Chapter 427 Holding on Just to See You One Last Time
John's words made Aurora's heart leap into her throat.
"Can you say that again?"
John replied, "Allan just told me there's something fishy about Sandra's case."
"But she literally set herself on fire right in front of us," Aurora said, immediately thinking of Lori's disguise. "Could it be that the Sandra that day was someone else? But who would die in Sandra's place? That doesn't make sense."
"Aurora, don't get too worked up. I'm just saying it's a possibility," John said. "Just keep an eye out."
John and Allan had always had doubts about that fire. It seemed reasonable, yet there were many inconsistencies.
Allan had never given up on finding out the truth.
Aurora looked at John. "What do you think?"
"At the time, someone was pretending to be you. Given Sandra's hatred for you, what would she do first upon entering the room?"
Aurora responded instinctively, "She would definitely check on me first. If I were lying there, she wouldn't immediately pour gasoline."
"That's the issue," John said, hitting the nail on the head. "Allan and I discussed it. Initially, I thought Sandra might have assumed you were unconscious, but that doesn't make sense."
The more Aurora listened, the colder her palms became. "Whether I was unconscious or not, she would have checked on me first. If she had, she would have known it was a dummy. If she knew it was a dummy, why would she set the fire and die with it?"
When you reversed the events, many things didn't add up.
At the traffic light, John pondered, "I think Sandra was in a hurry to set herself on fire that day."
John didn't want to worry Aurora, but he had to warn her just in case.
"By the way, I saw Oren today. He bought a bouquet of lilies. Karolyn told me Oren was going to pay respects to a friend," Aurora said. "Oren was probably visiting Sandra's grave."
John frowned. "After Sandra's incident, Oren disappeared, too. We should be cautious."
Aurora sighed. "Worrying about things that haven't happened is pointless. I'll keep an eye out. By the way, I want to check on Lori. Can you take me there? She's not feeling well today."
"Sure!"
John turned left at the traffic light and headed to Lori's place.
When they arrived at Lori's house, they saw that Todd was there, too.
Todd was sitting in his car, not getting out or going inside.
Aurora and John exchanged a glance and got out of the car. Aurora walked over. "Why aren't you going in? Or did you get kicked out?"
"Aurora, I'm in a bad mood. Leave me alone," Todd said irritably, running his hand through his hair and lighting a cigarette.
Such a bad temper?
It seemed Lori and Todd had another fight.
Aurora gave John a look, signaling him to handle Todd while she went inside to check on Lori.
Aurora knew Lori's house code and entered it directly.
Todd looked envious. "I don't even have the code. I had to climb through the window last time."
John walked over and leaned against Todd's car door. "Don't envy my wife. Give me a cigarette."
Todd tossed a pack to John. "What are you two doing here?"
John asked back, "What are you doing here?"
Todd sighed. "Don't ask. John, I can't complete the task you gave me. I thought I was the hunter, but it turns out she's the predator. She only wants my body, never intended to give me her heart."
John raised an eyebrow. "Feeling that down? Tell me, what's going on?"
Todd sighed again. "I went to Aurora's shop earlier and heard that Lori was nauseous and sleepy. I thought she might be pregnant and rushed over. She said there's no way it's my child."
John gave Todd a sympathetic look. "It's okay. The child isn't yours, but Lori is. Can't you be more generous? Be the bigger person? Lori may be wild, but she's a perfect match for you. You wouldn't be losing out."
"John." Todd was so angry that he could spit blood. "Aren't you being a bit too biased? She's your sister-in-law, and we've been friends for twenty years."
John took a drag of his cigarette. "Then I can't help you."
Todd deflated, staring at Lori's house. "If she were really pregnant, I might not be so upset."
"What exactly happened?"
"She isn't with anyone else, and she isn't pregnant. She's been taking medication."
That was the harshest truth.
Todd laughed bitterly. "I tried to retreat to advance, to draw her closer bit by bit, only to find out today that she just wants my body."
John was silent.
Why did he find that a bit funny?
John patted Todd's shoulder. "She doesn't want anyone else's, just yours. That means she still cares about you."
"Bullshit. She just sees me as..." Todd couldn't finish, feeling both angry and frustrated. "John, can you give me some advice?"
John blew out a smoke ring. "Lori's situation is unique. Instead of asking me, you should study her past. Someone who started fending for herself as a teenager, wanting her heart is both hard and easy."
With John's reminder, Todd realized something. "Lori lost her mother early. In her mind, the father figure is missing. Richard is dead, and Jack..."
"Jack isn't dead," John said. "He pulled a disappearing act."
Todd was stunned, then understood. "Where is he?"
"At Ironclad Union."
John didn't say more.
Todd said, "Forget Jack. Right now, I only care about winning over Lori."
John thought for a moment and said, "If you can make her only want your body, maybe there's hope for a change."
"John, you mean..." Todd seemed to see a glimmer of hope.
John looked him over. "Go home and work out more. Get some supplements from Gary. Don't wear yourself out."
Todd was silent.
Aurora went inside and headed upstairs to find Lori.
Lori was sitting in a beanbag chair, wiping her nosebleed. Since coming back, her stomach pain had stopped, but she kept having nosebleeds.
After using the last tissue, Lori lay back on the chair, her nose and face smeared with blood.
Aurora opened the door and saw blood-stained tissues everywhere, and Lori lying motionless on the chair with blood on her face.
Aurora was terrified. "Lori, Lori, what's going on? Why is there so much blood? Don't scare me!"
Hearing Aurora's voice, Lori suddenly felt mischievous. She weakly opened her eyes. "Aurora, I finally held on until you came. I'm dying. I've been holding on just to see you one last time."
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
