The Contract Said No Strings Attached (Charlotte) novel Chapter 284

The hospital room fell silent.

Everyone else had already been sent away; the old man had insisted on it, leaving only Rebecca behind.

He shot her a meaningful glance, and she gave a subtle nod in return.

Slowly, Rebecca opened the manila envelope and began to review the documents inside.

Yesterday, she’d asked her grandfather why he’d gotten so upset—so upset he nearly passed out—and what exactly Crystal had said to him. He hadn’t given her a straight answer, only told her to come to the hospital today and promised she’d understand soon enough.

Now she realized: her grandfather had sent someone he trusted to investigate, and today the results had come in.

Rebecca’s heart pounded in her chest. She had no idea what kind of secret these papers might hold.

As she read halfway through, her expression hardened. The evidence was shocking—Crystal had been in contact with a criminal organization.

And it wasn’t just a one-time thing; the contact had lasted four years.

Four years—coinciding exactly with Crystal’s time as a student abroad, years spent quietly making shady deals under the table.

On top of that, Crystal had racked up a massive debt. Yet when she first went overseas, the Thomson family had been more than generous—there was no way she should have run out of money. But not only had Crystal burned through every cent the family sent, she’d somehow managed to owe an astronomical sum on the outside.

She’d kept all of this buried so well—no one had the slightest clue.

Catching his breath, the old man continued, “That day in the study, I wanted to give her a chance—to come clean about her debts. Instead, she lied to my face. If I hadn’t had someone investigate, I never would have believed she could be mixed up in all this…”

Rebecca set the documents aside, worry etched across her features. “Grandpa, what should we do now? If word of this gets out, it could ruin the Thomson family’s reputation.”

The old man was quiet for a moment, then said, “This can’t become public. We need to find a way to handle it discreetly. The Thomson family’s children must take responsibility for their own actions. I won’t cover up her mistakes, but we do need to make sure she cuts all ties with those people—before she drags the entire family down with her.”

Rebecca nodded. “I understand, Grandpa. I’ll do everything I can to help you deal with it. But… will Crystal listen to us? What if she refuses to see reason?”

A deep frown creased the old man’s brow. “If she won’t listen, we can’t just let her run wild. For the sake of all the years we’ve looked after her, I’ll give her one more chance. But if she insists on going down this path, then the Thomson family will have no place for her.”

If it came to that, he would make sure Crystal’s name was struck from the family records before he died.