Riches in Disguise

Isabelle was stunned. And so was I.

What kind of logic was this? How did Quintus end up being the "pawn"?

Charlotte crossed her arms, looking utterly disdainful. "I guess after we went missing, William must have investigated secretly and discovered that Alexander abducted us. So, he sent someone to rescue us, but he was too timid to show himself, so he just kept watch from the shadows.

"Then, when they heard we were saved but didn't know who helped us, they came forward to claim credit, pretending to be our saviors—just like Lucas!"

Isabelle suddenly understood but then furrowed her brows. "That can't be right. William isn't that kind of person."

"Come on, Isabelle. Why are you still defending that guy? He is indeed that kind of person, and this isn't the first time he's done something like this!

"Otherwise, why did he deliberately let this guy drop the bracelet if he wanted to hide his identity? Isn't it just a case of 'the more you try to hide, the more you reveal about yourself'? He wants us to inflate his value!"

What impressive mental gymnastics. Charlotte rambled on for so long and somehow managed to make it all come full circle.

The reasoning was flawless, and even I believed it.

Quintus was frustrated. "Stop making things up! The young scion never wanted to reveal his identity. He saved you, and now you're maliciously speculating about him? You're repaying kindness with ingratitude!"

I covered my face, completely desperate. What Quintus said was no different from blowing my cover!

It wasn't his fault. He wasn't from around here. He was a guy who had been practicing martial arts since childhood. He was all brawn and had no brains. Expecting him to engage in mental gymnastics and come up with a quick-witted explanation for something was a challenge.

Fortunately, the more he tried to explain, the more Charlotte didn't buy it.

"Look at him. I exposed his little trick, and now he's panicking. Just a moment ago, he said he didn't want to reveal his boss' identity, but now he's practically spilling the beans! So, Isabelle, the person who saved us, wasn't William. He just found a pawn to pretend to be the hero!"

She crossed her arms and sneered.

"At least he's a bit smarter than Lucas. He knows how to act a little, unlike Lucas, who just claimed credit without any care for leaving evidence or a way out."

Isabelle was now confused, her face full of doubt. But she couldn't find a way to refute it.

After all, Charlotte's suspicions were somewhat justified. If I had truly come to rescue them, there was no reason to stay hidden or wait for Alexander's group to leave before sending Quintus to escort them back to school.

They would never believe the truth-that I really didn't want to expose my identity.

Although things had turned out differently than I expected, at least the identity cover-up was a success.

I sent a message to Quintus. "Take them back to school now. Don't worry about the rest. Just ignore whatever they say. I don't care."

After reading the message, Quintus sighed. "I'll take you both back to school."

Charlotte chuckled. "Let's go, Isabelle. Let him keep pretending if he wants to. Since there's a car, we might as well use it."

Isabelle shook her head and followed Charlotte into the car. Once they left, I stepped out from the shadows, stretching my numb legs. They were finally gone.

The car Quintus had taken was the

one Alexander had left behind to

escort Isabelle. Another car was

parked outside, which was his. drove his car back to the city center and parked it in his garage.

Afterward found a place to eat. But before I could do that, I got a call from Lina. I thought she was calling to reconcile, but Charlotte's voicenoveldrama

came through as soon as I

answered.

"William's ridiculous actions weren't limited to this one! His pretending to be our savior was just so absurd. I've never met anyone so shameless in my life."

Then, Lina quietly asked, "William, what did you do to offend Charlotte? She's been badmouthing you every chance she can get since she got back."