Joy Sharp got it right, knowing she’s an illegitimate child and deliberately pulling such a prank must be soone familiar.
As for who it is, Claire Hale isn’t sure.
But anyone who knows about this and would use it against her is no pushover; she doesn’t want to get Tina Hayes and Joy Sharp involved.
The police were quick to access the surveillance footage.
In the video, a man in black clothes and a mask was seen with spray paint, doing sothing at the back of her car.
"Do you recognize this person?" the officer asked.
Claire Hale couldn’t quite make out who it was.
The man’s figure was unfamiliar, and his face was deliberately covered; it was truly hard to identify him just from the footage.
She thanked the officer and left.
Upon arriving ho, Claire Hale glanced at her chat with Stanley Sawyer. Ever since Tina Hayes sent the ssage asking to et, there hadn’t been a single response from him.
After chatting with Stanley Sawyer for so long, this was the first ti he hadn’t replied in such a long period.
Claire Hale stared at the chat box but didn’t ask further. If ntioning a eting leads Stanley Sawyer to play dead, then there’s really no point in continuing the conversation.
She smirked carelessly.
Tina Hayes might really confess to Nathan Quinn in public for real.
Today, Tristan Lockwood was out doing business, and left the phone with Stanley Sawyer’s WeChat at ho, not taking it with him.
He only had the chance to check it upon returning ho.
Seeing Claire Hale specifically share a dinner photo, Tristan Lockwood raised the corners of his mouth, but hesitated when he read the following sentence.
"Shall we et up?"
Tristan Lockwood stared at this sentence for a long ti, feeling a mix of emotions inside.
When Claire Hale interacts with others, she is particularly mindful of boundaries and distance, rarely taking the initiative to get close to anyone.
Now that she actively said this, it showed she had quite a favorable impression of Stanley Sawyer.
But if she knew that it was him masquerading as Stanley Sawyer, chatting with her for so long, Tristan Lockwood could already imagine her sharp tongue making him miserable.
Of course, what bothered him more was that she developed feelings for Stanley Sawyer so quickly. What did those years of claiming to have liked him for over ten years an then?
The more Tristan Lockwood thought about it, the more annoyed he got, so he simply left the ssage as it was and didn’t reply.
Claire Hale waited two days for a reply from Stanley Sawyer but didn’t get one, so she told Tina Hayes about it.
"When do you plan to confess to Nathan?" she teased.
Tina Hayes felt absolutely speechless.
She really didn’t expect that chat between Stanley Sawyer and Claire Hale was so heated, and yet when it ca to the real deal, he turned into a turtle!
"I’ll do it tonight!"
Tina Hayes slapped her chest with determination. After all, she’s always been one to stand by her words and follow through.
Claire Hale saw her determined look, chuckled, and said, "It was just a joke. If you feel uncomfortable, you don’t have to do it."
Tina’s expression shifted slightly.
Claire Hale added, "But if you don’t, in front of Joy and , you’ll end up being labeled a coward."
"Alright, President Hale, stop mocking . I won’t be a coward like that Stanley Sawyer!"
Tina Hayes knew all too well that Claire Hale was using reverse psychology on her.
Of course, she was also easy to provoke and got caught up in it.
Having said what she did, she had no choice but to grit her teeth and get it done today!
Claire Hale was curious about why Tina Hayes brought up Nathan Quinn again and asked Joy Sharp about it.
"For the past month, Nathan Quinn has been waiting for Tina downstairs at the office every day!" Joy was surprised Claire didn’t know. "President Hale, didn’t you see him?"
Claire Hale had been out handling cases and even when at the office, she was there late, so she hardly ever ran into him.
She really didn’t expect Nathan Quinn to be doing this.
She had seen him at the bar a few days ago, and he didn’t ntion this; he’s trying to pull off sothing big in silence.
"Isn’t Nathan engaged to Kiara Vance? Why is he looking for Tina?"
"Tina said the engagent was called off."
Joy said, stealing a glance at the confident looking Tina at her desk.
"Apparently, Nathan Quinn had a big argunt with his family to break the engagent to Kiara Vance. His parents beat him up, and he was all bruised, then ran to Tina’s that night."
No wonder Tina Hayes took the initiative to approach Nathan Quinn.
Turns out they were already involved together.
In the evening, Claire Hale and company arrived at The Midnight Breeze Bar.
Tina Hayes ordered a lot of alcohol and started drinking heavily once she sat down.
Claire Hale tried to stop her, but couldn’t.
"I thought you were really ready to stand up and not afraid of anything. Didn’t expect liquid courage was needed, closing your eyes and relying on losing consciousness."
Tina didn’t hear any of it.
She wasn’t a good drinker, and after a few drinks, she felt dizzy, her heart pounding at the thought of confessing to Nathan Quinn.
Tina felt dood, being so nervous about confessing to Nathan, she wondered if she really had fallen for that nutcase!
Claire Hale saw her nervousness and joked with Joy over a drink.
When she raised her glass, she couldn’t help but feel soone’s eyes on her, as if being watched.
She looked around, but the dim lighting and bustling crowd showed nothing.
Claire Hale frowned.
This feeling of being watched was familiar, as if she had experienced it before.
"I’m going to the restroom, Joy. Keep an eye on Tina, and call if sothing happens."
Joy nodded with a smile, "Sure."
Claire Hale wandered aimlessly around the bar before heading to the restroom.
As she stepped into the stall and locked the door, she suddenly heard a tallic clink outside. When she tried to open the door, she found it was locked from the outside.
At the sa ti, a freezing bucket of ice water poured down on her.
Having just taken off her jacket, she was only wearing a short-sleeve shirt, and the cold drenched her, leaving her shivering uncontrollably.
After the bucket of water, it was dead silence again.
The restroom was so quiet that all Claire Hale could hear was the water from her drenched clothes dripping onto the floor.
Drip, drip.
Silence like death itself.
It reminded her so much of when she was a child, cornered by Cynthia Hale and her gang at the restroom, humiliated and splashed with water.
Claire Hale called Joy Sharp to co to the restroom and let her out.
Joy was quick to arrive, and upon seeing the soaked Claire Hale, she was trembling with anger, eyes red, as she imdiately took off her jacket and draped it over Claire.
"Tina, could you find Nathan and get a room? President Hale was splashed with water, and I’m worried she’ll catch a cold."
Tina’s alcohol-clouded mind sobered up upon hearing Joy’s anxious tone. She looked up to see Joy holding a drenched Claire, her hair soaked and shirt clinging to her skin.
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