a company to grow and prosper. Our competitors push us to work harder and get better. I thank all of our competitors.

Just as I was speaking, my gaze fell on a woman across the street. She was leaning against a sports car, looking at me. That woman was the one who had given me a hard time at the wine party that night. Her name was Mandy Gorman. A slow smile appeared on her face.

“Miss Stone, you’re a public figure in Chinston. Everyone is curious to know who the father of your child is. Why can’t we see him?” another reporter asked.

I frowned. “I want you to respect my privacy. It’s a personal matter. I have no need to…”

“It’s me!” A voice from the crowd caught my attention. The reporters turn and point their cameras into the crowd to see the source of the voice.

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