LOGINCandice entered the room light-footedly. Seeing her mother’s feet wrapped in thick gauze, her heart ached with pity.
"Candice!"
Robert, who had been dozing off nearby, woke up. Seeing his daughter, he stood up joyfully. He started to speak, but realizing that his wife—who had been in pain half the night—had finally fallen asleep, he made a shushing gesture and pointed outside.
Father and daughter tiptoed out together.
Sophia and the others were st
The female bodyguard’s frantic pleas did little to move the crowd. While she didn’t *look* like she was lying and lacked a clear motive, she was their only lead. As Sherlock Holmes famously said: "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."The atmosphere remained at a standstill.Charlie glanced at her. His gaze was aloof and cold, yet his voice was low, magnetic, and persuasive—almost hypnotic. "Why don’t we calm down and try a change of perspective? If you were standing where we are, what conclusion would you reach?"He paused for two seconds, letting a sense of mounting pressure fill the silence before speaking again. "You are currently the prime suspect. If you can’t prove your innocence, going back will likely be..."He didn't finish the sentence, but the meaning was crystal clear. Gabrielle had been lost on her watch. Denise would never forgive her. If she remained
The group stood frozen.Edith lay there alone, but the others were nowhere to be seen. However, the stalls had yet to be checked.Rex walked over and pushed the doors open one by one. When he reached the third-to-last cubicle, he called out, "Found one."He carried a woman out from the stall. It was the female bodyguard."She’s alright, just unconscious," Rex reported after a quick check.Charlie signaled him to check the remaining stalls and the men's restroom next door just in case. Rex did a rapid sweep but found no sign of **Gabrielle**.They moved Edith and the bodyguard out of the restroom to a nearby lounge, laying them both on the sofas. With Sophia and the others currently unreachable, they had to focus on the crisis at hand.Rex shook the bodyguard awake and cut straight to the chase: "What happened?""What..."The bodyguard’s expression was vacant, but the confusion lasted only a few seconds. Sudde
"What about Gabrielle and her bodyguard?" Candice asked.For some reason, she felt Rex’s words were a bit odd. Edith was supposed to be with Gabrielle, yet he only mentioned Edith.Rex shook his head. "I don’t know.""You don't know?" Candice was taken aback. "Do you mean they weren't together?"Charlie’s brow furrowed. "Explain yourself clearly."Rex explained with a pained expression, "I really don't know. It might be because Edith's perfume was just too cloying; it completely masked the scent of the other two. Or perhaps they didn't take this path and used a different corridor instead. In any case, I only smelled the lingering scent of Edith's perfume heading toward the right. I couldn't pick up anything else."The group fell silent.Choosing between left and right was a headache enough; now things had become even more complicated.*Only* Edith?So, it was possible that Gabrielle and her bodyguard hadn't stayed with her. Alternatively, Edith’s perfume might have simply been so over
Candice used her hand to shield her eyes.Seeing this, Charlie reached over to block the light for her. His palm was broad and thin, his fingers long and well-defined, and his palm was warm and dry, radiating a faint, clean fragrance. While shielding her eyes, he naturally pulled her closer to his side.Kyle held his breath, gritting his teeth. "..."Dante led the group to the best seats on the second floor. Shortly after they sat down, the performance had just begun when a waiter rushed over and whispered a few words in his ear.Dante Fletcher’s expression stiffened slightly. He turned to the group and said, "Apologies, there’s a small situation elsewhere that I need to handle."With that, he strode away. His face didn't look like it was just a "small situation."The guests remained silent, exchanging looks with those they knew. Their expressions were even more varied than the unicyclist performing on stage; some were secretive,
Candice couldn't help but look at Charlie. She hadn't acknowledged him the entire evening.She had been harboring a fire in her heart before she even arrived, and the very first thing she saw upon meeting him was Edith lunging onto him—a sight that added frost to the snow of her mood. She gave him the cold shoulder, and he didn't overextend himself trying to force a warm face onto her icy one.Her mood was foul, and his was equally gloomy. A troublesome younger brother was already headache enough, and then seeing his pregnant girlfriend appear in a place she never should have come to... Though he didn't smoke and had no habit of excessive drinking, even he had felt like reaching for the full "tobacco and liquor" set at the card table earlier.By now, the emotions of both parties seemed to have been digested.Charlie was already standing close to her. Seeing her look his way, he took the initiative to approach. "Are you tired? Let Rex take you to the guest
Kyle was so delighted he practically wanted to award Edith a trophy. Now he didn’t even need to play informant or stir up trouble; what could be more convincing than seeing it with one's own eyes?Charlie pulled the woman off him for the second time, his voice stern. "Miss. Lawrence, please show some self-respect in public!"His voice was extremely heavy, not leaving Edith a shred of dignity.Snapping out of her impulsive state, Edith’s face felt like it was on fire. "I... I didn't do it on purpose. I just lost my balance."Charlie didn't bother responding. He stepped toward Candice. However, Candice was one step ahead, walking toward the seats pre-reserved for them and leaving him standing there.The others cast looks of helpless sympathy toward Charlie, except for Gabrielle, who happily bounded over to him. "Charlie."Charlie glanced at Gabrielle, then looked at Sophia and the others. Rex looked eager to explain, Jerry lowered
Candice’s heart gave a sharp, burning jolt."I’ve had enough of the sun on my front. Now, I want to sunbathe my back."She turned around, burying her face in his chest, her arms instinctively wrapping around his waist, and she closed her eyes in contentment.The s
James felt deeply disappointed.He had hoped his daughter would stay in Shandor and live with him, believing that only by seeing her every day could they truly mend their father–daughter relationship.Now that everything had been discussed and decided, he didn’t say anything more.Taking it slowly
Candice’s face went blank.“...Don’t ever have another ‘bright idea’ like that again.”Didn’t she worry that Kyle might turn on her?Especially now that even Mike had shown up with him—it only further proved that Kyle still had
The air suddenly went still.Mr. Hawthorne, who had tried to grab him but was shaken off, looked awkward.But who could say Old Master Harrison was wrong? His daughter and grandson were dead, and he had to watch his son-in-law and the mistress being all lovey-dovey. Fortunately, Old







