CHAPTER 164: CHAPTER 164: A FLASH OF A SIDE PROFILE

After dinner, Ivan Underwood was preparing to head back for some rest. Just as I was about to get into my car, he called out to me, "Zoe Hathaway, don’t you think you should consider telling Henry Preston about this matter? He’s also half responsible; facing it alone is quite tough."

"It’s alright. Can it be tougher than the hardships I’ve gone through these past ten years?" I replied calmly.

Having experienced despair, unwillingness, and death, I have developed a certain tolerance for these setbacks.

"Alright, get some rest early. I’ll inform you when there’s news." Ivan Underwood smiled and turned to get into his own car, leaving a step ahead of me.

I drove home as well, and when I got back, my mom was sitting in the living room, seemingly wiping away some tears.

Seeing me returning, she quickly pretended she hadn’t been crying and forced a smile, "Why are you home so late?"

"I was out having dinner with friends. Mom, what’s wrong?" I sat down next to her, holding her arm, looking at her slightly red eyes with concern.

Although Mom didn’t want to say it, under my persistence, she held my hand, her eyes full of pain, "Zoe, I just feel heartbroken for you. Thinking about the life you’ve had all these years, and my poor grandchild who didn’t even get to see the world, it breaks my heart..."

Hearing my mom’s words, my eyes welled up with tears; the painful emotions I’ve been trying to ignore over this period suddenly seemed to break through.

How could I not miss the baby I lost? Especially seeing Crystal Dawson’s belly getting bigger, how can I not feel envious?

But it is how it is now, and all I can do is find a way to heal my body, even if there’s only a slim chance to get pregnant.

"Mom, don’t be sad. Completely ending things with Henry Preston is a good thing too, isn’t it?" I tried to suppress my inner emotions and comforted my mom.

"Yes, Zoe, never see him again in the future; you paid too much for him." My mom advised me.

Without even thinking, I agreed, "Yeah, I won’t have any more interactions with him, don’t worry, Mom. Go and get some rest, alright?"

It was already quite late, and I urged my mom to go to sleep. I, on the other hand, drank some red wine to help me sleep; otherwise, my mind was too troubled to fall asleep.

The next morning, our four-person group chat suddenly became lively.

Crystal Dawson tagged everyone: My lovelies, do you want to go to a concert? It’s that popular band performing in City A, should we nurture our souls a bit?

Leah Lane: Sigh, my musical dream is shattered!

Tiana O’Connell: What time and where? Are there tickets? I need to see if I have to work.

Crystal Dawson: Tomorrow night at Melodia Hall, don’t worry about the tickets; Silas Lockwood already prepared them for us, one for each of us. It’s just a matter of whether you guys want to go!

Leah Lane: Yes, yes, definitely going!

I replied: Yes, send me the exact time.

Crystal Dawson: Okay, I want to bring the babies in my belly to nurture them and let them experience the charm of music, hahaha.

Soon after, I received the time and place from Crystal Dawson, for tomorrow night at 8:10 PM in the main hall of Melodia Hall. These tickets are quite expensive and hard to come by.

Coincidentally having nothing to do, going to listen to a concert doesn’t sound bad to relax my mind.

The following evening, I drove to pick up Crystal Dawson and Leah Lane. Tiana O’Connell, the workaholic, had an important meeting that night and couldn’t make it.

By the time we reached Melodia Hall, it was almost 8:00 PM. Crystal Dawson’s belly was getting bigger, but she still walked quickly. Leah Lane and I kept telling her to slow down, but she wouldn’t listen.

"Ouch!"

Suddenly, Crystal was bumped, letting out a cry.

"Sorry." The woman who bumped into Crystal was likely in her fifties and dressed very elegantly. Her eyes were especially penetrating, and as she glanced over, I felt inexplicably uncomfortable.

"Ma’am, why don’t you watch where you’re going?" Crystal said, slightly annoyed. Especially being pregnant, it was evident that the woman was looking down at her phone and that’s why she bumped into her.

"I apologize, I was in a rush to meet a friend, so I hurried a bit. If you’re feeling unwell, you could go for a check-up, and I’ll cover it." The woman’s tone wasn’t exactly humble, even carrying a hint of pride. Although she was smiling, her eyes were cold.

Crystal didn’t care much about it, nor did she notice anything off about the woman’s demeanor. She just waved it off, "Forget it!"

Then she urged Leah and I to continue walking as we needed to find our seats.

The woman didn’t say anything further but her gaze lingered slightly when it swept over me, deepening a bit.

However, I didn’t overthink it and just followed Crystal and Leah into the concert hall, then we found our seats. These seats were in the VIP section with an excellent view and sound quality, along with some fruit tea and snacks. When the band appeared on stage, I noticed two more people sitting nearby.

One was someone I recognized, a bureaucrat from City A whom I met once at a dinner party my dad took me to, and the other was the middle-aged woman who bumped into Crystal. She had a smile on her face as she engaged in a quiet conversation with the other person, seemingly close acquaintances.

This woman probably has some background, but why does she seem unfamiliar to me?

The performance began, and I put those thoughts aside to focus on appreciating the music. However, for some reason, I kept feeling a pair of eyes on me, but when I occasionally glanced around, I couldn’t find the source.

This eerie feeling left me somewhat distracted throughout the entire concert, unable to prevent my attention from wandering.

"Everything was great except for my numb butt!" Crystal massaged her numb butt and praised the concert endlessly.

She and Leah chatted, but I wasn’t in the mood, frequently glancing around.

As we followed the crowd outside Melodia Hall, it was already quite late, but the night in City A was always bustling, especially here in the city center with its dazzling neon lights and busy traffic.

Crystal had developed a habit of having a late-night snack, or she would get hungry, and she insisted on us accompanying her. But I didn’t know why; my heart remained unsettled, without an appetite for anything, so ultimately it was just Leah accompanying her to find some food nearby.

I was about to drive back and as soon as I got in the car, something felt off. I then got out to check and found that my car tire had been intentionally punctured and was starting to deflate.

Not far away, two punks eyed me suspiciously, their gaze filled with malice.

"Alright, Mr. Hawthorne, next time I’ll treat you. You must come!" At this moment, a voice sounded from nearby. I turned to look; it was that unfamiliar middle-aged woman, saying goodbye to her companion at the concert.

Feeling my gaze on her, she also glanced at me more than once. I felt like... she might know me.

Yet, she just gave me a brief look before getting into a black Lincoln and driving away.

The rear window of that Lincoln was half-opened, and it seemed like a woman was sitting inside. I could only vaguely see half of her side profile, but that half-profile made my heart skip.

She looked like Azure Vaughn!

Wasn’t she already missing?

Just a few days after I lent fifty thousand to Joel Sutton, he informed me that Elvie Lawson and Walter Vaughn didn’t make it; the resuscitation failed.

I didn’t pay much attention to it at the time because this matter was already over for me.

Thinking of this, I couldn’t help but dial Joel Sutton’s number; he hadn’t gone to sleep yet.

"Sutton, you mentioned before that after Elvie Lawson and Walter Vaughn were unsuccessfully rescued, where did Azure Vaughn go? Tell me again," I went straight to the point.

"I don’t know either. She asked me to handle her parents’ affairs, but I didn’t agree, just went to the hospital to take a look. The hospital said a woman took her away." Joel Sutton asked me curiously, "Miss Hathaway, why are you suddenly asking about this again?"

Watching the Lincoln drive away, feeling suppressed, I wondered if the person who took Azure was that woman just now? What’s their relationship?

"It’s nothing, just suddenly curious." I didn’t feel like saying more. After a few casual words, I hung up the phone.

As I continued to speculate, lost in thought, I didn’t pay attention to someone approaching until I sensed something was wrong. By then, the two punks were less than two meters away from me.

Even though the area was lively, there were hardly any people around the entrance of Melodia Hall at this point, and I still wasn’t clear about the motives of these two punks.

"Zoe Hathaway." At this moment, Henry Preston’s voice sounded behind me, making me turn to look. He was watching me from not far away.