A Replacement Bride

Chapter 127
With a smile tinged with feelings of self-mockery, Lisa stood proudly as her eyes lay squarely on the man who she had loved her
entire life and said, "Fine, I'll go; I'll leave. Jorge Cornell, you'd better not regret this in the future!" Then, she left in big strides
without taking a second glance.
After Lisa left, Katherine, who had been watching from the sidelines, bore a worried look as she turned her attention to her father.
"Dad, why did you kick her out? You're not getting younger anymore. How will you live without her around to take care of you?
Don't forget that I'll be getting married to Joaquin soon, so I won't always be around to take care of you..."
"Don't worry, I'm fine. You don't have to worry about me. There are still maids around after all, so I won't be suffering much."
Looking at how his daughter was being so thoughtful, Jorge suddenly felt warm inside.
"The maids will not be as attentive as someone close to you." Lisa sighed.
"I'm not so old to the extent that I need someone to take care of me yet. By the way, you said that Joaquin gave you the Cornell
Group?" Jorge didn't have the patience to play out this father-daughter moment, so he bluntly asked the question he was
concerned about.
"Yeah, Joaquin gave me the company, but since his people are still in charge of the management of the company, I'm just going
to be taking dividends without having to manage the company affairs." Katherine nodded while wearing a bashful smile, looking
as though she was a woman basked in happiness.
"Is that so? But, it's still better to manage your own company. Kathy, if you trust me, then it's best if you let me handle the
company for you since it's much more assuring than having outsiders take care of it for you." Jorge rubbed his hands together
while looking at his daughter with expectations.
Sneering inwardly, Katherine put on an uncomfortable expression and said, "Dad, doesn't that look bad? It's only been a few
days since he gave me the company. Not only that, our wedding isn't even held yet. How about we wait a little longer before
having that discussion?"
"I see. That sounds right, I guess. However, you should remember that your own company needs to be taken care of by our own.
Your father isn't afraid of any hardships, but I am afraid that other people will deceive you and take advantage of you." Although
Jorge felt slightly disappointed, he knew that he couldn't rush the matter, so he didn't forcefully ask Katherine to hand him control
of the company.

"Yeah, I know." Katherine nodded obediently.
"How about you stay for dinner tonight? Think of it as spending some father-daughter time with me. It's been a while since we've
chatted." Jorge couldn't help but lament as he noticed just how much she took after her mother.
Katherine didn't refuse her father's suggestion and stayed for dinner. She had even spent the night there in the end.
Early the next morning, there was a loud knock on the door of her room accompanied by Rosemary's voice that clearly showed
that she was angry. "Katherine! Katherine, you wretch! Get out here! I said, get out here now!"
It was only when Katherine got out of bed and put on her clothes did she open the door. As Rosemary suddenly found her hand
knocking on the empty air, the momentum pulled her forward, which caused her to almost hit Katherine in her arms. However,
the latter had moved to the side slightly which gave Rosemary some room to stop herself barely after staggering slightly.
With a hateful expression, Rosemary turned to look at Katherine. "Did you set my mother up? Were you the one behind Dad
kicking her out of the Cornell Family?"
"How could I have set her up? Why didn't you just ask your mother yourself about why she was kicked out?" With her arms
crossed over her chest, Katherine leaned against the wall behind her as she smiled indifferently at Rosemary. As it had been
some time since they last saw each other, she noticed how much chubbier Rosemary had gotten, as though she was expecting.
Not only that, but due to how close the two were standing to each other, she could clearly smell the stench of alcohol coming off
from her.
"Don't think I don't know what you're planning! Katherine, you'll get what's coming to you sooner or later. Just you wait and see!"
Rosemary gave Katherine an icy glare. Since she knew she couldn't beat her in a fight, she only said her piece and left in her
high heels.
Looking at Rosemary turning tail, Katherine thought to herself just how much Rosemary had grown from the short period that
they hadn't met one another, as the latter no longer acted on impulse even after she was provoked. With that passing thought,
she stretched a little before she went back into her room to take a shower and changed into a new set of clothes.
Katherine didn't bother to find out where Jorge had gone so early in the morning, as she took one lap around the house before
she quickly entered his study when no one was looking. Although she knew him to be a man who would keep his bases covered,
she refused to believe that he did not leave behind any evidence of her mother's questionable death all those years ago. She
wanted very much to push both Jorge and Lisa into the depths of despair without any possibility of them getting out of it.

The fact that the room was neat and tidy, even though the maids were prohibited from entering whenever they pleased, showed
Katherine just how much Jorge valued this room. She took a glance around before her eyes landed upon the family portrait on
the bookcase. It was a picture of her, Elsie, Jorge, and Keith who just turned two that year. Subconsciously, she reached out to
the photo, and just as she touched it, the bookcase parted from the middle to reveal a wall with a hidden door behind it.
Just as she was about to enter the hidden room with a pleased expression, she heard Ethan's voice coming from outside. "Mr.
Cornell, why are you back so soon?"
Katherine was reluctant to leave now with the hidden door right in front of her eyes. However, she knew that Jorge would
definitely destroy all evidence should he know she was here. By that time, any hopes she had to gather evidence would be
dashed, so she gritted her teeth and quickly returned the bookcase to its original position before hiding behind the curtain.
Soon, Jorge opened the door and came in in quick steps. He looked slightly panicked in the direction of the bookcase before
going over and gently pushing the photo on it. After the bookcase parted to reveal the hidden door, he took a look around to
make sure no one was near before he entered the hidden room. As the hidden door closed, the bookcase returned to its original
position in no time at all.
Silently, Katherine stared at the bookcase for some time but decided to quickly make her exit in the end. Now isn't the right time.
Jorge is still useful to me, she thought.
After she left the Cornell Residence, the poison in Joaquin's body came to her mind, so she immediately drove to an
underground market in Hovington. If she wanted to completely rid him of his ailment, there was no other way but to seek out two
herbs that had not been identified. As she navigated her way into the underground market with familiarity, she made her way
through the bustling crowd before entering a small house located at the deepest end of the market.
Inside the sparsely furnished house, an old man was dozing off and only opened his eyes when he heard the door open. He first
took a glance at Katherine before he closed his eyes once more after figuring out who she was. Indifferently, he asked, "What do
you want?"
"I need your help in finding two herbs. A Millennial Gentiana Scabra and a Green Dribble Gramineae."