Suddenly, she had a different thought and immediately called Patrick.
“Did you hide my things? Who do you think you are? Why did you take my belongings?” Beatrice accused Patrick relentlessly over the phone, without leaving any room for compassion.
“If I hadn’t taken your things, would your next step be to return to the country and ruin my life?” Patrick remained calm.
“You ungrateful son! Just you wait!”
Beatrice knew that she couldn’t expect any results from Patrick anymore. She had to put all her hopes on others.
She knew that besides following the proper procedures, there were other ways to return to the country.
Alternatively, she could report that her belongings were lost, but the process in a foreign country was more complicated and involved more procedures than in her home country.
Beatrice took some money and squatted at the embassy entrance, hoping that someone would come to her aid.
She waited for the entire morning, but the embassy doors remained closed.
At that moment, a man approached, looking her up and down before asking directly, “Are you here to apply for a visa?”
Beatrice desperately nodded, as if seeing a lifesaver.
“That’s good. I can help you with that.” The man seemed more than willing to assist.
“You’re not trying to deceive me, are you?” Beatrice still harbored some doubts.
The man showed his work ID, which stated that he was an embassy staff member.
This finally eased Beatrice’s vigilance.
“I lost my passport, visa, and identification card. Can you take care of all of them for me? Don’t worry about the money; I won’t shortchange you.” Saying this, Beatrice took out a stack of money from her wallet and handed it to him.
“You know that the embassy operates on working days, but if you’re in a hurry, you can choose the expedited service. Leave me your contact information, and I’ll get in touch with you once everything is done.”
The man seemed smooth in his actions, and after Beatrice left her contact information with him, she hurriedly returned home.
She didn’t want to be discovered by the person she was parting ways with-Patrick.
Her son was extremely shrewd, and it was not easy for an ordinary person to deceive him.
Back at home, Beatrice waited silently for news.
A whole week went by without any results, and she began to consider giving up.
She thought that the inefficiency of work abroad was to blame and decided to return to the embassy at the right time.
Seeing someone entering, she quickly approached and asked, “Can you please tell me how my visa application is going?”
The person led Beatrice inside and said, “We haven’t received your application. Are you sure you didn’t make a mistake?”
They didn’t recognize Beatrice.
Beatrice panicked and quickly explained, “There was a man at the entrance who said he could help me with my visa, and I gave him money.”
As soon as the embassy staff heard this, they instantly understood.
“You were definitely deceived. That man comes here every day, and his only purpose is to swindle money from people. He doesn’t even have a work ID. How could he possibly help you with your visa?”
Beatrice still had some doubts and thought that the embassy staff were sent by Patrick to deceive her.
She had become fearful of Patrick’s influence.
She was afraid that another person would come rushing in to settle the score with her.
“That’s impossible. He seemed knowledgeable and confident. He even assured me that he would take care of everything. How could it be fake? Are you mistaken?”
Beatrice refused to believe it and argued with the embassy staff for a long time, but they couldn’t reach a resolution, and she was eventually kicked out.
Back at home, Beatrice still held onto a glimmer of hope.
Meanwhile, the housekeeper discreetly reported Beatrice’s situation to Patrick.
“Let her struggle on her own. Don’t bother with her. Just ensure her safety.”
The world was so vast, and Patrick knew that she could freely struggle without being discovered.
They weren’t concerned about that at all.
And so, every day, Beatrice went to the entrance of the embassy, waiting and hoping to see the man, but his shadow was nowhere to be found, and her money had vanished into thin air.
It was her only savings, her remaining assets.
Until one day, wanted posters about the man were posted at the embassy, and Beatrice finally realized that she had put her trust in the wrong person.
Alone in her room, she cried and smashed things, but no matter what she did, no one paid attention to her.
Helpless, the housekeeper, afraid that she might do something foolish, had no choice but to go inside.
“What do you want?” Beatrice, tears streaming down her face, turned her head and saw the housekeeper’s figure.
“Get out! You’re here to mock me, aren’t you? Tell Patrick that I won’t surrender easily.”
Beatrice was persistent.
The housekeeper wasn’t angry and stood at a distance, two meters away.
“The CEO said you can do whatever you want. Even if you smash the entire room, someone will come and replace it with a new one tomorrow. You don’t need to worry about any of this.”
Beatrice snorted, “This is the good son I raised. He treats me like this.”
“The CEO initially wanted you to reflect on yourself abroad, but you insisted on fooling around with Florence. Maybe you never cared about what’s happening in the country.”
The housekeeper explained everything that had been happening in the country to her.
“Florence’s appearance almost destroyed Jane’s company, and Patrick was nearly implicated. All of this happened because of your support, leading to the current situation.”
Beatrice didn’t believe a word she said.
“I want to see Patrick. I want to see him now!” Beatrice went mad and rushed at the housekeeper, shouting.
“You know very well that it’s impossible. The CEO won’t appear here, let alone meet you.”
Beatrice felt completely helpless. She chased the housekeeper out and sat alone on the cold floor.
And so, she spent three whole days like that.
Even her last bit of savings had been swindled away, and she was now penniless.
Finally, she could find some peace.
Florence had been hiding in the hotel all this time, and the rumors and speculations outside had yet to die down. It wasn’t safe for her to return just yet, as she might be caught by Patrick’s people.
But just staying in the hotel wasn’t her goal either.
Her fans and the reporters were all casting their nets, trying to find her like fishermen hunting for fish.
Knock, knock, knock-the sound of someone knocking on the door reached Florence.
Looking through the peephole, she saw that it was the receptionist from downstairs, which put her at ease as she opened the door.
“Is there something wrong?”
“Sorry, but your room fee has expired today. Please vacate the premises before 12:00 noon.” The receptionist spoke politely and didn’t seem to recognize Florence.
“Then I’ll extend my stay!”
“I’m sorry, but the room has been rented out. We need to clean it.”
Since Florence entered this room, their cleaning staff hadn’t entered again.