CHAPTER 7: CHAPTER 7: VERA SHERIDAN SETS THE STAGE FOR NINA AND IAN KANE TO BE ALONE TOGETHER

Director Lewis said, "Nina’s been seeing this boyfriend for at least three or four months now. We’ve heard of him but never seen him. It’s all so mysterious. Let’s just hope he’s not a married man, or else the legitimate wife might come knocking and tarnish our dance troupe’s reputation. I should take some time to have a talk with Nina."

Vera Sheridan stayed silent.

She quietly opened the Jubilee Auction House’s public auction catalog online.

Comparing the images, Nina’s bracelet was conspicuously listed, priced at 2.9 million.

But she wasn’t sure if Ian Kane had bought it for her.

Vera made a call to a private investigator in Port Sterling, "I want the transaction information for all items from the Jubilee Spring Auction. Do you have it?"

The person on the other end responded in a pronounced Cantonese accent, "Of course! Madam, one million, deal?"

The people who bought information from him were mostly the wealthy wives of influential families, investigating whether their husbands were cheating.

Vera promptly agreed to the price and reached out to her close friend, Maeve Holloway.

To prevent Ian Kane from finding out, she transferred the money to Maeve and paid through her account.

Before long, she received an email containing the internal transaction records of the auction house that day.

The records showed Ian Kane had indeed bid on two jade bracelets!

However, one was the bracelet given to her, sold for 5.2 million, and the other, also Emperor Green, sold for 5 million, she knew was for her mother-in-law.

It was delivered through her hands when they visited the old mansion that Saturday.

Vera found Nina’s bracelet among the lines of information.

It was purchased through an intermediary company from the mainland.

Who it was purchased for specifically was unknown.

Vera sat in the passenger seat of Maeve’s Mercedes, closing her eyes in exhaustion.

Maeve spoke up, "If it’s through an intermediary, there are typically two reasons: either the person couldn’t be there in person, or they’re being discreet and don’t want to be noticed. If it were really your Old Man Kane, why would he bother having an intermediary if he was there in person?"

Vera said, "What if he was protecting himself from my scrutiny?"

Maeve was taken aback, tightened her grip on the steering wheel, and comforted her, "Vera, don’t overthink things. Seeing is believing."

"Old Man Kane has pursued you for so many years; he’ll treasure you."

Despite her words, Maeve was also faintly worried inside, fearing that the tragic fate would reoccur in Vera’s life and that she would suffer a second blow.

Vera felt a twinge of sadness, forcing a bitter smile, "I hope I’m just being too sensitive and overthinking. Ian’s father cheated back then, and he hates his father for it. He pities my mother-in-law and has said he would never become like his father."

Hearing this, Maeve blinked but said nothing.

She was a Veridia University master’s student in Clinical Psychology, specializing in psychoanalysis.

Although infidelity isn’t genetically inherited, there’s a psychological phenomenon where children with strong resentment toward their parents may unconsciously internalize their parents’ behavior or traits.

Maeve chose not to explain this to Vera but simply reminded her to focus on the present and not fall into a negative emotional state.

The two friends had lunch out.

In the afternoon, Vera took a restful nap at Maeve’s psychological counseling studio and began her therapy session.

In the room decorated in shades of ivory, the air was filled with the scent of bergamot.

Vera reclined on a plain sofa, her gaze swaying with Maeve’s fingers, flashes of childhood memories playing in her mind.

"I see a hotel room, a messy bed, my dad with a woman, my mom’s contorted face holding a knife, blood splattering, my dad naked from the waist down, the woman screaming as she tumbled off the bed, wearing only a black lace camisole..."

Maeve asked, "How do you feel?"

Vera clutched a stress ball tightly, her lips trembling, "Scared, I want to shout ’Stop!’ but can’t..."

Maeve inquired, "What’s your perception of this event?"

Vera felt a lump in her throat as nausea hit, the smell of osmanthus seemingly lingering, "Sex... is dirty, violent. I don’t want to become a dirty person."

Recognizing that Vera had started to dissociate, retreating to her childhood state, Maeve observed her tightly shut eyes and pale complexion, her stress ball squeezed so hard it oozed through her fingers.

Maeve frowned.

The last time Vera visited, she had been able to confront the traumatic scenes without a PTSD reaction.

Maeve suspected it was the nebulous flirtation between Ian Kane and Nina that influenced her.

She gently struck the singing bowl, and with the "ding," Vera suddenly opened her eyes, gasping heavily as if she were a fish out of water, a sheen of sweat covering her back.

Maeve drew the curtains open and handed her a warm cup of lemon water.

Vera gradually calmed down.

Before long, her phone vibrated.

It was Ian Kane calling.

Vera realized it was almost five o’clock, which explained why he was calling to pick her up from the dance troupe.

Instead of answering, she gazed slowly out the office building’s floor-to-ceiling windows, observing the outside world shrouded in a thick, white fog.

She lightly tapped her fingertips on the sofa armrest until the phone stopped ringing.

Maeve asked, "Why aren’t you answering?"

Vera snapped out of it, "I want to test them."

Maeve raised an eyebrow in confusion.

Vera then opened the surveillance footage of the different studios in the dance troupe on her phone, "I don’t usually check the cameras, but sometimes I peek to see the students’ training."

Maeve leaned over to look.

Vera found Nina in the various monitoring screens, seeing her alone in Dance Room 3, lazily stretching.

"What do you think would happen if I arrange for Ian Kane and Nina to run into each other in a classroom?" she mused aloud.

Maeve paused, then quickly understood her intention.

She’s setting Ian Kane up.

Ian Kane had a habit of repeatedly calling Vera until she answered if he couldn’t reach her the first time. So, after a minute, his call came through again.

Vera exchanged a glance with Maeve, then answered the call calmly.

The warm, rich voice of Ian Kane soon filled the line, "Mrs. Kane, I’m just outside the dance troupe. Should I come find you?"

Vera replied, "Honey, Maeve just got back from a business trip, and I’ve taken leave to visit her studio. She’s about to drive me back."

Ian Kane didn’t hesitate, "I’ll come and pick you up."

Vera raised an eyebrow, "No need, Maeve’s on her way in that direction. Let’s meet at the dance troupe entrance. By the way, my Bluetooth speaker, I’m not sure which studio it’s in. Could you help me find it?"

"I rely on it to help me sleep at night." Ian Kane knew she had a habit of listening to meditation music before bed.

She remembered leaving her speaker in Dance Room 4.

Ian Kane quickly agreed, "Sure, I’ll go inside and take a look. I’ll call you in a bit."

Vera murmured an acknowledgment, ending the call.

She took a deep breath, calmly watching the various surveillance screens on her phone.

Maeve sat silently beside her, keeping her company.