Ch. 621..630

Chapter 621

“Mineral water is just distilled water. It does nothing apart from quenching your thirst. Plain-boiled water has better nutrients than mineral water,” Nora explained sternly. She then picked up the thermos from the table and shook it in front of Chandler. “Make sure you finish this later. It soothes your throat.”

“What’s that?” Chandler knitted his brows, eyeing Nora with suspicion.

“It’s peppermint tea, and it tastes good. You were suffering from throat discomfort just a while ago, right? Taking too many medicines is harmful to your body, so I looked up the internet and found that this can cure coughing. It’s great for your throat,” explained Nora while adjusting her glasses. “You’re planning to publish an album, right? With the current condition of your throat, you’ll suffer from long- term effects if you don’t take care of your throat.”

After listening to Nora’s explanation which sounded extremely professional, Chandler extended his hand and said, “Give it to me. Let me have a look.”

Nora instantly broke into a smile and uncapped the thermos for Chandler. “Take a whiff. It has a refreshing sweet smell, right?”

Chandler leaned closer and inhaled deeply, catching a whiff of a faint refreshing sweet smell. “Pour some for me to try.”

Humming a response, Nora took the cup she brought along and was about to pour some when she heard the director shouting, “Chandler, we’re going to shoot the next scene.”

“I have to go. I’ll come back and drink it later,” informed Chandler before striding away.

Meanwhile, Nora watched him leave, putting down the thermos and screwing the cap back on it.

Things had not been peaceful at Faymon Group for the past few days. A tense atmosphere enshrouded the entire company.

In fact, Curtis had a grim expression the moment he stepped into Faymon Group.

As soon as he exited the elevator, Robin, who had been waiting outside, approached. Before Robin could even say anything, Curtis asked, “What did Yartran’s Civil Engineering Bureau say?”

“Our colleagues at Yartran say the Civil Engineering Bureau has labeled today’s incident as an illegal operation.” With that, Robin handed Curtis a faxed document. “Please take a look at this document. It contains the comments from Yartran’s Civil Engineering Bureau.”

Curtis took the document and quickly looked through it before returning it to Robin. “Did you inform the representative of Jupiter Builders?”

“We tried contacting him, but no one could get a hold of him.” The second Robin finished his sentence, Curtis halted in his tracks and turned around to stare at the former, who hung his head low and did not dare to utter a single word.

After some time, Curtis asked in a low voice, “Why didn’t you report such an important matter to me?” His tone was thick with anger.

“Well, Mr. Chapman kept it from us in the beginning. In fact, I just found out about this from the other employees,” Robin said softly, clearly sounding not confident.

Curtis’ already gloomy expression turned even colder, so much so that Robin could not help but shudder as the surrounding temperature seemed to drop.

Meanwhile, Bruno and the other shareholders were waiting for Curtis’ arrival in the emergency conference room.

Sitting opposite Bruno was the veteran shareholder of Faymon Group, Hank Queens.

He was over eighty years old and had a headful of gray hair, but his countenance looked much younger. One glance at his face would make people think he was around ten years younger than his actual age.

“When is Mr. Faymon coming?” Hank rested his arms on his walking stick while constantly throwing glances at the door to the conference room.

“He should be here soon,” someone responded.

In the meantime, Curtis was alone in the CEO’s office. He had just ended a phone call and was holding his phone. A hostile aura enveloped him as he said nothing for a long time.

Robin, who was waiting behind him, did not dare to make a single sound.

“Who was the one who informed Hayden?” Curtis queried after moments of silence.

“It was Mr. Jameson who contacted Mr. Farwell,” answered Robin.

A murderous glint flashed across Curtis’ eyes when he heard that. A while later, he instructed, “Tell them today’s meeting is postponed.”

Upon hearing that, Robin widened his eyes and stammered, “B-But Mr. Queens is attending today’s meeting, too.”

To Robin’s dismay, Curtis shoved his phone into his pocket and uttered indifferently, “Don’t bother about him.”

In fact, Hank’s presence was precisely the reason why the meeting had to be postponed.

Robin knew there was no changing Curtis’ mind. At the same time, he also knew Curtis would never make a wrong decision. “I’ll inform them now.”

Rayna, who was at the Faymon residence, was viewing the video Larry had sent. After confirming the person in the video was Chandler, she was at ease.

As she was about to put down her phone, a piece of news related to Faymon Group popped up on her screen. It piqued her interest, so she tapped on it.

The link directed her to an eight-minute video of an interview taken at Yartran.

Rayna was aware that Faymon Group had a newly-developed real estate project at Yartran. However, she knew little about the details.

After all, she never really concerned herself about Faymon Group’s issues.

Curtis, on the other hand, barely mentioned anything about the company whenever he returned home.

Since he did not bring up anything, she decided not to ask.

The host of the interview was describing in detail how Faymon Group’s real estate projects were operated illegally, how the company had abused its power as the organizer to hire workers without construction qualifications and work experience, and so on.

Rayna’s expression darkened when she finished watching the entire video. Frowning, she murmured, “Why didn’t he say anything when such a major matter happened?”

This isn’t the first time a landslide happened at their construction site. And now, they’re even exposed for appointing internal construction workers to be in charge of the engineering team. Such a thing only needs to happen once to make Faymon Group a laughingstock to the public.

The more Rayna thought about it, the more uneasy she felt. Hence, she dialed Curtis’ number, but no one answered it after a long time.

She tried again, but to no avail.

In the end, Rayna dialed Robin’s number, which was answered after two rings. “Where’s your boss?” Rayna’s tone was laced with displeasure.

“Mr. Faymon…” Robin cautiously stole a glance at the man still standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window. Gulping, he answered, “He’s in a meeting.”

With that, the call ended with a click from the other end of the line. Robin could not help but frown as he eyed the phone on the table.

In the meantime, Rayna stared at the phone screen for a long time while standing under the pavilion in the Faymon residence’s courtyard. She then got up and marched into the house with the phone.

“Mr. Jovan, the official document from the Civil Engineering Bureau is here,” said the secretary, Ivan Yakov, while handing the man an envelope made of kraft paper. “This was found in the mailbox today.”

The man reached out to take the envelope and examined both sides of it before saying, “This isn’t an envelope from Yartran.”

Yartran, too, had envelopes made of kraft paper. However, the design was completely different.

“Indeed. This envelope isn’t from Yartran. I’ve already gotten someone to look into this. Apparently, only Chanaea and Moranta are the only countries that produce these kind of envelopes, while Hawen once imported a large amount of it,” explained Ivan.

Since Yartran produced its own kraft paper envelopes, the country never imported them from other countries.

On top of that, kraft paper envelopes were mostly used to deliver political documents. To make them more distinguishable from common business documents, companies would not use kraft paper envelopes to contain their documents.

 

 

Chapter 622

Jovan Eastbridge placed the document at one end of the desk and waved his hand dismissively at Ivan. “You may leave now.”

Hence, Ivan gave a brief response and left the office quietly.

Jovan’s lips curled as he stared at the newly published news about Faymon Group on his computer. Pulling out his desk’s drawer, he took out a music box and placed it on his desk. He then opened it to reveal a ballet dancer dancing and twirling to the music.

A secret compartment popped out after he pressed a button, and a platinum ring came into view. He placed it on his palm and examined it for some time until the phone on his table rang.

After checking the name of the caller, he declined the call.

Irina Eastbridge, who was dressed in a light blue gown, walked over to Sheena Powell and asked softly, “How did it go, Sheena? Did the call get through?”

“No. Maybe he’s busy.” Smoothening the creases on her gown, Sheena grabbed Irina’s hand and walked into the banquet hall. “Forget about your brother. Let’s head in first.”

“But… if my brother doesn’t come, then you’ll…” Irina was still worried, but Sheena reassured her, “It’s okay. I’m used to it. Jovan rarely accompanies me, anyway.”

With that, Sheena marched into the banquet hall, leaving Irina behind.

“Are you going out, Mrs. Faymon?” As Shelton, the butler, was making his way to the front hall, he spotted Rayna holding her handbag while clad in formal attire as if she was about to head out.

“Yep. I’m heading out for a while. Please help me watch over the house and the babies, Shelton. Call me if anything happens.” Rayna was wearing a windbreaker from a new spring collection and a pair of white sports shoes. Just as she arrived at the door, she suddenly thought of something and instructed, “Tell the kitchen staff to add an egg dish for tonight’s dinner.”

“All right,” answered Shelton while standing in the same spot. He watched her walk to the courtyard and drive away from the Faymon residence.

Ever since Rayna married Curtis, she had never been to Faymon Group. That was her first time visiting the company after giving birth to her children.

She even dressed more casually to keep a low profile.

Along the way, Rayna kept her foot on the accelerator and drove forward until the vehicle reached a flyover. Glancing at the rearview mirror, she realized that the sapphire blue car that had been tailing her was still there.

Her instincts told her that something was amiss. Thus, she slammed on the accelerator and sped forward.

As if realizing Rayna was aware of the situation, the driver of the sapphire blue car slammed on the accelerator as well and followed closely behind her.

Deep down, Rayna was terrified, but she did not dare to show it for fear of the stalker doing something extreme.

In the meantime, she took her phone by the side and swiftly dialed Curtis’ number. However, no one picked up after a long time. When the call ended automatically, she attempted to call again when a loud crashing sound came from the rear end of the car. Without the slightest hesitation, she immediately called the police.

“Someone deliberately ran into my car on Flattou Road—” The call was disconnected the moment she uttered that.

In disbelief, Rayna stared at her phone screen that showed the call had disconnected. Mustering her courage, she slammed on the accelerator again. She had no better ideas at that moment other than getting off the flyover as quickly as possible.

Another ten kilometers and I’ll be off the flyover. I’ve got to hang on until I get off the flyover. I’ll be safe once I drive onto the sidewalk.

Alas, that was just wishful thinking.

Before her car even got off the flyover, another large truck sped over from the opposite direction.

Seeing that, Rayna hurriedly swerved the steering wheel. Unfortunately, her car slammed into another car by the side with a loud crash, causing the surrounding cars to screech to a halt.

The airbag at the driver’s seat popped out and threw Rayna into an unconscious state.

Meanwhile, at Faymon Group, Curtis was busy signing documents. As he glanced out of the window, he realized the sky that was clear just moments ago was beginning to drizzle.

Only when he reached out to grab his phone did he realize he had left it in his office bedroom. By the time he arrived at the bedroom, he discovered his phone was out of battery. Thus, he brought it back to the office to charge it.

Suddenly, Robin came barging into the office. “Mr. Faymon, something happened to Mrs. Faymon!”

When Curtis heard that, he furrowed his brows. “What happened?”

“Mrs. Faymon… S-She got into an accident when she was heading out. She’s currently undergoing emergency treatment at the hospital!” Robin informed, his eyes bloodshot.

The phone in Curtis’ hand immediately dropped to the ground with a clang, and the screen shattered as it came into contact with the smooth tiled floor.

Rayna was still in the operating room when Curtis arrived at the hospital.

“Mr. Faymon, this was found in Mrs. Faymon’s car that was involved in the accident.” Robin, who had just finished answering the traffic police’s questions, returned with a bag containing a ring and a phone.

It took Curtis only one glance to recognize the ring. It was Rayna’s wedding ring.

With trembling fingers, Curtis took the bag from Robin, pulled the ring out of the bag, and slid it onto his ring finger to merge it with his own ring. His eyes instantly reddened at the sight of the rings. “How long has she been in there?”

“The medical staff arrived thirty minutes after the accident. it was already three o’clock in the afternoon by the time Mrs. Faymon arrived at the hospital. Hence, she should be in there for about one hour and thirty minutes already,” Robin answered while glancing at the time on his phone.

Hearing that, Curtis staggered. Thankfully, Robin’s reflexes were quick enough, and he grabbed the former’s arm to steady him.

By the time Jasmine, Kristie, and Theodore arrived at the hospital, it was already a quarter past eight at night.

Jasmine and Theodore rushed over and asked, “Curtis, what’s going on? How did she suddenly get into an accident?”

“I don’t know…” replied Curtis as he sat on the bench with Robin’s help. He gripped Rayna’s wedding ring in his hand while fixing his bloodshot eyes on the operating room.

Noting that, Robin, who stood by the side, explained, “I’ve already asked the police about it. According to them, the other driver who caused the accident was a truck driver. Strangely, just as the driver was about to get off the flyover, he suddenly turned around and drove against the traffic. That’s what caused Mrs. Faymon’s accident.”

Theodore narrowed his eyes upon hearing that, and he comforted Jasmine, “Don’t worry. I’ve sent someone to look into this. I’m sure we’ll have results soon.”

While saying that, he glanced at Curtis, who sat on the bench. “As for Linda, I’ve arranged for the matter to be kept from her. She’s old, and I’m afraid she won’t be able to handle the bad news.”

Meanwhile, worry was written all over Kristie’s and James’ faces. Kristie was worried for Rayna, while James was worried for Curtis.

After all, they knew how important Rayna was to Curtis. They feared Curtis would collapse if something actually happened to Rayna this time.

Theodore, who had the same thoughts as James, reached out and patted Curtis’ shoulder to console him.

 

 

Chapter 623

The light outside the operating room finally went out after three hours. The doctor was the first to come out. Then, it was Rayna, who was wheeled out by the nurse.

Curtis quickly stepped forward, and before the doctor could say anything, he entered the ward with the nurse.

At that, Theodore took in a deep breath before turning to the doctor.

The doctor was a middle-aged man, and when he saw Theodore looking at him, he pulled down his mask and said, “The surgery was a success, but we couldn’t clear all the blood clots resulting from Mrs. Faymon’s head trauma. As it’s pressing on the blood vessels in the brain, we recommend that you wait for some of the blood clots to go away before undergoing the second surgery to remove them completely.”

“Blood clot?” Kristie frowned when she heard his words, having been reminded of the dramatic plots of television shows. “Will it affect her vision, or will she develop any long-term health effects from this?”

“We can’t rule out the possibility of something like that happening,” the doctor confessed.

At that, the four people around him inhaled sharply.

In other words, there was a chance that Rayna might go blind and have other complications.

Theodore nodded at the doctor in acknowledgment. Only when the doctor left did the four people walk toward the ward.

Curtis, who was already in the ward, was sitting by Rayna’s bedside in a medical protective suit.

Outside the ward, Robin was holding onto his phone, seemingly anxious.

When Jasmine noticed his anxiety, she asked, “Mr. Yeast, is something the matter?”

“It’s a call from the Faymon residence. Shelton the butler called to say that the children had been crying at home for a long time and were inconsolable,” Robin said, revealing what Shelton had said to him to the four people outside the ward.

“Kristie, I’ll go to the Faymon residence with you to check up on the kids first. The two of you stay here and keep Curtis company,” Jasmine said to Theodore. The men nodded in agreement.

Not long after Jasmine and Kristie left, Jeremy came. When he saw Theodore and James, he asked, “Theodore, how is Curtis?”

Thinking that Jeremy mistook Curtis as the one in the accident, he explained, “It was Rayna who was in the accident.”

“I know it was Rayna, but Curtis…” Jeremy realized he should not say what he was about to utter out loud, so he swallowed the words on the tip of his tongue. “How is Rayna?”

“She just came out of surgery, and she’s not in any danger,” was the only thing Theodore said to him. He did not tell Jeremy about the possible complications that could arise, for he felt that it would be better to tell Curtis about it before telling Jeremy the chatterbox about it.

James could somewhat grasp what was going on when he did not hear Theodore telling Jeremy all the details of the situation, so he said nothing as well.

Irina Eastbridge, who had just returned from the banquet, bumped into Jovan Eastbridge in a set of pajamas. When she saw him, she asked, “Jovan, why didn’t you go to the banquet today? Sheena was waiting for you.”

However, Jovan only gave Irina a glance in silence before walking past her to head upstairs.

Livid, Irina stomped her foot and hissed, “You’ll regret this one day, Jovan!”

Hearing that, Jovan froze in his tracks before his bedroom door for a second before turning around to look at Irina. After a moment of frowning, he opened the door and went in.

Meanwhile, when Jasmine and Kristie reached the Faymon residence, the three children were still wailing. No matter how much the nanny tried to console them, the tears continued to roll down their cheeks.

The second the two stepped into the house, they noticed the stain on the nanny’s clothes, and they stiffened. “They’re vomiting back out the milk—they vomited everything they had,” the nanny, who was carrying Xareni, explained helplessly.

At that, Jasmine reached out to take Xareni from the nanny. “Good girl, Reni. Don’t cry.”

On the other hand, Kristie started playing with Yelena. “Mr. Yosef and Ms. Yelena are faring better,” the nanny then said to Jasmine and Kristie.

“They must have some sort of telepathic connection with their mother. I think they sensed that something happened to Rayna.” Jasmine continued to console Xareni. After a long while, Xareni’s crying finally tapered off. She then looked at Jasmine with her teary eyes, but after a few seconds of staring, she seemed to realize that Jasmine was not one of her parents. Hence, the girl started crying again.

The moment Xareni started crying, Yosef and Yelena, who had already calmed down, began crying with her again.

In no time, the crying noises from the children filled the air in the Faymon residence.

“Curtis, I brought some food over. Eat something first so that you won’t starve yourself.” Back in the hospital, Jeremy, who had changed into a medical protective suit, placed a hand on Curtis’ shoulder. “Rayna’s going to be heartbroken if she finds out that you weren’t drinking or eating just to stay by her side. Even if you don’t care about yourself, think about the kids.”

Curtis only reacted when Jeremy mentioned the children. He turned to look at Jeremy before looking outside. However, the only person out there was Theodore. “Where’s Jasmine and Kristie?”

“They went to your place. The butler called and said that the kids were crying non-stop,” Jeremy told him. Right then, someone opened the door to the ward, and the doctor on shift entered with a nurse.

“When will she wake?” Curtis asked. He held onto Rayna’s hand, the weariness in his eyes visible.

After giving Rayna a checkup, the doctor answered, “Either today or tomorrow.”

Jeremy felt relieved to hear that. “Curtis, did you hear the doctor? Rayna’s going to be fine.”

“Mhm.” Curtis nodded.

“Let’s go. Get some food in you first. There are doctors and nurses here, so nothing will happen.” Jeremy began towing Curtis toward the outside. As they reached the doorway, they noticed Theodore was on a call. Nevertheless, he was swift to end the call when he spotted them.

Curtis took in Theodore’s grim expression. “Did something happen?”

With a hand on his forehead, Theodore muttered in resignation, “Jasmine called to say that the kids aren’t doing well. Xareni hasn’t been able to eat anything because she can’t keep anything down. Now, she’s even showing signs of a fever. Yelena and Yosef are sobbing uncontrollably as well.”

Upon hearing that, Curtis paled even more.

“Why don’t you go back to the Faymon residence first? We’ll hold the fort here. The kids need you now. Think about how upset Rayna will be when she wakes if the kids aren’t doing well,” Theodore persuaded, hoping to convince Curtis to return to the Faymon residence. “You should rest well too. Come back to keep Rayna company again when you feel more revitalized.”

“He’s right, Curtis. Go home and rest for now,” Jeremy chimed in. “The doctor said that Rayna will definitely either wake today or tomorrow.”

Despite that, Curtis was still worried about Rayna; his heart remained in his throat as he felt like he would lose Rayna at any time. “Okay, then I’ll do that. If Rayna…”

“If she wakes up, I’ll tell you immediately,” Theodore reassured as he put a hand on Curtis’ shoulder, knowing what he was about to say.

In the end, Theodore’s driver sent Curtis back to the Faymon residence.

 

 

Chapter 624

By the time Curtis returned to the Faymon residence, it was already after one in the morning. The nanny had calmed Yosef and Yelena down by then, and the two children were in their beds. Only Xareni was still lying in Jasmine’s arms, studying the inside of the house with her tearful eyes. When Curtis came into the house, Xareni fixed her eyes on him for a long while before making noises and reaching her hands out for him.

When Jasmine turned around, she was shocked to see Curtis. Nevertheless, she came back to her senses and figured out what had happened when she saw the man reaching out for Xareni.

“Yosef and Yelena are asleep, so Xareni’s the only one awake. She has a slight fever. We’ve already summoned the family doctor, and he asked us to try to cool her down without medicine first, so we gave her a cooling patch.” As Jasmine spoke, she reached out to touch Xareni’s forehead, only to find that it was still a little warm.

The moment Xareni was in Curtis’ arms, she reached out to grab his shirt. Shortly after, she closed her eyes.

“She’s asleep,” Jasmine noted. In less than half an hour, Xareni had fallen asleep in Curtis’ arms. Jasmine then called for the nanny to ask her to bring the girl back for now. She instructed, “Carry her to the room opposite the nursery. Don’t put her in the same room as Yosef and Yelena.”

The nanny nodded and gently brought the sleeping girl upstairs.

“How is Rayna?” Jasmine asked, glancing at the tired Curtis.

He reached out to rub the bridge of his nose. “She’s still unconscious.”

“What did the doctor say?” Jasmine filled a glass of water for Curtis before sitting down on the couch opposite him.

Curtis reached out for it and thanked her. “He said she’ll either wake today or tomorrow.”

“I see,” Jasmine replied. Right as she raised her head, she spotted Kristie descending the stairs.

“They’ve finally quieted down.” Kristie walked over to the coffee table to get herself a glass of water. After sparing a glance at Curtis, she continued, “Curtis, I’m sure everything will turn out fine for a good person like Rayna.”

“Okay,” Curtis mumbled. Instead of drinking any water, he gently swirled the glass. At that, Jasmine uttered, “Why don’t you get some rest first?”

“No, it’s fine. I’m going back to the hospital after getting changed.” Curtis drank a sip from the glass and went upstairs.

Kristie glimpsed at Jasmine, who shrugged with a helpless look.

For the time being, James, Theodore, and Jeremy were taking turns resting in a small room beside the VIP ward in the hospital.

Ring!

All of a sudden, an ear-piercing alarm went off. In the next moment, smoke entered the room.

“Theodore, there’s smoke!” Jeremy was the first to notice the smoke. The three men then covered their mouths and prepared to leave, but a thought popped into Theodore’s head. “Rayna’s still in the ward next door.”

“I’ll go and get her.” Jeremy immediately strode toward Rayna’s bed as Theodore and James followed closely behind him. However, when they reached the bed and pulled away the blanket, they were shocked to see that Rayna was nowhere to be found.

The trio froze. Theodore then asked, “Where’s Rayna?”

“Did she wake up? Did she run out on her own?” Jeremy was equally confounded by the situation.

Boom! An explosion occurred somewhere in the hospital, and in the next second, the screams of the fleeing people filled the air.

“Let’s get out of here first. If we don’t, we’ll end up dying here!” Jeremy urged Theodore, who was still frozen by the side of the bed. “Theodore, let’s go!”

Theodore snapped his brows together but soon left the hospital with Jeremy and James.

Once the three of them ran out to the open space outside, they turned around to find clouds of smoke rolling out of the windows of the eighteenth floor. The firefighters had just arrived, and they used their hoses to extinguish the flames above.

“Did you guys see Rayna?” Theodore was the first to think about Rayna as he asked the other two men.

It was then the two men realized they did not see Rayna on their way out.

“Could it be that she didn’t come out?” The very thought of that possibility made Jeremy’s back soak in a cold sweat.

The three of them then started searching for any signs of Rayna around, but their search was fruitless.

Just as Curtis came back to the hospital from the Faymon residence, he saw the smoke coming out of the floors above the twelfth floor. Promptly, he tried to dash inside to look for Rayna, but the sharp-eyed Theodore spotted him in time. “Rayna’s not inside! You’ll only end up killing yourself if you run in now!”

Hearing that, Curtis fixed his stern gaze on Theodore and Jeremy. “What do you mean?”

What do you mean by Rayna’s not inside? Is she awake?

“We couldn’t find Rayna on the bed when we came out of our room,” Theodore started after taking a deep breath. “Maybe she woke up, but… we couldn’t find her after coming out here either.”

“If she’s not here, that means she’s still in the hospital!” With that, Curtis shoved Theodore aside and moved to rush inward again. Alas, a fireman at the side stopped him.

“My wife is still inside! Rayna! Rayna!” Curtis tried to go past the firemen who were holding onto him, but his efforts were for naught. Just then, a raspy voice sounded out behind him. “There isn’t anyone in the hospital anymore.”

Curtis whipped his head around to look at the elderly doctor in a lab coat with reddened eyes. “What do you mean?”

“The firemen have surveyed the area. There isn’t anyone on the twelfth floor anymore,” the elderly doctor explained. After adjusting his glasses, he continued, “Could it be that your wife had left the hospital earlier?”

“That’s impossible. She wouldn’t have left without saying a word if she did wake up,” Curtis refuted before turning back to Theodore and the other two.

“When we were in the ward, Rayna did not come to,” Theodore told him, sure that no one had opened the door and left the room while they were there.

“Then how can she just disappear without a trace?” Curtis snarled. He had not wanted to leave the hospital, but Theodore had persuaded him to do so by using the children. It had only been hours since he left the place. Yet, by the time he returned in the morning, the hospital was on fire, and Rayna was nowhere to be found.

A hint of guilt flashed past Theodore’s eyes.

The three men were guarding Rayna’s ward, but none of them knew when she went missing.

“We can only check the hospital’s surveillance cameras for now,” James said as he mulled over the events. “But we’ll have to wait until the fire on the twelfth floor is put out. There’s… also a chance that we’ll find nothing.”

Theodore, Jeremy, and Curtis all knew what James was implying.

As Curtis stood in the area outside the hospital and watched the firefighters attempting to put out the flames, he narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists.

Where are you, Rayna?

Among the four of them, Theodore was the first to compose himself. He then quietly went to the side and took out his phone to make a call.

Meanwhile, a black trailer sped down the road outside the hospital.

In the car, the unconscious Rayna, who was wearing an oxygen mask, was held tightly in someone’s arms. The man who held her was gently rubbing his stubbly chin against her cheek.

 

Chapter 625

It took the entire morning to put out the fire at the hospital.

The director of the hospital, Jorge Sutland, fainted in fright when he learned that Curtis’ wife had disappeared from his hospital.

The fire at dawn failed to frighten him until he heard about Rayna’s disappearance at the hospital. That distressing news caused him to faint.

Soon, news of the strange event spread throughout half of Norwal City. Curtis’ wife was admitted to the hospital following an accident and, while in a coma, vanished mysteriously from the hospital.

Her disappearance remained a mystery as most of the surveillance cameras in the hospital were broken. The only working surveillance camera showed Theodore and the rest leaving Rayna’s ward. No one else was shown entering or exiting her ward.

The police investigation into the disappearance of Rayna in Norwal City yielded no results when surveillance footage of the traffic revealed no trace of her. Not even a single suspicious vehicle was spotted.

After learning the news of Rayna’s disappearance, Linda became so overwhelmed that she passed out.

As a result, the share prices of Faymon Group, Happy Entertainment, and Glory dropped drastically.

Some shareholders began offloading their shares of the three companies in significant quantities.

Curtis naturally wouldn’t let that happen. He instructed Robin to purchase some of the dumped shares to prevent others from acquiring them and potentially causing problems in the future.

However, he was only able to buy a portion of the shares as the remainder were purchased in bulk by an anonymous buyer.

Curtis watched the decline of Faymon Group and Happy Entertainment’s shares on his laptop screen and narrowed his eyes. He looked up and instructed Robin, “Go and look into this.”

Rayna had been missing for a week. For the past week, the police force in Norwal City scoured every corner of the city but to no avail. Curtis was worried, but he was obligated to handle Faymon Group’s real estate project and couldn’t get away.

He couldn’t bear to be away from the three children at home, especially Xareni. The little girl used to love clinging to him. Now, it seemed she had sensed Rayna’s absence and clung to him even more.

Theodore felt responsible for Rayna’s disappearance. He had been preoccupied with finding a way to recover the surveillance footage from the hospital in the hopes of uncovering a clue.

When Jasmine entered Theodore’s study with a freshly brewed cup of coffee, she saw him flipping through several files. On his desk were the computer components and several surveillance camera components retrieved from the hospital.

“If you’re unable to handle it…” Jasmine hesitated, feeling sorry for him as he appeared exhausted. She wanted to suggest that they could enlist others to search for Rayna’s location, even though it would take longer.

Theodore interjected, “I should bear responsibility for Rayna’s disappearance as I failed to take care of her for Curtis. There’s no need to convince me to alter my stance. I’ve reached out to an old friend of mine who will be in Norwal City these few days to help me. He thinks they are salvageable, too.”

Jasmine knew she couldn’t change his mind. She placed the coffee down on the coffee table and walked out of the study. Shortly after, she returned with a basin of hot water and a towel.

When she entered earlier, she observed that Theodore seemed weary. She moistened the towel and approached Theodore to wipe his face. “I’ll have the housekeeper bring you some food later. Make sure to eat it.”

“Okay, I’ll do that. Thanks, Darling,” Theodore responded. He leaned in and planted a gentle kiss on Jasmine’s cheek.

Jasmine looked at his laptop and noticed various technological and simulation products on the screen. Regardless, she wasn’t an expert in the field and couldn’t understand any of them. Looking away, she tossed the towel into the basin and left his study.

Outside, she bumped into James, who had just rested for a short while in the guest room.

“Jasmine,” James greeted her with a lazy yawn. Jasmine grunted in acknowledgment. Her face was expressionless as she descended the stairs.

James halted in his tracks, confused by her reaction. It seems like Jasmine doesn’t welcome us recently.

By “us,” he was referring to himself and Jeremy.

Time passed swiftly, yet the police still couldn’t find any useful clues.

Curtis initially feigned nonchalance, but he gradually grew dejected.

In the meantime, Theodore collaborated with his friend and James to restore the surveillance footage. They were making gradual progress.

Forty minutes prior to sunrise on the day of Rayna’s disappearance, over an hour before the fire started, a nurse was spotted pushing a cart near the VIP ward on the twelfth floor.

Jeremy observed the blurry video and fell into deep thought. A while later, he commented, “I don’t think that’s a female nurse.”

Theodore nodded in agreement as his brows furrowed up at the sight of the nurse on his laptop. “Yes, it doesn’t look like it.”

“That nurse is suspicious.” Jeremy looked at Theodore as James’ gaze remained fixed on the video playing on the laptop. “Look. Is there someone else here?”

Hearing that, Theodore looked at the spot James pointed. There was a shadow at the corner of the wall. “This looks like a man.”

“Mm.” James nodded in agreement.

“Let’s see if there are other clues,” Jeremy reminded. He was aware that it couldn’t be a significant clue on its own.

James continued watching the video. A long while later, the screen was still black. By the time they thought there was no other clue available, a man’s voice rang out, “I’m leaving with Belle now. Take care of the rest.”

The three froze instantaneously when they heard the man calling Rayna “Belle.”

After all, only a handful of people in the world would call Rayna “Belle.”

“We can narrow down our search now,” Theodore remarked as he narrowed his gaze. He hit the rewind button to hear the man’s voice again. “Does the voice sound familiar to either of you?”

“I’ve never heard that voice before.” James shook his head and turned to Jeremy, who had remained quiet during their exchange. Jeremy shook his head a moment later.

“Duplicate this and send it to Curtis,” Theodore instructed as he patted James’ shoulder. He then walked out of their lab.

Quickly, James trimmed out the audio and sent everything to Curtis’ email. Jeremy stood beside him, appearing to be lost in thought while looking at the laptop screen.

In an old mansion situated on an island, a woman cast aside her blankets and rose from her bed.

Her maid pushed the door open and saw her standing barefoot on the carpet. She quickly approached her, bent down, and offered her a pair of slippers. Gesturing for her to put them on, the maid asked, “Ms. Griffith, where are you going?”

“I feel suffocated here. I’d like to take a walk to get some fresh air,” the woman answered softly. Her eyes appeared hazy, and her complexion was pallid, suggesting she had just recuperated from a serious illness.

 

 

Chapter 626

“But your eyes have yet to recover. The wind is strong today, so you might catch a cold if you were to head out today,” the maid explained. After pondering for a few moments, she suggested, “If you really want to take a walk, why not wait for Mr. Bridge to return? He can accompany you on your stroll.”

Hearing that, the woman blinked a few times. A brief silence later, she asked, “When will he be back?”

The maid thought over her question before glancing at her watch. “He’s usually back by five-thirty. You’ll have to wait two hours more.”

“Mm. I’ll wait, then.” The woman bobbed her head obediently, but her right hand slowly tightened into a fist.

I’ve been conscious for three days now, but I still don’t know where I am. My memory is also blurry and fragmented. I can only recall some bits and pieces from before the car crash, some vague images, and some words that were spoken to me.

She held the maid’s hand. “I feel a little thirsty.”

“Oh, let me get you some water.” The maid helped her sit down on the couch before leaving her room to get her a jug of water. Upon her return, she filled a glass of warm water and put it in the woman’s hands. “Here you go, Ms. Griffith. Be careful not to spill it.”

The woman reached out to grasp the glass before taking a careful sip. She then gulped down half the contents of the glass.

The maid took the glass away from her after she was done. The woman placed her hands on her legs and said, “I still don’t know your name.”

“My name is Caylie Mitchell,” the maid replied.

The woman repeated, “Caylie Mitchell. That’s a pretty name.”

“My mother gave me the name,” Caylie said, delighted to hear her name being praised. She added, “Ms. Griffith, you have a pretty name, too.”

“My name?” The woman fell silent momentarily. She racked her brain but could only remember someone calling her “Belle.”

Caylie told her, “Yes. Your full name is Isabelle Griffith.”

“Isabelle Griffith,” the woman repeated stiffly. The name sounded really familiar, but she wasn’t sure if that was her name.

She could tell that something was amiss but couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

Something told her that it wasn’t her name. It felt like others had called her by another name.

“Caylie, where are we?” she asked curiously.

“We’re on Conch Island,” Caylie revealed as she cleaned the room. “Mr. Bridge bought this mansion so you can recuperate here in peace.”

Recuperate? Oh, yes. I was involved in a car accident previously.

Caylie’s words reminded her of something. “Before I came here, where was I?”

Hearing that, Caylie halted in her tracks and turned over to look at her. “You lived with Mr. Bridge, of course. He has a lot of houses here. Usually, you’d reside wherever you like. Most of the time, though, you’d live in Primrose Mansion.”

The woman furrowed her brows.

It was obvious even to her that Caylie’s replies were vague. “How did I get into a car accident, then?”

Caylie was watering the plants on the balcony. She stiffened at the unexpected question.

“What’s the matter? Can’t you talk about it?” the woman asked. She could sense Caylie’s reluctance even though she couldn’t see anything.

“No. Mr. Bridge told me not to tell you anything as he doesn’t want to upset you,” Caylie explained. She put down the watering can and returned to the room. “Mr. Bridge instructed me to pass along the message that any inquiries can be directed toward him when he returns.”

“Oh, okay.” The woman realized Caylie would hesitate for a minute or two before answering her questions. It was clear Caylie was carefully formulating her answer.

She chose to believe that Caylie dared not reveal too much or was wary of her.

Back at the Faymon residence, the nanny, Linda, and Sandy were taking care of the children. Concurrently, Alfred was sitting in the living room with his cane beside him, surrounded by the kids. He was holding a rattle drum in his hands and playing with the kids, trying to keep them entertained.

As he played with them, he asked Robin, “How is Curtis doing recently?”

Robin was filled with nervousness and couldn’t help but wring his hands together. He was acutely aware that if he were to spread his palms apart, his sweaty palms would be plainly visible to everyone.

After Gabriel landed in trouble, Robin, whose full name was Robin Yeast, took over his position. That day marked Robin’s first encounter with Alfred, so he felt understandably anxious.

“Mr. Faymon has been busy investigating Mrs. Faymon’s disappearance with Mr. Xavier and the rest,” Robin reported.

Hearing that, Linda and Sandy shared a solemn look.

“I wonder if he’ll be able to locate her,” Linda said, her voice tinged with worry. She placed a hand over her chest, and her complexion appeared paler than before. The thought of Rayna being lost and not being found was clearly taking a toll on Linda.

Seeing that, Sandy patted her back reassuringly. “Don’t worry. Rayna’s smart, so she’ll be safe and sound no matter what.”

One wasn’t dead until one’s body was discovered.

The police couldn’t find Rayna’s body, so that meant she was still alive.

Sandy and Alfred held that perspective, yet Linda was unable to remain calm as she was Rayna’s mother.

Alfred didn’t have more questions, so Robin was about to leave when Alfred instructed, “If there are any new documents, bring them to me.”

Robin was startled, but he quickly realized what Alfred wanted to do.

Old Mr. Faymon wants to ease Mr. Faymon’s burden so he can focus on the search.

“Father.” Sandy cast Alfred a worried look. “Your health…”

Alfred gestured to Sandy to calm her down. “Don’t worry. I’ll just go over a few papers. It’s no big deal. Curtis needs to locate Rayna and manage the business. If I assist with work, he’ll have more time to search for her.”

While the crisis at Faymon Group was significant, Alfred considered finding Rayna to be of utmost importance. “The children are young. I can’t let them experience what Curtis experienced.”

Sandy felt a pang of guilt, regretting that she had not been a better mother to Curtis.

She cast a look at the triplets sitting next to her. Yosef and Yelena seemed to be in a much better mood than they had been in recent days. Despite her siblings appearing happier, Xareni was more attuned to her surroundings and appeared to be more sensitive than her siblings.

Xareni was still a young girl, but Sandy and Linda were both perceptive enough to sense that something was off about her. The change in her behavior was noticeable. She was quiet, which was unusual for her, and kept glancing toward the door as if waiting for someone to arrive.

Upon returning home from work last night, Curtis embraced Xareni first as usual. However, Xareni seemed distracted, her attention drawn to the door as if she was expecting someone.

 

 

 

Chapter 628

James zoomed in on the image on the screen and pointed at the coordinates. “The vehicle is currently in Fosfora Alley.”

Those words had barely left his mouth when Curtis ran out of the office.

“Curtis!” Theodore called out to him, but Curtis just kept on going. Wyatt stepped forward and gave Theodore a pat on the shoulder. “It’s no use. He’ll go crazy if you don’t let him see it for himself.”

With a frown on his face, Theodore turned toward Robin and ordered, “Follow him, Robin!”

“Understood,” Robin replied with a nod and ran after Curtis.

“That’s strange. Why didn’t this car show up on the surveillance camera footage when we were at the police station?” Jeremy asked as he replayed the footage a couple of times. He was certain that he didn’t see that car when checking the surveillance camera footage at the police station.

As though he had sensed something dangerous, Theodore narrowed his eyes and asked with a frown, “What do you mean by that, Jeremy?”

Jeremy pointed at the zoomed-in image on the screen. “As I said, I didn’t see this footage when I was viewing the surveillance camera footage at the police station. Look at the time indicated here. This happened in the wee hours of the morning. I didn’t see this car show up at all when I viewed the footage of this area at the police station the other day.”

Theodore fell silent upon hearing that. Wyatt, too, had a solemn look on his face as he sat there deep in thought.

As though they had figured it all out, the two of them then exchanged knowing glances. “I’ll go make the arrangements,” Wyatt said.

“Okay.” Theodore nodded.

…

After leaving the building, Curtis drove straight to Fosfora Alley as fast as he could. Upon making his way to the end of the alley, he arrived at a huge, barren piece of land. Sure enough, the trailer that Rayna had left the hospital in was left there.

“Mr. Faymon!” Robin called out to him as he made his way over. He gasped in shock when he arrived at the scene and saw the trailer in front of them.

Curtis made his way to the side of the trailer, picked up a rock from the ground, and broke one of the windows with it. He then opened the door and examined the inside of the trailer but found nothing useful whatsoever.

Ring! Ring! Ring!

The phone in his pocket started ringing all of a sudden. Seeing as it was a call from Theodore, Curtis answered the phone, “What is it, Theodore?”

“The people who abducted Rayna have connections in Norwal City,” Theodore said and proceeded to give Curtis a summary of the situation.

There was a murderous glint in Curtis’ eyes as he replied, “Yeah, I know.”

It would be near impossible to abduct someone without leaving any traces behind. Only those with powerful connections are capable of pulling something like this off.

“Faymon Group’s project in Yartran was leaked, and Rayna got abducted shortly after the car accident. There’s no way this is a coincidence,” Theodore said.

“I figured all of that out two days ago. I just need to know who did this.” Curtis glanced at the empty trailer in front of him as he continued, “Anyway, I found the vehicle, but there’s nothing inside.”

A few seconds later, Robin called out to him and said, “I found something, Mr. Faymon.”

Robin was sitting in the passenger seat as he retrieved an opened pack of tissues from the glove box. “This brand isn’t from Chanaea.”

Curtis took the pack of tissues over and examined it thoroughly. “This must have been custom-made.”

“You’re right. The ones available to the public would have information on the ingredients and expiry dates stated on the packaging,” Robin agreed with a nod.

Upon noticing a symbol on the bottom of the packaging, Curtis took a picture of it and sent it to Theodore and Wyatt with the message: Could you find out what this symbol is?

Ding dong!

Theodore and Wyatt exchanged confused glances after looking at the picture that Curtis sent them. Jeremy leaned in from the side and asked curiously, “What did Curtis send you guys?”

Wyatt zoomed in on the symbol on the picture and held his phone up for Jeremy and James to see. “Have you two seen this symbol before?”

Both of them shook their heads in unison. “I haven’t either,” Theodore said. He then replied to Curtis’ text: I’ll have someone look it up.

Curtis texted: Okay. He then put the pack of tissues into his pocket.

“Look at this, Mr. Faymon. I found this under the seat,” Robin said while handing Curtis a bracelet that he had discovered inside the car.

Curtis took it over and fiddled with it in his hands. He had bought Rayna that bracelet when he went shopping with her a while back.

“Keep searching the vehicle. See if you can find anything else inside,” Curtis said with a sniffle.

“Got it!” Robin nodded and continued his search, but he couldn’t find anything else, not even a single strand of hair.

Meanwhile, in Conch Island, Rayna was lying in bed and mumbling something in her sleep, “My baby…”

She was dreaming of the moment when she delivered her babies. “My babies… Give them back to me…”

The scene in her dream then changed to a completely different one a second later. A blurry figure called out to her and said, “Rayna, the baby and I miss you dearly.”

She was about to step forward when someone pointed a gun at the man and opened fire. The next thing she knew, the man was lying in a pool of blood.

“No!” Rayna screamed as she sat bolt upright in bed.

Caylie, who was sleeping in the adjacent room, jumped out of bed and ran over to her bedroom.

Clack!

Still in her pajamas, she switched on the lights and rubbed her eyes sleepily and asked, “Did you have a nightmare, Ms. Griffith?”

Rayna’s long hair draped loosely over the straps of her silk nightgown. As her vision was completely dark, she asked, “What time is it, Caylie?”

“It’s two in the morning, Ms. Griffith,” Caylie replied as she entered the bathroom inside and filled a small bucket with hot water. She then wet a towel with the hot water and handed it to Rayna. “Here you go, Ms. Griffith.”

Rayna took the towel over and dabbed it on her forehead and back, which were covered in cold sweat.

“When did I get back here?” she asked while handing the towel back to Caylie.

“At about seven in the evening. Master carried you home,” Caylie replied.

“Oh, I see…” Rayna leaned against the bedframe and gave it some thought before continuing, “By the way, what’s your master’s last name?”

Caylie paused for a few seconds before answering her question, “It’s Bridge.”

“What’s his full name?” Rayna pressed on.

“I don’t know,” Caylie said.

Rayna froze when she heard that. What? A housekeeper who doesn’t know her master’s full name? Hmm… How odd…

Noticing that Rayna was feeling a lot better, Caylie decided to return to her room and go back to sleep. “Is there anything else I can help you with, Ms. Griffith?”

“No, it’s fine. You can go back to sleep now.” As Caylie had been taking good care of her, Rayna didn’t want to trouble her any further.

 

 

Chapter 629

Caylie then made her way over to the bedroom door and reached for the light switch as usual. Realizing that she was about to switch off the lights, Rayna said, “You can leave the lights on.”

“Oh, okay.” Caylie frowned in confusion as she closed the door behind her. Ms. Griffith can’t see, so why would she want me to leave the lights on? Has she regained her vision? She doesn’t look like she has, though.

Despite still being unable to see, Rayna sat there on the bed with her eyes wide open and staring at the room around her.

After waving her hand in front of her eyes and confirming that she was still unable to see anything, she let out a sigh.

Will I ever be able to see again? Who is this Mr. Bridge? I wonder what his full name is… Also, is my name really Isabelle Griffith? I kept dreaming of someone calling me “Rayna,” though. Oh, and who was that guy carrying the baby? He would always appear blurry in my dreams, and my heart would ache whenever I hear the baby crying.

Rayna was unable to go back to sleep with all those thoughts running through her mind, so she just sat there until dawn.

Meanwhile, at the presidential palace, Isaac Eastbridge had just returned from a meeting when he saw Irina reading a magazine in the living room.

After glancing about and seeing no sign of his son, Jovan, he asked, “Where’s your brother?”

“Jovan went out early in the morning,” Irina replied as she put the magazine aside and entered the bathroom.

By the time she was done washing her hands, Isaac was already seated at the dining table. His wife, Margaret Cadwell, was sitting next to him. “What’s your brother up to? Why did he have to leave the house so early in the morning?” she asked when she saw Irina come out of the bathroom.

“I don’t know. He seems to be rather busy lately,” Irina replied as she pulled up a chair and sat down at the dining table. A housekeeper then served her a glass of milk. “Oh, I would like to have some orange juice instead,” she told the housekeeper.

The housekeeper nodded and returned minutes later with a glass of orange juice.

“Mom, you should try to talk to Jovan if you have the time. Tell him to put in some more effort in courting Sheena, or she’ll end up dating someone else sooner or later,” Irina said while cracking open a boiled egg.

Margaret took a sip of her milk and turned toward her husband as she asked, “Jo has recently been busy with work in Chanaea, right?”

“Yeah, I was the one who gave him that task. There’s been an issue with a Chanaean tycoon that we’re working on a project for. Mutual cooperation is required for us to resolve the issue.” Isaac wiped his mouth with a paper towel as he continued, “Also, there’s a mole in the Civil Engineering Bureau, so I told Jo to take care of that for me as well.”

Being a mother, Margaret couldn’t help but worry when she heard that. “Is it one of Maximilian Chisenhall’s men?”

“I’m not sure.” Isaac placed his paper towel aside and shifted his gaze toward Irina as he continued, “Have you been in contact with anyone lately?”

“Nope. I’ve only been hanging out with Sheena lately. However, I have seen a strange guy around her lately. I’m worried that he might end up stealing Sheena from Jovan.”

Isaac shook his head. “If Jo doesn’t put in the effort to win her over, then we should just let her date someone else instead.”

“That simply won’t do! Sheena is a really sweet girl and has always had feelings for Jo. Also, her father is in charge of the military in Yartran! If—” Margaret exclaimed anxiously, only to stop herself mid- sentence when she noticed the icy-cold gaze in Isaac’s eyes.

Irina frowned when she noticed that. For some reason, she couldn’t help but feel as though they were experiencing the calm before the storm.

…

Meanwhile, at the Faymon residence, Alfred was examining the symbol on the pack of tissues with his reading glasses on.

“This symbol looks like it belongs to a government agency of a foreign country.”

Curtis, who had just come down the stairs with Xareni in his arms, quickly stepped forward and asked, “Which countries do you think would use such symbols?”

“Smaller countries, usually. Of course, it’s possible that some bigger ones might use it too.” Alfred then handed the pack of tissues back to Robin and said, “Be careful not to lose this.”

“But there are so many countries in the world! We don’t have time to check every single one of them!” Jeremy exclaimed as he slumped weakly against the couch in front of Alfred.

“Would they change the symbol often after using it?” Jasmine asked while leaning against Theodore’s chest.

“Not really, unless…” Alfred then shifted his gaze toward Curtis as he continued with a solemn expression, “Unless there is a power struggle for the position of ruler of the country. It’s highly likely that

the new ruler will change the symbol after rising to power, but this usually only happens in smaller countries.”

Suddenly, a housekeeper came over and said, “I’m terribly sorry to interrupt the conversation, but Ms. Roxanne is here.”

As Curtis looked up, he saw Roxanne storming into the living room with anger written all over her face. “Where’s my sister?”

Everyone in the living room fell silent. Not a single one of them dared answer her question. Jasmine was about to go calm Roxanne down, but Theodore grabbed her arm and stopped her from doing so. Roxanne then walked up to Curtis and said, “Hey, I asked you a question! Where is my sister?”

Not wanting her to scare Xareni with all that yelling, Curtis summoned the babysitter and had her bring Xareni upstairs.

“My mom told me that Rayna went missing after she got hospitalized due to a car accident. I can’t believe you guys are incapable of watching over one patient!” Roxanne continued furiously. Life had been rough for her ever since Rayna got involved with the Faymon family. Roxanne assumed things were finally starting to get better lately, only to have such an unfortunate incident take place all of a sudden.

“Your sister is…” Although Curtis was displeased with Roxanne’s attitude, he knew better than to lash out at her. After all, she was Rayna’s sister, and Rayna went missing as a result of his incompetence.

“I’ll be honest with you here, Curtis. I don’t think you’re any better than Jefferson. He protected Rayna and her babies with his life. What about you? What have you done for her? I asked my mother, and she told me that Rayna gave you a call before the car accident, but you didn’t answer the phone. That’s

how the car accident happened, right?” Roxanne was furious at Curtis for not protecting Rayna well enough.

Everyone in the living room couldn’t help but fear for Roxanne’s safety after hearing that.

Regardless of whether Curtis was at fault for what happened to Rayna, bringing that matter up like that was something they would never dare do.

Alfred, who had been silent this entire time, slowly stood up with the help of his cane and said, “Come with me, Roxanne.”

While Roxanne used to fear Curtis just as much as she feared Alfred, her anger toward Curtis for causing Rayna to go missing overrode that fear. However, she still feared and respected Alfred enough to do as he said.

Roxanne then shot Curtis a fierce glare before following Alfred up the stairs.

“She’s Rayna’s sister, and she has gotten used to speaking without a filter. Please don’t take her words to heart, Curtis. She’s just anxious because Rayna has gone missing. That’s all.” Jasmine said in an attempt to defuse the tension.

“Well, Rayna is Curtis’ wife and the mother of his three kids too! Curtis is just as anxious as she is, if not more!” Kristie was displeased with Roxanne’s attitude earlier and decided to defend Curtis.

Jasmine rolled her eyes at her, prompting her to keep her mouth shut immediately. James pulled her into his arms to try and calm her down.

 

 

 

Chapter 630

Half an hour later, Roxanne left the study. As she passed by Curtis, she glanced at him with an obviously unhappy look in her eyes.

While Roxanne didn’t have the best relationship with Kristie, they didn’t even want to look at each other at that moment.

Upon seeing that, Jasmine approached Roxanne. “I’ll send you out.”

Roxanne nodded before the two left the living room and the Faymon residence.

Soon after Jasmine left, Theodore stood and approached Curtis. “Don’t take it to heart.”

“I’m not.” For the most part, Curtis didn’t mind Roxanne’s attitude, but some of what she said hurt him. Could Rayna’s accident and kidnapping have been prevented if Jefferson was still alive? No, no, I shouldn’t overthink it or compare myself to him. It’s pointless.

Rayna had no idea how long she had been on Conch Island. Her blindness made her feel very unsafe. Although she knew Caylie and the man wouldn’t hurt her, that knowledge didn’t make her feel any safer.

“Can you tell me if there are other people on the island, Caylie?” As Rayna sat on the balcony couch and listened to the sound of the ocean waves, she asked Caylie, who was standing next to her, a question. “Are there any shops or malls here?”

“I know the name sounds a bit unique, but Conch Island is the same as any other place, Ms. Griffith. There are other residents on the island, but they’re a rare sight here because this place is quite far away from town,” Caylie explained. “Did you ask that question because you want to go shopping, Ms. Griffith?”

Shopping, eh? I don’t particularly feel like doing anything, but it is quite boring staying in the mansion all day. “A little…” Rayna whispered, “But I don’t know if he, you know…”

“I think he’ll allow it. After lunch, I’ll call him and ask him about it. Or should I dial the number and let you talk to him?” Caylie suggested.

“Mhm, that sounds good to me.” Rayna nodded. It’ll be great if I can shop around. Spending all day either inside or around this building is quite dull. If I go shopping, I’ll be able to experience that sense of liveliness and crowdedness, which sounds enticing to me right now.

Aside from Rayna, Caylie, a few housekeepers, and bodyguards, there weren’t any other people. The mansion felt very big to Rayna. In fact, for the past few days, Rayna would occasionally ask Caylie to accompany her on a tour around the mansion. They had done that around seven or eight times already.

Meanwhile, a phone had been buzzing on an office table again and again.

When someone pushed the office door open and saw no one else was inside, they were going to leave right away. However, they stopped and approached the office table after hearing the phone vibrating.

An unknown number was displayed on the screen. It was hard to tell if someone had called the phone by accident or if the phone’s owner intentionally didn’t add the number to their contacts, which would be suspicious.

A pair of slender hands grabbed the phone and answered the call.

Without delay, the woman on the other end spoke. “Are you busy right now?”

“Mhm,” the man answered with a deep voice.

The woman remained silent for a moment before saying, “I want Caylie to bring me to the town for a shopping trip.”

Bring her to town? So this call came from the countryside? Softly, the man replied, “All right.” Then, he changed his voice. “Where are you planning to shop in town?”

“Hmm… Wait a second. Caylie, are there many places in town?” Rayna wasn’t sure how huge Conch Island’s town was. Thus, she wasn’t sure how to answer his question.

“It’s not big, but it’s not small either. However, there are indeed many places in Conch Island’s town. There’s even an area that acts as a boundary separating the island from a neighboring country.” The man could clearly hear Caylie speaking on the other end. “Just tell him we’re going to shop around the town center. We won’t go anywhere else.”

The reason she said that was because she wasn’t familiar with the area near the boundary and was afraid she would accidentally bring Rayna to somewhere they shouldn’t.

“Caylie said she’ll bring me to shop at the town center. We won’t go anywhere else.” Hearing Rayna’s soft voice again caused the man to gulp subconsciously. Then, he replied, “Mhm, be careful, then.”

Rayna ended the call the instant the man finished speaking. He held the phone and stared at it for a long time. Then, he recorded the phone number and put the device back onto the office table. Just as he was about to leave, the office door behind him was opened from the outside.

The two men stared at each other. The one coming from the outside asked, “What are you doing in my office?”

“It’s nothing. I’m just here to pass a message from Sheena to you. Anyway, I was just about to leave because I didn’t see you inside when you arrived.” The man standing straight in front of the office table

didn’t have enough time to take off his military outfit. With both his hands in his pockets, he informed, “Your phone rang earlier. The person on the other end sounded like they were in a hurry, so I answered the call for you.”

When the man standing at the door heard that, he scowled, strode toward the office table, and checked the call record on the phone. The moment he saw it came from Caylie, he was enraged. Murderous intent swirled in his eyes as he questioned, “Tell me, what did you learn from the call?”

“A woman with a soft voice called you. She wanted to ask if she could shop around Conch Island’s town. Her voice sounded delicate, so I permitted her to do so on your behalf.” The moment the man in military clothing finished speaking, the other man, who was wearing a gray shirt, punched him and said, “Listen to me closely, Jahan. I don’t care what you’re planning with your father, but don’t try to drag any irrelevant people into this mess.”

Jahan Eastbridge allowed himself to be punched. Then, he rubbed the edge of his mouth, narrowed his eyes at the angry man in front of him, and mocked, “You know, I’ve heard of people hiding their mistresses in fancy houses before, Jovan. However, I didn’t expect an exalted Yartranian like you would do this sort of stuff behind his fiancée’s back. I wonder, what will Sheena do when she learns you’ve been ignoring her after you woke up from your coma because of another woman? Do you think her family will still support you and your father?”

“Do you think I’m the only one who does this, Jahan?” Jovan didn’t want to argue with him for long and sneered, “What happens between Sheena and me is our business. Don’t you think an outsider like you is overstepping your boundaries?”

Upon hearing that, Jahan stopped smiling as a grim expression appeared on his countenance.

“If I were you, Jahan, the first thing I’d be doing is figuring out how to prove I’m a pure-blooded Yartran!” Jovan barked sharply, striking a nerve with Jahan.