Mrs Hale, I Surrender
Chapter 285 - 284 Junior President Payne: It might be an elderly scam gang.

Chapter 285: 284 Junior President Payne: It might be an elderly scam gang.

"I’m not bothering you, am I?" the Old Lady’s voice was tinged with laughter, very polite, "I want to place a custom order for some incense."

"Sure, we can’t discuss the details over the phone, let’s schedule a time to talk in person."

After Zoe Bell hung up the phone, Tim Payne finally asked her where the grandmother came from.

"I met her at the hospital, she wants to order incense sticks."

"She’s not very adept with smart devices and computers, so we’ve arranged to meet offline."

"A chance encounter?" Tim Payne raised an eyebrow, "These days, there are a lot of scammers, so be careful, especially with elderly scam rings. After all, it’s easy to let one’s guard down around the elderly."

"She didn’t seem like it."

"Could they be expected to have ’scammer’ written on their faces? It’s always good to be more cautious, don’t meet with her alone." Tim Payne, who had only just gotten his sister back, naturally treasured her extra.

Moreover, she had been kidnapped before; Tim Payne was sure to be cautious.

Zoe Bell nodded in agreement.

"Don’t just brush me off!" Tim Payne instructed.

"I got it—"

"Your attitude doesn’t seem right."

"Then how about I bring you along when I meet her?"

"When did you guys arrange to meet?"

"Tomorrow afternoon."

"Then I’ll go with you."

"..."

Zoe Bell was stunned.

She was only joking with her brother, but he was actually serious about going, "Isn’t the company busy recently?"

"The parents are back, and most of our clients have been coming to our mom for custom jewelry, so I’ve had some free time lately." The key was that the difficult uncle had left, making Tim Payne feel like the air at home was even fresher than before.

"Don’t you need to go back to the family estate to tidy up? After all, it’s being renovated."

"With my aunt and her family there, it’s not my turn to worry about such things."

Zoe Bell nodded in agreement.

After having dinner with her brother, she received a call from Hannah Johnson, inviting her to come over to her place in the evening. She went with William Hale, bringing some fruits and desserts. When they arrived at Yarden, they found out that, besides themselves, there were also Simon Hale, Michale Shaw, and several of Hannah’s friends.

Aside from Simon Hale helping out in the kitchen, the rest were playing cards.

"Go on and play; my sister-in-law is here." It was a private gathering, and Michale Shaw was dressed very casually.

But...

A floral shirt with a suit?

It had a bit of a retro Hong Kong style vibe.

"Sister-in-law, it’s cold outside, isn’t it? I’ll pour you some tea." Michale Shaw was fawning over her.

The last time he called Isaac Shea brother-in-law, he’d been avoiding William Hale ever since. Now he approached with an ingratiating smile, "Hale, long time no see."

"Have you been avoiding me recently?"

"No way, how could that be? If I don’t see you for a day, it feels like three autumns have passed!"

"So why don’t you answer my calls?"

"..."

Michale Shaw was afraid of being silenced by William Hale.

He had previously contacted Wyatt Hale, who said that to stay alive, all he had to do was stick with Zoe Bell, so he never strayed far from her, not moving more than half a meter away except when she went to the restroom.

William Hale raised an eyebrow: "What’s up? You’re that clingy to my wife?"

"I just feel a connection with my sister-in-law. Maybe in a past life, we were siblings."

"She doesn’t have a thick-skinned brother like you."

Michale Shaw clenched his teeth.

Forget it, if he couldn’t outfight or outtalk, he’d just have to endure.

It was Isaac Shea cooking today. Originally, Hannah Johnson’s circle of friends had some reservations when they heard she’d found a little puppy love, considering Hannah wasn’t someone who took care of others. They figured this couple wouldn’t last long together.

But now all they could think was:

Where did they unearth such a treasure?

"You go out and have a seat first, I’ll take care of the rest," Isaac Shea signaled for Simon Hale to leave the kitchen.

"Okay, call me if you need anything."

"Did you two make up?" William Hale looked at his cousin.

"Yeah."

"Just a few days ago, you looked like you’d never forgive him, and suddenly you’ve changed your tune."

"He has a few out-of-print professional books."

"..."

"And there’s an experiment project he said he’d include me in."

William Hale chuckled lowly.

Isaac Shea was quite good at appealing to others’ interests.

During the meal, as Hannah Johnson watched Michale Shaw buzzing around, she only felt a headache brewing. She hadn’t intended to invite him, but Isaac Shea wanted to, for the same reason:

They hit it off!

She couldn’t see any connection between the two.

To shut someone up, Hannah Johnson said somewhat inadvertently, "I heard your family is thinking of sending you off to be a live-in son-in-law?"

"Cough—"

Every word drew everyone’s gaze toward Michale Shaw.

"Marrying into the family?"

"Big sis, stop spouting nonsense. What marrying into the family?"

"Aren’t you having a matchmaking meeting with Celine Payne?"

Michale Shaw felt like his head was going to explode, "We don’t like each other, it’s impossible for us to be together."

"The Payne Family wants a son-in-law?" Someone curiously asked.

"It seems so. Celine Payne’s father married into the Payne Family, and she is an only daughter. Given her mother’s domineering personality, it’s very likely they would want someone to marry into the family."

"Why insist on finding someone to marry in?"

"They’re probably afraid that marrying her off would result in getting little of the inheritance."

"Right, did you guys know that the Payne Family has a secret?" someone whispered.

"What secret?" Michale Shaw was very gossipy.

"It’s said that Junior President Payne might have a sister."

Zoe Bell: "..."

Hannah Johnson rested her chin on her hand, looking at her bestie, "Where did you hear such a rumor?"

"It’s not just gossip. Once, Celine Payne got drunk and claimed she was the true Miss Payne and that no one could take that from her. She also said that being favored was useless; they couldn’t match up to her."

Michale Shaw frowned, "Is that so?"

Looking around in Capital City, there was actually gossip even he was unaware of.

He wanted to know more, but Hannah Johnson’s bestie only knew this much, which left him feeling dejected.

Little did he know that he was right in front of the person prominently featured in these gossipy discussions.

During this meal, Zoe Bell also learned about some matters from the sidelines.

Such as:

Celine Payne was naturally arrogant and overbearing.

Only because she had been restrained by her mother in recent years had she toned down a bit.

Hence her reputation in the social circles wasn’t very good.

But she behaved quite well in front of her family.

The Payne Family elders also doted on this granddaughter.

"By the way, I heard that Celine Payne’s parents have been sleeping in separate beds for a while; their relationship is just so-so," Michale Shaw said.

William Hale: "Are you sleeping under their bed? You know about people’s marital issues?"

"I..."

Michale Shaw huffed and stopped talking.

Zoe Bell frowned, but it seemed that the aunt and uncle of the Payne Family did indeed have issues.

When she had previously confronted Celine Payne, only Iva Payne had come to the Hale Family to visit. It was just the mother and daughter, and this uncle hadn’t shown his face at all.

Aside from banquets, the couple was rarely seen together.

It looked like there were many little secrets in the Payne Family.

Returning home with this puzzle, she picked out some incense sticks from inventory, packed them up, and considerately added two incense holders, ready to meet that Old Lady the next day.

The appointment was set for four o’clock in the afternoon, at a siheyuan located in the suburbs.

The car couldn’t drive in, requiring a seven to eight-minute walk.

Tim Payne frowned as he looked at the winding path ahead; his head hurt, "Zoe, are you sure the other party is a good person?"

In such a place, if anything happened, it would be hard to even find an escape route.

Kyle Lowe, carrying the items, silently followed behind, memorizing every alley they passed.

"It should be that they’re not bad people."

"You’re really not afraid of running into swindlers, huh."

This wasn’t Zoe Bell’s first time delivering goods offline.

Her older cousin’s friends who reserved incense sticks either had her or someone else deliver them.

"Don’t worry, with brother here, I feel at ease."

Those words made Tim Payne feel rather pleased with himself.

The deeper they went, the less human presence there was.

The cold wind howled, rushing wildly through the narrow alleys, cutting at their faces with its sharpness.

Using the house numbers, they found the location, and Tim Payne even sent his location to Assistant Law, telling him to call the police if they couldn’t reach him.

This left Assistant Law completely baffled:

It was just a delivery, after all.

Surely it wasn’t life-threatening.

Zoe Bell knocked on the door, which swung open with a push. The courtyard featured trees, stone tables, and benches, and a large folded umbrella, which all looked incredibly desolate in the winter season.

"Hello, is anyone there?" Zoe Bell stood at the entrance.

She glanced at the house number again to make sure she hadn’t gotten it wrong.

"I’m here."

Following an elderly voice, the door to the southern room opened, and a wind-blocking curtain was lifted. The first thing to appear was a crutch, followed by an Old Lady with silvery hair.

"I’m so sorry. Was our place hard to find? Please come in quickly..."

The Old Lady didn’t finish speaking when her gaze collided with Tim Payne’s.

Both of them froze on the spot.

Tim Payne had always suspected his sister might have encountered some elderly scam ring. And now...