The Real Heiress Is Coming Back (Hannah Carter) novel Chapter 125

Chapter 125

Chapter 125

In the CEO’s office, Barnaby sat back in his chair, eyes closed, looking like he was taking a rare moment to rest. John stepped in and reported, “Boss, everyone’s gone.”

John stood respectfully, waiting for Barnaby to respond as the man remained silent, still rubbing his temples.

‘After all that, I bet Dustin won’t have the guts to mess with Boss again anytime soon, John thought.

“You can head home and get some rest. Thanks for your hard work.” Barnaby said, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Back when his illness was at its worst, insomnia was just a normal part of his life. He could go a whole week without sleep and barely bat an eye.

But ever since Hannah had treated him, he’d finally gotten used to sleeping through the night. Now, staying up all night like this actually felt weird.

“Of course, Boss. You should get some rest too,” John said before leaving the office.

As soon as the door closed, Ronin, who’d been scrolling through his phone, quickly put it away and said, “Barnaby, after what you just did, Dustin’s probably going to run back and tattle to Mr. Edmund Thole again.”

“Let him,” Barnaby replied, not caring at all. ‘Dustin’s been tattling on me to Edmund since we were kids. It’s nothing new, he thought.

He glanced at his phone. Hannah still hadn’t replied to the WhatsApp message he’d sent her that morning, and he felt a pang of disappointment.

Ever since Hannah got that century-old ginseng, she’d started acting distant. He’d send her a bunch of messages, but she’d only reply to one.

She’d pick up maybe one out of every three calls, and even then, she’d barely say anything before hanging up, always claiming she was busy.

She was so busy she hadn’t even gone back to Skycrest House. Instead, she’d asked Ronin to swing by regularly to feed Hedy and scoop her poop.

“Find out what Hannah’s so busy with,” Barnaby said, his fingers tapping restlessly on the desk.

“On it,” Ronin replied, immediately dialing a number.

Ten minutes later, Ronin got a reply and turned to Barnaby. “Ms. Carter’s been holed up in the Cavalor School lab these past few days. Seems like she’s brewing up some kind of potion,” he said.

It hit Barnaby, Hannah had said that ginseng was supposed to be his miracle cure.

He shot up, grabbed his coat, and was halfway out the door, about to tell Ronin to get the car for Cavalor, when Percival called.

“Barnaby, we found the guy,” Percival said.

“Good. Send the address to Ronin,” Barnaby said, turning to Ronin. “Handle it.”

“Got it,” Ronin replied, quickly calling the driver.

Down at the front desk on the first floor, the receptionist was trying to stop Winston. “Mr. Baker, I’m really sorry, but you don’t have an appointment, so I can’t let you see our CEO…”

Chapter 124

Before she could finish, Barnaby and Ronin walked past, and Winston immediately lusted after them.

“Barnaby, I finally caught up with you. Can we talk for a minute? Winston asked, his voice full of desperation.

Just a couple of days ago, he’d been blindsided with the news that the investment from Ascent Ventures, which was supposed to come through next year, had been pulled.

If this had happened a month ago, he wouldn’t have cared at all. The Baker Group was making so much money that losing the investment would’ve just meant more profit for him.

But ever since Gemma got arrested, the Baker Group had been kicked out of a project bid, which Xenith Systems Group snatched up instead. Then, two major clients suddenly cut ties, the company’s stock tanked, and other clients started getting

nervous.

And now, at the worst possible moment, Ascent Ventures had pulled out of next year’s investment.

Sure, Ascent Ventures was just a small subsidiary of the Thole Group, but it was all thanks to the Thole family. Everyone knew that because of Gemma, the partnership between Ascent Ventures and the Baker Group had been running like clockwork.

Now that Ascent Ventures had pulled out, it was basically like putting up a billboard saying the Baker Group was going under.

Those clients who were already on the fence would scatter like scared rabbits, and the Baker Group would really be toast.

So Winston knew he had to hang on to that Ascent Ventures investment, no matter what.

He’d tried to set up meetings with Barnaby, but never got a chance to see him. He’d even tried to catch Dustin and Kyson from headquarters, but no luck there either. With nothing left to lose, he just showed up hoping for a miracle.

Who would’ve thought? He actually bumped into Barnaby!

“Who the hell are you?” Barnaby shot Winston a frosty glare, not bothering to hide his annoyance.

Ronin moved to block Winston, calling over security without missing a beat.

Winston looked totally awkward, his face turning red.

They’d met before, at Thole family events, even though Gemma was just from a side branch, she and Barnaby were still the same generation.

Winston had tried to act all chummy by using Barnaby’s first name, but it totally blew up in his face. Instead of getting closer, he nearly got tossed out by security.

He quickly changed his tone, trying to sound as respectful as possible. “I’m Winston Baker, CEO of the Baker Group. I really need to talk to you about the Ascent Ventures investment…”

The lobby was packed with people, big shots from all over, either hunting for investors or trying to seal deals. When they saw what was going down, everyone was floored.

Nobody would’ve thought that Winston, the big-shot CEO of the Baker Group, would ever have to grovel like this.

After all, the Baker Group was one of the top ten elite families in Brynlock. People usually looked up to them, but now, Winston was practically bowing and scraping in front of Barnaby.

‘Looks like those rumors about the Baker family being on the ropes are actually true,’ everyone thought.

“I’m busy,” Barnaby said coldly, striding out without even glancing back.

Chapter 123

“Mr. Thole, Mr. Thole…” Winston called out, trying to follow, but security stepped in and blocked his path.

Outside, a black Audi sedan was waiting. Ronin opened the back door for Barnaby, then got into the front passenger seat himself.

As soon as the door shut, Barnaby spoke from the back, his voice icy as ever. “Seriously, why hasn’t the Baker Group gone bankrupt yet?”

“It’ll take a little more time. Ronin said, shaking his head with a wry smile.

Boss, you really need to lay off those CEO dramas. Companies don’t just go bankrupt because you want them to, it takes time to crush them. piece by piece, Ronin thought.

“Any extra time comes out of your bonus,” Barnaby said, his voice cold as ice.

What the hell?! Ronin nearly choked.

Ronin didn’t waste a second, he spammed the management group with the same message three times:[Crash the Baker Group. Fast!]

87

Ever since that day, Hannah forced herself not to think about Barnaby anymore. She buried herself in her work, focusing only on making medicine. She didn’t even stay at Skycrest House, she moved back in with the Scott family.

She ended up staying for a whole week. Felicity and Lucian were happy to have her around, but deep down, they couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off with Hannah.

Ever since Hannah had moved out, she’d never stayed home this long before.

Every day was the same, just school and home. At home, she’d eat dinner, then disappear into her room, locking herself away and ignoring everything else.

After dinner, Lucian watched as Hannah headed upstairs again, then turned to Arthur, “Arthur, are you guys cutting Hannah’s allowance or something?”

Ever since the Scott family went bankrupt, Arthur had been the one keeping the family afloat. ‘Is Hannah back because she can’t afford rent anymore?’ Lucian wondered.

“No way! I’d cut yours before I ever cut Hannah’s!” Arthur shot back.

Lucian was speechless.

“Do you think Hannah’s having some drama with her friends? She’s been back for over a week now, and she just seems so down,” Felicity said, worry in her voice.

“Don’t read too much into it. It’s normal for her to stay here, this is her home after all!” Arthur replied.

‘Hannah moving back probably means she had a falling out with that old guy, Barnaby,’ Lucian thought to himself.

‘Honestly, that’s for the best. At least she won’t be stuck with him all the time and can actually come home, he added silently.

“Is it really that obvious?” Hannah’s chilly voice suddenly came from behind them.