The Secretly Rich Man

Gerald Crawford:The Secretly Rich Man Novel (Invisible or Poorest) Chapter 321

Leopold White’s next order from Gerald was to untie the other three girls and bring them along.

They had used his name freely, thinking they could do whatever they pleased without having to face the consequences. Making them anxious was his way of teaching them a lesson. He had never planned to leave the girls stranded there in the first place.

Leopold White—the man with white hair—was an outstanding bodyguard who worked under Michael. To put simply, Leopold’s job was similar to Flynn’s who worked under Zach.

Michael had brought him here from Hong Kong.

“They’ll be arriving soon, Mr. Zeke. It’ll be inconvenient for me to meet them here so I’ll be taking my leave first. Is my ride ready?” asked Gerald to Michael who was sitting beside the driver.

“The ride will be here at any moment now, Mr. Crawford. We’ll depart as soon as it arrives. Leopold can handle the rest. He’ll be safely escorting Miss Milton and the others back to their college.”

As he said that, a limousine stopped beside them. Gerald wiped the sweat off his forehead as he stepped into the limousine. He then left the area together with Michael.

Earlier when they had pinpointed the girls’ location, Gerald had told Zack to keep a close eye on the Rye Group as well as the police. Following that, he and Michael drove immediately to the place.

Gerald breathed a sigh of relief as soon as he confirmed that Naomi was safe.

As the four girls left the unfinished factory, they looked at Naomi. Yvonne, particularly, looked toward her with eyes filled with admiration.

“What was all that? Was it only you that they had initially come for, Naomi? Were you the one who called them over?”

From what they had seen and experienced, it seemed only fair to assume that the rescue team had only arrived to save Naomi.

As they descended the stairs, they were momentarily stunned when they realized how many people were involved in the operation.

In the room downstairs, at least twenty professional-looking bodyguards waited with their hands behind them.

Outside, there were at least six Maybach cars. There was even a high-end SUV.

Though Cassandra was rather powerful, only a few Rolls-Royce had come to pick her up at that moment.

Thinking back, Naomi’s team of bodyguards seemed even more outstanding than the current one, especially the white-haired youth who acted both coldly and cruelly without hesitation.

Both Felicity and Cassandra looked at Naomi curiously.

“Um… I don’t know either. I have no idea who any of these are! I’m as clueless as the rest of you…” said Naomi, looking extremely confused.

“If that’s the case… Who ordered you to save us, mister?” Cassandra couldn’t help but ask curiously.

Leopold however, retained his emotionless facade. He continued leading them without saying a word.

Realizing he wouldn’t answer, Cassandra signaled Naomi to try asking him instead.

“We’d like to thank the person who had told you to save us, mister. Please tell us who it is,” pleaded Naomi.

“I’m afraid I cannot comply, Miss Milton. My superior has specifically told me not to reveal his true identity. Not even to you,” answered Leopold respectfully.

“Actually… Couldn’t it be Gerald?” Yvonne said out loud.

“Gerald?” Both Felicity and Cassandra were stunned. The thought had never crossed their mind.

“Thinking back… We had all tried to call for help earlier but only Naomi was able to get her call across. Didn’t she call Gerald? That would mean that only he would be aware that we were in trouble in the first place!”

Analyzing the situation, Yvonne seemed unwilling to accept her own suggestion.

The same went for Felicity and Cassandra.

“Actually… Assuming it was Gerald who saved us, how would you say he got that many people to come save us? It’s kind of illogical to conclude that he saved us, don’t you think?” said Felicity.

Cassandra looked at Naomi nervously after Felicity had ended her sentence. She then asked, “Naomi, are you really sure that you called Gerald earlier? Maybe you actually called someone else? Are there any other influential and powerful people in your family? Maybe outside connections?”

They took turns looking at each other anxiously.

This was because both Cassandra and Felicity looked down on Gerald the most.

Gerald Crawford:The Secretly Rich Man Novel (Invisible or Poorest) Chapter 322

However, if it was indeed true that Gerald was a powerful and influential man, they would prefer to die rather than accept that fact.

Cassandra recalled the time she had suffered terribly and had a restless night when she found her power bank in Flynn’s car before.

“I was nervous back then and now that I think about it, I’m not too sure if I had called Gerald anymore… However, it is undeniable that the first contact number in my contact list is his. The second is my cousin’s, whom I called just this morning. If we’re talking about connections, it could be her. She works as a vice president for an international trade enterprise so she would definitely know a lot of people,” said Naomi, careful with her words.

“That sounds much more logical. Your finger could have accidentally tapped her number. Following that, your cousin must have arranged for the rescue! Some of the guards here look like they could be SWAT cops while the others look like gangsters!” Cassandra said in a soft voice to them as she analyzed the members of their rescue team.

“Did we guess correctly, mister?” Felicity asked Leopold. They were quite sure that they had made the right conclusion.

However, Leopold’s face didn’t move a muscle. He simply opened the door of the Maybach which was parked in front of the other cars. It was the same car which Gerald and Michael had arrived at the factory with.

“It’s time to return to your college. Get in the car,” said Leopold.

“You’re avoiding our question… That must mean we guessed correctly!” Yvonne said happily.

“Mister, may I borrow your phone? I wish to call my cousin.” Yvonne’s confidence had assured Naomi that it was indeed her cousin who had saved them.

“Very well, Miss Milton,” said Leopold as he handed his phone to Naomi with utmost respect. All of them then entered the car.

“Hello? Cousin, is that you? This is Naomi. Were you the one who had orchestrated the rescue mission?”

“I wouldn’t say orchestrated but yes, I was the one who called the criminal investigation team. Have they already saved you? They work really fast. I’m glad to hear that you’re fine. I had tried to call you back earlier but the line kept going to voicemail. So I called your counselor but that failed too. I began to worry that something bad may have happened so I sent a message to your classmate, Gerald, to look into the situation. He told me that you had been kidnapped!” Naomi’s cousin said nervously.

Wait… How did her cousin know about Gerald? Was it because she had that many connections? Actually, where had Gerald gotten the money to buy that phone and those clothes for Xavia before? Was it even possible to earn that much money through a part-time job alone?

Thinking back, it was Naomi who had asked her cousin to find a place for Gerald, Harper and the others for their part-time jobs.

Sometime then, her cousin had occasionally made Gerald run errands for her. That was probably the reason why she had Gerald’s, Harper’s, and a few of her other friends’ contact numbers in the first place.

“I see… Well don’t worry, we’re fine now. They’re taking us back to the college at the moment.”

“That’s good to hear. Rest well, I’ll meet up with you tomorrow. You’re going for an internship soon so I’ll have to discuss the work details with you anyway.”

“Got it. Make sure you hit the hay soon too!”

Sitting so close to each other, the other girls were able to listen in to the entire conversation.

Putting two and two together, they eventually pieced the puzzle together.

It was indeed Gerald who had notified her about the kidnapping.

“That stupid Gerald! He knew we were being kidnapped but he didn’t do anything about it!”

“If Naomi’s cousin hadn’t called him, who knows what would have happened to us!”

“I’m going to strangle him to death once we return to college!” scowled Cassandra under her breath.

All of a sudden, Felicity yelped in pain. It seemed as though she had hurt herself somehow.

Biting her lower lip in pain, Felicity moved her hand beneath her to find whatever had hurt her butt.

She pulled out a small coat that had a phone inside it.

“I’m terribly sorry mister, I accidentally sat on your clothes!” said Felicity apologetically.

“…Hmm? This coat looks familiar…”

It took her a moment, but when she realized who it belonged to, Felicity was dumbfounded.

Gerald Crawford:The Secretly Rich Man Novel (Invisible or Poorest) Chapter 323

“…Eh? Isn’t this the coat I bought for Gerald?” Felicity asked aloud, a clear confusion in her voice.

There was no doubt about it. It was definitely the coat she had bought for him in the mall that afternoon.

“Are you sure Felicity?” asked Cassandra, stunned at her claim.

She took the coat from her to have a look at it herself, and it was true. It was indeed the exact same coat.

‘How could this be? Why would his coat be in this particular Maybach?’ The girls were all thinking the same thing, their confusion reflected in their eyes as they took turns staring at Leopold who was still driving.

Leopold, for the first time since meeting the girls, began fidgeting slightly.

Mr. Crawford had specifically ordered him to keep his identity a secret.

However, with the progression of the girls’ conversation, things were becoming awkward for him very quickly.

“That’s my coat. I usually just leave it on the passenger’s seat,” lied Leopold.

Felicity and Cassandra looked at each other. They doubted Leopold’s claim because the coat definitely looked like it cost less than a hundred bucks. While Gerald usually wore coats that ranged around three hundred dollars, Leopold was even less likely to be the owner of the coat.

This was because the coat Leopold currently wore probably cost at least five thousand dollars.

‘Oh god, was Gerald in this car before them?’ the girls thought to themselves, shocked.

“It really is mine, no need to speculate. I wear casual clothes too you know!” said Leopold with a slight quiver in his voice. He knew they weren’t buying his story.

A guilty person usually starts talking more. Cassandra knew this as a fact.

Felicity didn’t believe him either. She slid her hand into the coat and took the phone out. It was what had hurt her butt earlier.

“Isn’t… This Gerald’s phone?” she asked, stunned as she observed the familiar phone.

“Let me have a look!” Felicity said aloud, her hands shaking slightly.

Before she could grab it for herself, Yvonne snatched it out of Felicity’s hand. ‘…It’s true!’ Yvonne thought to herself.

‘Mr. Crawford must have forgotten about his coat and phone earlier while he was hurrying back,’ Leopold concluded in his mind.

But Leopold wasn’t one to give in easily to pressure. No matter how much the girls asked after that point, he remained quiet and refused to say anything.

His mission was completed the moment they returned to college. After dropping them off, he drove away immediately.

“So… Counselor, is it really true? Was it really Gerald who saved us? Why else would his coat and phone be in the car! Thinking back, he was the first to learn that we were kidnapped too!” Yvonne cried out, almost in tears.

Her nervousness was warranted as Yvonne had always condemned Gerald. If there were to ever come a day where he grew more powerful than her, she would definitely feel extremely upset.

Felicity’s face went pale as well as she considered the thought. ‘If that were the case, what was Gerald’s true identity? Could he actually be Mr. Crawford? Or even Ordinary Man?’ Felicity thought to herself, slightly shaking.

“That’s enough! Stop playing the guessing game and calm yourselves for a moment. The coat and phone may be similar to Gerald’s, but how certain are we that they’re actually his? Another possibility would be that Gerald could have been in the car for a while after he told the police about us. Since the police needed to keep the informant’s identity a secret, they sent Gerald to a safe place before coming over to save us. Aren’t those explanations logical as well?” Cassandra explained her theories in a quivering, but mature voice.

She had experienced a similar nervousness before. In fact, Cassandra was probably the most nervous among the girls at that moment.

It was because she knew that Gerald had borrowed her power bank before this. It was left behind in a Rolls-Royce. Now both the coat and his phone were left in the Maybach. It was just too much of a behavioral coincidence.

What more, Gerald was the first to suspect that something was wrong in both incidents.

At the moment, Cassandra’s mind actively refused to link the coincidences together.

“That’s enough. How about this? We’ll go to Gerald’s dorm and ask him about it in person. We’re going to ask him what happened today.”

Cassandra said again.

“Alright. If we’ve our phones with us, we could give Gerald a call!” Yvonne reacted soon.

to the idea. “However, we can still take the coat and phone along with us to pass

leaving only a pair of shorts on

sudden, the dorm’s door was

followed shortly

was Harper as he ran off to find something to hide his

earth are you doing

Novel

repeated his question, his voice full of

simply ignored him and

up immediately, Gerald!”

at the moment. Once he was in plain view, she yanked

doing?!” Gerald yelped as his hands moved to cover

These women were terrifying.

Not too far away, both Cassandra and Felicity had their arms crossed as they watched

and phone here!” Yvonne shouted

the girls were stunned. All of them were thinking the same thing. ‘So it wasn’t

if they were prisoners who had just been freed after

Cassandra who felt almost overjoyed. ‘I’m glad it

that all

before clearing her throat. She then asked, “Gerald, after you received a call from Naomi asking for help, where exactly did you go? And what were

me where Naomi was and I told her what

on the head, Counselor. So much for overthinking earlier! We

you wear pajamas when you sleep?

the women

while to explain to Gerald about the incidents that had

smile bitterly. ‘Thank god I reacted

nervous throughout the entire rescue mission. He

girls as they left the

limousine, his eyes were still glued onto the laptop’s monitor. It took him a while, but he eventually realized that his coat and phone were still in the

his mind, Gerald knew that his identity would definitely

and jacket. However, he could only hope that the battery in his old phone died quickly so that the phone would turn off on its own. If someone made a call before the phone

phone seemed to have died before they managed to call

the last minute so

that point on, Gerald would have little need

me to expose my

to subdue all the danger

hours later, Saturday

the morning and Gerald was doing some

blue, Naomi gave him

he canceled his number the night before, Gerald had told Zack to help register his number again

the service hall to retrieve his new contact number

today and after the chaos yesterday, she’s planning to hold a feast for a table at a restaurant near our college. I’m indebted to you for your help yesterday. Please

I hardly helped at all,” Gerald said, a

had better come immediately, Gerald. Otherwise, I’ll come to your dorm to invite you over personally! On

Alright, we’ll be there

to decline Naomi’s invitation. In truth, he had indeed helped them. It was fine

Naomi. Gerald was simply reluctant to meet up

Rich Man Novel (Invisible

others arrived at the restaurant, Naomi was already

was a young man in his mid-twenties. He wore a suit and

of the more outstanding people in

knew Xyleena mostly due to her social connections with them. This, however, granted them the knowledge that Xyleena was actually a rather arrogant person. She only helped Gerald

seat. All of you,” Xyleena

Gerald complied.

bit, but before that, I’d like to introduce someone to all of you. This man is Brian Merrall, and he’s been my friend all

Brian. Thank you very much for saving us!” said Yvonne. After realizing who Brian was,

yesterday, we were able to uncover an even bigger criminal case that they were involved in. If it wasn’t for you, we may never have gotten the chance to take down such

is, Naomi! Let’s have a toast with the

appropriately, Xyleena took it into her own hands to

would also like to thank Gerald as well. If it wasn’t for him, we may

told anyone about the call, who knows what would have become

you to thank Inspector Merrall,

do? He said he was going to launch a police report but he must have been too stunned to do anything. Had Xyleena not messaged him or called Inspector Merrall,

shook his

instead of wine, but allow me to toast to you. Since I failed

care about Gerald at

this was happening, Naomi felt that something was

their rescue mission the day before. On another note, Leopold was also clearly much stronger than Brian in terms of both aura

Something was definitely wrong.

slightly sick hearing how

a good relationship with Gerald. How about this, I’ll use my connections to try landing him a job with benefits. One that includes endowment insurance, medical insurance, unemployment insurance, work-related injury insurance, and even childbirth

that true, cousin? How about a job with all

be quite difficult! Only outstanding companies provide their employees with housing funds these days. With Gerald, it may be a little

indirectly saying that Gerald was clearly not

most probably only be a hindrance to the other employees!” Yvonne said without filtering her

He really can’t do much else and even the counselor would agree,” said

felt his blood boil as he heard all the

if they run out of

was an honest man before this, but that doesn’t mean

was only honest because I didn’t have much

angrily

moment,

calling,

got up and walked

Crawford:The Secretly Rich Man Novel (Invisible or

“Sister, what’s up?”

landing at Mayberry’s airport soon. Could you please find someone to pick them up? I’ve arranged some other tasks for both Zack and Michael to deal with.

said Gerald as he nodded

with his family for a long

up then, just brother and sister!” Jessica smiled after saying

missed her

bit, Gerald finally

Zach and Michael were busy, it was best that Gerald

He scratched the back of his head as he

a while, he decided to just leave the restaurant since Felicity and the

be best to just pick

himself, he re-entered the restaurant and told Naomi that he was busy, so he left

seems to be quite

you to a meal today and you claim that you’re busy?

sure he’s just feeling pressured to be here, being as poor as he is. Speaking of which, Brian. We saw a handsome white-haired guy yesterday. What position does he

Maybach, but judging from your description, it’s quite impossible that such

girls, the more Brian felt that something was

enough to the point where there were even rumors that superiors from the province

a call from Xyleena, claiming that her cousin had been kidnapped along with three other

too similar to the case which they had been handling the

told her not to worry and said that the police would take

spot with his large team, the criminals had already been caught. The hostages had even been rescued, and had long left

not allowed to look too far into the

strange to him to be sharing that meal since he

were two groups of people who had participated in the girls’ rescue

was only there in time to clean

from the police team? I suppose so… It does seem quite impossible for a

weren’t the one who saved us, Inspector Merrall?” asked Cassandra in shock. ‘Why was it so difficult to

By the time we got to the scene, you had already been saved. You girls had even left at that point!” explained

some rough details with them. All they needed to

all that talk, we’re back to square one. Who was it exactly that came to our rescue?” All four girls were stunned

that moment, Felicity’s phone

“Yes? Who is this?”

You bought a suit from us yesterday. However, your boyfriend came last night to buy another of the exact same suit. We only had a smaller one in stock, but he insisted on buying it. A few suits his size have arrived today and we were wondering if he would like to exchange the suit

Ah, you mean Gerald. He’s not my boyfriend. Why did he even buy two suits?” Yvonne

heard the conversation as

the one that Felicity had bought for him. He fooled us! But why did he? So… The coat we found in the car last night…

Cassandra began

Man Novel (Invisible or Poorest)

it Gerald all

linked this event with the previous one concerning the

strange person. He

the incident back when I was first brought into the hotel. Because of him, I was saved

to realize that misfortune had befallen us, which led to the four of us being saved in the nick of time. Even Gerald’s coat and

was the one orchestrating

currently has a good relationship with

union the other day! What happened

we don’t even know how or when it

most importantly… Gerald shares the same surname with Mr.

was indeed Mr. Crawford, everything would make sense

as her

the others were

were left completely

Man too?” Felicity

be nervous. We can observe Gerald secretly until we’re sure of his identity. We can then decide what to

occurred to her that she would end up falling

meal became a strange one, with many

engine of his high-end limousine before driving off to pick his sister’s butler and

had sent them over, and that each of them held quite a

before, so he didn’t know what an airport

hold a sign up and wait at the

arrival gate. He couldn’t really

through the contact number his sister had

Gerald began regretting

especially girls, were gawking at his

even took group

Gerald felt extremely uneasy and

a group of four walked past the

sending someone to pick us up? Where is he?” asked a female

took the lead. Following behind, was a young and lively girl who seemed to be

to be in their thirties and they both wore suits. However, even that did not fully erase the fact that they both of them looked equally

two seemed to act as bodyguards for

received the car’s license plate number. Drake, Tyson, go check if our ride is

“Right away, Mr. Kendall!”

guards then began

some for myself later?” the girl asked. She appeared

while anyway. You can

ended his sentence,

located the

Gerald was there

the car to introduce himself, he heard

Mr. Crawford extremely handsome? Miss Crawford is such a charming lady, he must definitely

Gerald became slightly embarrassed

Man Novel (Invisible or

may adore and spoil you, but what if you accidentally anger him? I may not

reserved person, he’s a wicked man inside! He appears to have several wives!” The girl stuck her tongue out before

naughty girl! I’m slapping you if you say that again! Where

the youths living in Northbay talk about it. I’ve also heard that he’s a promiscuous man who has gotten several women pregnant here.

told me that Mr. Crawford is an extremely kind man. Those

sister. She’ll praise him no matter what

enough you naughty girl! Keep your