Chapter 669

Noreen’s brow furrowed slightly. She couldn’t think of any reason he would be calling her. After a few seconds of deliberation, she rejected the call.

Some connections were best left severed. She wasn’t going to let a single phone call ruin her perfectly good mood.

A gust of cold wind whipped at her dress, and Noreen felt the biting chill of the coming winter. She hoped Colby would be back with the car soon. All she wanted was to go home and get a good night’s sleep.

Meanwhile, Coley was holding an umbrella for Seth, shielding him from the winter rain.

Seth had hesitated for a long time before finally dialing the number. But the moment the call connected, he faltered. He shouldn’t have called. Noreen was at the peak of her success, celebrating a joyous moment. She didn’t need him interfering.

So he ended the call.

One rejected, one hung up, both at the same instant. Neither of them realized.

Coley looked at him, puzzled. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing,” Seth said, putting his phone away. He turned to the law enforcement officers waiting for him. “Sorry to keep you waiting.”

An officer immediately stepped forward and placed handcuffs on his wrists. Seth complied without any resistance.

Coley’s brow was tightly knit. “I’ll keep a close eye on your father’s side to guard against any retaliation.”

Seth’s gaze fell to the cold steel shackles on his wrists. He paused for two seconds before speaking. “Keep an eye on Noreen, too.”

Coley was clearly confused. “She has absolutely nothing to do with you anymore. It’s unlikely she’ll be dragged into this.”

“Just in case.”

He couldn’t take that risk. He wouldn’t.

“Alright,” Coley conceded.

With that, Seth followed the officers into the car The wail of the siren cut through the silent night as the

vehicle drove past the man-magnet

lake at the front

of the hotel.

Directly

across the lake was The Gilded

Sands, where Winrich was holding its gala.

Colby’s car still hadn’t arrived. Noreen stared aimlessly into the rainy night, her mind relaxed and empty.

As the siren grew louder, her gaze slowly focused on the speeding police car. But just as quickly, she looked away. The car disappeared at the end of the street.

Seth was seated in the middle of the back seat, but as they passed The Gilded Sands, he instinctively looked toward the hotel. Even through the tinted glass, he clearly saw a familiar silhouette.

But the car was moving too fast for him to get a good look. The figure, along with the rapidly receding scenery, vanished from his sight.

He didn’t look away for a long time. Even as the world outside returned to silence,

he couldn’t shake the turbulent undercurrent in his heart.

After a long while, he finally pulled his gaze from the neon-lit streetscape outside the window and murmured softly, “It’s a shame there’s no moon tonight.”

The heavens weren’t on his side. The night was too hazy, and he couldn’t see her face.

Three days later, Wilbur sent a message from Northcrest to their group chat. There’s been an earthquake in Northcrest he wrote,

asking his dear ‘senior brothers and ‘junior sister’ if they had been

affected. sŵnovels

Marcus was the first to reply. “Feeling it, bro. But the impact isn’t too severe. We can handle it.”

Eason wrote, “The bigger the storm, the more expensive the fish.”

Henry was more direct, sending a screenshot of Brooke Group’s stock chart. It was bleeding red.

Wilbur felt a bit better. “Our junior sister is the lucky one, all the way in Rivercrest City, completely unaffected.”