LOGINThe 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
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
"Cultivate..."Gabrielle’s eyes were vacant. Evidently, her cognitive capacity was insufficient to process such a complex phrase, leaving her to do nothing but stare blankly at Candice.The girl before her wore a well-behaved white princess dress; her skin was like cream, and she stood quietly, projecting a unique sense of innocence. Even her wooden hollowness translated into a sort of static beauty on a canvas."This half-sister really does look a bit like Candice. She’s quite pretty, too. Pity she’s a fool," Bianca whispered into Sophia’s ear."A fool who still knows how to try and snatch a brother-in-law from her sister.""You mean Kyle?""No, Charlie.""..."*The fool’s taste in men is quite sharp.*Candice stepped forward. Under the high-alert, "enemy-at-the-gates" gaze of the female bodyguard, she reached out and gently patted Gabrielle’s head twice. "You have to be good and get
Looking back on the events of the past two days...I should have realized it earlier.A lady with such an air of elegance, who showed so much concern for Edward’s matters...But, she never once guessed in that direction... that Old Mrs. Lawrence would live alone in a mo
Edward paused his movements and calmly said, “Miss Clarke, we meet again.”Sophia’s gaze was unfocused and distant.She stared at the top-tier handsome face illuminated by the light in the darkness, looking at it intently for a long time. As her eyes began to brighten, she suddenly called out in ex
Candice: "…!"What??For someone whose mental state was on the verge of collapse after a night of being pushed to the edge by a bunch of "crazy" people, these misleading words could really make her snap."My illusion?""Are you telling me that Sophia didn’t just disappear, and that Rex didn’t jump
Edward led his group, accompanying Charlie in the search.Jerry was tasked with staying in the yard to keep an eye on Rex.Looking at the CEO, who was moving with such a chilling aura, Jerry poked Rex on the forehead. "This time you're really in trouble. When he comes back, he&rsquo







