Chapter 220: House Arrest
Communication was impossible, so Quentin Blackwood chose to shut his mouth, giving up on talking to her for the moment.
He shot the driver a look, who immediately started the car and drove away from the hospital.
Mandy Halloway caused a scene the entire way, but Quentin Blackwood remained unmoved. When the car pulled up to the old family home, Mandy got out in a fury. Quentin finally chased after her, grabbing her and dragging her into the study on the first floor.
Once the door was closed, he exhausted every pleasantry, stopping just short of getting on his knees to beg Mandy.
"Lydia Wynn’s paperwork to go abroad is already being processed. I’ll send her away in two weeks."
Mandy Halloway couldn’t understand. "Why not call the police and have her arrested?"
How could he cover up a kidnapping?
’He’s lost all sense of right and wrong for the sake of his illegitimate daughter.’
"She said she’s in love with Alaric. She’s not in her right mind. If you send her abroad, can you even keep an eye on her? Aren’t you afraid she’ll do something even more terrible?"
"I’ll send people abroad with her to watch her. I won’t let her come back."
"Quentin Blackwood, you’re a grown man. How can you be so naive?"
Mandy Halloway’s anger didn’t subside, and she didn’t want to hear any more of Quentin Blackwood’s nonsense. "I’m having my lawyer draft the divorce papers. When they’re ready, you will come with me to file them. If you don’t cooperate, we’ll go through the courts."
"Mandy, don’t be so heartless."
"Me, heartless?"
She angrily slapped Quentin Blackwood across the face. "I already forgave you once. I can’t believe you’d do it again."
"That time was an accident. After that, I never did it again, I swear. Believe me, all these years, I’ve been completely devoted to you and the children. If I didn’t want to preserve our marriage, if I didn’t want to protect this family, why would I have bothered sending Lydia Wynn to an orphanage?"
"If that’s the case, why did you bring Lydia Wynn back to your side later? She couldn’t afford school, so you sponsored her. I can understand that. But after you funded her education, why did you keep her around to mentor her, personally guiding her, and even placing her by Alaric’s side? What were you thinking? Lydia has already developed inappropriate feelings for Alaric. How do you plan to clean up this mess?"
Mandy Halloway was in agony. She couldn’t accept her husband’s repeated betrayals, especially a lie that had been going on for so many years. Even worse, she couldn’t stand that illegitimate daughter lusting after her son.
It was a complete violation of human decency and morals. It made her feel utterly disgusted.
"A divorce. It’s not up for discussion."
She shook off Quentin Blackwood’s hand, walked out of the study, and told the butler to get her bag and phone from the car.
Just as she turned to go upstairs, Quentin Blackwood quickly caught up to her. Without a word, he wrapped an arm around her waist and half-dragged, half-carried her to the master bedroom upstairs.
The man looked like he’d gone mad. Staring with bloodshot eyes, he ripped off his tie, grabbed her wrists, and in a few swift moves, tied her hands behind her back.
"Quentin Blackwood, you bastard! Let me go!"
His face ashen, the man stormed into the walk-in closet and came out holding two more ties.
He balled one up and stuffed it into her mouth, using the other to tie her feet.
"Mmph—"
Furious, she kicked at Quentin Blackwood with both feet, but he grabbed her by the shoulders and forcibly pinned her onto the bed.
"You stay put! You want a divorce? Over my dead body!"
He pulled the blanket over Mandy Halloway and locked the bedroom door from the outside with a key.
Hurrying downstairs, he ran into the butler coming in with the bag. He strode forward, took the bag, and instructed the butler, "The madam is in a bad mood and resting in her room. No one is to disturb her."
The butler glanced at the vintage wall clock. It was almost noon. "What about lunch...?"
"She has no appetite. Do not disturb her. Is that clear?"
It was an order from the master of the house. The butler didn’t dare disobey and could only nod in agreement.
...
As soon as the lunch break began, Sophie Shaw’s phone rang.
Alaric Blackwood had sent a WhatsApp message. He was already downstairs at the Heart of the Ocean building.
She put on her coat, grabbed her bag, and took the elevator downstairs.
Settling into the passenger seat of the Cullinan, she gave Alaric Blackwood an address for a restaurant, telling him she had already booked a table for two.
Alaric Blackwood checked the restaurant’s location, started the car, and asked curiously, "Why did you pick a restaurant so far away?"
"I have a photoshoot at a studio nearby this afternoon."
She wanted to go straight to the studio after lunch to watch Nina Halloway’s photoshoot for the new product endorsement.
Alaric Blackwood drove distractedly. There was a lot on his mind. First, Jaden was missing and there was no news from the police. Second, Lydia Wynn had kidnapped Mandy Halloway, and Quentin Blackwood was choosing to cover for her, insisting on sending her abroad.
The only bright spot was that Sophie Shaw had taken the initiative to ask him to lunch today.
He glanced over at Sophie. His thoughts drifted to his father’s affair and his protection of his illegitimate daughter. After Lydia’s stunt, Mandy must know the truth. Knowing his mother, she would almost certainly demand a divorce. He took one of Sophie’s hands, held it tightly in his palm, and said calmly, "My parents might be getting a divorce."
Sophie was thoughtful. "A divorce?"
"They’re having some problems with their relationship. What’s bound to happen will happen eventually."
Sophie immediately recalled what Evan Ford had said the night Alaric got drunk at his house.
’Quentin Blackwood has an illegitimate daughter...’
"That illegitimate daughter... who is she?"
Alaric Blackwood froze for a moment, surprised that Sophie knew about this.
As if guessing what he was thinking, Sophie said, "My cousin told me, the night you got drunk at his place. But he didn’t say who the illegitimate daughter was."
"It’s Lydia Wynn."
Sophie remained relatively calm. "So it was Assistant Wynn."
"She kidnapped my mom this morning..."
Alaric Blackwood briefly and concisely explained what had happened before he came to see her, including Lydia Wynn’s attempt to drug him.
Sophie didn’t seem particularly surprised. After all, she had long heard the rumors that Alaric Blackwood was having an affair with his female assistant.
"So Lydia Wynn really has feelings for you?"
"She’s sick. She’s not right in the head."
In simple terms, Alaric Blackwood explained the connection between Ava Sterling, Aiden Lloyd, and Lydia Wynn. He also told her how the three of them had conspired against him the night before the wedding, drugging his drink and sending him over a hundred kilometers away, nearly causing him to miss the ceremony.
Sophie lowered her eyes in thought. When she recalled Lydia Wynn, the image that came to mind was of a quiet, serious woman.
"I also remembered something interesting," Alaric Blackwood said, casually changing the subject.
"What is it?"
"On the day of the fashion show, Yuri mentioned a rumor that you and I have a contract marriage. I’ve been wondering who started it."
"Have you looked into it?"
"I am."
"Do you have any suspects in mind?"
"I do."
"Who?"
"Lydia Wynn."
Secretary Golding had mentioned that one day she saw Lydia Wynn holding a file on Sophie. Lydia had also asked about the computer Sophie had used in the printing room. Alaric Blackwood checked the surveillance footage from that day and discovered that Lydia had used her lunch break to access that rarely used computer in the printing room.
’She probably found the marriage of convenience agreement that Sophie printed on that computer.’
He also had Preston Chase ask around to find out who first started the contract marriage rumor. The feedback he got was that it came from the socialite circle.
Lydia Wynn isn’t part of that circle, but Claire Sterling is. However, Claire Sterling is a fake socialite—her education and identity are all fabricated. She mingles in the socialite circle with the goal of landing a rich man.