Chapter 499


    Chapter 499 A Dissatisfied Puff Of Smoke


    When Nina was brought back by Cayden, there were still traces of tears on her cheeks.


    The badly-traumatized look on her face infuriated Avery.


    Grabbing Nina by the arm, she scrutinized the former from head to toe as she raged, “Did Xander do


    this to you? That b*stard actually...”


    Avery''s usatory gaze subsequently fell upon Cayden, as if she was ming him for not protecting


    her friend.


    “No. Xander only gave her a scare. He didn''t hurt her in any way.” Shrugging his shoulders, Cayden


    exined in a tone that was free of guilt.


    Having been friends with Xander for ages, he knew the other man like the back of his hand.


    Even though his methods were ruthless, he kept a distant attitude toward women and would never


    force himself on them.


    After all, there were plenty of women who threw themselves at him due to his good looks and social


    status.


    Other than his first crush, Xander would never sumb to the charms of any woman even if they


    climbed into his bed stark naked. Instead, he would throw them out without a second thought.


    Cayden knew that to be the truth because there was a precedent.


    Some time ago, a gorgeous socialite from a prestigious family, who had admired Xander for many


    years, snuck into his bed in the middle of the night. In the end, she was literally kicked out of his house


    before she had the chance to climb on top of him.


    Back then, not only was thedy''s spine fractured, but her family''s business was also bankrupted by


    Xander in his rage.


    Consequently, the socialite became theughingstock of high society. The incident struck fear into the


    women who coveted Xander, deterring those who had insidious desires from acting on them.


    After all, no one would dare marry a man who had no qualms about beating up a woman. Doing so


    would be no different from asking for trouble.


    However, Avery was oblivious to that fact. All she saw was how terrified Nina was after thetter''s


    encounter with Xander.


    As such, her anger boiled over. “If Xander didn''t do anything to her, why would she appear so terrified?”


    After gesturing for Avery to calm down, Alina poured Nina a ss of water and patted her arm


    sympathetically. “You''re safe now. How did you end up getting into trouble when you just went out to


    get some takeaway? Who would cause someone as kind as you any trouble?”


    Alina was cognizant of how close Avery and Nina were.


    Thetter had a vibrant and straightforward personality in contrast to the gentler and more introverted


    Avery.


    Although Nina had the tendency to get too reckless and carried away, her heart was in the right ce,


    which was the reason why Alina had a soft spot for her.


    ke added warmly, “Child, you''re Avery''s best friend and like a granddaughter to me. If you have


    suffered in any way, you have to tell us. We will seek justice on your behalf.”


    Teary-eyed, Nina took the ss of water from Alina''s hand. “Thank you, Old Mr. Moore, Ms. Rumpley,


    Ery... I''m fine. Fortunately, Mr. Moore arrived in time, so Xander didn''t do anything to me, really.”


    At that moment, Nina was touched by the attention she received.


    Even though she wasn''t rted to the Rumpley family by blood, they treated her as if she was one of


    them. Furthermore, they didn''t just pay lip service, as the concern they felt for her was genuine.


    They were the opposite of her own blood-sucking family who only cared about the money she had.


    Even when she fell seriously sick, her own family couldn''t be bothered to show any concern.


    “I''m d to know nothing happened.” Avery heaved a sigh of relief before inquiring curiously, “How did


    you end up getting on Xander''s nerves? What in the world happened?”


    In a droning tone, Nina exined, “I ran into Aaron and his fiancée near the mall. After they left their


    car, I used the opportunity to vandalize it with paint. Unfortunately, Xander caught me on the spot and


    demanded I pay for the damages, which was ten percent of the car''s list price. Since it cost three


    million, there''s no way I can afford the three hundred thousand required. I''m sorry to have caused you


    and Mr. Moore trouble again, Ery...”


    Given how expensive the Bugatti Veyron was, she just didn''t have the money forpensation.


    Left with no choice, she could only seek Avery''s help despite her reluctance to do so. In truth, she


    didn''t know Avery knew Xander and assumed that only Cayden did. Thus, she had hoped that Cayden


    would help her persuade Xander to reduce thepensation amount on Avery''s ount.


    That aside, the real reason Nina ended up traumatized was due to Xander''s collection of exotic pets—a


    terrifying python, a ferocious mastiff, and many more.


    Due to the altercation between them and something she had said, Xander locked her up in a dark room


    full of snakes. As long and spineless creatures were Nina''s worst fear, she almost peed her pants in


    terror.


    Although it was subsequently known that the snakes were not venomous, Nina could never forget the


    cold and disgusting feeling of them curling up her body.


    Upon hearing Nina''s exnation, Avery immediately understood what happened as a look of outrage


    descended upon her face.


    She proceeded to reassure her friend upon recalling what Aaron had done to Nina. “You didn''t do


    anything wrong. That b*stard, Aaron, deserves karma and to be taught a lesson. In fact, I think you''re


    being too soft by vandalizing his car only with paint. If I were you, I would have burnt his car with a


    bucket of kerosene. However, the legal repercussions...”


    Cayden was left speechless.


    Since when did my gentle wife have such a violent side?


    “Ery, I...” Nina suddenly felt bad.


    She had expected Avery to reprimand her. Instead, thetter chose to provide her with unconditional


    support.


    ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org .


    Nina''s past would forever be a scar on Avery''s heart.


    If Nina didn''t find happiness, Avery would feel guilty for the rest of her life.


    Meanwhile, Xavier knocked on the door in the midst of their discussion.


    After greeting everyone in the ward, he walked off with Cayden to a quiet part of the corridor before


    entering a smoking room.


    With his smoking addiction acting up, Cayden took out a cigarette for himself before handing Xavier


    one.


    After lighting Cayden''s cigarette, Xavier took a puff from his as he cut straight to the chase. “Mr. Moore,


    based on the model and te number of the car provided by Mr. Zachary, we discovered that the te


    is a fake. That said, we found a lead afterbing through the surveince feeds of Ackleton''s streets.


    The perpetrator is a thirty-five-year-old male who is one-hundred-and-seventy-five centimeters tall.


    Before running over Ms. Rumpley, he received a call, but the voice over the line was using a voice


    modtor. The SIM card was also destroyed after the ident. This shows how cunning the


    mastermind is.”


    As Cayden broke into a smirk, the smoke he puffed out seemed to carry a hint of his displeasure.


    “Does this mean that you have not found anything?”


    Stumped by his boss'' remark, Xavier took a puff of his cigarette before continuing, “Not entirely. The


    perpetrator is cunning and good at hiding his tracks, so I reckon he has some countersurveince


    skills. But even so, half an hour ago, Jake picked up his signal and tracked him down via satellite.”


    Jake Jackson was Avery''s driver who, together with Xavier, was in charge of investigating the ident.