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.

the air to show her resignation to the idea. “However, we can still take the coat and phone

leaving only a pair of shorts on before he lay on his

door was flung open with

followed shortly

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

earth are

Novel (Invisible or

question, his voice full

ignored him and walked toward Gerald’s

up immediately,

he had on at the moment.

as his

These women were terrifying.

far away, both Cassandra and Felicity had their arms crossed as they watched the scene play

coat and phone here!” Yvonne shouted as she held the two items up for

stunned. All of them were thinking the same

over them as if they were prisoners who had

who felt almost

they soon came to the realization that all the men in the dormitory were staring

asked, “Gerald, after you received a call from Naomi asking for help, where exactly did you go? And what were you doing at the

where Naomi was and I told her what I knew. She immediately arranged for some people to rescue you. I’m glad to see that all of you are safe and

So much for overthinking earlier!

don’t you wear

Gerald one last time, the women were finally

explain to Gerald about the incidents

smile bitterly. ‘Thank god I reacted quickly enough…’

nervous throughout the entire rescue mission. He was

observing the girls as they left the building. He

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

Gerald knew that his identity would definitely be exposed if he didn’t act

nick of time, an idea came to him. He immediately went off to get a similar phone 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.

phone seemed to have died before they managed to

the last minute so that the phone would no longer

on, Gerald would have little need to contact the women

me to

been an anxiously eventful one, but they somehow managed to subdue all the

few hours later, Saturday morning

Gerald was doing some revision

the blue, Naomi gave him

night before, Gerald had told Zack to help register his number again with his ID before he slept. It

that morning, Gerald had gone to the service hall to retrieve his new contact

for a table at a restaurant near our college. I’m indebted to you for your help

think I’ll pass. Besides, I hardly helped at

dorm to invite you over personally! On a serious note, my cousin really wishes to express

Alright, we’ll

helped them. It was fine to indulge himself with a simple meal like

Gerald was simply reluctant

Man Novel (Invisible

arrived at the restaurant, Naomi was

were there too. Sitting beside Xyleena, was a young man in his mid-twenties. He wore a suit and his shoes were made of

more outstanding people in society, and she had social connections all

arrogant person. She only helped Gerald and

All of you,” Xyleena said

Gerald complied.

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

much for saving us!” said

you. After catching the suspects 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

Naomi! Let’s have a toast

her cousin wasn’t reacting appropriately, Xyleena took it

would also like to thank Gerald as well. If it wasn’t for him, we may never have been saved in time!”

the call, who knows what would

Naomi? I told you to thank Inspector Merrall, not Gerald,” said Xyleena,

right, what did that poor man do? He said he was going to launch a police report but he must have been too stunned to do anything. Had Xyleena

simply shook his head and

gratitude, it should be Xyleena and Inspector Merrall! I’ll be having tea instead of wine, but allow me to toast to you. Since

she didn’t care

happening, Naomi felt

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

Something was definitely wrong.

addition to that, Naomi felt slightly sick hearing how the rest continued

quite a good relationship with Gerald. How about this, I’ll use my connections to try landing him a job with benefits. One that

How about a job with all the previous insurances as

Gerald, it may be a little difficult to arrange such a company to take him in. However, I’ll try my best!” said Xyleena before coughing

was quite obvious that she was indirectly saying that Gerald was

only be

can’t do much else and even the counselor would agree,” said Felicity as she shook her head, a

as he heard

It’s almost as if they run out of

man before this, but that doesn’t mean I’m

because I didn’t

fumed angrily in

that moment,

at it to see who was calling, he saw that it

then got up and walked away from them before picking

Secretly Rich Man Novel

“Sister, what’s up?”

please find someone to pick them up? I’ve arranged some other tasks for both Zack and Michael to

Gerald as he nodded

had been in contact with his family for a long time. He heard

day after tomorrow. We can meet up then,

missed

talking for a bit, Gerald

busy, it was best that Gerald didn’t disturb

to?’ He scratched the back

just leave the restaurant

would be best to just pick them up himself since they were his

told Naomi

be quite busy!”

and you claim that you’re busy? How

pressured to be here, being as poor as he is. Speaking of which, Brian. We saw a handsome white-haired guy yesterday.

but judging from your

the more Brian felt that something was off. The police team certainly did run a big mission the night

big enough to the point where there were even

commotion, Brian had received a call from Xyleena, claiming that her cousin had been kidnapped

report was far too similar to the case which they had been handling the

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

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

he was not allowed to look too far

him to be sharing that meal since

was that there were two groups of people who had participated in the

was only there in time to clean

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

Cassandra in shock. ‘Why was it so difficult to get to the bottom of

scene, you had already been saved. You girls had even left at that

only shared some rough details with them. All they needed to know was that he hadn’t really done much

was it exactly that came to our rescue?” All

moment, Felicity’s

“Yes? Who is this?”

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

Ah, you mean Gerald. He’s not my boyfriend. Why did

as well and

him. He fooled us! But why

Cassandra

Man Novel (Invisible

Gerald all

other explanation, especially when she linked this

a strange person. He

to learn about the incident back when I was first brought into the hotel. Because of

first to realize that misfortune had befallen us, which led to the four of us being saved in the nick of time. Even

it seemed that Mr. Crawford was the one orchestrating all this, but this

has a good relationship

up the vice president of the student union the other day! What happened in the end? Come to

and we don’t even know how

most importantly… Gerald shares the same surname with

If Gerald was indeed Mr. Crawford, everything would make sense

face turned pale as her

and the others were catching

left

he Ordinary Man too?” Felicity asked in a nervous

that’s very likely to be the case!” said Cassandra, her voice weak. “But we shouldn’t be nervous. We can observe Gerald

she would end up falling in love with

one, with many of the girls filled with

was already at the villa. He started up the engine of his high-end limousine before

had heard that his family had sent them over, and that each of them

plane before, so he didn’t

need to hold a sign up and wait

the limousine just outside the arrival gate. He couldn’t

butler through the contact number

Gerald began

young people, especially girls, were gawking at

took group

Gerald felt extremely

this was happening, a group of four walked past the

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

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

further behind, was a pair of twins. Both brothers seemed to be in their thirties and they both wore suits. However, even that did not fully erase the fact that they both

bodyguards for

Mr. Crawford will be sending someone here to pick us up. I’ve just received the car’s license plate number. Drake, Tyson, go check if our

“Right away, Mr. Kendall!”

guards then

here is rather special. Is it alright if I try some for myself later?” the girl asked. She appeared to be more on

a while anyway. You can eat whatever you

ended his sentence,

located the

got there, Gerald

about to exit the car to introduce

a charming lady, he

Gerald became slightly embarrassed

Crawford:The Secretly Rich Man Novel (Invisible or

as well. Miss Crawford may adore and spoil you, but what if you accidentally anger him? I may not be able to

I’ve asked around and learned that though Mr. Crawford is a rather reserved person, he’s a wicked man inside! He appears to have several wives!” The girl stuck her

if you say that again!

I’ve also heard that he’s a promiscuous man who has gotten several women pregnant here. It’s said that whoever offends him will end up becoming pregnant so I’m quite afraid of

Truly preposterous! Dorothy, Miss Crawford has told me that Mr. Crawford is an extremely kind man. Those kids are

She’ll praise him no matter what he

naughty girl! Keep your mouth shut!” Mr. Kendall