Lillian shivered, not wanting to accept it.
She did not know much about Leo, but he had been kind to her the times they were together. He had been fun to talk with, as well. And he had changed her life.
The news was like a bucket of iced water that was suddenly poured over her warm summer and comfortable life, and she shivered in trepidation.
Somehow, something told her everything was not as it seems.
Thus, Lillian did some research and found that her husband was a multibillionaire and his business had been soaring the past few years since he became the CEO.
With the addition of being the new Chairman of the Zhao Group which was even bigger than his business, it was clear her husband was someone earning in the millions per month.
He was crazy rich.
There had been tons of Leonard Zhao's when she tried to search him online so she thought he had nothing to do with these businesses or the Zhao Group but it seems he was a major part of it. Leo was among the heirs of the Zhao Group and his business was something he also inherited from his mother side's family.
With all these involved, Lillian had a feeling that the plane crash was not an accident, so she quickly packed her things and left the house she was living in.
From online discussions, there were theories that it was likely that the plane crash was caused by explosives attached inside or purposefully ruining a machine important to its functions. It was not announced to the public but a lot of people already believed it.
It was an assassination attempt.
Lillian had watched and read so many movies and novels about things like this that she could not simply sit still and wait for them to come for her as well.
They were married on paper so if the culprits did some digging, it would not be too hard to find her.
If someone was after her husband's life and tried to kill him (or had succeeded in doing so), they may come for hers as well, since there was a chance she might inherit a part of his wealth after his death. Not that Lillian wanted it, the payment he had given her three years ago was more than enough. With his family not knowing her, it was highly unlikely too.
But whoever had done the assassination/attempt might not know that she was a wife in name only. No one knew what kind of relationship they had exactly or whether they had had children or not, so people might come looking for her.
Lillian had no time to grieve. She swallowed her fear and sadness. She resolved to protect herself first and grieve later in case the worst case scenario was confirmed.
Lillian concluded that if her husband wasn't dead, she might be putting him in a more precarious situation by exposing herself to danger. She may be abducted and used to catch him if he was hiding somewhere.
It was common sense to her that she held no real value to Leo, but she was still his wife-in-paper. And based on the days they had spent together three years ago, he seemed to be a good man.
If he was safe, Leo would surely think she was his responsibility and would try to get her to safety.
Of course, Lillian did not want to be harmed in any way either, so she had to go into hiding before she was found by whoever had assassins after her husband.
If there was something she hated in this world, it would be needless suffering.
She had suffered for too long that she thought she had become numb to pain. But when she felt it again, she realized she still disliked it.
Lillian had worked so hard to run away from suffering and pain yet, she still had to face it head on, and she had succeeded. Thus, she did not want to experience it again.
Just imagining what kind of torture her husband's enemies might have prepared for her, sent her packing her bags quickly.
Opening her wardrobe, Lillian was relieved that she still had a lot of new clothes she had never used before. They would be useful in hiding herself for the following days.
Movies and novels taught her that she could not go out wearing clothes she had used before.
This might all be just her delusion, but it was better to be delusional than get caught and punished for something she had no part in.
If the enemy was someone who could hurt a multibillionaire and rich heir like Leo, they were surely powerful.
Lillian was sure it was easy for them to track her location. Thus, wearing clothes she had worn in the past, was like exposing herself and willingly getting caught.
Thankfully, Lillian often bought clothes as souvenirs on her travels, so she had a lot of them in stock. She chose the cheapest and normal-looking ones so she would not stand out. She only prepared two pairs of elegant-looking ones just in case she needed them.
Of course, she also had to change her appearance slightly or greatly. There was a lot she needed to do and pack so she could disguise herself.
For the things she needed to buy, she could get them from the nearest shops.
Thankfully, she had enough cash she had placed in a safe in her room which she could use for her expenses.
She did not want to touch any of her cards for now.
There's a privacy act that protects location and all that but there are hooligans out there who mine, track, and sell it. She had heard of them from online groups and even in some news.
As for her cards used in her businesses that were entrusted to her business managers, it should be fine if they kept performing their work as usual and not know anything about it.
Telling them something about this might put them to danger instead of protect them. Thus, Lillian concluded it was best to move alone without involving anyone else.