Chapter 84


    Chapter 84


    Austin revved up the engine of his Mercedes as he and Joy sped towards Crystal Cove Vis. 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, drawingzily 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? Thest 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 sh of insight, excitement pounding on her as she pped 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, apanied 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


    rxed.


    ? 2024 N?v/el/Dram/a.Org.


    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?”