Chapter 114

Waking up feeling sweaty, Shermaine took a shower.

Back in bed, she couldn’t fall back asleep. Feeling a bit hungry, she got up to find something to eat.

As Shermaine was rummaging through the kitchen, Joshua’s gentle voice came from behind. “What would you like to eat? I’ll make it for you.”

Shermaine turned around and saw the refined, gentlemanly man standing there. She thought, His cooking is better than mine. Without hesitation, she replied, “Pasta.”

Joshua took the tomatoes and vegetables from her hands, then grabbed two eggs from the fridge. He asked gently, “Can’t sleep?”

“I’m starting to remember bits from before I was taken,” Shermaine said, dropping into a chair with relaxed ease. “Honestly, recalling those details was a decent start.”

Joshua’s hand paused. When he first met Shermaine, he’d already had Bradley look into her abduction, and the trail led straight to Jameson.

Before, Joshua didn’t care much, but now, he just wanted to wring Jameson’s neck and kick his head around like a soccer ball.

Joshua pressed his lips together, softening his voice as if to coax her, “If you’re upset, I’ll make them pay for it.”

Shermaine arched an eyebrow. “So, how exactly are you planning to make them pay?”

“Not long ago, your father had a project that needed funding. Given our family ties, I invested five billion into it. If you want, I can withdraw that investment,” he said.

If he pulled the funding, Jameson’s project would have to halt immediately. He would have to scramble to find the next round of investors, and the downtime would cost him dearly.

The more Joshua thought about it, the more he itched to teach them a lesson for Shermaine right now.

Shermaine curled her lips into a faint smile. “That’s very thoughtful of you, but I’m not upset, just a bit annoyed with myself.”

She was mad at herself because she had been so naive. She cried over Jameson’s ignorance, took a tissue from a stranger, and ended up being kidnapped by traffickers.

Joshua finished washing the tomatoes and started slicing them. “Will some pasta help you cool off?”

She was just a little upset. After all, she’d been so young back then, and it was only natural to feel heartbroken. But the thought of having a delicious plate of pasta soon cheered her up. Shermaine nodded. “Sure.”

The pasta was ready in no time. Just as Shermaine had anticipated, it was absolutely delicious.

After finishing the pasta a little past 1 a.m., Shermaine wished Joshua good night and headed back to her room.

Back in his room, Joshua picked up the phone and called Bradley.

Still groggy from sleep, Bradley forced himself awake. “Mr. York, what’s so urgent?” He was exhausted and only wanted to sleep.

Joshua gave the order. “First thing tomorrow morning, notify the investment department to withdraw the five billion investment from Jameson's project.”

Bradley thought groggily, Couldn’t this wait until morning? Why now? After a pause, he muttered, “Mr. York… This is rather sudden.”

Joshua softened his tone and changed his mind. “Never mind. Redirect the funds to Ross’ project instead.”

“Alright.” Bradley couldn’t help but ask, half-joking, “Mr. York, is this your way of buttering up your future brother-in-law?”

“Got a problem with that?”

Bradley stifled a chuckle and said, “Got it. I’ll notify the investment department first thing tomorrow.”

The next day was Monday. Shermaine returned to school for classes.

The December tests were just around the corner.

Shermaine had been tutoring Class 9 for some time now, though she wasn’t quite sure how much their grades had actually improved.

Sheila had already been discharged from the hospital. Rumor had it she’d had a complete falling out with the Leeds family, severed all ties, and had now moved out to live on her own.

During the morning break, Summer grinned and teased, “Sheary, do you know you’ve officially become the queen bee of our school now?”

Shermaine arched an eyebrow, “What’s this about?”

Summer grinned and said, “Sheila admitted to everyone she’s no match for you and stepped down. Ever since word got out that you’re the new queen bee, students from other schools have stopped bullying us.”

One of the classmates cheered, “Sheary, you’re such a badass!”

The rest of the class erupted in cheers and playful shouts.

Shermaine just smiled, brushing it off, and that afternoon, she plunged back into the lab, fully absorbed in her work.

That night, after days of repeated testing, Shermaine finally succeeded in enhancing the frame rate of the surveillance video.

Shermaine clicked open the enhanced surveillance video. Frame by frame, the footage sharpened. The hit-and-run driver’s face, once a dark, indistinguishable blur, suddenly came into sharp focus as the brightness was adjusted.

Honestly, when Shermaine saw the hit-and-run driver’s face, her eyes darkened with icy fury. The man in the video was none other than Zack—the very same person she’d confronted during a home visit to Madeline’s house, driven by her curiosity to investigate that woman.