?Chapter 1078:


    Still, hearing about Shari’s terrible ordeal made her chest burn with feminine solidarity and rage.


    After spending some timeforting Shari in the ward, she had rushed downstairs to look for Linsey, arriving just as she emerged from Harold’s room.


    Something felt off the moment Doloresid eyes on Linsey, immediately picking up on her dejected aura.


    Assuming the worst about Elva’s situation, Dolores pressed with growing concern, “Linsey, what’s gone wrong?”


    Recognizing the misunderstanding, Linsey quickly set the record straight. “Nothing like that. Harold told me his brother took Elva home, and Collin’s already dispatched his people there.”


    Her lips pressed together as she continued quietly, “We could have had Collin’s team track Walter’s movements directly after he took Elva, which would have led us to her just as quickly. But Shari exined that Elva’s mental state has deteriorated since her illness began. Familiar surroundings don’t trigger her, but if Walter brought her somewhere new, she’d spiral intoplete panic.”


    Understanding dawned on Dolores’s face. “She’d be terrified seeing a bunch of strangers show up suddenly. We need to handle this delicately, not charge in recklessly.”


    A reassuring smile crossed her lips as she squeezed Linsey’s shoulder. “From what you’re telling me, everything sounds like it’s moving in the right direction. So why do you still look so troubled?”


    Linsey gazed into Dolores’s perceptive eyes, unsurprised that her oldest friend could read her so easily. Twenty-plus years of friendship had taught Dolores to see right through her masks.


    Rather than deflect, Linsey decided onplete honesty. After a moment’s consideration, she took Dolores’s hand and guided her toward the exit.


    “I gave Harold quite the scare by using the title of CR Corporation’s founder’s fiancée—and it worked like a charm,” Linsey said with a smirk. “He was full of himself at first, but by the end, he was practically in tears.”


    Dolores burst outughing. “Ah, so that’s why the CR Corporation’s official ount suddenly posted that photo of you and Collin. I thought Collin was marking his territory—but now it all makes sense.”


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    The two women strolled leisurely across the grassywn inside the hospital, the scent of morning dew still lingering in the air.


    Linsey’s expression turned pensive. “Honestly, being Collin’s fiancée is incredibly useful. It lets me solve problems with minimal fuss and in record time.”


    Then, as if weighed down by a sudden thought, she let out a soft sigh. “But I keep wondering… what if I wasn’t engaged to Collin? What if I had no connection to CR Corporation? How would I have protected Shari today?”


    Dolores blinked and grinned. “Why torment yourself with all these ‘what ifs’? Right now, you are Collin’s fiancée. Why worry about imaginary scenarios?”


    She nudged her yfully. “His power and resourcese with the package. They’re yours, too.”


    “I suppose you’re right…” Linsey conceded with a small nod. She nced around to make sure no one was listening, then leaned in closer to whisper, “Collin and I may have reconciled, but who’s to say we won’t sh again someday, maybe even separate again? You saw what happened during the four years I spent abroad without him—it wasn’t exactly a walk in the park…”


    Dolores rolled her eyes dramatically and gave Linsey a light bop on the forehead.


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