You Looked Down on Me Once Now You Look Up (Patricia and Oliver) novel Chapter 697

Hector had to admit, he was a natural at playing peacemaker. Smoothing things over and juggling both sides just came easy to him.

In front of Jackson, he’d gripe about how Jackson was always sticking his nose where it didn’t belong. But with Oliver, he’d act like Oliver was the one being petty and not generous enough. Hector always seemed to say exactly what people wanted to hear, and after what went down last night, he was only getting better at it.

Jackson once told him, “All roads lead to the same place.” That line stuck with Hector.

He really did want what was best for Patricia. At least, before she became Mrs. Padilla, Hector had already heard all about Jackson’s legendary reputation. Honestly, without Jackson, Patricia’s whole revenge plan would probably never have gone so smoothly.

Everybody knew Patricia always had Jackson by her side. Then Oliver showed up later, and let’s face it, if he slipped up even a little or showed any selfishness, he’d look bad in comparison. It was just like competing with coworkers for a promotion—if they worked hard, you had to work harder.

And as for being selfless? No way. Nobody sticks around for nearly ten years with zero self-interest. Claiming otherwise was just fake.

Still, something about the whole situation felt off. If this were ancient times, Jackson’s achievements would probably have made his boss jealous.

The next morning, the Pacific Capital legal team rolled up to the police station with their entourage to handle Kent’s murder case from the night before. The officers wrapping up their night shift woke up real fast.

Anyone in law enforcement or legal circles knew Pacific Capital’s lawyers were practically unbeatable. Their wins were already legendary—law school professors even used them as case studies.

Now this powerhouse legal team had shown up at the station—all for Kent. People were shocked, and rumors started flying. What exactly was Pacific Capital’s connection to Patricia?

It was almost fall, and a thin mist blanketed Cloud Peak that morning.

Patricia slipped out of bed, pulled open the doors to the balcony, and stepped outside. The sun was just starting to pierce through the fog, sending thin golden lines of light across her feet. She lifted her foot, letting the sunlight warm her skin. No matter how dark the night, as long as there was a crack somewhere, the light would always find its way in.

After a moment, she curled her toes, slipped on her slippers, and headed back inside to call Colby.

“I want you to get in touch with Kent’s daughter. Tell her I’m willing to let her father go, but only if she does exactly what I say…”

When Sara woke up and checked her phone, she found dozens of unread messages—all from Hector, complaining about his misery.

It was honestly a little scary. What kind of boss pushes people that hard? Twenty-four hours on the clock—no normal person could handle that.

“Ma’am?” Johns called from the doorway of the dining room. Patricia glanced over and saw him standing there with a young woman.

Before Patricia could say anything, Johns explained, “Ma’am, this is Suzy. She’ll be taking Aiden’s place from now on.”

Patricia gave a little smirk. So this was Oliver’s way of handling things? Just swapping out one person for another, but in the end, they were all still his people.

She turned away, picked up her bowl, and took a sip of her porridge. “Take her away. I don’t need her.”