Chapter 479 Investigation
Vikram slid into the passenger seat of Jasper's car, nerves jangling.
"Jasper, lemme explain," Vikram blurted out.
The second he got in, the tension in the car was thick enough to cut with a knife. Vikram quickly added, "It's not what you think, man! I was just saying goodbye to Adeline, Lauren, and Blake!"
Vikram stumbled over his words, then finally found a decent excuse after a long pause. "Yeah, I came to say goodbye! Adeline said after this competition, she’d take Lauren and Blake and leave Radiance Springs. I thought if she left, I might never see her again, so I came to say goodbye."
Jasper's vibe from the back seat got even icier.
Vikram shivered, cleared his throat. "Jasper, seriously, I just came to say goodbye."
Jasper turned to stare out the window.
In Blue Bay, the living room lights went out, and the kids' room upstairs lit up.
From a distance, Jasper could see Adeline holding Lauren and leading Blake into the kids' room.
Jasper's eyes darkened, his voice rough. "When are they leaving?"
Vikram blinked. "What?"
Jasper squinted, his voice dropping. "I asked you, when are they leaving?"
Vikram was caught off guard.
He didn't expect Jasper to not blow up but to ask a random question? But answering this was way easier than explaining his thing with Adeline.
Vikram quickly cleared his throat. "Adeline said she has some stuff to sort out with Mia. Once that's done, she'll leave. Shouldn't take long, maybe a week."
Jasper's eyes narrowed.
A week! He remembered how he acted towards Adeline on the hospital rooftop. How he left her alone up there 'cause he was worried about Luna.
Jasper let out a barely-there sigh. He really was a jerk. Even with so little time left, he couldn't keep his cool and ended up hurting her.
"Jasper." Seeing Jasper lost in thought, Vikram took a deep breath and smiled at him through the rearview mirror. "I know you don't wanna see Adeline, Lauren, and Blake go. How about this? In the time left, if you need anything, I'll help out!"
Jasper snapped out of it and gave Vikram a cold look. "You were at Blue Bay for two whole hours. You didn't just say goodbye, did you?"
Vikram hesitated. "We talked about other stuff too."
Jasper's stare was ice-cold.
Even without saying a word, Jasper's presence was crushing. Vikram felt like he was under a mountain.
Under Jasper's intense gaze, Vikram licked his lips. "We also talked about Luna."
Jasper squinted. "What about her?"
Vikram's palms were sweaty, but he pushed on. "Adeline said she found out today that Luna has a terminal illness, but she thinks Luna might be faking it. She wants to check if Luna's really sick. She said it's the last thing she can do to repay you for everything."
After saying this, Vikram felt his shirt sticking to his skin with cold sweat. This wasn't his first lie, but it was the most nerve-wracking.
Jasper's eyes narrowed dangerously as he looked at Vikram. "Adeline really said that?"
Vikram nodded, his voice shaky. "Yeah."
Vikram added, "Like I said, Adeline mentioned she has some stuff to handle and once that's done, she'll leave. She wants to see if Luna's faking her illness."
Jasper gave Vikram a suspicious look, then turned his gaze back to Blue Bay.
The kids' room lights were off, and the whole villa was dark, except for Adeline's bedroom, where the light was still on.
From the shadow on the curtain, it looked like she was typing on her laptop.
Jasper let out a barely-there sigh.
Even after everything, Adeline still wanted to do something for him before leaving Radiance Springs.
His heart felt a bit warmer, but his face stayed stone-cold.
Jasper asked, "Adeline wants to dig into Luna. What did you say?"
Vikram straightened up, cold sweat dripping. "I told her if she wants to investigate, she should go for it."
Jasper turned away, leaning back against the car's leather seat with a hint of coldness on his lips. "Bull. You and Luna were classmates abroad. She was already terminally ill back then. You should know better than anyone if she's faking it."
Vikram bit his lip. "Yeah."
Back when Luna was abroad, she was always in the hospital 'cause of emotional issues. But the docs said her illness was more in her head.
In other words, Luna's mind believed she should be having an episode, and her body played along, showing the symptoms. Basically, she was a pro at faking it. The doctors didn't expose her on the spot out of sympathy for her efforts.
Later, he and Luna broke up. When they met again, her illness had somehow turned terminal. And it was diagnosed by a top international medical team, who said she had less than a year to live.
Vikram didn't get how Luna got a top medical team to lie for her, but he knew she had dirt on him, so he had to help her cover it up.
Jasper, in the back seat, saw through Vikram's anxiety and squinted. "Why so nervous?"
Vikram bit his lip and wiped the sweat from his forehead. "I wanted Adeline to stay in Radiance Springs longer, so you could have more time with her."
Vikram continued, "So I lied to Adeline. I said I didn't know if Luna was faking it and hoped she'd keep investigating."
He then put on a super timid look. "You won't pull your investment 'cause I lied to Adeline, will you?"
Jasper gave him a cold stare. "What do you think?"
Even though Vikram's lie was wrong, if Adeline's suspicion about Luna faking her illness was shot down right away, would she leave immediately?
Jasper closed his eyes and said coldly, "Get out. I won't change my mind about the investment."
Vikram was stunned, then quickly nodded and got out of the car. "Thanks, Jasper!"
He hurried back to his car and sped off.
"Mr. Foster, are we heading back?" After Vikram left, Ryan, in the driver's seat, frowned and asked.
Jasper raised his hand to rub his temples. "Yeah, let's go."
As Ryan started the car, he lowered his voice and asked, "Is Adeline really gonna investigate Ms. Jones?"
"I don't know." Jasper closed his eyes. "But tell the hospital to seal Luna's medical records."
Ryan was stunned. "If we do that, Adeline won't be able to find out if Ms. Jones is really sick."
Before he could finish, Jasper cut him off coldly, "What? You heard him. Once she finds out Luna's terminal illness is real, she'll leave. You think she should find out right away and leave Radiance Springs immediately?"
Ryan was taken aback and quickly shook his head. "No, that's not what I meant!"
He then shut his mouth, not daring to say more.
Jasper leaned back in the car seat with his eyes closed, letting out another barely-there sigh.
He knew that parting was inevitable. But if he could make her stay one more day, he would.
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