Turning Of The Tide (Natalie and Trevon)
Chapter 17

At the same time, the Foster family was not in a pleasant state.

Harry had a gloomy face, emanating a hostile aura. He was on the verge of anger and expressed extreme dissatisfaction with his wife, saying, "Look at what you've done. Now, what do you suggest we do? No only did we fail to harm Natalie and alert her, but she must have figured out it was us. Wasn't it supposed to be foolproof? Well. It's far from it." His tone was filled with blame for Elena's incompetence.

Not content with just reprimanding her, he thought for a moment and added, "You didn't leave any evidence behind, did you? If something happens, you'll have to deal with it yourself. If I'm out of the picture, you'll all be left high and dry."

Harry was incredibly disappointed with what Elena had accomplished this time. She couldn't even successfully bump into someone.

She seemed to spend her days playing cards, shopping, and indulging in beauty treatments.

Harry didn't understand why he was so infatuated with her.

At this moment, Elena had her heart filled with fear. She lowered her head and glanced down, her fingers tightly clenched in her palm. She hadn't informed Harry about the extortion. Trembling, she replied, "I don't know when Natalie learned those skills and became so capable of fighting. She never showed any signs of it before. If I had known, I definitely wouldn't have arranged things this way." She didn't mention that it wasn't supposed to end in failure.

As she finished speaking, Elena slowly lifted her head and observed Harry's expression. She noticed his brow was still furrowed, but it had eased slightly. She began to console him, saying, "But Harry, don't worry. I haven't left any evidence behind. And I've already destroyed the contact phone card. It wasn't registered under a real name. Natalie won't know it was us. If something really happens, I won't involve you."

Harry finally relaxed his brow. And the tension in his nerves eased.

Elena couldn't believe that Natalie was a professional fighter. Those two big men were no match for her. And they couldn't even get close to her.

According to those two men, Natalie didn't sustain any injuries. But the two men they sent were both severely injured. One had three broken ribs and a minor concussion, while the other dislocated his hand. It was all because of Natalie. She even broke one of his legs.

Those two men disturbed Elena and Harry's intimate moment early in the morning. Fuming angrily, they threatened to turn over the recorded conversation to the police if they didn't receive money. At that time, they would all meet their demise together.

Elena had no choice but to pay one million dollars to obtain the so-called recording and put an end to the matter.

However, this money came from her private stash, stored with a friend overseas. She deceived Harry, telling him that everything was taken care of. If he found out about the large sum of money she had saved and found that she gave away one million dollars to the other party, Harry would kill her. Her future days...

Just as Harry was starting to calm down, he realized that Natalie was capable of fighting to such an extent, and she had kept it a secret from him. Through gritted teeth, he cursed, "This cunning brat is devious and sly. She managed to deceive all of us with her skills. In all those years of surveillance at the mansion, no one ever reported anything about this. Look at what she did to those men. Is this how a young girl should behave? She's like a wild wolf that hasn't been tamed." Harry thought that Natalie was so relentless.

He had no idea that his own daughter possessed such impressive skills. He would never have allowed Elena to act recklessly if he had known earlier. Now, they were left empty-handed, unsure how to reclaim their assets.

After Harry's ex-wife jumped off the building, Barron demanded to sever ties with him. Moreover, Barron even took in Natalie. Fearing that his father would influence and groom Natalie, Harry sent someone to take care of them.

Until Natalie turned 15, the person Harry had sent to take care of them would only report mundane details of her daily routine, such as going to school, coming back home, and doing homework. Feeling sorry for the money spent, Harry found excuses to dismiss the person responsible for the reports.

With a headache, Harry held his aching forehead, feeling annoyed and irritable.

The living room fell into silence.

Emily, who woke up late, descended the stairs in her slippers and noticed something was amiss in the atmosphere of the living room. When Elena saw her daughter's arrival, she gave Emily a discreet signal, using eye contact and mouthing the words that things had gone awry.

Emily, who received the signal, knew why her father had a troubled expression on his face.

She casually approached her father, Harry, and gracefully sat beside him. Then she gently linked her arm with his and said in a sweet and affectionate voice, "Daddy, why are you so impatient? You know Natalie's temperament well. The more you confront her, the more she resists. We need to replace her weak points. Just think about it, who is the most important to her in her heart? Isn't it Grandfather and her mother?"

Harry, upon hearing his daughter's words, remained calm. He didn't need her to say it. He already knew that Natalie didn't see him as a father but rather as an enemy.

However, the two people who mattered the most to Natalie were already dead. So what could he use to threaten her?

Seeing that her father had little interest in listening, Emily continued to the main point. She said, "We can use what Natalie values the most, can't we? We can make her exchange her shares by telling her that there are still important things in your possession related to her grandfather and mother. She'll have to sign the share transfer agreement if she wants them.

"Isn't Mom's birthday coming up next month? Why don't we throw a banquet and invite her over? It will be harder for her to lose her temper in a crowd. We can plan everything then. Do you think she won't yield?"

Emily's eyes gleamed with calculations and pride.

Harry's eyes suddenly lit up. And then he repeatedly praised his clever daughter. Emily felt delighted by the praise. And the gloom that Elena had brought earlier dissipated.

But Harry was still a little worried that Natalie wouldn't come.

"Dad, don't worry. She will definitely come. As long as we make Mom's birthday banquet grand, we can lure her in," Emily said.

Emily thought that if Harry made sure everyone knew about Natalie's stepmother's birthday celebration and mentioned that there were belongings of her deceased mother in the Foster's residence, Natalie was bound to come.

Emily believed that given Natalie's temperament, Natalie wouldn't tolerate her mother, Elena, who had ruined the marriage, showing off so brazenly.

Emily's repeated assurance finally put Harry's lingering worries to rest.

Emily reminded Harry, saying, "Dad, during this time, let's not go and replace her. We should make Natalie lower her guard so she won't suspect our motives. That way, the banquet will have a better chance of success."

On the other hand, today was a rare occasion when both doctors finished work at the same time.

It was worth celebrating.

Sherri said, "Natalie, it's been a while since we went to a bar. How about I take you out tonight to replace some eye candy? Let's have a good time since we don't have to wake up early for the night shift tomorrow." Natalie let her cascading curls down. However, she always tied up her hair neatly when she went to work.

"I'm not going. I don't want to be hungover and have to work tomorrow," Natalie replied. Besides, Sherri tended to act differently when she drank. It seemed that she would become an entirely different person. Natalie was worried she couldn't handle Sherri without Edward's presence.

"Well. Come on, Natalie. Let me tell you about it. A huge new bar opened in Athana this year, and I haven't been there yet. Come with me and see what it's like," Sherri said. She had never been to the Lithern Club since its grand opening. But she heard from her circle of friends that it was a hotspot for handsome men and beautiful girls.

The energy and rhythm there were off the charts.

It had been Sherri's extravagant fantasy for a long time. But due to their conflicting work schedules, she couldn't spend time off with her best friend.

Moreover, she also wanted to help Natalie let loose and vent. Because she felt her friend had been carrying too many burdens, fearing that it might take a toll on Natalie's health.

With Sherri's persistent shaking, Natalie's willpower weakened. And then she reluctantly nodded in agreement.

After Natalie returned the car to Sherri in the morning, the driver returned it to the Landor family's underground garage.

Sherri was worried that Natalie might criticize her driving skills later. So she asked in advance, "Who is going to drive, you or me?"

Giving Sherri a disdainful glance, Natalie replied, "I don't know the directions. So you drive."

"It's you who asked me to drive. So don't complain about my driving skills later. I feel so much pressure every time you ride in my car," Sherri responded.

"If your driving skills were better, you wouldn't feel insecure. Don't blame it on me," Natalie said.

"Well. Your exceptional driving skills make me feel a little inadequate, okay?"

"Fine. I'll sleep then. You can show off your driving skills all you want." With that, Natalie closed her eyes.

After the fight she had last night, Natalie felt a bit tired. She thought to herself, "It seems that staying at Adare Manor for too long without exercising has deteriorated my physical fitness. I should get up tomorrow and go for a run to work on improving it."

Soon, the sound of even breaths filled the air. Sherri glanced at her best friend's face during a red light. Natalie had lost a lot of weight. And Sherri felt extreme concern for her.

She knew that Natalie must be going through a lot of hardships. And it pained Sherri deeply.

When a person had too many things on their mind and didn't share them, it was easy to develop an illness.

Natalie was always considerate and shared the good but not the bad.

After a while, the car stopped at the Athana shopping mall parking lot.

Sherri gently nudged Natalie and said, "We're here, Natalie."

Rubbing her sleepy eyes and yawning, Natalie realized they were in the wrong place. Feeling puzzled, she asked, "This isn't the bar's parking lot, is it?"

"We're going somewhere else that might require stylish clothes. Come on. Let's grab something to eat. And then we'll go shopping for clothes," Sherri explained.

"Sherri, do we really need to go all out for a bar? Can't we just sit quietly and enjoy the atmosphere?" Natalie asked.

"Nope. You have to shake it up tonight. You'll definitely steal the show," Sherri replied.

After hearing that, Natalie was speechless. She wanted to say that she didn't want to steal the show, considering she was already married. But seeing Sherri's excitement, Natalie decided not to dampen her spirits and went along with the fun.

After all, she and Trevon were in fake relationships. Natalie thought that it was unlikely they would run into each other.