After hanging up the phone, I called a few friends in City A who are well-connected, asking them to help find Ryan Rhodes.
When I returned ho, Crystal Dawson @ in the group: Damn, Zoe, that so-called friend of Azure Vaughn is with Julian Jennings? And they even invited Silas Lockwood for dinner, what were they thinking?
I was quite calm: Well, let them be.
I was drowsy, allowing them to rant indignantly in the group, successfully drifting into a dream.
The next morning, I was jolted awake by Crystal Dawson’s persistent calls, her voice urgent, "Zoe, Henry Preston sent a photo, Ryan Rhodes’s hand is broken, but he says he didn’t do it, his n found out!"
"Hmm? What’s he implying?" I was still a bit groggy.
"I don’t know, maybe he knows where Ryan is and is intentionally not telling us, waiting..." Crystal reluctantly pointed out, "waiting for you to find him."
I frowned, is Henry Preston really using this tactic on now?
If given more ti, I should be able to find Ryan’s whereabouts, provided Ryan can hold on, given his current miserable state, by the ti we find him, he might be irreparably hard.
"Alright, I’ll go see him!" I got up, considering it as repaynt for Ryan’s past help.
"Great, Silas Lockwood is about to leave to et Henry Preston for lunch, I’ll send you the address." Crystal replied.
After receiving the address, I drove straight to the location.
Pushing open the private room door, I saw Henry Preston sitting directly across from the entrance, with Silas Lockwood and Julian Jennings next to him, while Ivan Underwood was seated a couple of seats away.
The expressions on Azure Vaughn, Fern Tate, and Joy Lawson’s faces imdiately darkened.
When Ivan Underwood saw enter, his gaze subtly changed, especially with those gold-rimd glasses, his scrutiny was intensely sharp.
I tried to ignore everyone’s gaze and went straight to sit next to Crystal Dawson, feeling Henry Preston’s gaze constantly on .
I couldn’t help but glance at Henry Preston; his gaze carried more aggression than Ivan Underwood’s. He was never a reserved person, and when our eyes t, he didn’t shy away but instead curved his lips in a smile.
"Miss Hathaway, long ti no see!" Julian Jennings spoke up, greeting with a warm smile.
Sitting next to him, Joy Lawson imdiately put on a long face, slamming her chopsticks down loudly.
I naturally didn’t care about her attitude, nodding in acknowledgnt, "Yes, long ti no see."
Julian Jennings and I never had much to talk about, so after the greeting, we fell silent. I pulled out my phone and sent Henry Preston a direct ssage: Do you know where Ryan Rhodes is?
Henry Preston’s phone, sitting on the table, suddenly beeped. He casually picked it up and glanced at it but didn’t reply, only giving a deep look.
At this mont, Azure Vaughn, with a face full of curiosity, suddenly asked Joy Lawson, "Joy, when did you invite Miss Hathaway? How co I didn’t know?"
"Why would I invite her? We’re not even close." Joy Lawson, known for not thinking before speaking, responded irritably.
Unbeknownst to her, Azure was using her straightforwardness as a tool.
Jason Forrest heard the exchange and wasn’t pleased, rolling his eyes and retorting bluntly, "I’m not close to you either, why did you invite ?"
Currently, Jason viewed Azure, Joy, and Fern negatively and didn’t bother showing them any friendliness.
Joy Lawson could lash out at but didn’t dare with Jason, her expression stiffened as she turned to Julian Jennings, her eyes full of grievance.
Julian Jennings sighed helplessly, wrapping his arm around her shoulders in consolation, "Alright, let’s enjoy the al without any drama."
Joy Lawson’s face turned red upon hearing Julian didn’t imdiately take her side, instead, saying she was causing a scene. Azure promptly, with "good intentions," added, "Jason, we’re all friends, Julian just ca back and wanted to gather everyone, it wasn’t Joy’s sole decision to invite us all."
Jason stayed silent, his deanor entirely exuding displeasure.
I paid no mind to this; my main reason for coming today was to find out Ryan’s whereabouts, so I sent another ssage to Henry Preston: Ryan previously helped , if you’re willing to tell where he is, consider it a favor owed.
Henry Preston glanced at the ssage again, finally tapping out a reply on his screen: There are many ways to repay a favor, are you sure?
I felt a slight unease, worried that Henry still harbored feelings for and might make an unreasonable request. After a mont’s thought, I replied: Forget it, I can find him eventually even if it takes longer.
Henry Preston didn’t respond further, rely looked more displeased, tossing his phone onto the table with such force that it startled everyone else.
Azure Vaughn glanced between him and , her eyes full of doubt.
I sensed another gaze on , it was Ivan Underwood.
Ivan Underwood was discreet, his gaze occasionally lingering on , his deanor always cool and composed, with little emotion.
My exchange of ssages with Henry Preston was obvious; he must have noticed we were conversing.
Upon realizing I had noticed, Ivan Underwood quietly withdrew his gaze, lowering his eyes in silence.
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