The Secretly Rich Man

Gerald Crawford:The Secretly Rich Man Novel (Invisible or Poorest) Chapter 311
Gerald was able to let off a lot of steam there. He’d never felt so good before.
However, he realized that things could get very complicated from here on out. Although he’d lived a modest life thus far, he at
least understood this much.
Therefore, he decided he’d take this matter a little further. At the next opportunity, he’d have to sit down with Zack Lyle and
Michael Zeke to discuss what had happened here.
He thanked Aiden and Elena for rushing over to his side before dismissing them.
The events of the day had left Queta frightened and humiliated. She was down in the dumps. Even her clothes had been ripped
and torn by Liara’s gang. It broke Gerald’s heart to see her like this.
Ultimately, it was his fault that this tragedy had to occur and that Queta had been dragged into it.
“Come on, I’m buying you new clothes!” Gerald declared cheerfully.
“No...I’m fine like this, Gerald!” Queta bowed her head.
“I insist. No matter what, I had gotten you into this mess. Anyway, it’s your birthday!” Dragging her along by the hand, he pulled
her onto his car and brought her to a fancy clothing emporium filled with high-quality high-fashion items.
Gerald bought two outfits for Queta all the while coaxing and consoling her. He promised something like today would never
happen again.
He paid for the clothes, but just as they were about to leave...
“Gerald, is that you?” A clear, feminine voice called out to him. The tone was laced with unexpected delight.
He turned to look. It was Naomi Milton. “Naomi!”
Naomi also had three other girls with her: Felicity Nelson, Yvonne Dunn, and Cassandra McGregor!
Well, it didn’t surprise Gerald to see Naomi running with these girls. After all, there’d been that thing at Emperor Karaoke Bar a
couple days back. That time, everyone had lost their minds, except for Naomi, who’d remained calm and advised Felicity to

moderation and she’d been right: Jake had proven to be no trifle.
In that way, Naomi had also proven herself to be a voice of patience—something which Felicity felt she had a need for.
As for Yvonne, well...it wasn’t as though Felicity wasn’t aware that the girl mainly sought to benefit from her recent popularity.
This was made especially obvious by how uncomfortable she was about Naomi joining their clique.
Naomi informed Gerald that the afternoon following that incident, Felicity had invited her to help out around her workplace.
As for right now...naturally, both Felicity and Cassandra spotted Gerald too, but neither one offered him greetings.
They only glanced at him, then began examining Queta, who was beside him.
“Gerald, who’s this? What a beauty! Won’t you introduce her to us?” Naomi cajoled teasingly.
Gerald handled the introductions. “This is my good friend, Queta Smith. Queta, this is Naomi Milton, that bro I’m always telling
you about. She’s a real man among men!”
“Pleased to meet you!” Although in low spirits at the moment, having met the Naomi that Gerald had told her so much about, she
was delighted to shake hands.
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It had barely been an hour since that catastrophe.
Gerald didn’t want to talk about it in front of Felicity and the rest, so after greeting Naomi, he hurried Queta away.
“Hot d*mn, holy cow!” Yvonne exclaimed in frustration. “That Gerald has some guts, huh? Felicity and the counselor are both
here, but he didn’t even say a quick hello to them? You ladies saw it, too! He completely ignored us!”
To herself, Yvonne thought about how someone like Gerald ought to show someone like her only the utmost courtesy and always
mind his manners.
Instead, he’d snubbed them! Yvonne wouldn’t stand for it.
Neither Felicity nor Cassandra could believe how Gerald had treated them, either.
They hadn’t greeted him, but he hadn’t greeted them, either. He’d grown some balls.

“Hmph! Loser! I couldn’t care less!” Felicity huffed.
“Alright, alright...leave Gerald alone, now.” Naomi tried to salvage the situation. “I noticed he was in a bad mood just now.
Something’s probably happened and he was too preoccupied to say hi, that’s all.”
“You don’t have to defend that person, Naomi. He’s free to do as he pleases. Hmph! Anyway, we’re going to Wayfair Mountain
Entertainment later—we’d best hurry home and try on our new clothes! Isn’t that right, Felicity?”
Remembering that they’d be making a trip to that wonderful Wayfair Mountain Entertainment as soon as today, nothing could
bring Yvonne down right now.
Felicity’s company superiors were having a friendly gathering at the villa. Since their top personality Felicity was one of
Mayberry’s own, she was naturally entitled to bring a few guests along.
Now that Exceptional Live had risen to become a national-level media platform, they were worth a lot more these days. That
meant better company vacations in nicer spots!
Suddenly, Naomi’s phone rang. She took the call, grunted in acknowledgement a couple of times, and then hung up.
Anxiously, she reported, “Felicity, that was the car rental service. Their driver has just left on urgent business and all their other
drivers are at some wedding function, so there isn’t anyone to drive the Mercedes-Benz G-500 we reserved! They’ve asked if
we’d be able to find our own driver!”
“What! The driver dumped us? D*mn it! It’s just one thing after another...” Felicity was fuming. “How am I supposed to find a
driver last-minute to take us there? Anyway, I always hand-pick my drivers—they have to be good-looking! Every detail counts
when going for an event like this!”
Really! Why did everything have to be so complicated?
“That’s right! Among us, only the counselor can drive, but as she’s going as a guest of honor, that’s out of the question!” Yvonne
squealed. “Anyway, we can’t ask the counselor to serve as our driver!”
“Oh, I’ve just remembered that Gerald has a driving licence! He could do it!” Naomi exclaimed. “Shall we ask him to be our driver,
then? He’s even been to that villa before!”
The truth was that Naomi was serving a personal agenda of her own here.

Previously, Gerald had really borne the appearance of someone who’d suddenly struck it rich, indulging in luxuries left and right.
After a while, however, he’d gone right back to ground.
His classmates believed that he’d splurged it all away, and that was the end of it.
However, that brief period in the limelight had also left Gerald with a nasty preoccupation with appearances.
Naomi hadn’t failed to notice this.
She was asking him to be their driver now because she knew that Felicity had commissioned their previous driver for nearly a
thousand dollars.
A thousand bucks for an afternoon’s work. It was a lovely arrangement.
Yvonne was the first to protest. “No, no way! Naomi, didn’t you hear what Felicity said? We need a good-looking driver, not some
crass dork like Gerald! Forget about it!”
Felicity, however, arched one eyebrow and murmured, “Hmm...I actually think Naomi’s suggestion has some merit. Crass and
dorky though he may be, Gerald has a certain innocence about him which is rather refreshing. Mm-hmm...our old dorm-mate
Xavia wasn’t entirely without taste. I’ll just need to give him a bit of a makeover and he might even do very well as our driver!”
“Okay. Let’s give him a shot, then! He can drive, after all!” Cassandra raised no disagreement.
“Alright. Naomi, give Gerald a call. Tell him I’d like him to be our driver!”
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“Gerald, are you busy later?” Naomi asked, when Gerald took her call.
“Who, me? No, I’m not busy!” He was sending Queta back to campus. Once she was in class, he’d obviously be free.
“Oh. I’ve found you some side income. A thousand bucks for a day’s work. It’s a simple job: Felicity needs a driver. I know you’re
not hurting for money these days, but a little extra scratch never hurts, right? What do you say?” Naomi presented the proposal
delicately.
She knew he’d just about used up his windfall already, but she spoke with tact nevertheless as she was also aware that Gerald
had become an image-conscious person. He’d even developed a taste for fine clothes!

But for all that, he was still a bro and nothing had changed that between them.
Honestly, when Felicity’s name came up, Gerald had wanted to decline—not least because he knew Yvonne and Cassandra
would probably also be involved. It would be a madhouse, being caught between those chattering hens.
Yet, he couldn’t bring himself to turn down Naomi’s goodwill.
After a slight pause, Gerald nodded his head and agreed after all. It was all for Naomi’s sake.
“Alright! First, I’ll need you to get back here. We’re going to buy you some things and dress you up!” Naomi laughed happily over
the phone.
Gerald sighed in exasperation and turned the car around.
As the girls’ captive, he was given an expensive suit and a pair of leather shoes, all of which he had to put on right away.
It had to be said that Felicity, despite her aloofness towards him all this while, had to admit to being a little smitten when she saw
Gerald in those handsome clothes. She almost complimented him, even...
But then she saw him carefully folding up his old clothes, as though intending to take them with him.
Oh, dear...still just a loser, after all.
“These are fine clothes. Don’t wear them out in a hurry, Gerald! Between the cost of this outfit and some spending money for you
as our driver, you’re getting well over a thousand bucks out of this!” Cassandra remarked with arms folded.
“Yes, I see.” Gerald could only smile and nod.
“Oh? Gerald, is that your new phone?” Naomi had just now spotted what he held in his hand.
He nodded. “Yup! Just got it a few days ago!”
“Whoa, that looks pretty sweet! Pass it here!” Yvonne peered at the device, her interest piqued. Without waiting for permission,
she reached over and snatched it away.
One look at it, and she squealed. “My gosh...Felicity, Cassandra, look at this! This is the latest model, new on the market...it
goes for over four thousand bucks! Gerald, is this yours?”

As a matter of fact, the most expensive smartphone she’d ever owned, she’d paid for it by installments, to a total of one
thousand dollars.
Gerald, the poor man of their class, used a phone worth four times as much?
“No kidding!” Felicity gasped when she saw it, in spite of herself.
“Gerald, I don’t know when you’ve become such a show-off—but for a guy like you to buy a phone like this, what were you
thinking? Felicity is at the top of her game right now and her phone only costs half as much! You’re just a student with no steady
income, so how can you splurge like this? How many times must I tell you?” This came from Cassandra, the counselor.
It was as though someone had stepped on her tail.
Only a moment ago, she’d been lecturing Gerald about a set of clothes worth a few hundred bucks...and then he’d whipped out
this four-thousand-dollar phone! Where did that leave her?
“Exactly! Why did you get something so expensive? Were you trying to impress some rich kids? Ahh...some people simply don’t
have class. Don’t you know, Gerald? Only poor people go for things like this, people with money just buy the cheaper models!”
Having suffered some affront from this, Yvonne eagerly joined in the harassment.
Gerald Crawford:The Secretly Rich Man Novel (Invisible or Poorest) Chapter 314
“Yes. You’re right. Of course.” Gerald just nodded away compliantly.
There was no point in arguing. He’d let them talk.
Next, they brought him to the car rental company, where they collected the Mercedes-Benz, and set out for Wayfair Mountain
Entertainment.
Now they were back on track.
Gerald had to open the door politely for Felicity to step out from the car. The other girls followed after and they were all greeted
warmly by the staff at the villa.
Why was the villa showing such consideration for Exceptional Live?
It was simple: though neither Exceptional Live nor that upcoming Yorknorth Mountain event was that big a deal, the sponsors
behind them were. Ultimately, Michael Zeke was trying to put on a show to impress Gerald Crawford.

As she posed for the photographers, Felicity turned and muttered under her breath to Gerald, who had been about to follow them
inside, “Very good, Gerald. Now take the car to the parking lot and wait for us there. You’d best stay clear of the event proper,
lest you blow your own cover and embarrass us all! Regarding dinner, you can buy yourself some bread if you get hungry—it’s
not like they’re serving the kind of food you’re used to eating.”
Clearly, she thought he was likely to say something that might embarrass her.
Unbelievable! One day, she’d get her just desserts!
Gerald had had it up to here with Felicity. He had his pride too, for crying out loud! Couldn’t she show him at least a little respect?
Cursing in silence, Gerald could do nothing but comply and bring the car to the parking lot.
He couldn’t reveal his true identity, one way or the other.
Of course, Gerald wasn’t going to just hang around here like a fool.
He’d already decided that while he was here, he’d seek out Zack Lyle and Michael Zeke to discuss about Rye Group.
When he arrived at Michael’s office, the man was reading a newspaper. When he saw Gerald, he shot to his feet, caught by
surprise.
Moments later, Zack hurried over to join them.
Gerald recounted recent events to them and they in turn shared what they knew about Rye Group.
In summary, Rye Group pre-dated all their other organizations and was a stone-cold criminal family.
In this Mayberry region, they were big shots. As business continued to grow, Henry Rye established a formal group, going
legitimate.
However, for all the legitimate businesses they conducted, some of the things they did...well, Gerald had some first-hand
experience. One example would be when Chad and Danny Xanders attacked William Rye, and then the Xander family vanished
overnight. Then there was Damien Rye, who commanded his own private army of thugs.
The reason Zack Lyle maintained cordial relations with them was because of their might. The vast network of people who served
them, as well as their extensive underworld connections, made them a force to be reckoned with.

Peace begets prosperity, after all.
By now, Gerald had a much clearer understanding of the state of the game. Then his phone rang. It was his elder sister Jessica,
whom he hadn’t spoken to for over a fortnight now.
“What are you up to, Gerald?” she began.
“Nothing much. Just having dinner with Zack Lyle and Michael Zeke!” Gerald answered brightly, deciding that Jessica didn’t need
to know about all this. At the end of the day, she was grooming him to eventually take over the whole Mayberry Commercial
Street. If he went running to his sister for help with every little thing, what sort of worth would he be demonstrating?
“That’s great. I’m calling to let you know that I’ll be paying a visit to Mayberry in three days’ time and I want to see my precious
baby brother. Hahaha!”
“Oh? You’re coming here?”
“Yup—and I’ll have some earth-shattering news to deliver to you, too!”
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“What’s the big news?”
Gerald froze. However, hearing that his sister would be coming, he thought back to one year ago, when she and both his parents
had gone abroad to work off some debts, and how he’d never seen them since. This was a truly exciting prospect.
Of course, that was just a story they’d made up to tell him.
“Ahahaha...you’ll find out when I tell you! Alright, eat your dinner!”
Doot... doot...With that, Jessica had hung up.
Zack Lyle and Michael Zeke were turning pale. “Mr Crawford? Will Director Jessica be coming here?”
“Yup, that’s right!” Gerald replied. “Three days from now! No idea why!”
The two men looked as though they were going to be ill. They must be terrified of his sister.
Next, Gerald had dinner with them and talked about simpler things.

Three or four hours crawled slowly by.
“I say, where are you, Gerald?” Felicity just called him directly. She sounded most displeased.
Gerald checked the time. Whoops, it was already well past eight!
There was a rule at these hot springs: After sunset, no one was to make too much noise. Remembering that time when some
celebrity starlet was trying to sneak a dip in the baths, and nearly started a fight with him...
...what more a grand function like tonight.
“Oh! I’ll bring the car around right away!” Hanging up, he fetched the car and picked up Felicity and friends, who were ready to
leave for the night.
“Blast! Did you do this on purpose, Gerald? What did I instruct you? When the party’s about to finish, have the car ready nearby!
Instead, you were nowhere to be found!” The moment she got into the car, Felicity started chewing his ear off.
“On purpose? Perish the thought! It’s just that you forbade me from stepping inside there, so how was I to know when the party
would be ending?” Gerald whined.
“Y-y-you...just for that, you’re only getting half pay tonight!” Yvonne snapped.
“Gosh, what an utter failure you are!”
When the guests came out, some of the other drivers had already been standing by at the entrance, but where had hers been?
Even when she’d walked all the way out to the car, the man himself had been nowhere in sight. The shame of it!
“I’ll drop you ladies off at our campus and then I’ll return this car!” Gerald muttered.
“Back to campus? Forget that!” Yvonne snapped. “We haven’t had enough fun yet tonight—we want to head to Emperor so we
can sing all night long. Am I right, Felicity?”
It had actually been a marvellous evening already, and they’d gotten to see Wayfair Mountain Entertainment. However, the girls
were reluctant to call it a night, including Cassandra.
Especially Cassandra. Several of Felicity’s superiors had gotten her drinks and even asked for her number. Back then, she
would have only been too delighted.

Now, though, her heart belonged to Ordinary Man.
Nevertheless, she’d felt very flattered.
“Yeah, send us to Emperor Karaoke, then return the car!” Cassandra said pleasantly.
There was nothing for it but to do as he’d been told before finally driving himself back to campus.
“Gosh...what do you think? A guy like Gerald—what kind of woman would be willing to be with him?”
In their own private room, the girls were drinking and chatting together as music played.
For want of a better topic of conversation, their thoughts strayed back to Gerald.
“Heh! Speaking honestly, a guy like him has no hope of getting himself a girlfriend. Even if he gets married one day, it won’t be to
any great beauty, and even if she is, she’ll most likely be used goods. The reasons are simple—one, he’s dead broke; and two,
he’s a total loser!” Felicity was drunk now and spoke with little restraint.
“You’re wrong... Gerald has a girlfriend! You may not be aware of this, but...she’s a radio DJ and she’s really pretty!” Naomi
didn’t feel comfortable listening to them insult Gerald like this.
“Pah. Wasn’t Xavia pretty too? And what happened there?” Yvonne sneered, then perked up as she broached another topic.
“Oh, yeah! Speaking of which...Felicity, what kind of guy are you looking for?”
“Oh, me? Well...he’s gotta be hot, of course—that’s one. Two, he has to be able to afford me. Three, um...someone from an
influential family. Four, someone nice. Five, willing to spend lots of money on me. Six...”
“Good heavens, couldn’t you just say that you’re looking for someone like Ordinary Man?”
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Yvonne burst into laughter.
Cassandra, who had been standing beside Yvonne, started acting slightly awkwardly. The truth was, that inside, she was filled
with jealousy.
“And you counselor, what kind of future husband are you looking for?”

Yvonne repeated her question.
“I’m just looking for someone humble. A solemn and mature man who is sensible as well as knowledgeable. Not to sound overly
materialistic, but he should also be a well-to-do man since we, as women, will be relying on them for support for the rest of our
lives.”
Cassandra ended her explanation with a faint smile.
Another burst of laughter escaped Yvonne’s mouth. “So what you’re saying is that you’re looking for someone like Ordinary Man.
After all, he’s just a regular person who’s a bit more sensible and solemn. Speaking of which, what do you think he looks like?
Handsome? Or could he just be some ugly person?”
“Definitely not ugly!”
“Far from ugly!”
Both Cassandra and Felicity yelled in unison after Cassandra’s question.
Felicity threw an odd gaze toward Cassandra.
Cassandra seemed a bit too nervous. Felicity could tell that something was definitely off.
Felicity recalled the moment when she had given Cassandra Ordinary Man’s contact information. It was to allow Cassandra to
help investigate which class Ordinary Man came from.
Back then she didn’t think much about it.
But after what happened after... The more Felicity thought about it, the more she felt that something was amiss.
She was so nervous earlier... Could Cassandra have fallen in love with Ordinary Man as well?
Women certainly were the most selfish creatures on Earth.
Ordinary Man was nothing short of outstanding and rich. After all, he was able to allow people from Exceptional Live to host a
social gathering at Wayfair Mountain Entertainment.
It was quite possible that Ordinary Man’s true identity was the mysterious Mr. Crawford.

No woman could ever say no to a man like that.
‘I may have been a little too careless...’ thought Felicity to herself.
No one said anything after their answer, and the situation itself became rather awkward.
At that moment, the private room’s door creaked open.
“Excuse me... Is Miss McGregor here?”
At the door, stood a bodyguard who had a black suit and earphones on.
“That would be me. Is there something I can help with?” asked Cassandra.
“Allow me to introduce myself, Miss McGregor. I’m Mr. Lexington’s driver and he’s invited four of you to a meal at Homeland
Kitchen. A feast has been prepared as a form of apology. I’ve been ordered to pick you up,” explained the bodyguard.
“Ah, I see.”
Cassandra nodded after saying that. Though she was still slightly confused, she found no problem with it. Flynn respected her
and he was definitely feeling guilty about what had happened the other day.
What more, Flynn was Gerald’s subordinate and he definitely knew that she had a good relationship with Gerald.
While she thought about it, Cassandra realized she had yet to tell Felicity that Ordinary Man was indeed, Gerald.
But how did Flynn know how to find her? She considered the fact that it could be because they were all currently in Flynn’s
territory.
After pondering about it for a while, Cassandra eventually decided to call Flynn up to express her thanks.
However, her call led straight to his voicemail.
“Let’s just go. Homeland Kitchen isn’t too far off from here. It wouldn’t be wise to make Mr. Lexington wait for too long,” said
Yvonne.
Cassandra simply nodded in response. “That’s true. Alright, start up the engine, and let’s be on our way.” The driver nodded and
led the way to his car.

A black Rolls-Royce was parked right outside the door.
Entering the vehicle, it wasn’t long before they were on their way to Homeland Kitchen.
Homeland Kitchen was located in Mayberry Commercial Street but from where they currently were, it would only take them about
seven minutes to get there.
However, the driver didn’t stop the car even after they had passed the street. In fact, he drove on and on till Mayberry
Commercial Street could barely be seen anymore. They were headed west now.
“Um, we’ve passed by Homeland Kitchen!”
Said Yvonne who had been sitting next to the driver all this time.
“Don’t worry, I noticed. We’re not going to this Homeland Kitchen. Our enterprise has just established a new branch, west of the
city. We’re going there instead.”
While he said that, a faint smile formed briefly on his face.
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“A new branch? When was it established? I’ve heard nothing about it...”
The gears in Cassandra’s head began to grind. Something about all of this seemed suspicious.
Earlier when they were still in Flynn’s territory, the bodyguard had told them that Flynn wanted to treat them to a meal at
Homeland Kitchen as an apology.
Cassandra didn’t think much of it. After all, she saw the familiar Rolls-Royce before her eyes.
Because of that, they just went along with the bodyguard.
However, seeing that they were now going west of the city, more and more alarms in Cassandra’s head were going off.
The west of the city was a factory zone. Very few entertainment centers would be there. Why would anyone consider
establishing a Homeland Kitchen branch there?

“It opened just a few days ago. The chef there’s quite the prodigy at cooking. Mr. Lexington’s told me that he’s hosting this feast
with you in mind since he wasn’t able to serve you well at the Emperor,” said the driver.
“That’s nice of him, but why didn’t Mr. Lexington notify us about this beforehand?”
The driver cleared his throat slightly. “I wouldn’t know about that. You can ask Flynn yourself once you reach the restaurant,” said
the driver as another faint smile appeared on his face.
“Did you just address Mr. Lexington by his name?”
The more she observed the driver, the less Cassandra trusted his odd behavior.
Hearing her question, the driver began smiling awkwardly.
The car’s pace began accelerating at that moment. Not too long after, he took a turn and entered the highway, west of the city.
Due to the abundance of factories, there weren’t many cars on the road. Only the faint glow of a few street lamps lit their way.
The more they went down the road, the more Cassandra felt that there was something wrong.
“Um, mister? I’m not feeling too well... Can we postpone this? I think I’m going to be sick. Please send us back.”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that.”
Cassandra’s heart sank. They wouldn’t have entered the car in the first place if he had only specified that the Homeland Kitchen
that they were going to wasn’t in Mayberry Commercial Street.
Thinking back, he had accelerated while driving down Mayberry Commercial Street too. They weren’t able to react quickly
enough to ask him anything.
The car driver looked from left to right, averting his gaze.
All this only served to further worry Cassandra.
“We’ve driven so far anyway, why not go down and have a look once we’re there?” persuaded the driver as he smiled.
“We refuse! Stop the car immediately!” shouted Felicity in a cold voice.

The driver pointed at the rearview mirror. “I can’t do that or we’ll crash with the car behind us. Besides, Mr. Lexington’s already
waiting for you.”
“Oh really? Well, I’m calling him now!” sneered Cassandra as she rummaged for her phone.
However, the only voice she heard through the phone was his voicemail.
‘Why on earth does it keep going to voicemail?’
All of a sudden, a loud bang could be heard.
The driver had turned the steering wheel abruptly to make a sharp turn. The car was now going down a slope.
Cassandra and the others were almost knocked out after being violently thrown about inside the car.
“Where are you taking us! Who are you?!” roared Cassandra who was both in anger and fear at the same time.
However, the driver simply ignored her.
He pressed a button on his earphone before saying, “Copy that. They’re in the car now along with two other young beauties.
We’re about to arrive, over.”
“Who the hell are you? Is this a kidnapping attempt?” Yvonne had been sitting next to the driver the entire time and she bore a
look of terror on her face.
The car slowed down soon enough. It would appear that their destination was some kind of incomplete factory building.
She used to think that scenes like this were only present in action movies.
“Stop the car. Stop the f*ucking car I said!” Yvonne screamed, almost like a mad person as she grabbed the driver’s arm.
It took her a second to feel it, but she felt a slap on her cheek.
It was loud and clear. Yvonne almost fainted on the spot, as the slap she took was direct and precise.
At that moment, the driver hit the brakes.
Behind them, five people got out of the car which had been tailing them for a while now. From the building, emerged three other
people.

Cassandra and the rest were dragged out of the car, one by one.
It was all clear now.
This was a premeditated kidnapping attempt!
All of a sudden, Naomi started shouting into her phone which she had secretly taken out while they were still in the car. “Hello?!
We’ve been kidnapped! Please come save us, we’re at the-”
Before she could finish, a bodyguard ran toward her and snatched her phone. It took less than a second for him to smash it on
the ground, disabling it for good.
A tight slap from him awaited Naomi.
“How dare you make that call! Third Brother, do you usually work this sloppily? Retrieve their phones immediately!”
“Give me your phones now!”
Felicity attempted to hide her phone as a few bodyguards rushed toward them. However, her attempt was futile and in the end,
her phone was snatched away as well.
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“Humph! Tie them all up while we wait for the boss’s next order!” shouted one of the men.
Cassandra and the others were then dragged into the building before being tied to some chairs.
“They’re all so beautiful! If the boss enjoys himself today, maybe we’ll get to have some fun with them too!” A guard laughed with
a cruel smirk on his face.
“That can wait. Let’s make sure the boss receives a warm welcome first! You three remain upstairs to stand guard over them.
Until the boss arrives, suppress your sexual urges. If he finds out about it, you’ll definitely be castrated!”
The three chosen subordinates nodded respectfully as the rest of the men descended the stairs.
The women were extremely beautiful and, fearing that they might kiss them if they looked at them for too long, the three men
decided it was best not to look at them at all. They squatted down by the door and began playing games on their phones.

“Psst... Hey, Naomi. Did you manage to get the call across earlier? How about you Felicity?” whispered Cassandra, her face as
white as a sheet.
Felicity wept in silence as she shook her head. “Didn’t manage to... My phone was snatched away before I even had the chance
to press the call button... What should we do, Counselor? I’m an internet celebrity! This is no way to treat such a person!” cried
Felicity as she burst into tears.
The corner of Yvonne’s mouth was still bleeding from the slap earlier. She was terrified and she started weeping as well.
Regardless of how calm and cold a girl she was, anyone would be frightened half to death if they were to face a similar situation.
“Counselor... I’m not sure whether I managed to get the call across... But it seemed like it did. However, I only managed to shout
for a brief moment...” Compared to the others, Naomi was still relatively calm though her breaths were heavy.
“Who? Who did you call?” In this life or death situation, the recipient of that call could be the miracle they needed to escape
unscathed.
Though they were still university students, their minds were fickle and bore ample wits.
Earlier in the car, most of them had caught on that something was going very wrong. During the moment the guard had slapped
Yvonne and while he was giving death glares toward Cassandra, Naomi and Felicity were hard at work, carefully trying to make
calls without being caught.
Among the girls, Naomi had been the first to act. Long before the car had driven off the slope, Naomi was already aware enough
about their situation to try making emergency calls.
The biggest help now, of course, would be from Flynn in this situation, even though Cassandra had tried several times to no
avail.
“I... called Gerald...” Back then, the first number she saw was Gerald’s and it was such a critical moment that her thumb moved
faster than her mind.
“You called... Gerald?” Cassandra said in a disappointed voice.
“You called that good-for-nothing? What could he even come up with to save us, being the stupid person he is...”
Felicity’s fears peaked and she felt cold sweat drip down her forehead.

“It’s all over now... I... I don’t want to die!” cried Yvonne.
“Shut up, b*itch! God, you’re so noisy! Leo, go tape her mouth up! You can scream all you want later!” chuckled one of the men.
The guard that went by Leo smiled lustfully as he approached them.
While all this was happening, Gerald was still looking at his phone, dazed and confused.
He was in the boys’ dormitory when it happened.
About three minutes ago, Naomi had given him a call. He was taking a bath then, and his phone had been ringing for a while.
As soon as he picked up the call, he heard Naomi shouting.
Her words were mostly vague, but he heard something about them being kidnapped before the call ended from her end.
What on earth was happening?
He tried calling her back to no avail. He even tried to call Cassandra and the others but even their phones went straight to
voicemail.
‘...I hope it’s just them having too much fun together...’ Thought Gerald to himself.
However, the cryptic call was still worrying. Knowing that they were all at Emperor Karaoke Bar, he decided to give Flynn a call.
His call went straight to voicemail.
Scratching the back of his head, Gerald then tried calling Flynn’s personal number. Thankfully, he was able to reach him soon
after.
“Still haven’t retired for the day, Mr. Crawford?”
“Not yet, no. Why does your business number keep going to voicemail? Are you still at the Emperor Karaoke Bar?” asked
Gerald.
“Don’t even start, Mr. Crawford. I’m looking into it as well. Just forty minutes ago, my phone was being targeted. I received calls
every two seconds and yes, I’m at the Emperor now. I’m still trying to find the brains behind all this!”

“I see. Well, Cassandra, Felicity, and a few others were having fun in the Emperor too. Could go over and see if they’re still
there?”
“Sure thing.”
Without hanging up, Gerald continued to wait for three more minutes. “Mr. Crawford, they were apparently picked up by
someone around twenty minutes ago. They’ve left,” said Flynn when he finally spoke again.
“...Huh? Could you please have a look at the surveillance footage? Who on earth could have picked them up?”
Gerald could feel that something was going terribly wrong.
Flynn felt the same.
While he started with the Emperor’s own surveillance footage, Flynn soon found himself going through the footage from the
surveillance cameras littered all over Mayberry Commercial Street.
Flynn’s voice began to quiver nervously. “...Mr. Crawford... It seems that they were picked up by a Rolls-Royce. The car moved
at an accelerated pace and the last footage we have of it shows that it drove west of the city.”
“...Oh no. Could this be a kidnapping attempt?” Gerald felt his anxiety grow by the second.
“Quick, call Zack and Michael. Tell them to meet up at the Emperor Karaoke Bar immediately. I’ll meet you there too!”
Gerald Crawford:The Secretly Rich Man Novel (Invisible or Poorest) Chapter 319
Inside the Emperor Karaoke Bar’s office, the mood was heavy.
“We’ve pinpointed the exact location, Mr. Crawford. After tracing Miss Milton’s last call, we found that it was made outside an
incomplete factory, west of the city,” explained Michael.
“Mr. Crawford!” shouted Zack as he burst through the office’s door.
“We’ve run some investigations on the gangsters in Mayberry City and the Rye group. According to our spies, Jack had been
acting strangely tonight. Earlier at eight, he had held a dinner party with a few others, including a few business-focused bosses
from Mayberry City. In between meals, he would leave the table a lot to make calls. It was also found that his subordinates had
drugged the wine beforehand. About ten minutes ago, his driver picked him up and his final destination was the same factory
Miss Milton last called from!” Zack reported.

Gerald had a confused look on his face. “Mr. Lyle... How do you know so much about them?”
Zack smiled. “The truth is, Mr. Crawford, I’ve planted some spies in their group much earlier on to prevent them from pulling any
unexpected tricks. I’m proud to say that one of Jake’s most trusted subordinates is our spy!”
“Excellent work! Mr. Crawford, everyone’s here now. It’s best that we leave now,” said Michael.
“Let’s go!”
With that, those gathered there began driving swiftly to the west of the city.
Meanwhile back at the unfinished factory.
“Boss! It’s good to see you!” The subordinates from earlier took turns shouting the phrase.
A roar of laughter followed. “Where’s my little beauty? Where is she?”
Obscene laughter could be heard before Jake began ascending the stairs.
The moment Felicity and Cassandra saw him, their eyes almost popped out.
He was here because they had offended him immensely the other day...
They were here because Jake wanted to personally take revenge on them.
Jake simply laughed at how surprised they looked. “So you’re all here! Come! Remove the tape from their mouths!”
As soon as her mouth was free, Cassandra shouted at him. “Do you have a death wish Jake? Do you know whose woman I
am?! Let me go now, I belong to Mr. Crawford!”
Cassandra knew very well what kind of relationship she had with Mr. Crawford ever since Flynn told her about it the other day.
However, she didn’t have much of a choice at the moment. She could only hope that she could use her relationship with Mr.
Crawford as a way to scare Jake off.
However, her statement scared Felicity and the others too.
‘No wonder Flynn respected the counselor so much... So she was in such a relationship with Mr. Crawford.’ Felicity thought to
herself, rather upset.

Jake simply laughed. “I’m aware of your relationship, yes. Not only are you protected by Mr. Crawford, but Flynn as well!
However, not even God can save you today!”
“You utterly humiliated me in the Emperor the other day, and you’ll pay for it today! I’ll break you inside out!”
“And you Felicity! I supported you at first but what good did it even do? I bet you never expected to find yourself in my grasp
again, did you? You slapped me once, remember? There’s no need to rush. I’ll let each one of you experience first-hand how
brutal I can be!”
Once his sentence ended, Jake stretched a hand out toward Felicity with lustful intentions.
Felicity, who was both terrified and nervous, instinctively retaliated by biting hard on Jake’s finger.
“You b*itch!”
The sound of a hard slap echoed through the building.
“How dare you! Even if you kill us, Flynn and the others will eventually find out about this. No matter how powerful you are, you’ll
end up in ruin soon enough. Wipe that smug smirk off your face!” shouted Cassandra toward Jake.
Jake burst into laughter at her statement. “Oh, you don’t have to worry about that. Flynn and the others will have no idea that I
was involved in this at all! I have an alibi that I’m currently drinking wine with a few bosses from the business field. The wine is
strong and we’re all drunk and after a little while, we’ll be taking a rest in a hotel.”
“Those bosses would definitely vouch for my innocence!”
“Come! Set the video camera up for me! I’m going to make sure they watch every second of their slutty moments over and over
after we’re done with them! I need to make a video call too! Damien should definitely enjoy this, live!”
As he said that, he started the video call.
On the other end of the line, Damien was lying on his hospital bed, his hands and legs bandaged. He picked the call up.
Jake chuckled. “Mr. Rye, you gave me such a brilliant idea the other day. Look! I have four beauties by my side today. And I’m
having a go with each and every one of them!”
“By god! They’re so beautiful! What kind of a monster are you? Zoom in on that slightly older girl for me!” shouted Damien
happily.

“We have all the time in the world. Let us begin!” laughed Jake, almost maniacally.
With a subordinate holding on to Jake’s phone, Jake rushed toward Cassandra first.
The girls were all in tears, including Cassandra.
Gerald Crawford:The Secretly Rich Man Novel (Invisible or Poorest) Chapter 320
With Ordinary Man on their side, the girls had thought that they could do anything they wanted in Mayberry.
None of them had ever anticipated that they would end up being in such a hopeless situation.
They were all frightened half to death at the thought of getting r*aped.
“Boss! There’s a call for you!” called out a subordinate.
“I’m not answering that, can’t you see I’m busy?” Jake scowled as he shed his clothes off.
“But...” The bodyguard then whispered the rest of what he wanted to say into Jake’s ear.
“...What?” A sense of nervousness quickly filled Jake. “Why is he calling me now?”
Jake wasn’t in any position to refuse the call. Gulping down, he braced himself as he answered the call.
“...Did you misunderstand me? How is this possible? I-”
“Cease your nonsense. Your subordinates downstairs are under me now. Release them immediately Jake, or you’re meeting
death early today!” The person’s voice on the other end of the line was frigid.
Jake gulped.
At that moment, footsteps could be heard ascending the stairs.
People began rushing in soon after, swiftly surrounding Jake and his men.
They were bodyguards dressed black from head to toe.
The leader of the group was a person with snow-white hair. He bore a cold and fierce expression, accompanied by a long scar
on his face that made him look extra intimidating.

“You... Who are you?” Jake shouted, shocked.
With his white hair and ferocious gaze, this was certainly no ordinary man.
Cassandra and the others, however, gave opposite reactions. Relief washed over them the moment they saw the white-haired
youth.
He was their savior.
“Get them!”
From that single order, the guards under the man moved forward in unison. Their swift and precise movements painted a picture
that all of them were seasoned professionals.
Jake and his men were pinned down on the ground in no time flat.
“What are you doing? I work for the Rye Group! Think of the consequences you’ll be facing!”
A loud thud could be heard.
The white-haired man had kicked Jake straight in the face.
Despite being pinned down by two men, Jake was still sent flying by that kick. He flipped in the air and fell on his back.
Jake’s chin had been broken and his teeth were covered in blood. The blood stained the ground as his body twitched
uncontrollably.
The rest of Jake’s subordinates were knocked out immediately after.
“Mister! Have you come to rescue us?” shouted Yvonne excitedly.
However, his cold demeanor remained. He glanced at all four of them before asking, “Which one of you is Miss Milton?”
“I am!” replied Naomi.
“We’ve received an order from our superior to rescue you. Please, come with us.”
The leader then personally untied Naomi’s hands before heading toward the exit.

“Um, hello? We’re still here.” Both Felicity and Cassandra were dumbfounded.
“Apologies, but my order was to save only Miss Milton, and nobody else.”
“D*amn it! Naomi, tell him to release us too!” shouted Felicity in a quivering voice. She didn’t want to stay in this horrible place a
second longer.
Sitting in his Maybach downstairs, Gerald observed their actions through his laptop.
He had intentionally set up the rescue this way. He wanted neither Felicity nor Cassandra to freely use his name again to act as
recklessly as they had before.
‘Look at how anxious they’ve become...’ Gerald thought to himself before picking his phone up.