Mrs Hale, I Surrender
Chapter 271 - 270 Just need Finn Hale, if that kid isn’t dead

Chapter 271: 270 Just need Finn Hale, if that kid isn’t dead

Celine Payne had just finished soaking in the hot spring, wrapped in an exquisite yukata, her cheeks flushed, and after exchanging a few words with her companions, she approached them alone, "Haven’t you eaten yet?"

Tim Payne nodded, yet his face betrayed no particular emotion.

"Why did you suddenly leave during the banquet earlier? Did something happen?" Celine asked, seemingly nonchalant.

Her gaze drifted and finally settled on Finn Hale.

"Nothing."

A group of people hurriedly leaving, how could there be nothing wrong.

But when Celine later tried to inquire about it, she got no results.

"Do you have anything else?" Tim looked at her.

"Nothing, I just saw you all and came over to say hello?" Celine’s face lit up with a smile, "Mrs. Hale, you can go soak in the hot spring, it should help with the recovery of your leg injury."

"Okay, thank you," Zoe Bell responded with a smile.

The Payne couple had set up the banquet here, having heard from doctors that moderate hot spring bathing was beneficial for Zoe’s leg injury.

"I’m sorry if we’ve been too busy to attend to everything properly tonight," she continued.

Celine carried herself with the air of a hostess.

Zoe only smiled and said, "Miss Payne, you’re too kind."

"Have a pleasant evening."

Celine spoke and then turned to leave.

She sat down at a table not far from the group of four.

Among the four, Zoe was the only woman; her teacup had just run dry. She was about to grab the teapot, but Finn promptly passed it to Tim, who refilled her cup.

William Hale was focused on serving her food.

Three men, all attending to her needs.

Celine’s hand, resting under the table, clenched tightly.

Just an orphan, a cripple, what made her so special!

Even her own cousin looked at her differently, was it all because of those eyes?

"Celine, Mrs. Hale is quite capable, isn’t she?" a companion marveled, "I’ve never seen your brother treat any woman so well."

"Junior President Payne usually doesn’t show up at all, let alone dine with someone."

"It must be out of respect for Mr. Hale, otherwise what right does a lone girl have to dine with them?"

"Mr. Hale himself is something, there are so many ladies in the Capital City hoping to marry into the Hale family, yet he... ends up with such a wife, even secretly registering for marriage. That woman is really something."

Celine frowned, "Enough, Mrs. Hale is a nice person, don’t talk nonsense."

"She must have some extraordinary qualities to have married Mr. Hale."

Her companion laughed slyly, whispering, "Extraordinary qualities? Are we talking about in the bedroom?"

As they talked, Celine’s gaze remained fixed on that particular table.

Finn wasn’t planning to stay overnight at the resort, and he got up to leave early.

He had no desire to get caught up in the affair between Isaac Shea and Hannah Johnson.

If he stayed any longer, who knows if his beloved nephew might not trap him again.

Celine gritted her teeth and followed him.

"Mr. Hale!"

Finn wasn’t foolish.

Each time he visited the Payne family, he would always encounter Celine, and always during working hours on weekdays.

Pretending to take a call, he acted as if he hadn’t heard her.

This only made Celine more frustrated and annoyed.

When she returned to her room, she was so angry that she threw all the table decorations around.

"What’s wrong now?" her mother Iva Payne, who had been working, looked over at her daughter, "Did you hit a wall with Finn?"

Her silence was an admission.

"I’ve told you before, Finn is no ordinary man, and the Hale elders are notoriously tough."

Celine clenched her teeth, "The Hale family could even accept an orphan who had been engaged, why can’t they accept me?"

"There’s a rumor that Finn has someone he likes, someone he even chased abroad. You should give up on him."

Inside the circle, many had heard whispers of Finn’s affairs.

"What special someone! He doesn’t have one, that’s just rumor. Has anyone even seen that woman?"

"Michale Shaw and Isaac Shea are both good choices for you."

"Mom, you saw tonight, Young Master Shea’s eyes were practically glued to Hannah Johnson."

"Then Michale Shaw it is!"

"I just want Finn Hale, only him," Celine Payne explained, rubbing her temples with a headache.

"Mom, I’ve never asked you for anything over the years. I just want to marry Finn Hale. Please help me come up with a solution," Celine Payne pleaded as she wrapped her arms around her mother’s arm. "I just saw Cousin with Finn Hale and William Hale again."

"What did you say?" Iva Payne’s face shifted slightly in color.

"If things continue this way and we fall out with uncle, the Hale Family will definitely support them, and your position in the company will be in peril."

"To think about it, Cousin is really good to Zoe Bell."

"He actually waits on her hand and foot."

"Cousin Miss has been dead for so many years, yet uncle’s family still can’t forget her."

Iva Payne’s brow furrowed deeply. "Shut up. Don’t ever mention that person."

"I understand. Aunt couldn’t bear the shock at the time and fell ill. She went to Summerland to recuperate. I was thinking, if uncle’s family favors Zoe Bell so much, maybe if grandfather and grandmother come back and see her, they might even transfer their feelings for Cousin Miss onto her."

Celine Payne shook her mother’s arm. "Mom, will grandfather and grandmother stop loving me because of her?"

"What nonsense are you talking about? You are their direct granddaughter, and that Zoe Bell, no matter how similar, is just an outsider!"

"Anyway, grandfather and grandmother used to adore Cousin Miss more."

"That’s enough..." Iva Payne embraced her daughter. "She’s already dead."

"Why are you competing with a dead person!"

"Mom," Celine Payne looked at her mother, "what if she isn’t dead?"

"Impossible! Two adults in the car died, the police investigated, and the death report has been issued. How could she not be dead?"

"I’m just saying what if..."

Iva Payne’s face grew stern and she said no more.

That child’s remains were never found.

The police said her body might have been eaten by fish after the car fell into the sea, and then dispersed by the water, so only some remnants of clothing were found.

That her brother and sister-in-law returned to the Capital City was already beyond her expectations.

Even the usually reclusive Tim Payne was going out and socializing more often than usual.

Could it be...

They really wanted to come back and seize power?

It’s always like this with people; once you hold something in your hands for long, you start to believe it’s rightfully yours.

If things continue this way, it won’t do. She needs to think of a solution.

**

Zoe Bell returned to her room and, claiming to be too tired, fell asleep immediately, fearing that William Hale would come to her with "troubles."

William Hale, of course, was reluctant to bother his wife. "I’m stepping out for a bit; you get some rest early."

He left the bedroom and with a single call summoned Kyle Lowe and Zac Cruz.

The two were still unaware of the news about Hannah Johnson and Isaac Shea, somewhat puzzled.

In the middle of the night, what is the boss up to now?

"I asked you two to keep an eye on Cousin Miss. Has she shown any signs of unusual behavior lately?" William Hale was always stern and unexpressive, and the two dared not look straight at the boss, merely bowing their heads slightly and reporting no abnormalities.

"Are you certain?"

Zac Cruz: "Indeed, there’s nothing."

"Kyle Lowe, last time I was abroad, I was worried about the Wells Family causing trouble, and you were the one who drove Zoe away from the old house, weren’t you?" William Hale spoke directly.

"I did," Kyle Lowe admitted. "First, we went to Cousin Miss’s place, then to Junior President Payne’s house."

"So you didn’t run into Isaac Shea."

"And you had no idea he had been living with Cousin Miss for quite some time?"

Kyle Lowe felt as if struck by lightning, and Zac Cruz beside him was equally trembling with trepidation.

Dammit!

What’s going on?

When did this man’s affair come to light?

Having followed William Hale for many years, he could instantly tell something was off with the two of them.

Good grief,

it turns out everyone knew but kept him in the dark!

As Kyle Lowe pondered how to respond, Zac Cruz suddenly frowned: "Kyle Lowe, what’s going on? Who is Isaac Shea? Aren’t you the one usually keeping an eye on Cousin Miss? How did you miss something this big?"

A million thoughts of frustration stampeded through Kyle Lowe’s mind!

This bastard, throwing me under the bus at a time like this.

Fine then, if we’re going to die, we’ll die together.