Marigold left right after she spoke. Jenny stole a glance at Gilbert's expression. It was worse than before."Didn't you always tell me not to judge a book by its cover?" Jenny said after a moment's silence. "Maybe the Wagners are dislikeable, but that doesn't mean that every member of the family is bad. At least, I think Marigold's decent."Gilbert said nothing. She didn't know what he was thinking. He stared at the direction in which Marigold left for a long time, still lost in his thoughts."Gilbert?" Jenny called. He came back to his senses.He looked at Jenny and said, "You're just too naive. Is she going to announce her motives while getting close to me?""Aren't you overthinking things? Marigold is just a girl. You can choose not to like her, but accusing her of evil intentions that she may or may not have is going overboard," Alec finally said, unable to bear it anymore. He and Marigold were not close, only coming into contact with her through Paul, but he could tell that
"Stephanie? Didn't she come here with you?" Mr. Walker looked bewildered. "A few days ago, she said she was going to stay over at your place. You didn't know?"Jenny was stunned. Stephanie hadn't mentioned anything like that."Something happened to you, right? Once you got back, Stephanie said she was going to keep you company for a few days. I figured that since you'd been through an earthquake, you'd need the support. So I didn't think too much of it and let her go," Mr. Walker continued.Jenny didn't answer. She remembered how Stephanie had called her to check in on her but had not come to see her. Jenny thought that she was busy, but that wasn't the case, apparently.Her silence made Mr. Walker nervous. "What's wrong? Didn't she go to see you?""No. She gave me a call but never visited. I thought she was busy, so I didn't think too much of it." Who would have known that Stephanie told her father she was coming to see her? Wasn't this a blatant lie?Now Mr. Walker was truly ne
Jenny had departed quickly and without telling Alec. So, when Alec noticed she was missing, he called her and learned about Stephanie's situation."Don't worry, alright? I'll send someone out to look for her, too." Alec said."Thank you," she said. If Alec was willing to help, they would find Stephanie faster.When the call ended, Alec ordered Vincent to get someone to do the job. He then felt that it wasn't enough and called Paul as well."Help me find someone," he said once the call was accepted."Who?" Paul's voice was calm. Alec had no idea what he was doing, and he couldn't care at the moment. He told Paul about Stephanie. But then, Paul did not answer, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. He thought this was weird."Is there a problem?" Alec asked. Finding someone was an easy task for Paul. It was the first time he was reacting this way.After a moment, Paul laughed lightly on the other end. "She's got such a good friend.""What does that mean?" Alec frowned. He could sense
Facing his friend, Paul didn't hide things from him. He told Alec about his situation with Stephanie and asked, "Do you think I'm wrong?""Of course!" Alec responded at once. "If you really like her, you have to pursue her the right way and make her your girlfriend. And if you don't like her, quit wasting her time. Now you're forbidding her from being your girlfriend, yet you're not letting her go. I'd call you a motherfucker, but you're worse than that."He had no idea what his friend was thinking. If he liked her, why was he treating her like this? Who could accept it?Paul frowned, his expression solemn. "You know what my family is like. I could never marry her."He didn't want things to be this way, but he knew how the Wagners worked. If he got together with Stephanie, he wouldn't just be making her miserable; he'd be hurting her too. Alec grew quiet. The Wagners were much more complicated than the Fausts. Alec could pursue whomever he wanted, but Paul had no such liberty."
Jenny left the Walkers' house after comforting Stephanie's parents.The moment she stepped outside, she called Zack and Gilbert. As expected, there was no news regarding Stephanie. It was as if she had never existed—there was no trace of her anywhere.Jenny was afraid for Stephanie. Something could have happened to her.She thought about it for a while and called Alec, hoping to get a lead."Jenny." Alec's low voice sounded from the receiver. He sounded a little stiff, but the anxious Jenny didn't notice."Have you…found anything?" Jenny asked. Her palms were sweaty. If Alec hadn't found anything, she had no idea what to do.Alec was silent. He didn't wish to lie to Jenny, but at the thought of Paul, his lifelong best friend, he had no choice but to do so."Alec Faust?" Jenny said again, not receiving an answer. Her heart thumped hard.Alec came back to his senses. "I'm sorry, Jenny. I found nothing."At once, Jenny fell into despair. If Alec couldn't find her, who could? Just
Stephanie was missing for three days. Jenny had turned up empty-handed.She'd gone to the police station countless times, and Jenny had begged several people for help, but still, there was no news of her. Jenny's heart began sinking little by little.In Gilbert's villa, Jenny checked the surveillance cameras alone in the room. She didn't give up just yet.Gilbert and Zack stood at the doorway, worried. "Bro, can't you tell her to rest? If she keeps doing that…""It's no use. She won't stop until she finds Stephanie." Gilbert knew Jenny very well, so he had not told her to stop."It's so absurd. How can a person vanish just like that? If not for Jenny's insistence, I'd think her friend had never existed." Zack began doubting his technical skills.Gilbert frowned. He knew how great Zack's and Jenny's skills were and found this very weird, too. It shouldn't be this way.After a while, he walked into the room, stopping next to Jenny."Jenny," he said.Jenny stopped typing. "Is the
"Of course he'd cover for his friend," Jenny thought.She remembered the call she had with Alec that day. His tone was off, and she hadn't noticed anything then. But now that she looked back on it, it seemed obvious.It was no wonder that Alec didn't come to see her these past few days. He didn't contact her often, either. He was probably afraid that he would give something away.At once, it felt as if a huge rock were weighing down on Jenny. She couldn't breathe.She got up and walked out of the room. "I'm going to make a call."Gilbert didn't ask her any questions. He guessed that Jenny was going to call Alec. He was happy to see this happening. He didn't believe for one second that Alec knew nothing about this, and Jenny would not believe it, either.Jenny went to the balcony and took a deep breath before calling Alec."Jenny?" Alec's voice sounded the moment the call went through. He seemed surprised that Jenny would call him.She said nothing, suddenly realizing she didn't
Jenny and her group of people reached Paul's villa. A bodyguard walked up to her. "Miss Jenny?""Where's Paul Wagner?" Jenny looked unpleasant. All she wanted to know was how Stephanie was doing."He's waiting for you," the bodyguard replied. He gestured for Jenny to follow him.Jenny raised an eyebrow. So, it seemed that Paul already knew that she was coming. She didn't decline, following the bodyguard into the villa. Perhaps Paul was feeling confident. He even permitted Gilbert and the people to go in. There were about twenty of them, clearly not here on good terms.Paul was drinking coffee in the living room. When he saw Jenny and the troupe of people tagging along behind her, he didn't know whether to laugh or to cry. "Is this really necessary? Alec and I are friends. I should even be calling you my sister-in-law."Paul looked like the dominant friend, but Alec was the older of the two. That was why Paul would call Jenny his sister-in-law. He seemed to think Alec and Jenny wou