Chapter 253

Chapter 253 Give Me a Kiss

“What did you just say?” Troy turned his head and stared at her.

Imogen decisively shook her head. “I didn’t say anything. You heard it wrong. Give me the phone!”

Imogen looked at Troy firmly.

Her phone had a lot of secrets. She couldn’t just give it to Troy.

If Troy used her phone to send random messages to Erik, all her efforts would be in vain.

Furthermore, Imogen feared Troy might read her chats with Noah and discover her intentions for getting close to Erik.

He would become even more aggressive if he knew she didn’t truly reciprocate Erik’s feelings. “Is your phone really that important?”

Imogen’s anger flared up again. She glared at Troy and took a deep breath before reluctantly lowering her head. “I can’t go out right now. Giving me the phone won’t make a difference.” Troy contemplated for a while. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he stared at Imogen intently. Imogen had a sinking feeling as she locked eyes with Troy.

“Give me a kiss, and I’ll give it to you.” There was a slight sense of smugness in Troy’s tone. Imogen was left speechless.

She stared at Troy in disbelief. Her expression turned to scorn. “Troy, you’re shameless!” “Kiss me or not?”

Imogen was furious. Her eyes blazed with anger and glared at Troy like an irritated cat, yet feeling powerless simultaneously.

“Have you made up your mind? I need to go to the hospital.” Troy acted like he was about to leave. He took long strides and quickly reached the door of the living room.

Just as he was about to leave, Imogen still managed to stop him.

“Wait!”

Troy stopped and turned to look at Imogen with his eyebrows raised. “So you agreed?”

Imogen clenched her teeth and nodded vigorously.

She stood up, walked to Troy, tiptoed, cupped Troy’s face with her hands, and gave him a peck on the cheek. “Is that enough?”

Troy wore a half–smile as he looked at her. He was ready to speak when a child’s voice echoed from the staircase, “Imogen kissed Troy! I want Imogen to kiss me, too!”

Imogen froze, feeling as though she had been caught in the act.

Troy glared at Imogen’s rigid expression. His amusement deepened. “Grace, Imogen can’t kiss you. She’s got a cold.”

Grace stopped and said curiously, “But isn’t Troy afraid of catching a cold, too?”

“I’m an adult. I’m not scared.”

Grace nodded, giving the impression that she understood what was said.

Imogen cleared her throat and turned to Troy. “Can I have my phone now?”

Troy retrieved her phone from his pocket without saying anything.

Imogen snatched her phone back. She turned around and sat on the couch casually. She asked,

“Grace, Troy is going to the hospital. Do you want to go with him to the hospital or stay home and play with grandma Mary?”

“Well… I think I’ll stay home,” Grace replied after a moment.

“Then I’ll leave now, Grace,” Troy said.

“Okay.” Grace nodded.

As Troy turned to leave the house, Grace suddenly stopped him. “Oh, Troy!”

“What’s up?” He asked.

“You have a kiss mark from Imogen on your face!”

Imogen was surprised at Grace’s sudden statement.

Her face turned bright red in an instant. However, Troy seemed oddly pleased.

Upon leaving the villa, Troy glanced at the front door before sliding into the car’s back seat.

The driver started the car and asked, “Mr. Marshall, are we heading to the hospital?”

“Yes,” Troy replied.

Troy took out his phone and dialed a number.

A woman quickly answered the call. Her tone was polite as she said, “Mr. Marshall?”

“How’s the progress?” Troy inquired.

“We’ve had a few interactions, but… There haven’t been any significant developments yet,” The woman replied cautiously.

Troy’s displeasure briefly flickered in his eyes. “Speed up the progress. Just let me know if you need anything. I’ll have people cooperate with you.”

Ann could sense Troy’s dissatisfaction and promptly responded, “Understood.”

On the other hand, Imogen had her medicine and returned to the master bedroom.

She checked her phone and found that Erik and Charlie had messaged her yesterday.

Troy had responded on her behalf and even provided a reason to explain her absence to Charlie.

Fortunately, Troy hadn’t said anything inappropriate.

She wondered if he had seen her chat history with Noah.

Hopefully not.

This morning, Erik had sent Imogen two additional messages. He had sent a sun emoji at seven twenty–three, followed by a simple: [Good morning, Imogen.]

It was now eight o’clock. Imogen replied: [Morning.]

Shortly after, Erik responded. He was already at work.

They continued to exchange messages, and Imogen briefly mentioned her cold during the conversation.

Soon, Charlie arrived at the villa. She carried a bag filled with Imogen’s clothes.

It was Imogen who had called her over.

Troy seemed quite naive to think Imogen would obediently stay at the villa.

Charlie closed the door to the master bedroom and began to speak after ensuring Grace was downstairs. “Imogen, that dimwit Troy is cunning. The deeper you get mixed up with him, the tougher it’ll be to escape. He made a mistake this time, but what if he decides to imprison you next? Have you considered that?”

“I get that Grace is charming, and I find her cute too. But it would be best if you also considered your well–being. She’s not your child. It’s not worth it to give up your life for Grace.”

Imogen paused and asked, “By the way, are you going to work today?”

In truth, she felt that her situation with Troy was unrelated to Grace. If Grace weren’t in the picture, Troy would still find ways to be around her.

He’d use a different approach to keep harassing her unless she left this place for good.

Imogen had plans to immigrate, just like Emily. But that would be possible after she had avenged her father.

Charlie glanced at her watch and gasped. “Oh, I’m going to be late! I told you, you need to go!” Charlie rushed out of the room.

After Charlie left, Imogen headed out as well.

Imogen felt disappointed since Grace couldn’t accompany her this time.

Imogen promised to have lunch with Grace.

She went to the garage, took one of Troy’s cars, and headed to a courier company’s warehouse in the suburbs.

Noah had investigated the Hale family and Victor. Noah sent Imogen some information about Victor.

Noah discovered that Victor now owned a small logistics company in the suburbs and handled numerous shipments daily.

Victor had established the logistics warehouse shortly after his release from prison. Coincidently, online shopping and e–commerce was booming. He had made substantial money for years, and his warehouse had grown significantly.

Victor claimed to have borrowed the capital from a friend to start his logistics business. Upon investigating his social connections, Noah discovered that the borrowed amount was minimal, indicating that most of the startup funds may have come from an unknown source.

The idea that Victor had built his logistics company on the foundation of her father’s life stirred strong emotions within Imogen.

Her father passed away many years ago, yet his murderer appeared to be living comfortably. Imogen soon arrived at the warehouse. She circled the warehouse.

Noah’s findings indicated that Victor visited the warehouse daily.

Imogen came to verify this herself and, upon seeing Victor’s car, she drove

away.

Imogen contemplated for a while and decided to use Victor as a starting point. She could gather information about Victor through Erik.

Imogen remembered there was a hot spring resort near the warehouse.

It seemed like the perfect time for a soak.

Upon returning home, Imogen messaged Nicolas: [Do you guys have a team–building event before your annual leave?]