Ch. 2901..2910
Chapter 2901
After lunch, Joshua sat down on the sofa and called Jude
Jude was so overjoyed to hear that Joshua had returned, he almost wanted to reach into the phone to hug him. “Where are you guys? I’ll go pick you up right now! Don’t worry-I promise I won’t let your father know about this, and I’ll try my best to lose the reporters following me too! Don’t worry, my friend! Give me your address right now!”
Joshua could not help curling his lips into a smile when he heard the excitement in Jude’s voice. “This is precisely the reason why I didn’t ask you for help and went to John instead.
He and Jude had known each other for many years, whereas Joshua had only gotten to know John from Luna and Anne Therefore, Joshua should have sought out Jude’s help instead when deciding to return to Banyan City, but he chose not to, precisely because he did not feel confident letting Jude handle this.
“Why don’t you trust me? Jude was upset to hear this. “I’m your best friend””
“It’s not you that I don’t trust, it’s the people who are following you around. Do you honestly think I don’t know about you rejecting Miss Chance? Ever since you rejected her offer of marriage, you’ve become one of the most sought-after bachelors in Banyan City. Everyone is on the edge of their seat, waiting to find. out whether you’re secretly seeing someone else, which would explain why you rejected Miss Chance. Do you think I’d dare to ask for your help knowing this?”
Jude fell silent upon hearing this. A split second later, he let out a sigh and lamented, “You’re right. I’ve become the talk of the town but I truly do not want to marry that woman. She’s too deceitful.”
He sighed again. “Well, why did you choose to come home all of a sudden? Do you intend to give your father a surprise at his wedding?”
Joshua narrowed his eyes and smirked. “I guess you can say that.”
He had indeed planned to give Adrian a surprise, but that did not mean it would be a good one.
“I guess things in Saigen City have been going well.” Jude had already known of Joshua’s intentions for going to Saigen City in the first place and thus did not seem at all surprised at Joshua’s sudden return. I’ve also managed to gather some evidence about Adrian’s wrongdoings in Banyan City over the past year, but since you don’t want me to find you, I won’t as for that John fellow you mentioned how can I get in touch with him?”
Joshua furrowed his brow, but before he could even answer, Luna piped up. “I’m going shopping with my friend later. Why don’t you meet me at the shopping mall and hand me all the documents there?”
Jude raised his brows at this. “Joshua is forced to stay at home and does not even allow me to visit him for fear of being recognized-yet you’re planning to go out shopping with your friend later?”
Luna rolled her eyes and pursed her lips slightly as she continued picking out her outfit. “Why can’t [ Everyone here knows Joshua, but only a handful can recognize me. Besides, even if they recognize me. they’d only seen the version of me with a full face of makeup in Joshua and I’s wedding photos. How can anyone recognize me if I go out bare-faced?”
Jude chuckled at this “Are you trying to say that you look horrendous without makeup?”
“She’s absolutely stunning even without makeup.” Joshua interjected. “However, there are plenty of pretty women in this city, and she and Anne will not draw too much attention. I don’t want Luna to be bored to death at home, so I’ve allowed her to go out for a shopping spree”
Chapter 2902
Jude was amused by this. “So what are you trying to say-that your wife is pretty or not? First, you claim she looks beautiful even without makeup, yet now you say that she won’t stand out among the crowd if she goes out bare-faced?”
Jude chirruped, “Did you hear this, Luna? He’s a hypocrite!”
Luna chuckled at this. “I don’t mind. Perhaps I’m not that pretty in other people’s eyes, but as long as he thinks I’m beautiful, that’s all that matters.”
With that, she picked up her coat and turned around. “Well, I’ll be off now!”
Jude sighed when he heard the door close behind her. “The truth is, I’m kind of envious of you and Luna’s relationship, but…”
He paused and finally said, “I truly do not dare to get involved with Miss Chance, yet the woman that I love has been chased out of Banyan City by my parents due to her family background. The truth is, you really need to be lucky to find someone whom you love and who is suitable to be with you.”
Joshua smiled at this. “What did Miss Chance do to make you hate her so much?”
Joshua, too, knew who this woman was. After all, there were only so many people in Banyan City’s upper class, and the Chance family had worked with Lynch Group on many occasions too, therefore Joshua was familiar with their daughter, Vanessa
Chance.
“Don’t even bring this up.” Jude sulked at this. “I’ve never been tricked by any woman before in my life, and she’s the first one! She may look naive, but she’s a deceitful and sly woman!”
Joshua was even more curious to hear about this. “How is that so? Did she trick you into sleeping with her?”
Joshua’s question seemed to stab right at Jude’s weak spot, and he immediately
frowned. “Let’s not talk about this anymore. Where are Luna and her friend going? I’ll meet her there to hand the documents to her.”
Joshua curled his lips into a smile and, after giving Jude the address of the shopping mall Luna had gone to, tried to resume their conversation. “Did you at least use protection? No matter how unwilling you may be to do so, you will have to marry her should she get pregnant.”
Jude was silent for a moment before finally scoffing, “Shut up, you prick. You’re just laughing at me!”
With that, he hung up.
Joshua smirked when he heard the dial tone, then proceeded to continue organizing his
documents.
Luna and Anne, having not seen each other in a long time, spent hours at the shopping mall, having the time of their lives. Anne seemed to have bought their entire family’s wardrobe for the entire year!
After a few hours, Luna received a call from Jude, telling her that he was waiting at a
cafe on the first floor.
Luna and Anne stowed their items away, then proceeded to make their way to the cafe. Jude was waiting for them at.
When they arrived, Jude was sitting across from a gorgeous woman-but neither of them seemed to be in a good mood. It appeared as though they were engaged in a solemn conversation.
When he saw Luna and Anne, Jude immediately glanced at the woman, frowning. “The people I’m meeting have arrived.”
Then, he got up, strode over to them, and handed Luna a folder. “Well, everything is in here.”
Luna took the folder from him and glanced at the woman he had been talking to. “Who is that?”
Jude snorted and replied in a disgusted tone, “That’s the deceitful woman that I mentioned before, the one who’s been trying every way possible to trick me into marrying her.”
Chapter 2903
Luna let out a gasp in acknowledgment. “Is that the woman who got you drunk and tricked you into sleeping with her?”
The color drained from Jude’s face when he heard this. “Yes, that’s right.”
“She’s quite pretty.” Luna glanced first at Vanessa, then turned to gaze at Jude. “You two will make a good couple.”
Jude rolled his eyes at this. “Well, I’m handsome, so of course I’ll look good with anyone.” 1 Then, as though to prove his point, he shifted his attention to Anne and added, “Your friend and I will make a good couple too.”
Anne, who had been listening in silence all this while, never expected the conversation to suddenly shift onto her. She quickly waved her hands in dismissal and said, “You can’t just say things like this out of the blue, Mr. Smith. I have a one-year-old with my husband.”
Jude paused, then glanced meaningfully at Anne. “Well, that’s a shame. If you were single, I might consider getting to know you through Luna.”
Anne smiled at this. “Unfortunately, you missed your chance, Mr. Smith.”
Then, she glanced in Vanessa’s direction and added, “That Vanessa Chance-I’ve met here before, and she’s a nice person. Why don’t you consider getting to know her better?”
Jude could not help rolling his eyes at this. “You don’t know her at all. She does look like a nice person, sure, but she’s absolutely despicable.”
Then, he sighed and decided not to continue this topic any further. “Well, I’ve given you what you wanted, and I need to get back to my conversation with her. Please excuse me.” 1
With that, he returned to their table and continued talking to Vanessa.
Anne and Luna exchanged knowing glances. They both thought Jude had come all the way to meet them and thus had stowed their shopping bags away, intending to sit and have a chat with Jude.
Neither of them expected that Jude would have decided to meet with someone else here.
The two of them finally decided to sit down a short distance away from Jude and Vanessa for some coffee. Not only would they be able to catch up on what had been going on in their lives, but they would also be able to spy on Jude and Vanessa at the same time.
After sitting down and ordering their drinks, Luna turned to glance at Jude and Vanessa, who were still engaged in a seemingly intense conversation. “Have you met Vanessa Chance before, Anne?”
“Yes, I have.” Anne nodded. “Jude says that she’s a despicable woman, but I disagree-she was a nice person when I met her. I first met her because she had a friend who wanted to undergo plastic surgery at the hospital I worked at. At that time, her friend claimed that since she wanted to go into the entertainment industry in the future and thus didn’t want anyone to find out she had undergone plastic surgery, she wanted to register for our services with someone else’s name.
“Therefore, Miss Vanessa offered to let her friend register under her name.
”
Finally, she sighed and could not help adding, “The truth is, I think it’d be far more troublesome for her to lend her name to her friend, and the ironic part is, her friend still hasn’t managed to get into the entertainment industry until now.”
Luna furrowed her brow and was about to sneak another glance at Vanessa when she caught sight of a woman in a trench coat walking through the cafe entrance with a man, smiling.
That woman…was none other than Jacqueline Grace, the woman Adrian was getting married to!
However, the man who was with her at this moment was not Adrian.
Chapter 2904
Luna’s eyebrows furrowed.
“Do you know them?” Anne, following Luna’s gaze, also caught sight of the couple walking through the doors. However, she could not see the woman’s face from where she was sitting and could only make out who the man was
She raised her brow at this. “Hey, isn’t that James Shore?”
Luna froze and turned to glance at Anne. “Do you know him?”
“I do.” Anne pursed her lips. “He’s the leader of one of the local gangs here in Banyan City, who’ve only gained power over the last two years. He even once went to John’s company to threaten the employees there. If John hadn’t called the cops on him, I’m sure he would’ve harmed the employees.”
Luna was stunned by this. “What happened then? Didn’t he try to take revenge after John called the cops?”
Usually, people like them would seek revenge on the person who ratted them out to the police after being released.
“He didn’t have a chance.” Anne pursed her lips. “After getting released, he perhaps intended to seek revenge on us, but before he could do so, someone got to him first and punished him by breaking one of his legs. During his recovery, his gang lost power to another gang in Banyan City and he lost his position. Not only that, but after that incident, he didn’t dare to
up any more trouble and resorted to being a debt collector for a loan shark company.
stir
As soon as she finished her sentence, Anne immediately caught sight of the woman who sat next to James. Her eyes widened in shock. “That woman… Why does she look identical to that Fiona girl who died?”
Anne had been by Luna’s side when Fiona tried to break Luna and Joshua apart, and thus, she remembered every last detail, down to Fiona’s face.
She never thought that someday, a woman who looked so much like Fiona would suddenly appear in Banyan City so many years after her death!
“I’m curious too.” Luna curled her lips into a smile. All of a sudden, the waiter arrived with their drinks, and she placed Anne’s drink in front of her while proceeding to take a sip of her own. “Hey, since you’re in Banyan City, didn’t you hear about my father-in-law’s engagement?”
Anne rolled her eyes as she took a sip from her drink too. “Of course I’ve heard about it. I even know that the bride-to-be is a woman who’s much younger than him.”
Luna pursed her lips in Jacqueline’s direction. “Well, that’s her ”
Anne almost spat out her drink. “Her? She’s the young, pretty woman getting married to your wretched father-in-law?”
“Yes, that’s right.” Luna nodded and put down her cup. “That’s why I can’t help feeling that something is wrong. She and Fiona both come from the same city, and look almost identical to each other. Besides, she doesn’t seem like a naive woman who’d be easily swayed by Adrian’s sweet nothings like how Celia was, yet she still chose to marry someone who’s more than
twenty years her senior. I can’t help feeling things aren’t that simple.”
Anne’s hand, which was holding her coffee cup, stiffened at this. “So does this mean…….
“Do you think that she’s possibly related to Fiona and has come to Banyan City to marry Adrian so that she can avenge Fiona’s death?”
She furrowed her brow at this. “Well, why would she do this for Fiona? How are they related to each other? Are they sisters? If not, why would she marry an asshole like Adrian just to avenge Fiona’s death? This is a lifetime commitment we’re talking about!”
Chapter 2905
“Let me go over to eavesdrop on their conversation.” Anne winked at Luna. “If this woman is somehow related to Fiona and is here to take revenge on you and Joshua, she’ll definitely recognize you, but as for me….
She continued with a gleeful look. “Even though you and I are best friends, John and I are far too distant from you and Joshua’s world, and we rarely show up in public together. Not even Fiona knew much about our friendship, so this woman won’t be the wiser. It’s better if I eavesdrop instead of you!”
With that, she put down her cup and, feigning the need to go to the washroom, deliberately strode past Jacqueline and James’ table.
She was right, Jacqueline did not remember her at all. When she passed by their table, Jacqueline’s gaze did not even falter as she continued her conversation with James.
Soon, Luna’s phone chimed with Anne’s messages, which she was sent from the washroom.
[I heard them talking about some kind of debt…but I’m not sure who they’re talking about. Does Adrian owe a lot of money here in Banyan City?]
Luna could not help frowning when she saw this. According to Joshua, Adrian had indeed taken out many loans during this past year in Banyan City. Could this be the reason Jacqueline was meeting with a loan shark like James on the day of her wedding?
[Oh, I also heard that Jacqueline girl say something about time running out…but I was too far away and couldn’t hear anything after this. Are they still talking? Shall I go back to our table?]
Luna furrowed her brow and instinctively glanced in Jacqueline’s direction. (Okay, you can come back]
Perhaps Jacqueline was just worried about James causing a scene at her wedding and thus was meeting him to discuss terms about Adrian’s loans.
[Okay’)
With that, Anne tucked her phone away and opened her cubicle door. Just as she was about to step out, however, a woman dressed in black stopped her. “Miss Zimmer, my master wants to have a chat with you.”
Alarm bells sounded in Anne’s head. She took a step back and glanced defensively at the woman before her. “Who is your master?”
“You’ll find out soon enough.” The woman sneered and grabbed hold of Anne “Don’t worry My master has plans for you, so she won’t hurt you.’
After 10 minutes, Jacqueline and James left, but Anne still had not returned.
Luna glanced at the time and could not help feeling that something was amiss. Anne had mentioned she would return 10 minutes ago, so why was she taking so long?
Did she have an upset stomach?
At the thought of this, Luna stood up and sprinted in the direction of the washroom.
However, the washroom was empty, and there was no sign of Anne at all.
Luna stormed out of the washroom and ran to Jude’s table. “Please help me.”
At this moment, Jude was in the middle of an argument with Vanessa, and despite the rage he felt, he still regained his composure and turned to glance at Luna. “What’s wrong?
“My friend has gone missing” Luna gasped. “Please help me find the restaurant manager we need to take a look at the surveillance tapes!”
Chapter 2906
“I’m on it.” Jude immediately leaped up when he heard the panic in Luna’s voice and strode toward the restaurant counter
“Please sit, Mrs. Lynch.” Vanessa quickly gestured at the chair “Don’t worry, your friend is probably fine.”
Luna glanced at Vanessa and was just about to reject her offer when she caught sight of the smile on Vanessa’s face. After a moment’s hesitation, she decided to sit.
Since Jude had gone to check on the surveillance tapes, the only thing she could do was wait
for him.
After sitting down, Luna took out her phone and called Joshua. “Jude has gone to check the surveillance tapes. Can you help me hack into the system and look at the roadside surveillance cameras to see where Anne has gone? There’s no way Anne would leave without warning something must’ve happened.”
Joshua furrowed his brow, took out his laptop, and started typing his code. “Why did you choose to call me and not Nigel instead?”
Luna had always sought out Nigel’s help when it came to cracking codes and hacking into surveillance systems, this was the first time she had ever come to him instead.
“That’s because. “Luna sniffed. “I’m worried this might be more complicated than we think. I think someone would’ve altered the surveillance tapes, and you’re much better at hacking than Nigel is.”
If Anne was truly kidnapped, whoever did this must have thought of the surveillance tapes and would probably have done something to them already. Besides, Nigel had once confided in her that Joshua was actually far more skilled at hacking than he was, which was why she had chosen to ask Joshua for help at a time like this.
“It’s a surprise that you trust me so much.” Joshua curled his lips into a smile. “If I don’t manage to help you find Anne today, all my years of learning hacking for your sake would’ve gone to waste.
Luna blushed at this. “Well, try your best then.”
“Five minutes,” Joshua said curtly, then hung up the phone.
Luna sighed when she heard the dial tone. She had heard Joshua’s dial tone many times, but for some reason, this was the first time she ever felt reassured hearing it.
She put down her phone, let out a sigh, and closed her eyes, praying silently for Anne to be
safe
“What’s your friend’s name, Mrs. Lynch?” a woman’s soft voice rang out next to her
Luna suddenly realized that Vanessa was still sitting next to her. She opened her eyes and turned to stare at Vanessa.
“I don’t mean any harm.” Vanessa curled her lips into a smile when she saw Luna’s quizzical gaze. “I saw how panicked you were, and since I have some connections in Banyan City too, why don’t you give me her name and I’ll help you look for your friend too? It wouldn’t hurt to
have another pair of helping hands, would it?”
Luna immediately froze when she heard this. She never met Vanessa before and only ever heard of her from Jude’s description.
He claimed that she was a deceitful and despicable woman but she could not sense any of that from the smiling woman sitting in front of her
After hesitating for a moment, Luna sighed and gave her Anne’s full name.
“Alright, Anne Zimmer.” Vanessa smiled as she typed Anne’s name into her phone. “Don’t worry, I’ve already sent my men in search of her With three people on board, I’m sure we’ll be able to find something
Luna nodded.
Despite this, however, she still could not help feeling worried about Anne’s disappearance.
Five minutes later, Joshua’s call came at the exact moment Jude returned to their seats. “I found something!”
Chapter 2907
“What is it?” Luna furrowed her brow, asking fervently as she placed Joshua’s call on speaker mode.
“Anne was indeed kidnapped.” Jude let out a sigh and continued, “From the surveillance tapes, a woman in black kidnapped her and smuggled her out from the back door.”
Then, he took out a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Luna. “The employees found this at the back door.”
Luna froze, then took the slip of paper from him.
A row of neat handwriting read, [Don’t worry, Ms. Luna, we won’t hurt your friend, but there’s no guarantee what we’ll do if you don’t attend the wedding tonight.]
Luna gasped at this.
What was this person trying to do? Did they kidnap Anne just to threaten her to attend Adrian and Jacqueline’s wedding?
“I found something from the surveillance tapes too,” Joshua said, frowning, when he heard Luna’s silence. “I’ve sent the video to you. According to the tapes, that woman who kidnapped Anne from the back door circled to the restaurant entrance to pick up Jacqueline before leaving.
11
Joshua’s voice was solemn as he continued, “Therefore, we can be sure that Jacqueline was the one who kidnapped Anne. Perhaps her appearance at the restaurant at the same time as you was not a coincidence at all, but planned. Perhaps unbeknown to you, she had been following you since the start.
Joshua propped his chin in his hand as he stared at the surveillance tape. “This woman is far more sneaky than we initially thought.”
Neither Luna nor Joshua would ever think Jacqueline would be following them.
Luna had just left the house for a few hours, and Jacqueline could not possibly have stumbled upon them by accident. The most logical explanation for this was that Jacqueline had known about their return and had followed them since they landed at Banyan City Airport.
At the thought of this, Joshua narrowed his eyes. “Things are beginning to get interesting.”
Luna frowned as she glanced at the video Joshua had sent her.
In the video, Anne was already unconscious as she was lugged onto a van by a woman dressed in black. Not only that, but before she got into the car, the woman even glanced in the direction of the surveillance camera, as though she already knew they would be watching her.
Luna bit her lip.
She hated the feeling of being tricked.
“Let me see:” Vanessa glanced at Luna’s phone, frowning, and immediately recognized the woman in black. “Is that Willow Shore?”
Luna froze, then turned to stare at Vanessa in disbelief. “You know her?”
“I do.” Vanessa frowned. “She used to be my classmate, but she was expelled due to her tendency to get into physical fights. I heard that she eventually wound up working for her brother’s loan shark company.”
With that, she took out her phone. “If I remember correctly, I still have her phone number. Do you want me to try contacting her?”
Luna bit her lip and glanced again at the woman in the video. “Did you say…her name is Willow Shore?”
Vanessa nodded. “Yes, that’s right.”
“And she has a brother who owns a loan shark company?” Luna paused. “Is her brother the man who met Jacqueline just now called James Shore?”
Chapter 2908
“I’m not too sure about this.” Vanessa furrowed her brow. “All I know is that her brother owns a loan shark company, and she’s been working for him ever since she left school. I’m not too close with her, but she knows my family owns a business. Therefore, she once secretly asked me if I wanted to do business with her, for the sake of being old friends, and that she could help me get back all the money that other people owed me.”
Vanessa scratched her head rather sheepishly as she continued, “Even though I had loaned plenty of money to other people, I didn’t ask Willow for help because I thought it wasn’t necessary to ask everyone for my money back, considering some of them were struggling.” Finally, she turned to stare at Luna. “However, since your friend was kidnapped by Willow, I can use this as an excuse to meet with her, and perhaps I might be able to find something out.” Luna furrowed her brow at this. “But…will you get into trouble if she finds out that this is the reason you’re meeting with her?”
She was not close with Vanessa at all, and Jude had already explicitly stated that he would never date Vanessa. Therefore, Luna did not want to trouble someone whom she had just met. “What can she do to me?” Vanessa smiled. “Even if she does, I can always assign a few more bodyguards to keep me safe, and she’ll eventually give up.”
With that, she let out an exhale and said, “Let me give her a call.”
“Wait,” Joshua’s voice rang out before Vanessa could even finish. “Don’t contact her first. Luna, I’ll call John right now and ask him to lodge a police report. Once we get the police involved, they’ll be able to use signal-tracking devices to track down Willow and Anne.
“According to Miss Chance, I’m guessing Willow is just one of the lackeys involved in Anne’s kidnapping and not the mastermind at all. Thus, she won’t reveal too much information about this. All we have to do is find out her exact location.”
Luna was silent for a moment, then finally replied, “Are… Are you going to contact John? Do you need me to do it?”
“No need.” Joshua smiled. “Don’t worry, I know what to do. Besides, John isn’t a child anymore, and he’ll be able to take this.”
With that, he hung up the phone.
Luna pointed at the seat Jude had previously sat in and said, “Come on, sit and we’ll wait together.”
Jude glanced first at Luna, frowning, then at Vanessa. He remained standing as he replied, “I need to go out for a quick smoke.”
With that, he strode out of the cafe and lit a cigarette.
Jude had not gone too far, and Luna could still see him clearly from the window.
She stared at Jude’s sharp, angular features and could not help lamenting how handsome Jude
was.
Even though Joshua was still the most attractive man in her eyes, there was no denying that Jude was just as charming and could easily win any girl’s heart.
At the thought of this, Luna turned around.
Behind her, Vanessa was also engrossed in watching Jude, and Luna could even make out a glimmer of awe in her eyes.
When she sensed Luna’s stare, Vanessa quickly tore her gaze away and let out an awkward cough. Then, she picked up her cup and took a sip from it.
However, she was so frantic in doing this that she accidentally choked on her coffee and proceeded to cough uncontrollably.
Luna handed her a napkin. “You…seem to really like Jude, don’t you?”
Chapter 2909
Luna only realized something was wrong after the words came out of her mouth.
She had just met Vanessa that day and had only exchanged a few words of introduction.
Therefore, asking Vanessa about her relationship status was no doubt rather abrupt and even downright rude.
Just as she was about to apologize, however, Vanessa smiled. “Of course I do.”
She glanced in Jude’s direction, holding her cup, and curled her lips into a smile. “If I didn’t, why would I be so desperate to marry him?”
Luna paused and suddenly recalled what Jude had previously said to her.
He had told her that Vanessa had used plenty of deceiving tricks to get him to marry her, including chasing the woman he loved out of town, poisoning him, and even sleeping with him during his intoxicated state.
Luna furrowed her brow at this thought. “You…”
“Are you going to ask me if I tried to trick him into marrying me?” Vanessa smiled when she saw the uneasy look on Luna’s face and volunteered the information herself. “Do you even believe me if I say I didn’t?”
Luna paused, then glanced at the earnest look in Vanessa’s eyes and nodded. “I believe you.” Even though she had not come across many people in her time and had even previously trusted the wrong people, her gut feeling was telling her that Vanessa was not as deceitful as Jude claimed. On the contrary, she thought that this woman was fairly straightforward and seemed to have her heart on her sleeve.
If she was truly as evil and wicked as Jude claimed, Vanessa would not have volunteered to help so eagerly and even willingly got in touch with Willow, someone whom she had not talked to in a long time.
Not only that, but she would never have stared at Jude with such a look in her eyes.
Luna had a feeling that Jude must have misunderstood this woman.
“Thank you.” Vanessa smiled. “Well, I do hope you’re not just saying this because I’m helping you.”
With that, she lifted her head to stare in Jude’s direction once more. “Mrs. Lynch, did you ever fall for your husband so crazily in the past?”
Luna paused, then smiled. “Yes, I did.”
The truth was, she had been head over heels for him, and every time she recalled her past, Luna would be in awe of how naive she had been in the past.
She had been so naive to the point where she had willingly married someone that she knew did
not love her back.
“Well, I guess you can understand how I feel right now.” Vanessa curled her lips into a smile. ” I’ve known him since a long, long time ago, and perhaps he doesn’t even remember, but that’s okay. It can live on in my memory, solely for my keeping.”
Luna did not know what to say to this. A split second later, she sighed and replied, “Well, if you need any help regarding anything between you and Jude…feel free to ask me for help.”
Vanessa smiled at this. “Okay.”
The two women continued chatting for a while more when Luna’s phone suddenly rang.
It was John.
“Luna.” John’s voice was nasally as though he had been crying, but he seemed emotionally stable as of now. “Mr. Lynch has told me everything. I’m already at the police station now, and the police have lodged a report, but I need your help. Please send your address to me, and I’ll come pick you up right now.”
Luna paused and replied, “No need to go to so much trouble. You can send me the location of the police station you’re not, and I’ll ask Jude to send me there.”
“Alright then.” With that, John hung up the phone and sent Luna a message with his coordinates.
The police station was not too far from the cafe they were at, and when they arrived, they saw John waiting at the police station entrance anxiously.
He caught sight of them as soon as they arrived and strode over. “Luna, is this…”
Before he could even finish his sentence, however, he recognized the woman standing next to Luna. “It’s you?”
Chapter 2910
Luna furrowed her brow when she noticed the surprise on John’s face. “Do you know each other?”
“We do.” Vanessa curled her lips into a smile. “His wife used to be a plastic surgeon at the hospital, and I met him there and even talked to him a little bit. Then, when he was starting his own business, I even lent him some money.”
All of a sudden, Vanessa lifted her head to stare at John as though she suddenly recalled something. “So are you Mrs. Lynch’s friend’s husband?”
“Um…” He glanced uneasily at Luna as she said this.
“Yes, the one who was kidnapped is Dr. Zimmer.” Luna furrowed her brow momentarily, then smiled when she realized what Vanessa was thinking. “I almost forgot –Anne told me that she had met you in the hospital before.”
Vanessa finally let out a sigh of relief at this. “It turns out Dr. Zimmer was the one who had been kidnapped.”
She almost thought that John and Anne’s marriage had failed and that his wife who had been kidnapped was someone else instead.
“I didn’t know you had undergone plastic surgery before, Ms. Chance,” all of a sudden, a cold voice rang out next to them.
Vanessa frowned and glanced in the direction of the voice.
Jude was standing behind them with his arms crossed, glaring at her. “But I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Ms. Chance has grown up a spoiled child, so of course you’d get anything you want, to a point where you’re willing to pay to get the face you want.’
Then, he strode to Vanessa’s side and eyed her fair, rosy face in a disgusted manner. “I had been wondering why a beautiful woman like you would turn out to be so evil, but now, I finally realize the truth-even your beauty is fake.”
The color drained from Vanessa’s face when she heard this. She clenched her fists and muttered, “Do you seriously have to insult me like this, Jude?”
She had already explained to him countless times that what happened that night was just a misunderstanding, yet he was adamant that she was the mastermind behind this scheme.
He was certain that she was the one who had sent the woman he loved abroad and had spiked his drink while he was not looking.
A twinge of pain shot through Vanessa’s heart as she gazed at the face of the man she had loved for six years. No one, not even her family, had ever caused her as much anguish as this
man did.
“Me? Insult you?” Jude scoffed and sneered. “You’ve done every bad thing under the sun, yet you can’t take a few insults?”
With that, he turned to glance at Luna. “Well, Joshua’s task for me was to send you here, and now that my work here is done, I’ll be off now.”
Then, he turned and walked away.
Vanessa bit her lip as she watched him leave.
“Are you okay?” Luna pursed her lip, glancing first at Jude’s car, which was pulling away, then at Vanessa. “Please don’t take his words to heart. I’m sure this is all just a misunderstanding…” “That’s okay.” Vanessa smiled. “I guess he still doesn’t know me well enough. I’m sure he’ll grow to like me eventually as time passes, and so what if he doesn’t? I’m content with just being by his side.”
Vanessa shook her head as though she were shaking all the negative feelings away. “Now’s not the time to discuss this. Aren’t we going to save Dr. Zimmer? You should go in. I need to give Willow a call first.”
With that, she let out an exhale and strode into the police station.
Luna glanced first at Vanessa’s retreating figure, then in the direction Jude had left in, and sighed.
Vanessa…reminded her of the devoted, loyal woman she had been many, many years ago.