After dinner, Ivan Underwood was preparing to head back for so rest. Just as I was about to get into my car, he called out to , "Zoe Hathaway, don’t you think you should consider telling Henry Preston about this matter? He’s also half responsible; facing it alone is quite tough."
"It’s alright. Can it be tougher than the hardships I’ve gone through these past ten years?" I replied calmly.
Having experienced despair, unwillingness, and death, I have developed a certain tolerance for these setbacks.
"Alright, get so rest early. I’ll inform you when there’s news." Ivan Underwood smiled and turned to get into his own car, leaving a step ahead of .
I drove ho as well, and when I got back, my mom was sitting in the living room, seemingly wiping away so tears.
Seeing returning, she quickly pretended she hadn’t been crying and forced a smile, "Why are you ho so late?"
"I was out having dinner with friends. Mom, what’s wrong?" I sat down next to her, holding her arm, looking at her slightly red eyes with concern.
Although Mom didn’t want to say it, under my persistence, she held my hand, her eyes full of pain, "Zoe, I just feel heartbroken for you. Thinking about the life you’ve had all these years, and my poor grandchild who didn’t even get to see the world, it breaks my heart..."
Hearing my mom’s words, my eyes welled up with tears; the painful emotions I’ve been trying to ignore over this period suddenly seed to break through.
How could I not miss the baby I lost? Especially seeing Crystal Dawson’s belly getting bigger, how can I not feel envious?
But it is how it is now, and all I can do is find a way to heal my body, even if there’s only a slim chance to get pregnant.
"Mom, don’t be sad. Completely ending things with Henry Preston is a good thing too, isn’t it?" I tried to suppress my inner emotions and comforted my mom.
"Yes, Zoe, never see him again in the future; you paid too much for him." My mom advised .
Without even thinking, I agreed, "Yeah, I won’t have any more interactions with him, don’t worry, Mom. Go and get so rest, alright?"
It was already quite late, and I urged my mom to go to sleep. I, on the other hand, drank so red wine to help sleep; otherwise, my mind was too troubled to fall asleep.
The next morning, our four-person group chat suddenly beca lively.
Crystal Dawson tagged everyone: My lovelies, do you want to go to a concert? It’s that popular band performing in City A, should we nurture our souls a bit?
Leah Lane: Sigh, my musical dream is shattered!
Tiana O’Connell: What ti and where? Are there tickets? I need to see if I have to work.
Crystal Dawson: Tomorrow night at lodia Hall, don’t worry about the tickets; Silas Lockwood already prepared them for us, one for each of us. It’s just a matter of whether you guys want to go!
Leah Lane: Yes, yes, definitely going!
I replied: Yes, send the exact ti.
Crystal Dawson: Okay, I want to bring the babies in my belly to nurture them and let them experience the charm of music, hahaha.
Soon after, I received the ti and place from Crystal Dawson, for tomorrow night at 8:10 PM in the main hall of lodia Hall. These tickets are quite expensive and hard to co by.
Coincidentally having nothing to do, going to listen to a concert doesn’t sound bad to relax my mind.
The following evening, I drove to pick up Crystal Dawson and Leah Lane. Tiana O’Connell, the workaholic, had an important eting that night and couldn’t make it.
By the ti we reached lodia Hall, it was almost 8:00 PM. Crystal Dawson’s belly was getting bigger, but she still walked quickly. Leah Lane and I kept telling her to slow down, but she wouldn’t listen.
"Ouch!"
Suddenly, Crystal was bumped, letting out a cry.
"Sorry." The woman who bumped into Crystal was likely in her fifties and dressed very elegantly. Her eyes were especially penetrating, and as she glanced over, I felt inexplicably uncomfortable.
"Ma’am, why don’t you watch where you’re going?" Crystal said, slightly annoyed. Especially being pregnant, it was evident that the woman was looking down at her phone and that’s why she bumped into her.
"I apologize, I was in a rush to et a friend, so I hurried a bit. If you’re feeling unwell, you could go for a check-up, and I’ll cover it." The woman’s tone wasn’t exactly humble, even carrying a hint of pride. Although she was smiling, her eyes were cold.
Crystal didn’t care much about it, nor did she notice anything off about the woman’s deanor. She just waved it off, "Forget it!"
Then she urged Leah and I to continue walking as we needed to find our seats.
The woman didn’t say anything further but her gaze lingered slightly when it swept over , deepening a bit.
However, I didn’t overthink it and just followed Crystal and Leah into the concert hall, then we found our seats. These seats were in the VIP section with an excellent view and sound quality, along with so fruit tea and snacks. When the band appeared on stage, I noticed two more people sitting nearby.
One was soone I recognized, a bureaucrat from City A whom I t once at a dinner party my dad took to, and the other was the middle-aged woman who bumped into Crystal. She had a smile on her face as she engaged in a quiet conversation with the other person, seemingly close acquaintances.
This woman probably has so background, but why does she seem unfamiliar to ?
The performance began, and I put those thoughts aside to focus on appreciating the music. However, for so reason, I kept feeling a pair of eyes on , but when I occasionally glanced around, I couldn’t find the source.
This eerie feeling left sowhat distracted throughout the entire concert, unable to prevent my attention from wandering.
"Everything was great except for my numb butt!" Crystal massaged her numb butt and praised the concert endlessly.
She and Leah chatted, but I wasn’t in the mood, frequently glancing around.
As we followed the crowd outside lodia Hall, it was already quite late, but the night in City A was always bustling, especially here in the city center with its dazzling neon lights and busy traffic.
Crystal had developed a habit of having a late-night snack, or she would get hungry, and she insisted on us accompanying her. But I didn’t know why; my heart remained unsettled, without an appetite for anything, so ultimately it was just Leah accompanying her to find so food nearby.
I was about to drive back and as soon as I got in the car, sothing felt off. I then got out to check and found that my car tire had been intentionally punctured and was starting to deflate.
Not far away, two punks eyed suspiciously, their gaze filled with malice.
"Alright, Mr. Hawthorne, next ti I’ll treat you. You must co!" At this mont, a voice sounded from nearby. I turned to look; it was that unfamiliar middle-aged woman, saying goodbye to her companion at the concert.
Feeling my gaze on her, she also glanced at more than once. I felt like... she might know .
Yet, she just gave a brief look before getting into a black Lincoln and driving away.
The rear window of that Lincoln was half-opened, and it seed like a woman was sitting inside. I could only vaguely see half of her side profile, but that half-profile made my heart skip.
She looked like Azure Vaughn!
Wasn’t she already missing?
Just a few days after I lent fifty thousand to Joel Sutton, he inford that Elvie Lawson and Walter Vaughn didn’t make it; the resuscitation failed.
I didn’t pay much attention to it at the ti because this matter was already over for .
Thinking of this, I couldn’t help but dial Joel Sutton’s number; he hadn’t gone to sleep yet.
"Sutton, you ntioned before that after Elvie Lawson and Walter Vaughn were unsuccessfully rescued, where did Azure Vaughn go? Tell again," I went straight to the point.
"I don’t know either. She asked to handle her parents’ affairs, but I didn’t agree, just went to the hospital to take a look. The hospital said a woman took her away." Joel Sutton asked curiously, "Miss Hathaway, why are you suddenly asking about this again?"
Watching the Lincoln drive away, feeling suppressed, I wondered if the person who took Azure was that woman just now? What’s their relationship?
"It’s nothing, just suddenly curious." I didn’t feel like saying more. After a few casual words, I hung up the phone.
As I continued to speculate, lost in thought, I didn’t pay attention to soone approaching until I sensed sothing was wrong. By then, the two punks were less than two ters away from .
Even though the area was lively, there were hardly any people around the entrance of lodia Hall at this point, and I still wasn’t clear about the motives of these two punks.
"Zoe Hathaway." At this mont, Henry Preston’s voice sounded behind , making turn to look. He was watching from not far away.
Reviews
All reviews (0)