Chapter 288: Staying anonymous.
The furrow between Adelyn’s brows only deepened when she heard his voice.
"What new drama are you stirring up this time?" she asked, looking as though she had already reached the limit of her patience with him. "I’m in no mood to entertain whatever it is."
With that made clear, she pulled the phone away from her ear, ready to hang up.
But just then—
Another desperate cry came from the other end.
"Sister-in-law, you’re misunderstanding me again! I’m not stirring up trouble —I am in trouble. You really wouldn’t have the heart to abandon me and watch me die, would you?"
Adelyn paused. Her lips pressed into a thin line before she slowly lifted the phone back to her ear.
"If you’re willing to die, then go ahead. You don’t have to call and inform me about it. Your funeral rites won’t be my responsibility."
She truly wanted to know how this idiot belonged to the Warren family.
He wasn’t anything like his three brothers.
If anything ...
He was nothing but trouble.
Trouble she wanted absolutely nothing to do with.
Yet somehow ...
That trouble always came looking for her.
She heard him sniffle softly on the other end of the call, making Adelyn pinch the bridge of her nose.
"If you want to cry so badly, then go find a graveyard. Don’t come looking for me."
The next thing she heard was his loud, aggrieved cry.
"Sister-in-law, how can you curse me like that? I’m still so young! I still have so much to see in this world."
His voice became even more pitiful.
"I haven’t even seen you and Big Brother tie the knot yet. I haven’t even held my precious second niece or nephew ..." He sniffled dramatically again. "How could I possibly be willing to die so young? I don’t want to die at all!"
Adelyn’s expression became increasingly complicated.
She wanted to snap at him.
She wanted to smack him over the head.
Unfortunately...
He wasn’t standing in front of her.
But would that save him?
In his dreams.
This time, she was determined to give him a proper piece of her mind.
Clenching her fingers, she took a slow breath before asking, her tone tightening until it almost sounded as though the words were being forced through gritted teeth,
"Where are you now?"
The reaction on the other end was immediate.
The moment Karl heard that, he perked up.
"Sister-in-law, you’re asking me that ..." His voice instantly became excited. "Does that mean you’re finally coming to save me?"
Her fists clenched.
More like she was going there to smack him to death.
Naturally ...
She didn’t voice that thought.
Instead, forcing a smile onto her face, she simply hummed in acknowledgement.
"Great!" Karl exclaimed immediately. "I’ll send you the location. Come quickly ... or they might sell off my organs."
Before Adelyn could say another word, the call disconnected.
The beeping tone echoed through the receiver, making her realize the brat had already hung up.
She lowered the phone and stared blankly at the screen for a moment.
"They’d better sell every piece of you before I get there," she muttered under her breath. "Otherwise ..."
"I’ll gladly do the honors myself."
Just then, her phone chimed with a text notification.
She opened it and found the location Karl had sent.
The destination made her brows furrow ever so slightly.
Still ...
She didn’t think too much about it.
Sliding the phone back into her pocket, she simply turned and headed toward the location first.
——————————————————
Meanwhile,
At Goldstem Productions—
After discussing it all,
Liam finally signed his name at the bottom of the investment agreement before standing up and extending his hand toward Producer Polson.
"May we have a successful cooperation, Producer Polson," he said politely.
James smiled and accepted the handshake. "I hope so as well."
He then gestured for his assistant to take the signed contract away first. Once the assistant had left the room, James turned back toward Liam.
Just as he was about to say something, Liam spoke first.
"Producer Polson, if you don’t mind ... may I ask you something?"
James paused before smiling.
"Of course. Please go ahead."
Liam thought for a moment. A faint crease appeared between his brows before he finally asked,
"May I know who the other major investors in this project are?"
"The other major investors?" James repeated.
Liam nodded. "Yes." He smiled politely. "You mentioned earlier that they were both capable and ... powerful, so I became a bit curious. Who ... are they?"
"Oh ... that." James let out a soft, helpless smile. "I didn’t mean to belittle anyone else by saying that."
He shook his head lightly.
"It’s just that I simply got fed up with those investors earlier, so I intentionally exaggerated things a little just to make them uneasy."
Although the Warrens were indeed influential and powerful ...
At that moment, James had deliberately made them sound even more formidable than necessary.
Simply to irritate those arrogant investors.
He didn’t regret it.
But ...
He wasn’t exactly proud of it either.
For a brief moment, he had let his emotions take over. And emotions had never made the wisest decisions.
"So ..." Liam spoke thoughtfully, trying to piece everything together. "Then the investors aren’t actually someone ..."
Before he could finish—
James shook his head.
"No, that’s not what I meant." He smiled calmly. "The investors are indeed very influential. But ..."
He paused for a second, only to add in another, "But unlike those people, they don’t use their influence to suppress others unless it’s absolutely necessary."
Liam’s brows furrowed slightly.
Only then did James continue.
"It’s Fusion Entertainment and—"
He stopped abruptly.
His expression subtly changed as he suddenly realized he had almost revealed something he had been strictly instructed to keep confidential.
Naturally ...
Liam noticed the hesitation immediately. His gaze sharpened ever so slightly.
"And?" he asked. "Isn’t there another major investor?"
James fell silent for a moment. He weighed the pros and cons in his mind before finally shaking his head.
"Yes. There is one more." He paused before finishing it, "But..."
"... they’ve requested to stay anonymous. I’m afraid I can’t reveal their identity."