Though paralyzed, still radiantly charming!

Chapter 320: I knew it! Ryan still loves me

“StoneRiver Materials!”

Hearing that name from the woman, Ryan’s expression immediately changed, and he almost spilled the coffee he was holding.

He knew that name all too well. When everything first started, this company had already been involved, and now it was popping up again.

From the very beginning, both StoneRiver Materials and BlueSky Materials had caught Ryan’s attention.

He vaguely remembered that Alice’s project had initially partnered with BlueSky Materials. But later, StoneRiver Materials swooped in, offering a lower price to steal the contract. The project was strapped for cash at the time, so they agreed to StoneRiver Materials’ offer.

Naturally, StoneRiver Materials won the contract by undercutting the competition.

And that’s where the problems began. Not long after the two companies started working together, someone behind the scenes sent a thug to steal the purchase order, which quickly soured the relationship between the project and BlueSky Materials.

Now, hearing the name StoneRiver Materials again, especially after everything that had happened, it was hard not to be suspicious of the company.

The woman noticed Ryan’s sudden reaction. She hesitated for a moment, then cautiously nodded and continued explaining the rest of the situation.

The conversation with Frank after that wasn’t all that important. He just seemed really nervous, constantly reminding the woman that this matter had to be handled properly. It was crucial for both him and Clara.

After listening to the woman, Ryan glanced over at Mia. The little girl was playing with a disposable cup, and when she noticed Ryan looking at her, she flashed a sweet smile, like a flower blooming.

“So, do you know who signed the caregiver agreement with him?” Ryan asked.

Mia’s smile was sweet, sure, but it always gave Ryan a bit of a chill down his spine.

He had no idea what strange thoughts Mia was cooking up this time, but the way she looked at him, like she was ready to tear him apart, was definitely unsettling.

Ryan quickly looked away from Bella’s gaze, rubbing his arms nervously as he continued his questioning.

From a logical standpoint, what Frank did made no sense. He bribed a hospital director to mess with the billing, but it wasn’t to get a bigger insurance payout or anything like that.

And he kept mentioning that after his death, a lawyer would come to the hospital to retrieve the bill. It was clear he was making arrangements for after he was gone.

As a father, what could be so important that he’d go to such lengths, even planning for a lawyer to carry out his wishes after his death?

“I asked him at the time, but he wouldn’t say. He just told me to hand everything over to his lawyer when the time came,” the woman said, shaking her head helplessly. If Mia and Ryan hadn’t come to investigate today, she probably would’ve forgotten all about it.

She didn’t know Frank was already dead, so she hadn’t taken it seriously, treating it like a promise with no real deadline.

But for Ryan, it was different. They knew for sure that Frank had died three days ago, so naturally, they were taking this much more seriously.

There wasn’t much more they could get out of the woman. After getting her phone number, Ryan and Mia left, reminding her to contact them immediately if the lawyer showed up to collect anything.

As they stepped out of the office, Ryan took a deep breath. This whole thing had been dragging on for a long time. Most of the time, they were just chasing leads without any clear direction, but today, they finally saw a glimmer of hope that things might get resolved.

They had thoroughly combed through all the hospital leads. Ryan hadn’t expected that the clue they almost missed would unravel such a long chain of connections.

Frank was just an ordinary construction worker.

There was no way he would’ve had any dealings with a big company like StoneRiver Materials under normal circumstances. The only reasonable explanation Ryan could think of was that StoneRiver Materials was somehow involved behind the scenes.

Frank must have been in contact with someone from the company, but that person wouldn’t have used the company’s name. It was likely that Frank had been smart enough to gather some information on his own.

“So, Ryan, are you going to investigate the people at StoneRiver Materials now? Or are you going to wait for the lawyer to show up?” Mia asked, yawning as she followed behind him. Even though she had rested a bit in the hospital hallway earlier, she still hadn’t gotten enough sleep.

To be honest, Ryan really wanted to head straight to StoneRiver Materials and investigate the situation. But after thinking it through, he realized he had no idea where to even start.

He tried to shift his perspective. If Alice had ordered someone from her company to carry out an assassination, and the other party found out it was connected to Alice’s company, what would happen if they stormed into the office demanding answers?

Most likely, they’d find nothing, get laughed at, and be thrown out like a fool. Worse yet, if the higher-ups caught wind of it, they might decide to quietly “deal with” the person to avoid any future complications.

Right now, it seemed like someone from StoneRiver Materials had played dirty. Going after their public-facing employees wouldn’t get him anywhere.

The only thing Ryan could do was wait. He needed to be cautious around anyone from StoneRiver Materials and bide his time until the right moment to strike back.

“Let’s call it a day. I think we’ve gathered enough information for now.”

It was still early, but there wasn’t much point in sticking around. As he responded to Mia, Ryan pulled out his phone, ready to send a message to Alice.

According to the plan, Alice should still be in the middle of her press conference. He was a bit worried about what might happen between Bella and Alice, but with so many reporters around, Bella probably wouldn’t try anything reckless.

Ryan knew what Bella was getting at, but he just didn’t want to admit it. He still clung to the hope that they could go back to how things were in the beginning—back to that innocent, childhood friendship.

But now, to ensure Alice’s safety, he had no choice but to face reality.

He figured he’d find a chance to talk to Bella tonight. All he could do was try to reason with her and hope things hadn’t spiraled so far out of control that they couldn’t be fixed.

As Ryan’s mind wandered, Mia’s small hand reached over and deleted the message he was typing on his phone.

“Ryan, look at the time! It’s only three in the afternoon, and you’re already thinking about heading back?”

Mia pouted and shook his arm, her eyes sharp and alert—completely different from the sleepy look she had just moments ago.

Her hint was painfully obvious. At this point, if Ryan didn’t pick up on it, it wasn’t just a matter of low emotional intelligence—it would mean he wasn’t paying attention to Mia at all.

He quickly did the math. Alice’s press conference wouldn’t be over for at least another two hours.

Ryan wasn’t entirely sure what was going on with Mia, but this seemed like a good opportunity to talk things through with her.

“Alright, where do you want to go? Just say it.”

Ryan let Mia shake his arm, sighing in resignation. After a long pause, he finally opened his eyes and calmly asked.

He was trying to play it cool, but Mia couldn’t hide her excitement. The moment Ryan agreed, she practically lit up with joy, almost bouncing with happiness.

She immediately threw her arms around him, hugging his neck and planting a big kiss on his cheek.

“I knew it! Ryan still loves me, and Mia loves you too~”