Chapter 54: Something Is Wrong

Helen’s POV

I don’t know why, but ever since Gwen came home from the science trip, she hadn’t come out of her room.

At first, I thought she was simply tired.

The trip had probably been exhausting, so I didn’t think much of it.

But after several hours, I started to worry.

She would only come out to get food before returning to her room.

Something was wrong.

And Chris had been gone for almost thirty-eight hours now.

He had told me he would probably stay there for a day or two, so I thought it might take another three days before he returned.

Still, I couldn’t focus on anything else.

Maybe I should have gone with him.

I was still thinking about it when the doorbell rang.

I quickly went to open the door.

The moment I opened it, I froze.

Chris was standing there.

And beside him was a woman.

No.

A girl, perhaps in her early twenties.

I stepped aside, letting them enter.

The girl didn’t say anything.

Chris simply pointed toward the guest room, and she walked inside without a word.

I closed the door and looked at Chris.

My mind immediately started filling with questions.

Who is she?

Was she his girlfriend?

Did he meet her in Africa?

Actually…Did he even go to Africa?

The more I thought about it, the more suspicious it sounded.

Maybe he had gone to some party.

Or maybe he had gone on a date.

If that was the case, why hadn’t he simply told me?

It wasn’t as if I would stop him from going somewhere.

My biggest concern was the girl herself.

What if she started taking advantage of him?

Chris had more money than most people could even imagine.

Someone could easily approach him because of that.

I was still thinking about it when Chris spoke.

“Helen, I need the documents for my mother’s companies. And I want to know who’s currently managing them.”

I blinked.

“The companies?”

“Yes. I want to change the management.” He said it so casually that I almost forgot about the girl.

My eyes briefly moved toward the guest room where she had gone.

Was he planning to give the companies to her?

I wasn’t sure, but I remembered the promise I had made to Josephine.

She had told me not to hand the companies over to some girl.

If Chris really intended to do that, then I was about to break the promise I had made to her.

But I trusted Chris.

If he had decided this was the right thing to do, then I was willing to trust his judgment.

I answered, “I’ll get everything for you.” Chris nodded before adding, “All of them.” I nodded again before he suddenly asked, “And Helen, what about buying the neighborhood?”

“Nothing major. A few people are becoming a little difficult, but I’ll handle it. It should be completed.”

“Although, Chris, to complete this quickly, I had to use some of the officials your parents used to work with. They want to meet you and show their support, so I think you should meet them.”

“I’m not interested.” He didn’t even think about it before adding, “At least for another month.”

I nodded, and Chris then said, “Obadiah.”

I looked at him in surprise.

“Obadiah?”

“Yes, I want to talk to him.”

I didn’t understand why until he explained, “I think he will need people on his side for now, especially with Tony being kidnapped.”

I frowned and thought about it.

This information wasn’t even public.

I only knew about it because Pepper had asked me if I had any connections in Afghanistan.

After that, I had done some research and found out that Tony had been kidnapped.

Chris already knew, even when he wasn’t fully paying attention.

Just how large was Chris’s information network?

Chris seemed completely calm about it, as if finding out about something like that before the public was nothing unusual.

“And I also want you to arrange a meeting with Pepper,” he added.

“At the same time?” I asked.

He replied with a small smile, “No.

Different time.” I agreed, “Okay, I’ll handle it.”

Chris then looked around the hallway before asking, “Where is Gwen?”

I replied with a worried expression, “After coming back from the trip, she hasn’t really come out.”

Chris’s expression became tense.

“What do you mean?”

“She only comes out to get food.

Otherwise, she stays inside.” He stared at me for a moment before asking, “She’s going to be sixteen in a few months, right?”

“Yes.” He immediately turned and walked toward her room, and I followed him.

Chris stopped in front of Gwen’s door and knocked.

“Gwen?”

There was no response, so he knocked again, this time raising his voice slightly.

“Gwen, are you in there?” Still, there was only silence.

His expression became more serious as he tried once more.

“Gwen, open the door.”

Nothing.

“I’ll break the door,” he warned, but Gwen still didn’t respond.

Chris placed his hand on the lock, and before I could react, he pulled.

The entire lock came off as easily as if it had been made of cotton candy.

The door opened, and I followed him inside.

Gwen was sitting on her bed with her laptop resting on her lap.

She seemed completely focused on whatever she was searching for.

For a moment, I wondered if she was simply researching something from her trip.

Maybe I had been worrying for nothing.

Chris stepped further into the room and called her name.

“Gwen.”

She immediately looked toward him before shouting, “GET OUT!”

I flinched.

Gwen had never spoken to Chris like that before.

Something was clearly wrong with her.

Chris, however, didn’t leave.

He looked at her for a moment before calmly saying, “Okay. I was going to tell you later, Gwen, when you were ready, but after seeing you like this, I think we should talk now.”

Gwen’s expression changed, and she looked uncomfortable, almost as if she had been caught hiding something.

Chris glanced at the laptop before looking back at her.

“Tell me what happened.”

She lowered her eyes and replied softly, “Nothing.”