A Replacement Bride

Chapter 363

When Joaquin heard Noah acknowledge him, his dark eyes filled with astonishment and happiness. She's right. We're finally a complete family! The corners of his lips curved upward as he chuckled.

As Katherine watched the touching exchange from a distant corner of the living room, she couldn't help but crack a grin. The issue between the father and daughter has been resolved. In the end, my involvement is not necessary. Moreover, Noah's affection for and reliance on her father have flourished. Then, with a sigh of relief, she straightened up and returned to her bedroom.

However, her grin soon faded as she entered her bedroom. Then, she cast a wary glance as she walked to the balcony to call Owen. "I don't want to see any news regarding Levisay Group in the next few days."

The man was a quick thinker and immediately grasped that Katherine was instructing him to cause trouble within the Levisay Group to slow their momentum. When Owen heard her command, he felt elated and immediately complied. "Don't worry, Miss Katherine. I know what to do."

Without uttering another word, she hung up the call.

As Katherine admired the view from the balcony, a chilly light glinted in her bright eyes.

She had no trouble bringing down the Levisay Group. However, Joaquin was still a member of the Levisay Family, and although she was aware of his hatred for them, she did not know what he was planning. She believed that, given his skills, he could control the Levisay Group. Moreover, she wondered if his low profile in recent years was because he was waiting for the right opportunity.

Therefore, she did not command Owen to utterly destroy the Levisays but instead made him oppress them to teach them a lesson. Hah! How dare the Levisays try to collaborate with W Co. and even use

my daughter as bait to threaten me? Nevertheless, their plan is poorly thought out and despicable.

Katherine was extraordinary mercy by sparing the Levisays for the time being. For the sake of Joaquin, she decided to let them off the hook. There was no assurance that she would make the same decision if they tried to pull the same stunt again.

After pondering for some time, she decided to collect her thoughts and return to the bedroom to change her clothes.

Suddenly, Katherine stopped in her tracks and looked around the room cautiously before her eyes settled on the bedside table. She approached the table, looked at the seemingly ordinary surface, and opened the drawer. All the items inside were neatly organized the same way as before, but she was observant enough to notice the change. Her brows furrowed, and she bolted to the closet for a quick peek before racing back to the living room to examine the furniture arrangement.

Meanwhile, Joaquin conversed happily with Noah on the couch. Soon, he was perplexed by Katherine's actions and inquired, "What are you looking at?"

She pursed her lips and pointed to the living room shelf with her index finger. "It looks like it has been moved by someone."

Suddenly, he froze up as soon as she said that and warmly urged his daughter to return to her room before walking over to the shelf and examining it. He had always had an eye for detail, so he quickly discovered something off. "Indeed, it had been moved."

Katherine said, "Someone has also gone into the bedroom and rummaged through the drawers and cabinets. They've searched all the places they could find. Although they tried their best to cover up the traces and rearranged them to their original state, I can still tell the differences."

Then, Joaquin knitted his brows and questioned, "Who do you think it is, and what is their purpose?"

She sneered, and her gaze turned cold. "I don't even have to think about it. They must have come for my grandma's belongings. Now that the news of her death has spread, someone must have been unable to hold back their greed and came to rummage through our house."

Joaquin had the same thought; his sharp-edged face sank, and his eyes sharpened. Then, he remarked sarcastically, "It must have been a rough journey for them to come all the way from Kyoland."

Nonetheless, Katherine had been vigilant in the past few days, as she knew that the items left by her grandmother were crucial and could easily cause trouble. So, she hid the box with other things she had left behind in Theodore's laboratory. There was a secret room in that laboratory, and when she returned to the country, she asked Theodore for permission to install the most stringent security monitoring system possible in that room. Moreover, that room had such tight security that even he could not enter. As for the items hidden in the room, no one knew what they were except for her and Joaquin.

She planned to leave it there for some time before returning to check on it. On the other hand, it appeared as though the thieves were so eager to steal the items that belonged to her grandmother that they traveled all the way to her house to find them. Seeing that the thieves were interested in her grandmother's possessions, it must be crucial. In the wake of that incident, she became increasingly curious about her grandmother's belongings.

Immediately, she flashed a sardonic grin. "Let them be anxious. No matter what they do, the items won't ever fall into their hands."

Seeing how confident Katherine was, Joaquin could finally relax, and his brows furrowed slightly as he asked, "What is your plan for now?"

She looked at him sideways, and a hint of guile flashed in her clear eyes. "I had to pretend to be dumb and pretend I didn't know anything, but now… I really want to take a look at it myself."

After pondering about it, he responded, "Sure. I'll come with you. Anyway, I have kept the keys grandma gave me with her belongings back then."

Katherine shook her head and dismissed his suggestion. "Nah. I'll go on my own. Things will become complicated if too many people go at once. Stay here with Noah. I'll be back in no time."

However, Joaquin didn't find it appropriate and insisted, "There must be many people out there spying on you right now. I can't bring myself to let you go out by yourself."

In response, she blinked, revealing a slight sparkle in her eyes. "Don't worry about that. I have a plan."

Following that, she turned around and entered the bedroom. After fiddling around for some time, she came out after twenty minutes.

Joaquin took out the keys and was about to hand them to her when he looked up and was frozen in mid-thought by what he saw. "You—"

At that moment, Noah came out of the room and walked over to stand next to Katherine. Holding her mother's hand, she smiled at her father. "Look how talented Mom is, Daddy! It's like she knows magic!"

It turned out that Katherine had transfigured entirely after fiddling around in the room for twenty minutes. Her appearance had transitioned from a beautiful young woman to a middle-aged woman with a dark complexion and freckles. She was dressed in an outfit that looked quite dated, but upon closer inspection, he realized that it was made of high-quality, expensive fabric. While it appeared a little worn, it didn't stand out and complemented the rest of her outfit quite nicely.

"Why are you—" Joaquin suddenly acted shocked and amused. "I didn't expect you to be skilled in transfiguration too!"Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.