A whileter, Gerard and Calvert seemed to realize where their thoughts were headed and quickly looked away.

Vespera considered clearing the air, but exining might only make things even more awkward.

"Thanks for earlier. You must be tired. You should eat something," said Dominic. He picked up a spoon and dipped it into the soup before holding it up to Vespera''s lips.

Vespera felt frustrated. What did Dominic mean that she must be tired? He should keep his mouth shut!

Originally, Raymond hadn''t thought much of it. He had made breakfast, which included nourishing and restorative food, before everything had happened. But now, with Dominic saying that in that tone, even Raymond''s face turned visibly red.

As for Gerard and Calvert, they always jumped to conclusions. So, they sensibly grabbed Snowball and moved to another ce. It was way too cringey.

Later that morning, in the office, ever since Dominic had uttered those words, all of Vespera''s usual work tasks were done by Gerard.

Gerard didn''t exin why, and honestly, he didn''t need to. The implication was too obvious.

In the end, Vespera couldn''t take it anymore, but she couldn''t bring herself to exin things to her colleagues. So, she escaped to the secretarial department.

After wrapping up a few tasks, Vespera went to pour a ss of water and wandered over to the floor-to-ceiling windows. She stared out at the buildings across the skyline, her thoughts drifting back to what Calvert said the night before, that someone was stalking her.

That thought yanked her nerves taut all over again. Last night, she had pondered on whether she should confess to Dominic or not the entire night. When the sun rose, she had made up her mind. She would tell Dominic everything tonight.

...

That afternoon, Yasmine attended a small gathering after taking an afternoon nap. For more than a week, she had been staying at home. She hadn''t attended any balls or banquets. She even turned down all the afternoon tea invitations.

Ever since the incident at the ball that night, she had been feeling uneasy. And when she heard that Emily had gone missing, the feeling only deepened. Staying home had felt like the safest option.

But today, Yasmine couldn''t take it anymore. She dressed up, wless from head to toe, and headed out to the gathering.

At an estate, about a dozen well-dressed women lounged, sipping tea and sampling trays of organic fruit fresh from the garden. They talked about Halewick''stest gossip.

As they chatted, a slightly plump woman suddenly let out a knowing chuckle. She leaned in, lowering her voice like she was about to deliver the jest piece of Year and said, "Did you all hear? The

sip of the

Monroe family got seriously

embarrassed the other day."

belongs to s

The Monroe family was a prominent name in the jewelry business. Naturally, everyone knew who they were.fn3724 Fresh chapters posted on findnovel/fn3724

"What happened?" someone asked.

"You all know Mrs. Reid has been looking for someone, right?" the woman questioned.

A few women nodded knowingly. However, Yasmine looked confused. She asked, "Mrs. Reid? From the Reid family? What do you mean she''s looking for someone?"

The moment Yasmine asked, a few heads turned toward her with surprise. It was like she had just emerged from a cave in the mountains.

The few women shot Yasmine questions.

"You really haven''t heard?"

"Yasmine, have you not left the house at all? Everyone has been talking about this."

...

Yasmineughed and responded, "I was sick for a week. I''ve barely left the house. Now that I''m feeling better, I came looking for you all. So, please fill me in."

Margaret Bet, one of the

women, took the lead to fill Yasmine in. She said, "You were at Mrs.

Dawson''s ball, weren''t you? Mrs''

Reid was there too. Everyone was wearing masks, and you know how private, she is, so no one recognized her. Didn''t something chaotic happen that night?"  s

Yasmine nodded and answered, "I was there. It was indeed chaotic that night. What happened to Mrs. Reid?"

Margaret continued, "Mrs. Reid is timid, so when things went sideways, she panicked. Luckily, a young woman helped her get out. It all happened so fast that Mrs. Reid never got her name.

"After she got home and calmed

down, she decided she wanted to find that woman and thank her in person. So, she has been searching all over Halewick. There''s only one Que The woman was wearing a green dress with fair skin, a beautiful face, and long legs."

belongs to s

To the side, another woman, Georgia Rivers, chimed in, saying, "That''s hardly a clue at all! That night, everyone wore masks, and more than one woman wore a green dress.

Thus, many families pushed their daughters forward, hoping to be the heroine. But Mrs. Reid wasn''t fooled. She took one nce at them and knew they weren''t the one."

Yasmine''s heart skipped a beat. She cautiously asked, "So, the woman in the green dress with fair skin, narrow waist, and tall, rescued Mrs. Reid at the ball and helped her escape?"