Chapter 84

Chapter 84

Austin revved up the engine of his Mercedes as he and Joy sped towards Crystal Cove Villas. Joy was on her cell, dialing Curtis’ number. The moment he picked up, she exploded.

“Curtis, you absolute scumbag, go to hell!”

Austin, who was behind the wheel, raised an eyebrow at the mention of the name. “Is that your friend’s husband, Curtis?”

Joy was too incensed to even acknowledge Austin’s question.

Curtis, having his morning ambushed with such vitriol, sounded unexpectedly calm and lethargic, “Okay, I will.”

“You just wait! I don’t have time

for your crap right now. Where’s Anne?”

The sound of a lighter flicking open and a cigarette being lit crackled through the phone, “She left.”

Where did she go?”

An ashtray on the dining table was brimming with cigarette butts. Curtis leaned back in his chair, his shirt crumpled and unkempt.

He rubbed his temple, drawing lazily from his cigarette, “How should I know where she went? I thought you two were thick as thieves, breathing through the same nostril. How dare you ask me? The last time I talked to her, she was waiting for you, and now you’re telling me you don’t know?” Joy was so furious she felt like jumping out of the car, buying a knife, and driving it straight into him.

“She’s been gone all night, her phone’s turned off, and yet you can still act so casual about it. Curtis, do you even have a heart?”

“Is her phone off?” Curtis frown, getting nervous.

Joy sank her heart. It seemed he didn’t know. With no more words to waste, she snapped the phone shut.

Turning to Austin, she said grimly, “She’s not at home.”

“Think about whether there is anywhere else she might go. If we can’t find her, we’ll call the cops.”

Suddenly, Joy had a flash of insight, excitement pounding on her as she slapped Austin’s thigh, “I know! Head to Golden Grove Manors!”

The Mercedes made a sharp U-turn and roared towards Golden Grove Manors. Joy rushed into the elevator the moment they arrived, with Austin trailing just a step behind, nearly getting trapped by the closing doors.

Chapter 84

Leanne was jolted awake by an insistent pounding on her door. She wrapped herself in a robe and shuffled from her bedroom to find the pounding continued, accompanied by her name being called out.

“Leanne? Leanne?”

As Leanne opened the door, her face was a picture of confusion. “What are you doing here?”

Curtis leaned against the wall, panting. Seeing her safe and sound, with her fresh and unblemished face looking as if she’d just been roused from a pleasant dream, he finally

relaxed.

His clothes were a rumpled mess, devoid of their usual sheen, clearly worn through the

night.

His tie was missing, a stubble of dark bristles shadowed his jaw. His hair was tousled. He looked sweaty, disheveled, and exhausted, as though he had just finished a marathon.

Curtis had never looked so unkempt before.

Leanne, on the other hand, seemed like she had just crawled out of her cozy bed, soft and clean, with a look of sleepy bewilderment, as if his arrival had interrupted her blissful slumber.

Curtis’ tone was sharp, “Why didn’t you answer your phone?”