Chapter <b>116 </b>
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Stanley waited for a while and then asked, “Is the talk over?”
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Riley tapped a few keys on her keyboard, pulled up another page, and saw a blue dot moving. She nodded. “Yeah, it’s over. Reba is heading out of the hospital.”
Stanley nced over at Jeffrey, almost out of reflex.
The tense atmosphere around them vanished.
That suffocating pressure was gone, too.
Even Jeffrey’s face looked a little softer than before.
“I just don’t get it,” Riley said, pping herptop shut with a grin. “Reba is such an amazing girl, and you still want to divorce her? Don’t tell me you’re into guys or something.” She was clearly enjoying the drama.
Jeffrey shot her a look. “Who said I wanted a divorce?”
Stanley blinked in confusion.
Riley looked at him, just as thrown. “Huh?”
“She’s the one who brought up the divorce,” Jeffrey replied, his voice softer than before. “I’m just letting her vent.” After hearing Reba’s words, he felt a warmth blooming in his heart.
“Reba is not messing around here,” Stanley reminded. “It’s the 8th today. Your cooling–off period ends on the 12th, so on the 13th, you two have to show up and get officially divorced.”
Jeffrey paused for a second. ‘Damn, time just flew by…‘ he thought.
“You know Reba better than anyone,” Stanley said boldly. “If you back out now, who knows what she might do to make sure it happens.”
Jeffrey stood up, his face more serious and contemtive than usual. ‘It’s time to face some things,‘ he told himself.
“Where are you going?” Stanley shouted as Jeffrey began to walk away without a word.
“I’ve got the person back,” Jeffrey replied, his voice steady. “Tidy everything up in the next few days and have an answer for me by next Wednesday at thetest.”
Riley<b>, </b>clearly intrigued, asked, “What’s it about?”
“<b>It’s </b>about Reba’s mom, Stanley exined.
Riley looked at him<b>, </b>confused. She couldn’t fathom why any of this required investigation.
“Since you’re back, help me figure this out,” Stanley said, clearly desperate. “I’ve been trying to find a clue for
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almost a month now, and there’s nothing. It’s like someone erased her from existence.”
“Really?” Riley joked, her eyebrows raising in genuine astonishment.
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To her, Amelia had always been just a regr, attractive woman, kind, soft–spoken, and perfectlyposed.
Stanley opened herptop. “Don’t trust me? Search for yourself.”
Riley sighed, “I’m heading to bed.”
Before she could escape, Stanley caught her arm. “Come on. A quick search won’t hurt. It just takes a few minutes.”
Riley rolled her eyes. “No way.”
Stanley gave her his most pleading look. “Please?”
He’d been racking his brain. Never had a case left him so clueless. He needed to be sure it wasn’t his detective skills that werecking, but that someone had deliberately wiped all signs of Amelia.
Riley just gave him an annoyed nce, not bothering to reply.
She reluctantly grumbled, “What exactly am I supposed to search for?”
“Where was Reba’s mom from before she ended up in Jsburg?” Stanley asked, his curiosity piqued. “Do you know the names of her parents? Any other family besides Reba and Richard?”
Riley just casually typed on the keyboard, clearly not taking it seriously.
After <i>a </i>while of searching, she looked up, thinking, ‘Are you kidding me? Nothing? Not even a trace?‘
Riley’s casual demeanor vanished in an instant. She straightened up and ran the search again. Yet, there was still nothing.
Stanley felt a chill run down his spine at Riley’s reaction.
If even Riley couldn’t dig up a single clue<b>, </b>Amelia must be incredibly mysterious.
Riley was a master at digging up information online. If she couldn’t find a clue, it was because someone had really worked hard to cover their <b>tracks</b>.
“Quiet, let me concentrate,” Riley ordered, her voice sharp and focused. She was cracking firewalls left and right, and just when she felt she was making progress, her screen went ck.
Riley’s brow furrowed in confusion.
“What’s happening?” Stanley, noticing her puzzled look, inquired.
<b>“</b>It seems like someone with serious skills buried Reba’s mom’s info,” Riley exined, pausing her typing to rest her chin on her hand, her gaze fixed on the nk screen.
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For some reason, this kind of screen seemed oddly familiar, as if she’d encountered it before.
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Riley had a sinking feeling about what wasing. She was pretty sure the nk screen was about to disy a creepy, horror–movie–type image.
And just as she had that thought, the screen flickered and the exact thing she’d anticipated appeared.
“Holy crap!” Stanley recoiled, his eyes fixed on the gruesome scene on the disy. He rubbed his arms, trying to get rid of the goosebumps. “Why did you bring up that creepy stuff?” he asked.
“Rx. It’s just a picture. No need to freak out,” Riley said, closing theptop.
“It just popped up out of nowhere. Doesn’t it bother you at all?” Stanley blurted and then paused.
‘Hold on. She’s not even affected. She’s really not bothered,‘ he thought.
“Hey, why are you leaving?” Stanley called after her. “Aren’t you going to keep searching?”
“I’m hitting the hay,” Riley said, walking away, her thoughts still circling around the eerie image.
She pondered, ‘Have I seen that picture somewhere before? Could it be someone I know? None of those people should have anything to do with Reba’s mom, right?‘
Stanley didn’t try to stop her, knowing better than to provoke her temper. When Riley got angry, she was unstoppable.
Instead, he texted Jeffrey: [Riley did a quick search. It turns out someone who is really good at hacking has erased all the information on Reba’s mom. She’ll look into it more after she rests.]
Jeffrey was on his way to the hospital where Andrea was when he got the message.
He quickly replied: [Understood.]
Stanley: [Where are you going?]
Jeffrey: [The hospital.]
Seeing that Jeffrey wasn’t going after Reba<b>, </b>Stanley finally rxed. For a moment, he’d been worried that they might sh over the divorce.
Reba might sound sweet, but based on her hotel outburst, if she learned Jeffrey wasn’t divorcing her, she might just turn aggressive.
The mere thought of possible violence and chaos was more than enough to make Stanley feel uneasy.
Jeffrey, however, seemed preupied with other matters.
Thirty minutester, Jeffrey’s car arrived at the hospital.
He headed straight for Andrea’s room. As he approached, he overheard her venting to Michelle about how he’d been dodging her. “I’ve been on my best behavior,” Andreained. “No fights, no impositions. Yet,
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he still avoids me.”
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“Boss,” the two bodyguards called out together, their voices bouncing off the hallway walls, probably still feeling the sting from Jeffrey’sst brush–off.
Andrea’s eyes snapped to the door, locking onto Jeffrey’s. “Jeffrey<i>, </i>you’re here…”
“I’ll leave you two alone,” Michelle said, promptly rising and making her exit.
Jeffrey walked up to the hospital bed without a word. His attitude was neither exactly cold nor aloof, but his presence alone was enough to make the room feel tense, his quiet demeanor almost heavy.
“I honestly thought you weren’ting back,” Andrea murmured, her voice trembling. The past few days had been really rough on her, especially after his harsh words. “Are you still upset about when I tried to make you stay?<b>” </b>
Jeffrey paused by the bedside. Immediately, his bodyguards rushed to pull up a chair for him. He sat down slowly.
The atmosphere in the room was thick with tension, as if the very air was holding its breath.
Jeffrey’s silence only fueled Andrea’s mounting unease.
“If you’re still upset, I’m truly sorry, and I promise it won’t be repeated,” Andrea offered, her voice sincere as she reached out to touch his hand, a gesture of her earnest regret.
AD