Chapter 379 Natalie Forces Hailey to Her Death
They appeared to be quite close.
Lucas's heartbeat accelerated, and almost without thinking, he pressed on the photo and saved it.
Just then, Lilian approached suddenly. "Lucas, can I play with this?"
Lucas, startled, instinctively straightened his back and placed his phone face down. "What?"
"Did I frighten you?" Lilian looked at him with a hint of suspicion.
"Yes." He nodded vigorously, resembling someone guilty of a misdeed.
"What did you want to play with?"
Lilian pointed to a robot on the table and, upon receiving his nod of approval, she moved toward eagerly.
"By the way, do you know the people we met today?"
Lucas adjusted his expression and calmly replied, “Yes, I know them.”
Then, he added playfully, “One of the girls confessed to me before.”
"Oh," Lilian replied solemnly, shaking her head, "That’s unfortunate."
"Why would that be unfortunate?"
"Well, I have had someone confess their feelings to me before, and I didn’t like it. I also have an unwanted fiancé who pesters me incessantly."
‘A fiancé?’
Lucas felt as if he had been doused with cold water, and after a moment, he asked, "When did you get engaged?"
Lilian paused to think. "It was quite some time ago; I can’t recall exactly. It was arranged during my childhood. My father mentioned that canceling the engagement would be up to me. There’s nothing he could do to help."
"You don’t like him?" Lucas held his breath.
"No, I regard him more as a brother," Lilian mentioned casually, as if she were discussing mere trivialities.
Lucas sighed in relief, but after that, he could not help but send a message to his organization, requesting an investigation into Lilian's fiancé.
Then, he picked up his phone and responded to his friends.
Lucas: [I haven’t confessed to her yet. When I do and I succeed, I’ll treat all of you!]
The group erupted into cheers and playful jeers, proclaiming that Lucas had to redouble his efforts.
As the excitement died down, Lucas exhaled deeply and rubbed his temples. He recognized that he was becoming increasingly far from being truthful with his sister.
After bidding farewell to Lilian, Natalie proceeded to her university to discuss ‘Fun Challenge’ with her counselor.
The agreement was that if she excelled in the Fun Challenge, she would be eligible for early graduation. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, she had to withdraw from the challenge midway, and she was eager to find out if the university would still consider allowing her to graduate ahead of schedule.
Upon reaching the lower floor of the main building, Natalie received a message from an unidentified sender. It contained a link, accompanied by no further explanation.
Feeling uneasy, Natalie debated whether to open the link. In the end, she decided to click on it, revealing a video.
The scene depicted a desolate suburb, devoid of identifiable landmarks, save for the peak of a tall structure.
"Natalie! It has been a long time!"
A woman appeared in the frame, her hair disheveled and resembling a bird's nest, dressed in ragged attire akin to a beggar's, with chapped lips and a pallid complexion. She appeared even more ghostly than Natalie remembered.
"Hailey?" Natalie uttered her name almost reflexively.
Hailey seemed somewhat invigorated. Typically, she was composed, even in moments of excessive enthusiasm. Yet, there was an unsettling blend of excitement and eeriness in her demeanor now.
"Can you guess my current location? Or what I am planning?"
"It's impossible for you to guess!"
"But don’t worry, you’ll learn soon enough. Don’t forget to check the Internet!"
"I’ve prepared a big surprise for you!"
The video concluded abruptly, leaving Hailey's menacing expression frozen on the screen.
Roger had deployed numerous individuals to gather any details about Hailey. It seemed as though she had vanished without a trace, disappearing from the teeming city. In such a bustling environment, only two types of individuals could remain unnoticed: those who were dead and those who lived yet resembled the dead. Hailey belonged to the latter category.
At last, Roger received information from one of his subordinates and located Hailey in a desolate area. She appeared emaciated and wore ragged clothing, presenting a disheveled appearance.
Hailey stood on a rooftop, with the cold spring breeze blowing around her. She had become so frail that it seemed as if the wind could carry her away at any moment.
“Roger?" Hailey expressed surprise upon noticing his sudden presence. "You actually found me!"
Roger immediately recognized that Hailey was in a profoundly abnormal psychological state.
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
"To take you away," Roger responded succinctly. He had already instructed his subordinate to detain her. However, Hailey's subsequent remark stopped him cold.
"Roger, did you forget? You were the one who rescued me initially."
"What?" Roger froze.
It was clear that Hailey's mind was not in a normal state. She spun around and continued, "Roger, I understand why you saved me from under Oliver's watchful eyes."
Roger fixed his gaze on Hailey, hanging on her every word.
"You were attempting to use me as a pawn to drive a wedge between Natalie and Oliver, weren't you? Fear not, I’ll grant you an opportunity, after all… I don’t want Natalie to live a happy life!"
Roger felt as though he had been struck on the head, his mind in turmoil.
‘It couldn’t have been me! I wouldn’t do such a thing!’
Yet, considering Hailey's compromised mental state and her lack of any apparent reason to lie, the remaining possibility was... Nathan!
"Roger, I recall the warning you gave me. You said that if I harmed Natalie in any way, you’d end my life!” Hailey said, climbing up the stairs.
With a blend of madness and joy, Hailey cried out, “Goodbye!”
In the next moment, she jumped off.
"Sir? How should we proceed with her?"
The subordinate was visibly unsettled by Hailey's erratic behavior.
"Go check on her." Roger directed his team toward the site.
Following the examination, the subordinate gravely informed Roger, "She has passed away, sir. What should we do next? Should we clean this up?"
"It doesn’t matter.” Roger displayed a lack of concern for Hailey's fate. He motioned for his team to leave the scene. His thoughts were now overwhelmingly occupied by Nathan.
‘That detestable man! What on earth had he done?’
"Why is there a vehicle from The Entertainment Station here? Could the reporters be following the same route as ours?"
Shortly after merging onto the main road, Roger's team spotted a familiar vehicle.
Jolted from his moment of rest, Roger urgently commanded, "Turn back! Now!”
Meanwhile, Natalie exited the building, her attention glued to her phone in search of relevant news online.
Abruptly, a shocking headline appeared, implicating Natalie.
[Natalie Forces Hailey to Her Death!]
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