Chapter 90
“Yeah, totally. After she signed the deal with the Starlight Hotel, she quit her job and, from what I heard through. the grapevine, took off to another city to carve out her own path. But nobody seems to know exactly where she went,” Kent said.
Brandon furrowed his brow even deeper. So she quit right after sealing the deal with the Starlight Group, which meant she’d left two years ago. And she changed her phone number and WhatsApp too.
“Did her coworkers mention why she did it?” Brandon asked.
They said she had a falling out with her family, decided to cut ties and start fresh,” Kent couldn’t help but dish out the dirt, “Apparently, her parents always favored boys over girls, and they were always on her case to cough up cash for her brother’s house and his mortgage.”
“And then there was the whole marriage pressure cooker. They didn’t give a hoot about what she wanted, just kept on setting her up on blind dates. If the guy’s family was loaded and the wedding gift was fat, they’d try to strong–arm her into getting hitched. They wanted to use the gift to prop up her brother, and that’s why she flipped her lid.”
“Her parents even made a scene at her workplace, airing their dirty laundry for all to see. That’s why she quit her job, ghosted her family, and changed her digits before heading out of town on her own.”
Kent sighed, “But no one at work knows where she’s gone off to. It’s kinda sad, a girl all alone out there.”
After his moment of reflection, Kent remembered that Brandon had contacted him to track someone down, so he quickly got back on track, “Mr. Crawley, what do you need Susan for? How about I give it a shot and try to reach her?”
Brandon just grunted a “Hmm” before hanging up.
But this was no small feat for Kent.
Susan had left in a huff because of the drama her parents stirred up at her company – her family’s petty drama became the talk of the town, making her feel she couldn’t stay a day longer, so she handed in her resignation on the spot.
She ignored the company’s pleas to stay, left all the corporate chat groups, posted a Facebook farewell, and ditched her WhatsApp and phone number. No one knew where she’d gone.
Kent went out of his way to ask Susan’s close friends and classmates, but none of them had a clue about her whereabouts, although they were all aware of her parents leeching off her and causing a ruckus at her
company.
Kent figured that was why Susan cut ties with everyone else too, not wanting her family to track her down.
He even went to Susan’s parents for answers.
But the moment he mentioned Susan’s name, her parents started cursing up a storm, calling her ungrateful, accusing her of not giving a damn about them, off who knows where living the high life.
Their language was so foul and lowbrow that Kent, an outsider, couldn’t stand it and gave them a piece of his mind before leaving.
Kent had exhausted all his options with no luck, and finally, he had no choice but to hire a professional detective agency, which would take some time.
Kent’didn’t dare drag his feet, so he promptly updated Brandon on the lack of progress.
So she’s just dicappeared off the face of the earth, huh?”
Brandoria tone and expression were calm on the video call, but Kerit broke out in a cold sweat,
rectly to just going to take some time, Kent cautiously replied, But her manda say that maybe
Chapter 90
could get in touch with Susan; they were besties.”
“Why do you think I’m looking for Susan?” Brandon asked, looking at him.
Kent, quick on the uptake, got
he hint but didn’t dare to make another peep, sneaking a glance at the background behind Brandon on his phone screen – the interior of the Starlight Hotel.
With the Starlight Hotel branches all over the world, all decked out in the same style, Kent couldn’t be Brandon had actually jetted off to Wye City.
be sure if
“Are you in Wye City now?” Kent couldn’t help but blurt out, even though he was usually on eggshells around Brandon, “Didn’t you say you and Sophia were done?”
Brandon just gave him a cold look, his eyes unfazed by Kent’s words.
“If you can’t find her, you’re out”
Kent immediately clammed up. “Got it.”
Brandon glanced at him and abruptly ended the video call, then looked at the resume on his desk and picked it
- up.
It was Sophia’s resume, which he’d had someone investigate. It showed her excellent grades over the past two years, graduating with honors.
But there wasn’t any work or internship experience listed.
It had a home address which might be outdated or intentionally false; when Brandon checked, she wasn’t living there.
The phone number was disconnected too
She had vanished from everyone’s life right after high school graduation, just as cleanly and without a backward glance.
She hadn’t shown up for the graduation ceremony, nor had she been present for the subsequent farewells.
Just like the year she finished her test.
Brandon exhaled softly, set down the resume, and stood up.
He stood before the window, gazing at the faintly lit cityscape outside.
Somewhere in this city, there might be a light on for Sophia, or maybe not.
She could be here, or she might have left long ago.
Maybe, just like she said, as long as she didn’t return, their paths will never cross again.
Not crossing paths again.
Brandon’s gaze shifted from the dark of the night back to the resume on the table, stared at it for a while, then tossed it aside, his expression returning to its usual icy calm.
He leaned over to grab his phone and called Don, forcing his focus back to work.
If they were never to meet again, then so be it. He and Sophia had already ended things completely two years
ago.
He had been in town for a while now, and he couldn’t stay much longer.
Don was surprised to receive his call. “You’re in Wye City? Why did you suddenly come over?”
Brandon had arrived and left abruptly years ago: Don hadn’t even had the chance to catch up.
e got some business.” Brandon replied, just as succinct as before. “Are you at the company? I need to see
bout something
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“Yeah, I’m here. Come on over Don leaned back in his chair, “I’d be hard–pressed to make time if you wanted to meet up outside, but since you’re coming to the office, it’s perfect. We can chat and grab a bite together. I haven’t had dinner after work yet.”
Brandon nodded. “Im on my way.”
The hotel’s just a stone’s throw from Don’s company – a quick spin by car, maybe 15 minutes tops.
By the time Brandon rolled up to Don’s place, some of the crew were still burning the midnight oil. He made a beeline for Don’s office.
Don was in the middle of dishing out tasks to one of his team members, but when he caught sight of the tall figure looming in the doorway, he shifted gears on the spot and said to his subordinate, “You can take off now, just tweak the plan like we chewed over before.”
Once the underling had left, Don stood up and beamed a grin at Brandon, “Well, if it isn’t Mr. Rare Appearance himself! What brings you to my neck of the woods today?”
Brandon shot him a lock, “Obviously, I’m here on business.”
As his voice trailed off, the documents in his hand made a soft landing on the desk, and he cut to the chase, “Did Patricia and my dad hand over the traditional resort project to your company or what?”
‘Chapter 91
