In fact, Enrico was the first to propose this decisive battle plan. He wanted Rafael to set up a big picture, as if he was planning something big, and then make a mistake, so that when the chaebol united their forces to attack, they could use public opinion, strength, and foresight to defeat the other side.
In a sense, Enrico was using himself as bait.
But Rafael obviously felt that, objectively speaking, she was a better choice.
And she agreed.
Carrie crouched on the ground, shaking her head. “Even if the opportunity is good, Paige, you’ve already suffered too much. If I can’t save you in time, you’ll be in danger yourself. Not to mention anything else, what will your brother-in-law think?”
“…”
If she hadn’t been thinking about Enrico’s feelings, she would have gone straight to Rafael to discuss the details of the plan.
“You went to Eastdown to get a book for your brother-in-law, but you got trapped on a snowy mountain and almost couldn’t get out. You were caught in the west by your brother-in-law’s father and almost died after taking poison. You have been in danger time and time again, but my brother-in-law’s heart is so strong, how can he bear it again and again?”
Carrie knew she couldn’t change Paige’s mind, so she had to bring up Enrico, “Why should your brother-in-law keep worrying about you again and again?”
“…”
“And Gabriel, he’s still so young, how can you let him do such dangerous things?”
Carrie continued.
Paige hung her head in silence, and it was a while before she looked up at Rafael, “What is the purpose of the plan that Enrico gave you?”
Rafael had already prepared it and handed it to her, “Take a look. Enrico is deliberately selling the flaws of his consortium. He is going to make himself look like a sick tiger next, so that those foxes will boldly join forces to embezzle from him.”
“…”
Paige took it and glanced at it. The plan was very detailed and well-made, but there were also quite a few problems.
The biggest problem is that the plan will take a long time to execute and is prone to various complications. Just thinking about it now, she can already think of a bunch of disadvantages, and it may not necessarily achieve the desired effect perfectly.
“Those plutocrats have long since thought of ways to attack Enrico from these aspects, but they have never succeeded. Therefore, this plan may not necessarily make them fight to the death, and I don’t have the ability to pull this off,” Rafael said frankly.
Paige is different.
Enrico’s obvious favoritism towards Paige has long been obvious to the whole country. She is his weak point, and those plutocrats, who previously dared not believe it, can now see it as well.
As long as he intervenes again, those people will take the bait.
Paige is the best bait.
Carrie listened to Rafael’s words word by word, and when she saw Paige’s gloomy expression, she suddenly felt uneasy. She stood up suddenly, her eyes red from anger, and glared at Rafael, “Rafael! Can you stop thinking about pushing women out whenever something happens?”
She was furious.
Her voice was cold as ice, every word chilling.
“…”
Rafael sat there, facing her accusing and angry gaze, and his shoulders actually stiffened.
In her eyes, he had never had a good image, a selfish president who only sought stability and was ready to sacrifice others at any time, without any humanity.
He didn’t defend himself, but said with some bitterness, “I just didn’t see Paige as just a woman, that’s why I told her all this.”
He knew that Paige also wanted to end this as soon as possible.
“…”
Carrie clenched her fingers, not arguing anymore, but the anger in her eyes already said it all.
“Let me think about it.” Paige looked at Carrie’s reddened eyes and ultimately did not give a direct answer.
Carrie was already like this, and she couldn’t imagine what it would be like if Enrico were here.
Paige really made up her mind and, while Enrico was at a conference, asked Carrie to volunteer at a special hospital.
This hospital currently accepts only people infected with the Ferris wheel virus.
The two women were unable to volunteer because the hospital had strict rules: Volunteers had to be quarantined and could not set foot outside the hospital for a period of time.
So Carrie and she stood outside the hospital’s open-work walls wearing masks.
Ambulances came and went frequently, not because The Capital had so many patients being admitted, but because they were being sent out.
The bodies were sent out for cremation.
The family members stood outside the hospital, watching the ambulances pull away with the bodies. They pounced on the ambulances to take one last look, but were pushed away cruelly, and could only cry and chase after the cars.
The nurses crouched by the wall, exhausted from taking off their masks.
There were also patients who tried to escape recklessly, preparing to leave the hospital.
“Sister, do you also have relatives in the hospital?”
A young voice sounded beside them.
Paige and Carrie looked down and saw a little girl slightly older than Gabriel standing there. Her clothes were dusty and her face dirty, as if she hadn’t washed it for days.
The little girl was very sociable and said without waiting for them to speak, “My father is already dead, and my mother is inside. Don’t be sad. If you can’t see your parents, they must have become stars in the sky. The nurse told me so.”
Carrie’s body stiffened. “So no one will take care of you?”
“My grandparents said that I must have the virus too, and they won’t let me stay at home. I came here to see if my mom hasn’t turned into a star yet, so that I can go home with her.”
The young voice sounded numb, without any complaints about the current situation, just resigned to fate.
After that, a child called out to her, and the little girl waved at them and ran away.
Over there was a group of young children, all of them dirty, as if they had gotten some bread from somewhere and were sharing it with each other.
“Sister Paige, how can this be? Didn’t you say that we had to isolate ourselves and that someone had to take care of the elderly and children left alone? Why are there still so many children at The Capital just waiting outside the hospital?”
Carrie’s voice was a little choked up, obviously deeply moved by the scene.
“A Ferris wheel virus has hit the entire Temple in Heaven, but it has only shaken some medical supplies. You should know how deep the hole is,”
Paige said indifferently, “This country is ruled by the tycoons, and the kings are each in their own camps. If they are not united, some measures simply cannot be implemented in detail. This problem is only one in ten thousand.”
Chaos was already apparent.
If the upper echelons did not quickly stabilize, the repercussions below would only get worse and worse.
Children, the elderly, families… everyone.
Paige looked up at the sunset behind the hospital, the yellowish light shining on the red cross. She said slowly, “Carrie, let’s do it.”
“…”
Carrie looked at her blankly, unable to say anything in reply.
“If it were you, you would want to do it too,”
Paige said calmly. “I’m not trying to be a saint, I just want to have a clear conscience. At the same time, I will do everything I can to protect the integrity of my own little family and not let anything happen to myself.”
If this is something that only she can do, she really… doesn’t want to be a deserter.