Chapter 161 Gabriel Had a Few Drinks
At night, Cynthia had already left and returned to her residence near the police station.
Danielle lay in Jessica's arms, acting coquettish, wanting Jessica to tell her a story before going to sleep.
After finally finishing the story of Sleeping Beauty, Danielle still didn't feel sleepy at all. Her little head rubbed against Jessica's arms, refusing to sleep.
When Jessica's phone rang, and she picked it up, Danielle sneakily raised her eyes to peek.
It was a message from Cynthia on WhatsApp.
Cynthia: [I've arrived, you and Danielle should rest early.]
Just as Jessica was about to reply, she suddenly noticed Danielle peeking at her phone, so she raised her hand and gently tapped Danielle's little head, saying, "Why aren't you sleeping yet?"
Danielle pouted. "Mommy, why hasn't Uncle Spencer come by these days?"
Just after Jessica replied to Cynthia's message and exited the chat page, Gabriel's name was right there.
But ever since Mackenzie sent him that emoji three days ago, he hadn't replied at all.
Every time Gabriel appeared in front of her, it caught her off guard.
But now, he seemed to have disappeared into thin air.
Even though Jessica now knew his personal number, had his WhatsApp, and knew the location of his company, each seemed to be separated by insurmountable barriers.
In this Xyleria, anyone associated with the Harriman family was already considered elite, displaying an air of superiority, especially someone like Gabriel.
It was like the time she found out his true identity and drove him away. If he didn't show up on his own, Jessica would never have seen him.
When someone you're used to disappears suddenly from your life, all messages seem to vanish into thin air.
"Mommy, can I say goodnight to Uncle Spencer before sleeping?" Danielle used her soft little hand to rub against Jessica's body, her voice full of pleading.
Jessica almost gave in but firmly said, "No, it's already late. Uncle Spencer might still be working or already asleep."
"I just want to say goodnight; I miss Uncle Spencer." Danielle pouted and kissed Jessica's cheek a few times. "Mommy, let me talk to Uncle Spencer."
Jessica glanced at her phone, hesitated for a moment, and Danielle had already reached out her little hand to grab the phone, saying with a smile, "Mommy, please!"
Jessica gave her a stern look, her voice softening, "It's really late."
With the soft little hand already taking the phone from Jessica, Danielle opened Gabriel's profile. Even though she couldn't read it, she recognized the name and remembered Uncle Spencer's grey avatar.
Seeing Danielle press the voice message button quickly, Jessica's refusal was gulped back to avoid her voice being recorded.
"Uncle Spencer, I miss you!" After saying this, Danielle wanted to continue speaking, but Jessica glanced at her. "Didn't we agree on just one goodnight?"
"Sorry, mommy, I forgot." Danielle stuck out her tongue mischievously and quickly said into the phone, "Mommy wants me to sleep. Goodnight, Uncle Spencer!"
Seeing Danielle kiss the phone three times, Jessica quickly took back the phone, set it aside, covered Danielle with the blanket, and sternly said, "Sleep!"
Only then did Danielle happily hug Jessica, intending to sleep obediently, but whispered softly in her arms, "But I want to wait for Uncle Spencer to say goodnight to me before sleeping."
"He's busy, and he might not have time to reply to you. Sleep now."
"Okay."
Before Danielle could finish her sentence, Jessica's phone suddenly rang, and Danielle widened her eyes to look at Jessica's phone.
"It's probably just a spam message," Jessica said as she picked up the phone again, only to be surprised to see Gabriel's name displayed on the lock screen.
"Is it Uncle Spencer?" Danielle asked excitedly.
Jessica lost in thought, glanced at the phone, opened it, clicked on WhatsApp, and saw that Gabriel had sent a two-second voice message.
Gabriel said, "Goodnight."
His deep, soothing voice carried a hint of patience and warmth, like comforting a child on a cool, quiet autumn night.
Upon hearing Spencer's goodnight, Danielle kept her word, smiling and closing her eyes, snuggling obediently in Jessica's arms to sleep.
Jessica, however, stared at the phone screen in disbelief.
'Ignoring me but replying to Danielle?' she thought.
Even after Danielle quickly fell asleep in her arms, Jessica still stared at the quiet phone screen.
After Gabriel replied with a goodnight to Danielle, he returned to his usual aloof silence, not even sending an emoji.
Jessica stared at the screen for a while before finally setting the phone down heavily.
Filled with questions, she found herself unable to sleep.
On the other side, inside the Maple Leaf Club, Gabriel had a few drinks tonight due to the social event.
The Maple Leaf Club was a private club located near the City Hall in the southern district of Xyleria. Unlike other upscale clubs, it was not open to the public. Only esteemed individuals from various groups and upper-class figures in Xyleria received invitations to this exclusive club. There were fewer than fifty individuals with access rights to this club, and only those with access rights could bring guests and there were restrictions on the number of guests.
Tonight, Gabriel had a meeting here to discuss the construction project in the southern district of the Bay Area.
It was now late at night, and the Xyleria was illuminated by neon lights like twinkling stars.
Justin Torres from the City Hall walked out of the private room and approached him, asking, "Mr. Harriman, why aren't you coming in?"
Gabriel put away his phone and returned to the private room.
After days of continuous work and socializing, even the most resilient person would feel tired. He closed his eyes and leaned back on the sofa to rest.
The sounds of the partners clinking glasses and the giggles of the public relations ladies their had invited to accompany him in drinking filled the room.
Perhaps it was the atmosphere that made it impossible to truly relax. Gabriel closed his eyes, but uncontrollable thoughts and voices replaced the sounds around him.
The steady and serious voice of Landon echoed in his mind and ears, "Mr. Harriman, while investigating Trinity, who has been scheming behind the scenes, I unexpectedly discovered information about Jessica's family background."
"She and Trinity are half-sisters, with Eugene Jenner, the head of the Sunroy Group, as their father."
"Five years ago, Jessica was removed from the Jenner family due to an accidental death."
"Additionally, Miss Jessica was a top student at the Xyleria Dance Academy and was supposed to be recommended to the Central Ballet or go abroad for further dance studies. However, shortly after her 'accidental death' five years ago, her dance instructor at the academy, Professor Stanley Rogers, also ran into trouble. It is said that he was reported and arrested for molesting children and is still in custody."
