Chapter 556: Chapter 556

Curtis felt as if someone was gripping his heart when he heard the determination in her tone. It felt extremely uncomfortable.

Seeing he was not moving, Rayna walked around him and toward the door.

As she was putting on her shoes, Lucky scampered over and nuzzled its head against her leg.

“It’s been a while, Lucky.” Rayna patted its head, realizing it had become more majestic after not seeing it for some time.

If not for this dog, I would’ve fallen down the elevator last time.

Rayna pecked Lucky on the head and smiled lightly. “Be good. I’ll visit you next time.”

In the meantime, Curtis turned around and watched Rayna interact with Lucky by the door.

The difference in treatment upset him. She always gives me a stern look, but she’s all smiles when faced with a dog.

His gaze darkened as he suddenly thought of something. At that, he walked toward the door and said to her, “Take it with you.”

“No thanks. I don’t know how to take care of a dog,” Rayna refused.

“You don’t even mind taking care of a cat that sheds fur all the time. Taking care of a dog can’t be any harder. Besides, Carl loves it. Take Lucky with you so it can keep him company. You don’t let Carl come to my place, anyway.” Curtis patted Lucky’s head.

After a brief pause, Curtis added, “You’ll be busy these days, and so will I. And since Kristie will have to stay in the hospital, Carl won’t have anyone to keep him company at home. It won’t do any harm if he has a pet to play with him during that time.”

While Rayna was still pondering about it, Curtis had already put the leash on Lucky and handed it to her. “I’ll get Gabriel to send several bags of dog food over tomorrow.”

At the thought of Carl, Rayna finally gave in. She took the leash from Curtis’ hand and said, “Thank you, Mr. Faymon.”

“You’re welcome. In fact, I’ve got to thank you for helping me take care of my dog, too,” Curtis responded with a faint smile.

As Rayna stepped out of the house with Lucky, she saw a car approach and pull over at the entrance.

Seeing that, she descended the steps and hurried over. “Jefferson.”

Jefferson flung the door open and made his way to her, pulling her into his embrace after making sure she was fine. “I’ve been so worried about you. Thank goodness you’re all right,” he said while kissing the top of her head.

“I’m really fine.” Rayna flashed him a smile.

Suddenly, she felt a chill on her back, as if someone was watching her.

At that, she gave Jefferson a slight push. “Let’s get into the car first. I’ll tell you everything later.”

“All right.” Jefferson walked over to open the door to the backseat.

As soon as he turned around, a glint flashed across his eyes when he saw Rayna leading a dog behind her. “Isn’t this Mr.

Faymon’s dog?”

“Yep. I’m taking it home to let Carl take care of it for the time being.” Rayna removed the dog’s leash and guided it into the car. “I told you about his parents last time.”

Understanding the situation, Jefferson massaged her shoulders and prompted gently, “Go on. Get into the car.”

On the way home, Rayna recounted everything that had happened early that morning. “Sorry for making you worry. I wanted to give you a call when I arrived at the port, but my phone died after it broke,” she said apologetically.

“All that matters is you’re fine. I can’t believe someone’s been secretly keeping tabs on Jessie and planning such a thing. How evil... But don’t you worry, Belle. It’s likely that she’s fine since no body was found. I’ll get Ringo to help find her, including Gianna’s whereabouts.”

“Thank you—”

“Didn’t I say we don’t have to be so courteous between us? Am I your man or some random stranger?” Jefferson cut her off, sounding helpless.

Rayna chuckled and begged jokingly, “All right. It’s my fault. I won’t do it again.”

“As a punishment, you’ll have to make dinner for me tonight.”

“Sure. Anything you want,” Rayna agreed without hesitation.

After exchanging a few words, Jefferson tightened his grip on the steering wheel and asked, “Belle, did Mr. Faymon say anything to you when you left?”

“Yes. He still wanted to talk things out with me, but I declined,” Rayna admitted. She knew he was feeling jealous, so she leaned toward the driver’s seat, raised her hand, and waved dismissively. “Don’t think too much about it. Sure, we didn’t successfully marry, but I’ve accepted a wedding gown and a ring from you. That alone already defines our relationship. Nothing will ever happen between him and me.”

Jefferson smiled and responded gently, “Yeah. I know.”

Though he was gazing at the road ahead of him, he could not help but recall the full refund of the pink diamond stated on his credit card bill and the incident of not swiping his card when purchasing the wedding gown. The thought of that caused his gaze to darken.

There were too many things to deal with. Hence, Rayna informed Jefferson she would not be going to the office for some time.

Jefferson offered to help but was rejected by Rayna, who told him to manage the company well instead.

After that, Rayna contacted the private investigator she hired back then and bought two pieces of juicy gossip regarding an A-list celebrity at a handsome price. She then arranged for someone to publish them on the internet.

Knowing private investigators were well-connected people, Rayna also sent the same private investigator pictures of Gianna and asked him to look for the latter.

Rayna was aware Curtis had also assigned his men to do the same, but the culprits were too smart and would make things difficult for them in their hunt for Jessica. Therefore, it was better to have more people contributing to the search.

Rayna dealt with every matter on hand in a calm manner.

With the help of money, the news about Jessica murdering someone that was spread all over Twitter and other news portals were quickly overshadowed by entertainment news.

Even the police fell quiet as if they knew nothing about the matter.

One week later, Kristie gave Rayna a call, informing the latter about Wyatt’s speedy recovery. The only problem was that he was still unconscious. The former even asked if Jessica was found, which made Rayna feel distressed all over again.

The problem with the news was already settled. Yet, no matter how many people Rayna and Curtis involved in the search, and no matter how much time was spent, Jessica was still nowhere to be found.

Even the port and other potential areas where the waters could have flowed were searched. Still, they could not find her.

On top of that, they had no leads to Gianna’s whereabouts.

Nonetheless, Rayna knew Kristie was tired from spending much time in the hospital. She did not want to make the latter worry about other things. Thus, Rayna pulled herself together and comforted Kristie, telling the latter to take good care of herself.

She then texted Curtis after ending the call, asking him about Jessica’s whereabouts for the nth time.

Very quickly, Curtis’ reply came, which told her not to worry.

In the beginning, Rayna could still bring herself to trust those words. However, the wait had been more than a week, and there was still no news. Even Jessica’s belongings were not found. The entire situation filled Rayna with anguish.

She even began conjuring gruesome scenes in her mind. Could there be sharks in the water? Maybe Jessie was eaten by one?

Rayna held her forehead, feeling incredibly restless and frustrated.

In the meantime, Carl had taken Lucky out for a run early that morning and even bathed it. Upon returning, he saw Rayna curled on the couch with a gloomy look on her face.

Although so much had happened, Rayna and Curtis had told Carl none of it.

Regardless, Carl noticed Rayna often on the phone at home. Naturally, he figured something had happened based on the conversations.

Seeing Rayna was in a bad mood, Carl scratched his chin and had a sudden idea.

He skipped to the couch and sat beside her. “Ms. Rayna, you’re up early! Why don’t we go out for breakfast today? Then, you can get me a few sets of clothes.”

Tugging at his sports attire, he added, “I’ve been wearing this for over a month.”