Chapter 430
Only a few people personally informed by Sophia knew about the incident, while others were still
unaware of what happened to Alexander.
Sophia''s first suspicion fell on Dillon when Alexander suddenly got into trouble. However, Felix''s
investigation showed that Dillon was still held in police custody as his kidnapping case was awaiting
trial.
Randy and Tyler were too preupied with their problems to deal with Alexander, especially with
Dillon''s mess. They couldn''t even resolve their own issues, let alone target Alexander.
Certainly, it wasn''t done by Dillon''s group.
For a moment, Sophia couldn''t think of any other suspects.
For a veteran businessman like Alexander, making enemies would be inevitable. However, it was hard
to imagine who would dare to make a move against him.
Sophia had never been so disoriented before. She couldn''t think of anything and had no clear thoughts.
Noticing her silence, Lukas asked the waiter for a cup of warm water and said to Sophia, “My people
have retrieved the hotel''s surveince footage fromst night.”
Sophia reacted and looked up at Lukas. “Should we go to the hotel now?”
“Let''s eat first.”
Sophia pursed her lips, not expressing any agreement or disagreement.
Yet, she really had no appetite.
At the same time, she knew that Lukas was looking out for her.
Lukas handed her the menu. “Order first, and after that, I''ll tell you about what happened in the
surveince footagest night.”
Sophia took the menu, nced at it, and casually ordered some dishes.
Lukas added two more dishes and sent the order. Then, he began to speak. “The surveince shows
that when Alexander returned to the hotelst night, a woman approached him. Alexander ignored her
and went straight to the elevator. However, the woman followed him inside.”
Lukas paused briefly, looked at Sophia to gauge her reaction, and then continued. “The elevator
footage shows that the woman said something to Alexander. When they reached the top floor, he didn''t
leave. Instead, he went back down with the woman, left the hotel, and drove away. We haven''t been
able to identify who the woman is yet.”
Sophia nced at Lukas. “I understand, thank you.”
She didn''t say anything further.
Lukas frowned slightly. “The woman was young and beautiful.”
At that instant, Sophia furrowed her brows. “Lukas.”
She looked at him. “He wouldn''t do that.”
Sophia had known Alexander for so many years, and although their three-year marriage was nothing to
celebrate, she had never seen him close to another woman. He had never been involved in any
scandal with other women during their marriage.
Initially, she thought Bethany was his first love. Still, after their divorce, Alexander''s attitude toward
Bethany made it clear to Sophia that it was just a y orchestrated by Bethany amidst the chaos.
She was too close to realizing the truth, so she was manipted.
Alexander had never been involved in any scandal before, and now he had even less reason to do so.
Sophia knew what Lukas wanted to say but didn''t believe it and was confident that Alexander would
never do such a thing.
“I didn''t mean it that way, Sophia. I think that this woman might be our breakthrough.”
Sophia pursed her lips. “I think so too.”
The sudden appearance of this woman, Alexander''s decision not to exit the elevator even after
reaching his floor, and his returning to the ground floor and leaving with the woman raised many
questions.
Sophia had no appetite and could only eat a few bites before losing interest.
Lukas didn''t say anything. After paying the bill, he took her to the hotel.
Lukas'' assistant had alreadymunicated with the hotel staff, so they went directly to the manager''s
office when they arrived.
Given the prominent status of the Dawson family and Lukas himself, the hotel naturally wouldn''t refuse
their request to view the surveince footage.
Alexander returned to the hotel around ten past eleven after dropping Sophia off at the Dawson
residence.
From the surveince room, it was clear that Alexander entered the hotel alone, and the woman Lukas
mentioned followed him inside.
The two entered the elevator and then left the hotel within ten minutes.
When Alexander and the woman came out of the elevator, his facial expression appeared no different
from usual—still wearing a cold demeanor, maintaining nearly half a meter distance between them.
There was no hint of intimacy between the two, so there was no reason to believe Alexander would
cheat on Sophia.
Moreover, this was a hotel. If Alexander and the woman wanted to hook up, they wouldn''t have needed
to leave the hotel.
This was thest footage of Alexander before his disappearance. Sophia watched it five times but
couldn''t discern anything unusual.
Lukas, who was standing next to her, turned off the surveince video. “Don''t watch it anymore.”
He nced at Sophia and then turned to the hotel manager. “Is the woman in the footage a registered
guest at the hotel?”
The hotel manager hesitated. “Mr. Dawson, I''m not sure. I''ll have someone check it right away.”
Lukas acknowledged the response and looked at Sophia, who was watching him.
He had asked the question she wanted to know the answer to.
Soon, the hotel''s front desk informed the manager that the woman who approached Alexander and left
the hotel with him was not a registered guest.
In other words, they still had no idea who the woman was.
The woman was the key, but since she wasn''t staying at Golden Hotel, investigating further into that
that would only be a waste of time.
Coincidentally, Sophia received a call from Yvonne, who had justnded and was on her way.
After hanging up, Sophia looked at Lukas, who had been with her all day. “Yvonne is on her way. You
don''t have to stay with me anymore. You can take care of your own matters.”
“I have nothing else to do today.”
Considering the situation, Lukas couldn''t possibly leave Sophia alone.
All text ? N?velD(r)a''ma.Org.
Sophia seemed fine since the morning, apart from her woeful expression.
However, Lukas knew that it was just a facade.
Despite that, Sophia had a huge ego, and he wouldn''t want to expose her pretense.
Sophia pursed her lips and ultimately didn''t refuse Lukas''pany. “In that case, could you take me to
Mapleton River?”
Sophia wanted to visit the scene, and Yvonne would join herter.
“All right.”
As the duo left the hotel, they ran into Abel, who hade to investigate and gather evidence.
Abel hesitated upon seeing the duo. “You—”
“Lieutenant Heughan,” Sophia called out to him, “I won''t hinder your investigation, but I hope to pursue
my own investigations as well.”
Lukas added, “We won''t make things difficult for you.”
Abel nodded. “If you find any new leads, please share them with us.”
“All right,” Sophia responded indifferently, “Lukas, let''s go.”
“Hey, where are you two nning to go? Mapleton River?”
“Yes,” Sophia answered confidently, leaving Abel little to say.
As evidence had already been collected when the vehicle was retrieved in the morning, the bridge had
to be reopened to the public. It couldn''t remain closed indefinitely.
Since it was a public area, Sophia and Lukas were free to visit, and Abel could do nothing to stop them.
However...
“Ms. Yarrow, we suspect that this is a premeditated murder case. The perpetrator is cunning; it won''t be
easy to solve. I understand your feelings, but please trust the police. For your safety, it''s best to stay
away from this matter.”
The car''s brakes had been tampered with, and surveince footage from the bridgest night showed
that Alexander''s car plunging into the river wasn''t simply due to brake failure. Before falling into the
water, another vehicle had rear-ended his car.
Of course, these details were confidential, and Abel couldn''t disclose them to Sophia. All he could do
was subtly warn her.
“Thank you, Lieutenant Heughan. I understand.” Sophia''s response was still indifferent, making it clear
that she wasn''t heeding his advice.
Watching their retreating figures, Abel sighed.