Chapter 44 Do Not Venture to High Places
At Sinclair Villa, Olivia meticulously cleaned the bracelet she had recovered from the Parker family, setting it beside her phone on the table. Just then, the phone rang, catching her attention.
Glancing at the caller ID, Olivia was taken aback to see the name of a long-lost high school classmate flashing on the screen. She hesitated before answering, greeted by a voice tinged with urgency on the other end. "Olivia, it's me. I've had a car accident and I'm in the hospital. My family canceled my cards. Can you come and assist me with the payment? Please, I implore you."
Listening quietly, Olivia remained silent as her old classmate continued, sounding slightly uneasy. "We were classmates, Olivia. You wouldn't refuse to help, would you? Hello? Olivia, are you still there?"
"I heard you," Olivia finally replied, her tone firm. "But tell Ms. Parker that if she wishes to speak with me, she should have Nicole approach me directly instead of resorting to deception. Goodbye." With that, she ended the call, unwavering in her decision.
Meanwhile, Kayla, standing nearby, was puzzled. "How did she know it was me who asked you to call?" she inquired, surprised. "Did you drop a hint?"
The classmate thought to herself, ‘What kind of strange situation is this?’
Unknown to Kayla, Olivia's sensitivity to sound had heightened since she delved into mystical arts. Her silence moments ago stemmed from overhearing Kayla's discreet instructions to their classmate.
Olivia comprehended Kayla's use of another person's phone to contact her, given that she had already blocked the Parker family. However, what puzzled her was their persistent tendency to command others arrogantly. Even in their current plea for Olivia's assistance, they resorted to such tactics to manipulate her into seeing Nicole.
She sneered. She wouldn't go see Nicole.
Olivia carefully put away the bracelet and got up to go downstairs, preparing to bring some materials from her rental house to work on something.
As soon as she reached the second floor, she saw Tom also preparing to go downstairs.
Tom had clearly stayed up late playing games last night, as his dark shadows were very noticeable, and his expression seemed a bit weary. However, when he saw Olivia, he scoffed at her and turned to go downstairs.
Unexpectedly, Olivia suddenly called out to him. "Wait."
Tom was surprised to be stopped by her, thinking that she finally wanted to thank him. He turned his head with a bit of arrogance and asked, "What's up?"
He easily picked up various dialects that didn't belong to Haereth while chatting with online friends in the game, but he only dared to say those things privately. In front of Percival, he wouldn't dare to speak that way.
Olivia just looked at him and said, "Don't go meet your online friends today, especially don't go to high places."
Upon hearing this, Tom thought she was crazy. He scoffed and said, "I don't need you to tell me what to do!"
With that, he went downstairs on his own.
Olivia observed his retreating figure, mulling over the expression she had glimpsed on his face. With a resigned sigh, she made the decision to ignore him. Despite his insistence on going, she felt she had no other option.
Downstairs, Tom still found Olivia strange when Megan suddenly approached him. "Tom, what's wrong?"
"Nothing, just someone annoying," he replied.
He glanced at Megan and asked her, "Megan, are you going out?"
"Yes, I'm meeting someone I met online today."
After hearing this, Tom subconsciously thought about what Olivia had just said and found it oddly coincidental.
Megan's decision to meet someone online immediately after Olivia's remarks puzzled him.
Although he didn't believe Olivia's words, he had a strange intuition in his heart. He instinctively said, "There are many scammers online nowadays, Megan. As a girl, you shouldn't just go out to meet random online friends."
Megan smiled and said, "You're very cautious. But don't worry; this friend of mine is reliable. You know her too; it's Linda."
Tom paused, reminiscing about Linda, a girl with a sweet voice around his age. Megan had introduced them as they shared a common interest in gaming. "What's the sudden urge to meet in person?" he asked curiously.
"We're on vacation with nothing to do, so we made plans," Megan said, and then she seemed to remember something. She added, "Tom, why don't you come with me?"
"Huh?"
With a sweet smile, Megan remarked, "Remember when you said it's not safe for a girl to meet online friends alone? If you come with me, I won't be alone, and you're familiar with Linda."
Tom frowned, hesitant to agree. But upon noticing Olivia downstairs, her gaze serving as a silent reminder or warning, he felt a surge of inexplicable anger, as if he refused to be defeated. Changing his stance, he grudgingly conceded, "Alright, I'll go with you!"
"Then go change your clothes quickly. I'll wait for you," Megan said.
"Okay," Tom replied and turned to Olivia, giving her a challenging look.
Olivia couldn't be bothered to look at him and walked straight to the entrance.
Megan seemed to have just noticed Olivia and greeted her softly, "Olivia, are you going out too? Shall I ask the driver to give you a ride?"
Tom, who was about to go upstairs, heard this and stopped. He felt something strange about this conversation but didn't know why. He subconsciously glanced in Olivia's direction.
He saw Olivia only give Megan a casual glance and said, "No, thanks."
After speaking, she walked to the entrance, changed her shoes, and just before leaving, she glanced at a certain pair of limited edition sneakers in the shoe cabinet.
Megan watched her back, her previously gentle gaze slowly turning mocking.
Soon, Tom changed his clothes hastily and went downstairs. He looked tired and saw that Olivia had already left. He couldn't help but say to Megan, "Megan, why don't we cancel meeting the online friend today? We can reschedule another time."
Megan immediately looked puzzled and said, "We already made plans. How can I go back on my word? And didn't you say it was dangerous for me to meet the online friend alone?"
Megan reached out and pulled him, saying, "Think of it as accompanying me outside. You spend every day at home. It's so boring."
Tom had no choice but to let her pull him outside. When he changed his shoes, he vaguely felt that today's shoes felt different from usual, but he quickly forgot about that feeling.
He believed he was simply being paranoid due to Olivia's peculiar remarks. Trusting her words seemed impossible. At most, he decided he only needed to steer clear of high places.