Brian, as a prominent figure in Starbain, usually had others working under him.
Now, upon hearing Charles's reminder, he quickly shouted at the driver, "Can't you hear? Drive to the Thompson mansion!"
When they got into the car, Charles told Brian not to call him "Young Master" outside anymore.
That address sounded awkward and embarrassing every time when he heard it.
Brian was quite tactful and immediately started addressing Mr. Johnson.
Although the seniority seemed a bit messy, they could sort it out once Elder White came out.
Without a word, the driver stepped on the accelerator and headed towards the Thompson mansion.
Evelyn blinked her eyes and curiously observed Charles and Brian.
She was well aware of the White family's background in Starbain, but she couldn't help but wonder why the current head of the White family showed such respect to Charles.
In her memory, the man beside her didn't possess such means.
"What are you looking at? Is there something on my face?" Charles instinctively touched his face.
Evelyn smiled and shook her head in response, "No, I just suddenly feel like I don't know you."
".."
Charles was rendered speechless by her answer, thinking to himself that they weren't really acquainted before, right?
They hadn't exchanged more than a few words, yet her words sounded like them to be old acquaintances.
"Tell me why you framed me and got me imprisoned."
The car was already heading towards the Thompson mansion, which meant that Evelyn had no more reservations.
However, she still hesitated and failed to reveal the truth.
"If you don't explain, can I assume that you intentionally set me up?" Charles asked.
"No!" Evelyn replied decisively.
She quickly shook her head, her eyes filled with complexity, mainly because she didn't know how to explain and where to start explaining.
She then glanced at Brian sitting beside her.
Charles immediately understood and said, "Brian, how about you go back first?" Lend me this car for a few days. I'll return it to you after I buy my car."
When Charles said he would buy a car, Brian's eyes lit up.
He had been wondering how to strengthen their relationship, and this opportunity had come.
"Mr. Johnson, just let me know the brand you're interested in, and I'll deliver it to your doorstep immediately!"
Although the White family had yet to gain a firm foothold in the business world of Starbain, they were still very influential.
They had controlled many profitable companies.
Among them were two car dealerships and a flagship store that specialized in imported luxury cars.
"How about Maybach?"
"So, you like Maybach? Of course, we have it!"
"Alright, I'll let you know when I decide to buy."
Brian nodded immediately and bid farewell to Evelyn before getting out of the car.
If it were the past, Evelyn would never have interacted with such people.
Even the Thompson family members would avoid Brian when they saw him, taking a detour.
But now, she would actually take the initiative to get into the other party's car and go home.
"Can you tell me now?" Charles asked.
Unexpectedly, Evelyn turned her gaze to the driver, and the latter immediately hit the brakes and got out of the car on his own.
Leaving Evelyn and somewhat bewildered Charles sitting in the back seat.
Charles had no choice but to take the responsibility of driving himself.
Just as he was about to open the door, Evelyn grabbed his arm anxiously and asked, "Where are you going?!"
".."
Charles pointed at the steering wheel and said, "Aren't you planning to go see your grandfather?"
"Oh, alright." Evelyn smiled awkwardly.
She also got out of the car and sat in the passenger seat.
It wasn't until there were only two people left in the car that she finally gathered the courage to explain, "If I told you this was to protect you, would you believe me?"
"I promised my family that I would study abroad and obtain a Ph.D. in Finance before returning."
"Wait…"
Charles raised an eyebrow, "You're not already a Ph.D. in Finance, are you?"
"Yes, I am. Is there a problem? In order to come back to see you, I have been working hard to study."
Those words sounded ambiguous, but they left Charles bewildered.
"I only found out that you were married after I came back…"
Evelyn's expression suddenly became desolate.
"I didn't want to disturb your life, and I promised my family to manage the company diligently. So I could only silently support you from behind."
This silent support seemed to make Charles understand something.
Back then, Sarah was determined to become a celebrity, but the Smith family had no connections and couldn't help her at all.
He had thought that this matter would be left unsettled.
But unexpectedly, one day, Sarah excitedly ran home and told him she had signed with an entertainment company.
The key was that it was YNT Entertainment Company, the most well-known one under Starbain.
Hence, many people in the Smith family thought she had struck gold.
"Sarah…"
Before Charles could finish speaking, Evelyn nodded directly, "Yes, I arranged for someone to sign her."
"And as for the truth about you being framed and imprisoned, it's simple too."
Evelyn smiled self-deprecatingly, "Three years ago, I was forced to reconnect with the Wilson family to save my grandfather. Since then, I have become engaged to the Wilson family. During that time, Henry found out that I was still paying attention to you, so he became angry and wanted to make you disappear from Starbain. I had no choice but to send you to prison in advance."
"I don't think that after sending you to prison, he would be able to continue to trouble you."
To Charles, these explanations seemed a bit far-fetched, more like an attempt to justify her actions.
It felt more like a self-explanation.
"I know it's hard for you to believe me. But time will prove that I'm not lying."
The atmosphere in the car suddenly became extremely awkward.
Both of them remained silent.
Charles focused on driving, following the navigation, while Evelyn looked out the window at the scenery.
It wasn't until they were close to Thompson that Evelyn asked in a low voice, "I heard there were misunderstandings between you and your wife?"
"It's not a misunderstanding. She cheated on me."
These simple words were filled with helplessness.
Because Charles deeply loved Sarah, he had been willing to do anything for her, even foolish things in the past.
Now that he thought about it, he felt really ridiculous.
"Oh."
Evelyn's eyes flickered as if she was contemplating something.
Just as she was about to speak again, Charles preemptively reminded her, "We've arrived, get ready to get off."
Compared to the Wilson family's wealth of hundreds of billions, Thompson's total assets were far from enough. Thompson's family had billions.
So the location and scenery of Thompson's mansion fell short in various aspects compared to the Wilson family's.
Even so, Charles still couldn't afford it.
It was a two-story detached villa with a front and back yard of a hundred square feet each.
As they entered the hall, they found it somewhat lifeless.
Many people stood silently in the first-floor hall.
When they saw Evelyn returning, her cousin, Linda Thompson immediately insulted her, "You shameless woman, how dare you come back?!"
The eyes of the other Thompson Family members were filled with anger as they stared at Evelyn as if they were looking at an enemy.
"Why are you scolding me? And where's Grandpa? Why are Frank and the others standing outside his room?"
"Heh." Linda scoffed.
"Stop pretending. PI was quite touched when you sacrificed yourself for the sake of the Thompson family and Grandpa. Turns out I was too naive."
Evelyn regretting her marriage to the Wilson family was big news in Starbain!
It had only been a little over an hour, and the news had spread completely within the upper-class circles.
As one of the parties involved, the Thompson family, how could they not know?
Evelyn's younger aunt Helen Thompson also mocked, "Yes, she's just putting on a show for us. however, she chose self-preservation in the end."
"That's not true…It's not like that..."
Before Evelyn could explain, Helen interrupted, "Your actions angered Grandpa, the doctors said he might not make it through tonight."
"What? Grandpa's condition worsened?!"
"Stop pretending. It's meaningless to continue this act." Linda replied coldly.
"Grandpa, I... I want to see Grandpa!"
Evelyn ignored their mockery and immediately went to the second floor.
However, she was stopped by her third uncle, David at the stairs. "Evelyn, explain why you broke off the engagement first."
"David, please move aside!"
This was one of the few times that Evelyn had lost her temper at home.
Helen suddenly glared at her. "How can you talk to your Uncle like that? How rude!"
"I'm sorry, it's my fault. Can you let me see Grandpa now?"
Even if Evelyn apologized, Linda and the others wouldn't just let her go.
They were all waiting for the Thompson Family to climb up to the Wilson Family.
In the end, finding out that it was all for nothing would naturally make them very angry.
However, for Evelyn, her parents and grandfather were her only family in her life.
Especially her grandfather, who had spoiled her since she was young.
If she couldn't even see her grandfather one last time, it would be a lifelong pain for her.
Seeing that someone from the Thompson family was blocking Evelyn from seeing her grandfather, Charles took the initiative to come up the stairs.
Before David could react, Charles decisively pushed him aside and said, "Go ahead, I'll deal with the rest."