Chapter 99: Caleb Lowell Inquiring About the Video
In a moment of inspiration, Jane Lancaster looked out the car window.
Her eyes met Jasper Sterling’s, who was sitting in a black car next to hers.
The driver hadn’t received any new instructions, so the car continued to drive steadily forward.
Clutching her phone, Jane Lancaster turned back to see that Jasper Sterling had already gotten out and was standing by the roadside, watching her car drive away.
The young man was tall and elegant in his well-tailored suit. His silhouette alone was enough to make one’s heart flutter.
And that was without even mentioning his devastatingly handsome face.
Under the night sky, his beautiful, gentle eyes delivered a critical blow to the heart of the driver in the car behind him, who got so flustered they nearly jerked the steering wheel off course.
After swerving for a moment, the driver finally stabilized the car and reluctantly took another glance in the rearview mirror.
Once her view was blocked, Jane Lancaster finally turned her head forward and told the driver, "Turn around!"
"Wait for me. I’m coming to find you right now," Jane Lancaster said into her phone.
Jasper Sterling watched another car pass by, his voice calm. "Don’t. I’m leaving now."
Jane Lancaster was a little stunned. "Didn’t you come to see me?"
Jasper Sterling’s voice was gentle. "Yes, I did come to see you. I just wanted to get a glimpse of you. But now that I have, there’s no need to meet. It wouldn’t be good for you."
"Why wouldn’t it be good for me?" Jane Lancaster thought for a moment. "Are you afraid Caleb Lowell will get the wrong idea?"
’No, shouldn’t he be afraid Caleb *won’t* find out? Isn’t the whole point of stealing someone’s girl to make Caleb furious?’
Jasper Sterling didn’t need to hear her thoughts to guess what was on her mind.
"I’m not afraid Caleb will get the wrong idea. You’re about to get engaged, and being seen with me too often right now would be bad for your reputation if word got out," he explained patiently.
Today’s online exposé had been enough of a lesson for him.
After all, men and women are different. Once a third person enters a relationship, regardless of whether that third party is male or female, the woman always receives the harshest criticism.
Caleb Lowell and Beverly Lynch almost had an arranged marriage, and it was clearly Caleb’s fickleness that should have been condemned.
But those people insisted on speculating with the utmost malice that Jane Lancaster was the other woman who had interfered.
If she were in frequent contact with him before the engagement party, and any drama were to occur, people would probably concoct stories about her being unvirtuous.
He really, truly liked Jane Lancaster, and he couldn’t tolerate the slightest damage to her reputation.
Jane Lancaster’s thoughts raced. The cool summer night breeze blew in, and just as she was about to speak, the window of the car next to her suddenly rolled down, revealing Caleb Lowell’s face.
"Jay."
"Well then, that’s all for now, Senior. Good night, and sweet dreams." Hearing Caleb Lowell’s voice, Jasper Sterling promptly hung up the phone.
「」
Caleb Lowell had his own designated guest room at the Lancaster residence.
Back when Jane Lancaster was recuperating at home, he had often stayed with the Lancaster family to be with her.
After his last business trip, he had taken the opportunity to move back to his own home.
Returning now, he felt as if a lifetime had passed.
Mama Knight enthusiastically brought out fruit and a late-night snack. "Young Master Lowell, you must be hungry after working so late. Have a little something to tide you over, or you’ll be starving later tonight."
Caleb Lowell thanked her, his heart softening as he looked at Jane Lancaster sitting on the sofa.
’She must feel wronged by what happened today.’
Alvin Lancaster angrily pounded the sofa. "What was that leaker’s motive? It’s outrageous to slander Jay like that!"
He paused, then explained to Jane Lancaster, "There was a problem with the project over in Europe, so our older brother had to fly there on short notice. He didn’t have time to tell you."
Jane Lancaster replied, "Then I should hurry and text him to say I’m fine. Otherwise, he’ll worry himself to death when he sees the news after his plane lands."
’So that’s what happened. No wonder Julian Lancaster wasn’t texting back. I was just thinking that didn’t fit his "dote on my sister or die trying" persona.’
Caleb Lowell mused, "The leaker must be an acquaintance. Otherwise, they wouldn’t know so many details."
Alvin Lancaster’s brow furrowed. "Who on earth hates you this much? Jay, do you have any leads?"
Jane Lancaster said with a calm expression, "No."
’Plenty of people hate me. After all, I have so much dirt on my record. Who knows who’s trying to take me down this time?’
Caleb Lowell stared at her, his brow gradually knitting together. "You really don’t know?"
Jane Lancaster began to ponder as well.
’Was it Jim Jenson, Vincent Holt, or Clayton Lowell?’
’Could it be related to the video Pauline Shaw had? Don’t tell me Julian Lancaster didn’t handle it properly, causing the other party to retaliate and decide to expose me?’
’Looks like Julian Lancaster was a bit too ruthless.’
Caleb Lowell’s eyes grew dark and profound. He now had a probable direction and a few leads for his investigation.
「」
In the end, Caleb Lowell still made the call to Pauline Shaw.
"Cousin, you want to see that video?" A mix of complicated feelings churned inside Pauline Shaw. She had wanted him to watch it so badly before, but he had refused.
Now that she no longer had the video, he was asking to see it.
"I’m sorry, Cousin. The video... Julian forced me to delete it the day he came back."
A muscle in Caleb Lowell’s brow twitched. ’Did Julian Lancaster really act that fast?’
He suddenly thought of something. "Where did you get the video? Did you tell him?"
Pauline Shaw replied, "A classmate of mine filmed it. I happened to come across it and bought it. I don’t know if Julian knows, but it seemed like he’d seen the video."
Caleb Lowell’s voice turned much more serious. "What’s your classmate’s name? Tell me, quickly!"
Pauline Shaw was startled. After giving him the name, she asked, "Cousin, did something happen?"
"No," Caleb Lowell’s voice was hard. A moment later, he added, "Don’t tell anyone about this."
Pauline Shaw hung up, worried.
She turned around and saw Gordon Dawson standing behind her. She had no idea how much he’d heard.
"Ian, what do you think is going on? My classmate won’t get into trouble, will he?" She hadn’t thought much of it when she bought the video, but now, the more she thought about it, the more scared she became.
The way Julian Lancaster had used both threats and promises that night still made her break out in a cold sweat just thinking about it.
Gordon Dawson pinched her chin and gave her a kiss. "Don’t overthink it. Since you can’t sleep, why don’t we do something fun instead?"
Pauline Shaw smacked him. "You’re awful!"
「」
When Jane Lancaster woke up early the next morning, she found a text from an unknown number on her phone.
The text read, *Caleb Lowell is asking about the video. He’s already tracked down Zach Miller.*
Jane Lancaster lowered her gaze and thought for a moment before remembering who Zach Miller was.
The guy was total cannon fodder, yet he had unexpectedly become a hero.
In the novel, he had accidentally witnessed "Jane Lancaster" bullying someone. Shocked by his goddess’s two-faced nature, he filmed the entire incident.
He had forgotten all about it after filming the video, only remembering its existence when he heard the news that Jane Lancaster had woken up.
As fate would have it, he ran into Pauline Shaw and struck up a conversation with her.
But Pauline Shaw was quite aloof at the time. As a regular high school classmate from a different class, she wasn’t in the mood to reminisce with him.
In a moment of excitement, Zach Miller pulled out the video.
After watching it, Pauline Shaw immediately transferred 100,000 yuan to him, saying she wanted to buy the video outright and that he was not allowed to share it with anyone else.
The money came too easily. Zach Miller wasn’t stupid; although he knew about the kidnapping case, he didn’t know what the suspect looked like.
Pauline Shaw was so serious about it that suspicions began to sprout in his mind. He did some research and discovered that the suspect from the kidnapping case looked exactly like the man being bullied in the video!