Never Too Far Novel

A month ago, the bar had changed owners as it was bought by the gorgeously handsome man before him. From then on, the bar was only open whenever the man felt like it, although he spent most of the time drinking alone in the bar. At one time, the ladies who came to the bar were captivated by his charming good looks, but they all ended up fearing him, especially those who tried to approach him. He not only had a cold shoulder, but he greeted those women with a frosty, scathing look. It wasn’t enjoyable to be scrutinized under the man’s gaze, which would freeze a person from head to toe as if skinning them alive.

The man being described was Arthur Weiss, the mysterious young man of noble descent who had been looking for his family heirloom.

“Young Master Weiss, we’ll surely find her,” the bodyguard said in an effort to comfort him.

Arthur’s patience was running out. He had tried everything he could, but he couldn’t find the thief’s whereabouts at all. He had checked the bar’s surveillance footage, as well as surveillance footage of the road, but the young lady was so heavily made-up that there was no way of knowing what she really looked like.

He had considered going to the police, but he didn’t want the loss of his family heirloom to be made public, fearing that the thief might destroy the heirloom if she were to learn that it was an object of great importance. If that happened, even if he caught her, he might not be able to recover it. Therefore, he would rather let her keep the heirloom first and sort her out later when he found her.

Right now, he was waiting for the final piece of information—the cab driver who had driven her to the bar that night was found.

At this moment, a man in his early thirties came in after the bodyguard through the entrance. He had heard that the bar had closed down; it was once a paradise for the rich and the most luxurious money-squandering establishment in town. He then saw a man sitting in a chair next to the bar counter. He was toying with a wine glass, and it was evident from the sound of the wine glass being swirled around that the man had superb bartending skills.

“Young Master Weiss, here’s the cab driver who drove that lady to the bar that night.”

Arthur had another of his men take out two bundles of cash. Then, he pushed the photo next to him toward the man, asking, “Do you remember this lady? The money is yours as long as you tell me where you picked her up.”

Seeing the heavily made-up young lady in the photo, the driver instantly remembered her. “Yes, yes, I do remember this lady. She was coming out of a restaurant when I picked her up.”

“Did she say anything during the ride?”

“Yes, she did. She made a phone call. I remember it very well; she was crying her eyes out, seemingly telling her dad that she didn’t want to get married.”

Arthur felt that victory was in sight. “Can I have the video of the ride that night?”

The cab driver darted a look at the two bundles of cash before taking out his cell phone even more briskly. “Sure, sure. Let me find it for you right away.” Finally, he brought up precisely the video recording of that night.

Arthur looked at the young lady who had gotten into the cab in the video, and sure enough, she was none other than the female thief. I’ve got you at last, he thought.

The cab driver left immediately after getting the money.

On the other hand, Arthur was watching the video recording of that night. The cab ride lasted a total of 23 minutes. The somewhat blurry video showed that after getting into the cab, the young lady first stared blankly out of the car window for a long time.

Suddenly, her cell phone rang; she picked it up and answered, “Hey, Dad.”

Shortly after that, she got emotional and added, “I want to call off the engagement. I don’t want to get married… I just want to get married to the love of my life. I don’t want to get married to Christopher York.”

The person calling her then said something on the other end of the line, upon which she instantly burst into tears and cried like a baby. After that, she hung up the phone and said to the cab driver, “Drive me to the most luxurious bar in the city.”

The man gave her a few words of comfort before mentioning the name of a bar, to which she replied, “Okay, drive me there.”

After that, she remained silent until getting out of the cab.

Christopher York, huh? A sneer flashed across Arthur’s face. At last, he had a clue about the young lady’s identity. “I want all the information about this lady in ten minutes.”

He had finally reached the limit of his patience.

After less than ten minutes, his bodyguard handed him an iPad. “Young Master Weiss, Christopher York is a well-known rich dandy in Averna. Only one person has been rumored to be engaged to him this year, and her name is Sophia Goodwin.”

Arthur picked up the iPad and fixed his eyes on the lady in the photo. The light shone on her face, illuminating her tender features; she looked as breathtakingly pure as a fresh-out-of-water water lily.

Although she looked totally different from the heavily made-up lady from the other night, there was no way Arthur could mistake her for someone else with his excellent eyesight. It’s her, he thought. He recognized from this pair of eyes that the lady in the photo was the one from the other night. She was heavily made-up that night, but her eyes were indescribably clear and bright; they were as black and lustrous as obsidian. “Find out everything about her family as well as her extended families,” he ordered frostily.

Having gotten accustomed to his temper, the bodyguard beside him immediately did as he was told.

Arthur had grown up being raised like a prince since he was born, and his family owned a territory that spanned an incredibly wide area. Consequently, as the only child of his family, he was both the lifeblood of his family and the heir to a family fortune that was worth hundreds of millions. As a result, he had never been offended by anyone from his birth until he was 27 years old. If he was dissatisfied with anything, it had to be dealt with within a day. This time, however, he had lost his family heirloom for over a month, which was the greatest humiliation of his life. Therefore, it was foreseeable how miserable the young lady’s fate would be.

Ten minutes later, the bodyguard handed the iPad to him once again. “Young Master Weiss, here is all the information about Sophia Goodwin. Please take a look.”

Arthur read through the story about the Goodwin Family. Sophia’s father was the chairman of two listed companies and had a fortune of over ten billion. However, his business had been losing money in recent years, so he was now two billion in debt instead. Therefore, he intended to establish a collaboration with the York Family, forming an alliance with them by marrying off his beloved only daughter to Christopher.

Arthur checked the time; it was 8:00 PM. He curled his lips into a sneer, saying, “Let’s pay a visit to the Goodwins.”

Meanwhile, at the Goodwin Residence, Drake Goodwin was distressed by his company’s inability to sustain itself while fretting about his runaway daughter. The deal had been made between the two families, and Christopher liked Sophia very much, but she wilfully and recklessly sneaked out of the country. Since then, she had been incommunicado, her whereabouts unknown.

Emma, his wife, said worriedly, “Take the medicine, Drake, or your heart’s gonna give you problems again.”

Drake swallowed the medicine before asking the butler, “Have you found out which country Sophia is in?”

“Miss Sophia is hiding very well this time. We really can’t find her; she’s got the backbone not to use all her debit cards even after you’ve had them unfrozen.”

“Well, she’s not to blame for this. I’ve spoiled her rotten since she was little.” Drake cared very much about Sophia, after all. At this moment, he was worried again about how she was doing abroad.

“Sigh. Sophia probably dislikes Young Master Christopher for his looks.”

Drake argued, “He’s a little chubby, but that’s understandable. It’ll be fine as long as he loses a bit of weight!” In his opinion, Christopher was somewhat overweight and plain-looking, but he wasn’t all that bad as a husband.

Arthur read through the story about the Goodwin Family. Sophia’s father was the chairman of two listed companies and had a fortune of over ten billion. However, his business had been losing money in recent years, so he was now two billion in debt instead. Therefore, he intended to establish a collaboration with the York Family, forming an alliance with them by marrying off his beloved only daughter to Christopher.

“I’m afraid it won’t be easy for him to lose weight with his size.” Emma gave him a dirty look. “He’s almost 220 pounds.”

Drake immediately heaved a sigh. “If I’d had another choice, I wouldn’t have put Sophia through this.”

“Who cares if the company is going bankrupt? It’s fine as long as we’ve got some money left to support ourselves in our old age,” Emma said.

“The company was founded by my grandpa, so I have to keep it afloat. I’d never give up unless we’re in a hopeless situation,” Drake replied with ambition.

However, little did he know that he would be in a hopeless situation tonight—and a chillingly hopeless situation at that, because his daughter had brought the Goodwins an even greater disaster in the form of a young man from a mysterious and overwhelmingly wealthy family.

Just then, the servant came over and reported, “Sir, someone’s asking to meet you.”

“Who’d be visiting at such a late hour? Invite the person in,” Drake replied with a wave of his hand.

Soon after that, he saw a dignified-looking young man dressed in expensive clothes coming in under the light. He looked charmingly handsome, as if his face had been kissed by God. Not only that, but as he walked, he gave off an air of aloofness, projecting a powerful and forbidding presence.

Emma’s eyes widened slightly. Just who is this rich young man? Is he here because of Sophia?

“What can I do for you, sir?” Drake said with a smile as he greeted the young man. He searched his memory, but he couldn’t seem to remember or know such a figure.

“This is our Young Master. His family name is Weiss, so you may call him Young Master Weiss,” Arthur’s bodyguard replied in a deep voice.

Drake carefully searched his memory again for a family surnamed Weiss, but nothing came to mind. He couldn’t help but ask, “Mr. Weiss, may I know who your father is?”

“You’re not qualified to know that,” Arthur replied impassively.

Drake was rendered speechless for a moment. I’ve never seen such an arrogant young man before, he thought. Holding back his temper, he asked, “In that case, Young Master Weiss, what makes you come to me at this time of night?”

Arthur darted his eyes toward the couple. “Your daughter has stolen my family heirloom, so I’m here to look for her.”

“What? You mean Sophia has stolen from you? That’s impossible! Sophia never steals from anyone,” Emma immediately retorted for Sophia’s sake.

“Your daughter has stolen Young Master Weiss’ priceless family heirloom in a bar. Please return it immediately,” Arthur’s bodyguard replied.

Drake thought this was impossible, though. “This has got to be a misunderstanding, or you guys must’ve gotten the wrong person. My daughter isn’t in the country. She went abroad a month ago.”

The bodyguard produced an iPad and handed it to the couple. “Is this your daughter?”

Emma immediately took the iPad to confirm it, and sure enough, she recognized Sophia at a glance despite the latter’s heavy makeup. “What’s wrong with Sophia? It’s indeed my daughter in the video, but she won’t steal anything.”

“Where is she?” Arthur asked, narrowing his glacial eyes.

“My daughter isn’t in the country. And besides, we’ve lost touch with her as well. I’m sorry, Young Master Weiss, but I’m afraid you have to wait until she comes back. When she does, we’ll immediately ask her about this,” Emma replied honestly.

“Wait? I hate this word the most.” Arthur had run out of patience because of this, so it was impossible for him to wait any longer.

“But there’s nothing we can do about this. We can’t get in touch with our daughter at the moment. If she’s really taken something from you, we’ll definitely ask her to return it.”

“Your daughter has taken Young Master Weiss’ dearest possession. If the object is broken, there’s no way you can afford to pay for it.” The bodyguard explained the gravity of the situation.

Drake and Emma exchanged a brief look. Then, Drake promised, “If our daughter has really taken it, we’ll definitely give it back to you in perfect condition.”

for the time being, right? I have a way to make her contact you guys.” Arthur’s eyes flickered

Emma

impassively. Then,

as the mysterious man showed up and left after leaving behind a jumble

she?” Arthur asked, narrowing his

Young Master Weiss

couldn’t recall anyone surnamed Weiss among the bigwigs that I know of. Perhaps he’s just a nobody,” Drake said in vexation. It’s rare for a young man to have the

replied, “It doesn’t seem so to me. Both his bearing and the way he dresses are definitely those of a kid

stealing from him! Sophia has never been short of anything since she was little, so what could she have stolen from him? I think he’s just making a fuss over nothing.” Drake looked down on such gilded youth. “How could I not know what kind of a person I’ve brought Sophia up to be?

curiously, “He just said that he has a way to make Sophia

it either. How can he find our daughter, whom

just about to go to sleep that night when he suddenly got a phone call. “Bad news, Mr. Goodwin! Someone has bought the Alpire Group, and the capital

How could it be?

“We don’t know yet.”

up and find out. This is my last chance,”

previous night, but he received another piece of bad news early the next morning. Because of his immense debts, his company was jointly sued by multiple creditors and it

you said before that

I can’t do that. I was under pressure too. Did

wrong? Who forced

good friends, but

who he had offended

of police sirens could be heard from outside before a housekeeper led six police

that you’ve been involved in several commercial fraud cases.

going on? Sir, my husband is a legitimate businessman. He wouldn’t break

her, “It’s okay. I’ll go

by the media. The issue made headlines at once and even spread abroad in seconds, covering the headlines of major news outlets across the world. His photo was featured in the headlines of newspapers around the world as if he were a criminal. Moreover, the news media in every country vigorously reported about the issue as if they had been paid to do

was eventually acquired by a mysterious force and Drake was in debt for one billion. This issue became a huge sensation in the country as Goodwin Corporation was a long-standing business that was famous for their furniture before they finally dabbled in the development of various other

young man who had single-handedly ruined the Goodwin Family swirled the red wine in his glass as if he had let a huge burden off his shoulders and his seductive lips curled into a slight smile as he said, “If anything, their daughter is to blame. This

Master Weiss, the news is being reported all over the world. If that girl sees

her, “It’s okay. I’ll go over and find out what’s going

for her.” Arthur’s eyes glinted with excitement as if he were hunting his prey. He was looking forward to seeing how his little prey would struggle to

next month, so he was not in a hurry and could attend the wedding before

same moment when he received a phone call and happily answered it.

had asked him

and Richard were right last time—the child was Elliot’s biological son, which also meant that he was their godson! He pondered over what he should prepare as a present. Richard’s not gonna have time to come over at this point. Guess I’ll have to prepare a gift for my godson. But what

after racking his brain as Elliot already owned the things that he

buddy who was entering. He narrowed his eyes and asked, “Why did the Goodwin Corporation end

curled his lips into a smile. “Oh, you’re quite well-informed! I thought I was

dedicated to collecting any information related to the corporate world, it was impossible for him not

did it,” he

anyone is to blame, it’s their fault for giving birth to a daughter who made me

their daughter the one who stole your family heirloom?” Elliot asked, his eyebrows

also missing, so I have no idea what she’s done to

made such a huge fuss just to force her to show up on her own, right?” Elliot knew Arthur

up a glass from the table and took a sip.

words, Elliot felt a hint of pity for

propped up his chin and asked, “Elliot, what do you think I should give you

give me a simple gift.” Elliot didn’t want him to break the

give my godson a present

a smile, “If you can’t, you can also hurry up and get married to give him a younger brother or sister

my best man!”

can’t.” Arthur waved

“Why not?”

all your glory!” Arthur

happen.” Elliot was confident in

buddies looked at each other and laughed. This kind of happiness between friends was simple and pure, and

She kindly picked up the trash and was about to throw it into a nearby trash can, but just as she was about to do

after, she quickly unfolded the entire newspaper and saw the picture of her father on the headline with a text description next to it, and

my dad caught, and why did the company go bankrupt?” The girl clutched the newspaper tightly, feeling

Her friend rushed over to support her,

dad was captured.

that, Sophia fished out her phone and called her mother. This was her first time contacting her family

Emma’s voice

“Why not?”

I might steal all your glory!” Arthur

it’s me. What happened to Dad? Why was

finally get a conscience? Hurry up and come back! Your dad is in trouble, and so is the

was so anxious that her eyes welled up with tears. She had been a bad

you to the

belongings in the hotel. As she was too worried about her father, Sophia was so panicked that even when the necklace around her neck

boarded a plane to return home. At the same time, a

finally coming back, aren’t you?” Arthur

the plane was the fastest means of transportation, she still felt that it was slow. It must be my fault. It’s because I didn’t marry Christopher that Dad’s company is in trouble now. She regretted her stubborn decision to bail from her marriage, and thought

now willing to give up

domestic news, and her father’s photos were posted everywhere. Was the media running out of things to report? Did they have to report something

could reach home, Sophia’s cab was blocked by

choice, the cab driver could only stop by the side of the road. The driver was easily scared, and when he saw the tall bodyguard who came down from the first car, he asked in a trembling voice, “Miss, did

as she looked at the tall man dressed in black who was walking toward them as well.

person must be looking

“No!”

man said to her through

her to go on a date

waiting for you. He wants to talk to you about saving your

In the car, Sophia felt that something was wrong. The windows of

Where are

know when we reach,

was a blond foreigner, and the other bodyguards weren’t wearing the usual bodyguard uniforms. Even their suits were custom-made and

you really the York Family’s bodyguards?” Sophia

talking and put the pedal to the metal, rushing

a stop at a side entrance of the bar, and Sophia looked at the

this way, please. Our young master is waiting for you inside.” The

out of the car, but as soon as she did, she tried to run away. However, the bodyguards had expected her to escape, and two of them flanked her on

screamed all the way until she was thrown in front of a pair

had almost collapsed onto the ground as she raised her head and lifted her gaze all the way upward… Damn it, did this person have to have such long legs? Finally, she raised her head with difficulty and saw a pair of dark eyes

exactly are you? Where are you bringing me

if she was standing, she was still a head shorter than him. She huffed angrily, “Who

breath and stared at her upright and clueless face. His lips curled as he said, “Before you accuse me of kidnapping,

I’ve never even met you before, so how could I steal from you?” Sophia thought that this man was handsome, but there was something wrong

forcibly got into my car and took the

I was wearing that necklace around my neck all this while. Where did it go?

in the hotel overseas? Or on the plane? Or in the cab? She had no

on your necklace, and when your bodyguard took me out,

his family heirloom at that

she had dropped it, so how could

“Uh… I…”

over, your father will be doomed for life,”

You did that to my dad?” Sophia glared at him

my necklace. Return it to me now,” Arthur demanded again, his

made bankrupt by him, and was her father also sent to the police station because she accidentally took his necklace last time? In that case, did that mean that she was the cause of her father’s misfortune? However, she didn’t know where the necklace had gone. She had to look

you only if you get my dad out of the police station. Otherwise, don’t think about seeing your necklace again.” She

be heard. How dare this girl threaten Young Master Weiss? Does she have guts

man in front of her was. Even if she did, she would not be afraid of him as she had always been a

hear her right. This woman wouldn’t return his belongings and was

You heard me right. If you want your necklace back, you have to let my dad go. Otherwise, you’ll never get it back.” Sophia repeated her

definitely thrown a punch her way. If she were a

little fearfully as she backed away in

Now hand me my necklace.” Shockingly, Arthur gave in

my dad gets released.”

really

tell you only if you get my dad out of the police station. Otherwise, don’t think about seeing your necklace

know who you are?” Sophia asked with

with wide eyes, feeling scared for this girl who was constantly looking for death. They wanted to show her what their monstrous young master was usually like, and let her know what true fear

home now and see my dad safely come home within an hour.” Sophia continued

on the brink of losing

want to see my necklace within an hour.” He spoke

could promise him that as she had no idea where his

dad.” Saying that, she picked up her bag and said to

looks of things, this girl had the greater say, so he could only retrieve