Chapter 627
Standing Before Love
Having been dragged over to Heatherâs room for no reason, Everly stared at the monitor on the desk.
There was a drawing of a woman on the screen.
âDo you recall this woman at all?â Heather asked as she pointed at the incomplete drawing.
Everly squinted, taking in the picture. However, the drawing wasnât detailed enough. After mulling it for a while, she still couldnât figure out who the woman might be.
âLetâs put our heads together,â Heather said like she was a psychologist.
Everly looked at Heather in curiosity, wondering why the latter was in such a rush to get her up into her room. What was going on?
âIs there a girl at your university who has pretty good looks and good grades, but isnât from a well-off family? Someone whoâs working part-time when sheâs not in class.â That was all Heather could remember.
Everly looked at Heather in a confused mannerâthat was too broad of a description. Everly shook her head, for she had no clue as to who that might be.
âLook at this picture. Is there a girl who fits the criteria I mentioned and looks like this?â Heather berated herself for being unable to draw that womanâs picture accurately. She had a clear image of the womanâs face, but why had it become so hazy now?
Once again, Everly shifted her gaze to the computer and studied the pictureâs every detail. She knew that Heather was on the edge, so she didnât dare to lie to her cousin.
âI really donât know any girls like that in my circle,â Everly said helplessly. She wanted to help, but there wasnât a single scrap of information about the woman in her head.
Everlyâs friends were all wealthy or powerful, so how would they cross paths with a girl from an unwealthy family? Moreover, Everly hadnât heard about any students from less well-off families who had excellent grades.
âPlease think about it again. Ask your classmates to figure it out too.â Heather didnât want to sit around and wait for things to turn even more dire; she had to do something about it, for she believed that there must be someone at Everlyâs university who would know of such a woman.
However, Heather had forgotten about somethingâif there truly was something off about that woman, she might be faking her background too. However, Heather couldnât think of any other possible leads, so all she could do was pursue the only lead she had.
âMe? Ask my classmates?â Everly repeated. She hadnât tried to search for someone before, and she thought that sheâd end up becoming unpopular if she bothered her classmates about this.
âThink of it as a favor for your cousin sister,â Heather said to Everly with a pleading expression. Right now, she had pushed half her hopes onto Everly.
âYou donât have to treat me like such a stranger, Heather. Iâll definitely help you find that girl.â It was rare for Heather to ask for Everlyâs help. Naturally, she would do her best to complete this task.
A grateful smile made its way onto Heatherâs face. âIn that case, Iâll leave it to you. She might not be from your school, and she could be from a different university. As long as you find someone who matches the description Iâve given you, you must find a way to get some basic information about her.â
All Heather could do now that she had given Everly her instructions was to wait and hope for the best.
âGot it. Donât worry.â Everly felt like she had a heavy responsibility, but she was inexplicably pleased that Heather had come looking for her help. If she could actually help her cousin out, that pleased feeling would rise to new heights.
Everly took her leave, but right before she left the room, Heather reminded her to keep as low a profile as possible. Since the kidnappers were currently watching Heather, they might also have their eyes on Leon, Matthias, or Tony. In other words, Heatherâs hope was on the Langstons.
Heather determined that the kidnappers knew Myraâs relationships like the back of their hand. As such, the kidnappers must think that Heather was not on close terms with the other Langstons, assuming that she wouldnât get another Langston to investigate this matter.
The rest would depend on Everlyâs findings and if she could get a clear target. Meanwhile, Heather began to look into her other leads.
After all, she couldnât put all her eggs into the same basket by placing all hopes onto one single lead.
Besides, it was just a guess; no one knew what the actual situation was.
Perhaps there wasnât anything off about the girl that Heather had seen at Myraâs home the other day, and she was just overthinking it. Still, she couldnât dismiss any possibilities now.
Heather began to look for the glass room, and she kept poring over the videos that the kidnappers had sent to her in an attempt to find out where they were keeping Myra. However, she had to be quick about thisâshe wasnât sure if the kidnappers would move Myra elsewhere. With that, Heather searched the entire city to look for a glass room that fit the one she knew about.
In order to do so, Heather needed to borrow some satellites. She was prepared to search every corner, but unfortunately, Bradfort City was huge. Who knew how long it would take for her to find the glass room? Moreover, she would be illegally using those satellites. Although it was against the law, Heather couldnât be bothered about the legality of it all.
She stared closely at her computer, uncaring of the growls coming from her stomach. Heather looked at her screen unblinkingly, afraid that she would miss a new lead. Luckily for her, she still had some instant noodles in her room that she had bought a while ago. Heatherâs body was currently winding down, and she needed some food in her.
The butler was initially about to send some dinner up to Heatherâs room himself, but Robertâs condition flared up again, so he couldnât leave to do that. Since he was too busy caring for Robert, he had no time to bring Heatherâs dinner to her.
Meanwhile, Robert had kept insisting for the butler to keep his illness a secret from the rest of his family. Hence, he and the butler were the only ones in his room as the latter busied himself.
Robert was envious as he watched the butler walk around with his healthy body. The butler was only eight years younger than him, yet there was a marked difference in their health.
âHow I wish I can be as healthy as you,â Robert said to the butler. His body was currently in so much pain that it had become numb, so he had to find a way to distract himself.
âOld Master, I just hope that my body will still be as healthy when I get to your age,â the butler consoled Robert. The elderly were like that; year after year would pass, and no one knew where all that time had gone.
âYouâre so much healthier than me,â Robert lamented, regretting that he had been so careless about his health when he was younger. Now that he was older, numerous conditions kept popping up.
The two old men commiserated together.
Meanwhile, the starving Heather had dug up all the snacks in her room and placed them by her computer. The instant noodles were not the slightest bit filling, but Heather didnât want to waste her time. Eating right now would lose precious seconds, and she was scared that something bad might happen to Myra.
She repeated the kidnapperâs words again and again. She could hear the kidnapperâs enmity toward Tony in his voice; if this was an act of revenge, this kidnapping was awfully tricky.
Still, Myra seemed to be okay for now. From the looks of it, the kidnapper was conflicted. Could there be someone who forbade the kidnapper from touching a hair on Myraâs head?
With that, Heather began to wonder who was behind the kidnapping. The first person she thought of was Caleb Moriarty, but logically speaking, the grudge between the Moriarty Family and the Harts wasnât enough to eclipse their appreciation for each other. Even if they opted for a kidnapping, they shouldâve gone for someone from the Langstons. Besides, the Moriarty Family werenât saints, but they werenât as morally bankrupt as to stoop to kidnapping.
Still, the word âcriminalsâ kept needling Heather; it would be a piece of cake for the Moriarty Family to hire some criminals outside the law with their influence.
Heather was now at a dead end. No matter how she dissected everything, she couldnât find a way out.
In fact, she felt that she was running around in circles.
Right then, Heather thought of taking a risk out of desperationâshe would attempt to contact someone else. The first person she thought of was Tony, but she still had her suspicions about him. After all, there was no way heâd be unaware of Myraâs kidnapping.
After a long period of hesitation, Heather ended up dialing Tonyâs number. However, Tony didnât pick up the first time although his phone had been ringing for a long while. It was only on her third try that her call got through. Just then, a womanâs voice came over her phoneâs speakers. âHello, may I ask who you are? Are you looking for Tony?â
Heather frowned. Why would Tonyâs phone be with another woman? Moreover, that woman even called him affectionately as âTonyâ.
What was their relationship? Could she be Tonyâs older sister?
Heather did her best not to think of the worst scenario.
âWho are you? Can you get Tony to answer the call?â Heather stamped her anger down, deciding to ascertain the situation first.
âSorry, Tonyâs still asleep,â the woman said in a seductive tone, making it seem as though Tony was currently sleeping next to her.
âWho in the world are you?â Heather asked the woman, trying to figure out her identity.
âTee hee.â The woman let loose a tinkling, pleasant laugh. âI donât know who you are either.â As soon as she finished her sentence, she cut the call off immediately.
Heather was unwilling to admit defeat, so she called Tony again. Unfortunately, his phone had been switched off. It was then that Heather somewhat understood Matthiasâs thoughts.
In other words, karma came very soon.
Heather didnât bother calling Tony anymore after three more tries. Right now, she had no time to waste on futile endeavors like this.
Heather had managed to record her conversation with the mystery woman earlier, but she couldnât get through Tonyâs cell phone right now. She bit her lip in careful thought; Tony seemed to be having an affair on the surface, yet Heather felt that something wasnât quite right. Even if he was cheating, he wouldnât possibly do it so brazenly. Everyone knew how nice Tony was to Myra, and Heather believed that he wouldnât do something that would hurt Myra.
Once again, Heather played her conversation with the mystery woman, guessing that this wasnât an act. Just as Heather was puzzled over the situation, Tony called her. Once she immediately answered his call, Tonyâs rich and sensuous tone came over her phone.
âHeather, did you call me earlier?â Tony put a hand to his forehead. He still had no idea where he was.
Who was the woman with the bare upper body next to him? Tony had a splitting headache, and he couldnât remember what had happened last night.
The woman had a fawning smile on her face as she attempted to get close to him, only to have Tony immediately rebuff her. âGet out.â
Meanwhile, Heather heard Tonyâs voice on the other end.
Donât tell me that heâs really with another woman right now? Heather began to wonder.
Just as Heather had pricked her ears up in an attempt to listen in on more of their conversation, the call ended. Before the call was cut off, she vaguely heard the mystery woman say âMr. Hartâ in a sensual tone.
That voice was indeed from the woman who had ended Heatherâs earlier call.
Heather stiffly put her phone down. What did the current situation mean? Either Tony was actually cheating on Myra, or someone had also set Tony up. Nonetheless, Heather couldnât imagine that someone had managed to involve Tony in such a scheme. Just who in the world was powerful enough to be capable of this?