Chapter 64

When I got back to my room that night, a thought hit me out of nowhere.

With the house renovation and the dinner with Joanna's dad coming up, why not use this chance to get Brandon to transfer some of the money back to me?

In the days that followed, I started going out a lot. Each time before leaving, I'd make sure to mention I was going out with Joanna.

If Brandon wasn't home, I wouldn't come back all day. I'd have Holly tell him in the evening that I was out with Joanna and wouldn't be back for a while.

Brandon, of course, was thrilled that I was spending more time with Joanna, so he never complained.

Until he subtly asked me about the dinner Joanna's dad was organizing.

I pretended to be annoyed and replied, "Do you think it's that easy? If you want to go, don't you need to give Joanna and her dad some gifts? What do I have to give? Do we have any money?"

Brandon was taken aback by my words. I turned to him and said, "Also, you need to transfer all our money back to me, or I'll go to the company and check the accounts myself. I don't care about anything else, but touching that money is the bottom line."

Brandon's face stiffened, but he smiled and nodded. "Of course, Caroline. Would I lie to you?"

"How about I transfer you half a million dollars first? You can use it to build a good relationship with Joanna's family, and I'll follow up on the remaining payments."

I rolled my eyes. "Half a million dollars? You might as well not bother."

Brandon was puzzled. "Why?"

I sneered. "Half a million dollars is nothing. It won't even make an impression. We might end up giving the money and still not get a spot at the dinner. Isn't that a loss?"

Brandon was stunned by my words and nodded. "You're right. How much do you think we need?"

I made a rough estimate and said, "Transfer me a million dollars first. I'll see how it goes, but we might need more later."

Brandon was clearly shocked by the amount. No matter how much he earned, he still had a small-town mentality and thought giving away that much money was a waste.

He explained his situation to me, but I couldn't help but scoff. "What are you talking about? Gifts?"

"Do you think you're in a position to give gifts? This money is for me and Joanna to spend. If you want to impress Joanna, you need to think about that."

Seeing Brandon's pained expression, I couldn't help but sneer. "Are you having second thoughts? Do you think it's not worth it?"

"Do you know how much profit you can make from one collaboration with Joanna's dad? Can't you do the math?"

"The money you invest now will come back to you several times over. So what's the big deal?"

Sure enough, Brandon fell silent, thinking it over for a long time before nodding. "Caroline, you go ahead and spend time with Joanna. I'll transfer the money to your account. If it's not enough, let me know."

Although this money was far less than what Brandon had taken from me, I was satisfied. At least some money was starting to come back into my pocket.

This was a good sign!

The next day, before heading out, I made sure to tell Brandon, "Hey, I'm going to have afternoon tea with Ms. Thorne. If you need anything, just leave me a message. Don't call."

Brandon's eyes lit up, and he nodded eagerly. "Caroline, make sure to get on her good side. Maybe she can get us into her dad's dinner."

I sneered, my tone dripping with sarcasm. "Sure, as long as you don't embarrass me or mess up my plans."

I was referring to the recent incident with Shirley. Brandon had learned his lesson from that, so he quickly shook his head.

"Don't worry, nothing will go wrong."

I left the house and got into Kathy's car. As soon as I was in, I couldn't wait to tell her about the past few days.

Kathy was thrilled to hear that Brandon had started transferring money to me. She grabbed my hand and laughed. "That's fantastic news."

"With Brandon's greedy nature, he'll eventually have to give it all back!"

I nodded in agreement. "But I need your help with something. Do you have a friend who works at a bank?"

Kathy nodded without hesitation. "What do you need?"

"Can you ask your friend to open an account for me, one that's not in my name? I want to transfer the money there."

"This money is still considered marital property. Only by transferring it out will it truly be mine."

Kathy waved her hand dismissively. "No problem. Consider it done."

With Kathy's assurance, I felt much more at ease. This was a method I had thought of on the fly.

If Brandon could transfer assets, why couldn't I?

Using the same tactics against him, I'd make sure he tasted his own medicine.

Kathy drove us to a restaurant where Joanna was already waiting.

Over time, Joanna and I had become good friends.

I explained the current situation to her, and she nodded. "You already have the upper hand. With my support and the house renovation, Brandon won't dare mess with you. He'll have to treat you well."

Kathy agreed. "That's true, but Caroline, you still need to be careful. Brandon is cunning. You can't predict what he's thinking, so you need to be prepared."

I felt the same way. Although I had the advantage now, if Brandon tried any tricks, I wouldn't be able to resist.

In short, my ability to fight back was still too weak. I needed to grow stronger.

After lunch with Joanna and Kathy, Kathy had to leave for something urgent, leaving just Joanna and me.

Suddenly, a man in black appeared silently beside Joanna and whispered something in her ear.

After he finished, she turned to me and smiled. "Someone's been following us."

I was stunned, immediately realizing it was someone Brandon had sent. He still didn't trust me, or he wouldn't have had me followed.

"What do you think we should do?"

Joanna looked at me and asked, "Since he likes to watch, let's give him a show. He'll have to watch and still willingly give us money."

Joanna chuckled. "Exactly what I was thinking."

"By the way, Karen recently got some money and started asking about my project."

I remembered Karen causing trouble a while back, having gotten money from Brandon.

"Just refuse her. She'll think she missed an opportunity and feel miserable, but she won't dare ask you about it."