Chapter 94 The Man with the Fox Mask
James shot a quick glance at Rachel, then dropped his head, looking all kinds of guilty. "I know about the stuff online," he said, apologizing. "I'm really sorry. It's all because of that ticket I gave you. I didn't mean for you to get dragged through the mud." He just wanted to invite her to a game, not cause a whole mess, and now he felt pretty crappy about it.
Rachel looked at him, totally surprised. "You're actually apologizing to me?"
"Shouldn't I?" James scratched his head, looking confused.
Rachel rolled her eyes. "In the six years I was with your family, do I need to remind you of your attitude? You never apologized to me."
James turned red, clearly embarrassed. "This time is different," he muttered.
Rachel asked calmly, "How is it different?"
James clutched the basketball he was holding. "It's just different," he insisted.
"Okay, if that's the case, then there's nothing more to say. You should go. Don't come back again," Rachel said, waving him off.
James didn't budge and said seriously, "Rachel, I'll help resolve this matter too."
"You'll help me resolve it?" Rachel laughed like she'd just heard a joke. "You, a high school student?"
James started, "I..."
"Enough." Rachel rubbed her temples, cutting him off impatiently. "The best help you can give me is to stay away from me. Haven't you noticed that every time I have trouble, it's brought by someone from your family?"
James, feeling defensive, mumbled, "That's not true."
"Not true?" Rachel's eyes turned icy. "James, ask yourself, since the day I married your brother, how have you all treated me? Silent treatment, verbal attacks, picking fights, false accusations—were those all fake?"
James turned pale, his lips trembling, unable to respond. Because it was all true, no denying it. He was part of the problem.
Seeing his guilty face, Rachel didn't let up. Taking a deep breath, she continued, "I never planned to hold your family accountable for these things. After the divorce, I wanted to move on. It was my own foolishness to insist on marrying into the Smith family. After the divorce, I never thought of seeking revenge on your family, just focusing on developing Skyline Corporation. But what about your family?"
Rachel clenched her fists and spat out, "Your mom often comes to trouble me, Mandy plays tricks on me, you come to bother me for no reason, and Michael is no exception."
"I'm sorry!" James apologized softly, full of shame. At that moment, he realized they had indeed caused her too much trouble.
Rachel closed her eyes, trying to calm down. "You should go. Don't come back again. If you do, I'll have security escort you out."
With that, she opened the door and went inside.
This time, she didn't look at him through the peephole like last time, nor did she call Michael to pick her up. Instead, she went straight to her room, lying on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling, feeling utterly exhausted.
Suddenly, her phone vibrated in her pocket.
Rachel propped herself up and took out her phone. It was a text from an unknown number: [Check your email.]
Rachel pursed her lips in confusion and replied: [Who are you?]
The other party quickly responded: [Someone who silently protects you.]
'Someone who silently protects me?' Rachel thought, unable to help but laugh.
Rachel texted back: [Sorry, I don't know you.]
The reply came quickly: [I know. We'll meet in the future. For now, check your email. There's a surprise waiting for you.]
A surprise? Rachel bit her lip, hesitated for a moment, and then walked over to her computer. She opened her email and saw a new message at the top of her inbox. Inside were two attachments.
One was evidence of Monica posting on Twitter. The other was a long list of names, at least a few hundred, each paired with a strange username.
Rachel squinted, already having a guess, and dialed the unknown number. She didn't expect anyone to pick up, but to her surprise, someone did. The voice on the other end was low and hoarse. "Hello."
Rachel couldn't place the voice, so she asked directly, "Is this list the surprise you mentioned?"
"That's right. These are the people who have been slandering you online. You can sue them," the man replied.
Rachel didn't feel relieved; instead, she got suspicious. "I know, but I'm curious. Why are you helping me? What's your motive?"
The man chuckled softly. "I told you, I'm someone who silently protects you. I have no motive, just hoping you're well."
"You think I'll believe that?" Rachel said coldly as she flipped through the list. How could she trust someone who wouldn't even reveal their identity?
The man sighed. "I know you don't believe me, but that's okay. You'll understand in the future."
Rachel was about to hang up when her eyes fell on a fox avatar at the bottom of the list.
This fox avatar reminded her of something. She immediately asked, "Are you the man with the fox mask who kidnapped Mandy?"
Michael had once hinted that the man who kidnapped Mandy was an admirer of hers with a fox mask.
Now, seeing a person with the codename "SlyFox" on the list, it seemed all clues pointed to his true identity.
"The man with the fox mask?" SlyFox chuckled. "So that's what I'm called. Interesting, I quite like it."
Seeing him admit it so calmly, Rachel frowned. "So it is you. What's your true identity?"
"It's not time to reveal that yet, but please believe me, I will never let you get hurt. You're the light in my life, and I will protect you for life," SlyFox's voice was gentle yet firm.
Rachel felt the sincerity in his words, and her cheeks flushed slightly. Could SlyFox really be pursuing her?
As her thoughts raced, SlyFox spoke again, "It's late. You should rest. I'll contact you again. Goodnight."
With that, the call ended abruptly.
Rachel held her phone, her mind full of questions. Since SlyFox promised to contact her again, she could ask who he was then. Anyway, the sudden concern felt unreal.
The next morning, Rachel was awakened by a call from John.
"Rachel, are you up? I'm already downstairs," John said, leaning against his flashy red sports car, looking up at the building entrance.
Rachel yawned. "I'm getting up now."
"Okay, hurry up. I'll wait for you in the car," John urged.
Rachel hung up, got out of bed, and got ready.
After freshening up, she grabbed her bag and walked to the door with her crutches.
Next to the doorknob, a letter lay quietly. Rachel picked it up, recognizing it as a letter from her pen pal, Paul. How did it get here?
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