CHAPTER 335
“Grandma King, Aunt Julia, don’t worry about anything. Stay away from the internet, ignore the noise, and trust us. We’ll do our best to fix this!”
Grandma King didn’t say a word but pulled Arianna into a warm embrace.
The elderly woman understood. Arianna and Xander had always kept their struggles to themselves, shielding her from their burdens because they didn’t want her to worry.
Arianna returned the hug tightly before pulling away and heading out.
Once she was inside the modest van, her phone buzzed with a message. It contained only three cryptic words:
\[Who are you?\]
Arianna’s lips curled into a sly smile, but she chose not to reply. Instead, she removed the SIM card from her phone, snapped it in half, and disposed of it.
She took a deep breath, started the van’s engine, and drove off toward her destination.
After about forty minutes, Arianna arrived outside a lavish mansion. She parked carefully, choosing a spot hidden from the reach of surveillance cameras. She stepped out and took a moment to assess the area.
The house belonged to the parents of none other than Selby Cornwell.
Earlier, she had received an anonymous message claiming:
\[I can’t bear to see Selby endure all the accusations. I want to reveal the truth to everyone!\]
The sender was Selby’s mother, though the message had been crafted under the guise of the victimized girl.
Arianna had spent hours analyzing every piece of information she had on Selby and the missing girl. Her instincts told her that the girl’s fate was closely tied to Selby’s parents. Either they were directly involved in her disappearance, or they were keeping her under their control.
This visit was a gamble, but Arianna believed in her deductions. If her theory was correct, she might finally find the breakthrough she desperately needed.
Arianna was determined to uncover the girl’s location from Selby’s parents, believing they held the key to the truth.
She discreetly set up a small camera on the van’s dashboard, angling it through the lowered passenger-side window to capture a clear view of the Cornwells’ front door. If anyone came or went, she would see them.
The hours crawled by, and as the sky turned to dusk, the house remained eerily quiet. Arianna had seen no movement.
Chewing on a piece of bread she had packed for the stakeout, she pondered the unusual stillness surrounding the estate. It could only mean one of two things.
The first was that her theory was wrong. Perhaps Selby’s parents were completely unaware of the missing girl’s whereabouts and had lost contact with her years ago.
The second was that the Cornwells were maintaining an unshakable calm, despite the chaos unfolding around their son.
The Cornwells were not your typical business family. Generations of scholars had built their legacy, and they were held in high esteem within elite social circles. Their intellectual standing earned them respect and deference from nearly everyone they encountered.
Such individuals often seemed immune to the tumult of public opinion, conducting themselves with quiet composure even in times of crisis.
This was precisely why Arianna had decided against confronting Selby directly. She knew her time was limited and couldn’t afford to waste it on dead ends.
If her assumptions about the Cornwells proved incorrect, it would mean her efforts had been in vain. Failure in this endeavour would leave her with nothing but defeat, a risk she couldn’t afford to take.
Although she had no appetite, Arianna forced herself to finish the bread she brought. Keeping up her strength was essential—she might need to wait through the entire night.
As the darkness deepened, she glanced at her phone. It was nearly midnight, only five minutes away, marking the end of yet another fruitless day.
Arianna couldn’t deny the uneasiness gnawing at her. Selby’s parents were her only solid lead. Without them, uncovering the truth about the girl from the past would be nearly impossible. Too much time had passed, and any traces of her had been meticulously erased.
Even if Xander’s team managed to uncover more information, it wouldn’t matter if their time ran out. The weight of the ticking clock pressed heavily on her shoulders.
Finally, the clock struck midnight. Arianna’s gaze dropped momentarily, the realization sinking in that only 24 hours remained. It felt like a ticking countdown toward ruin—not just for her, but for Xander as well.
Her thoughts spiralled until a sudden motion caught her attention. She looked up just in time to see the gates of the house slowly swing open.
For a moment, she blinked in disbelief, worried it was just her imagination. She grabbed her binoculars to confirm. A sleek car emerged from the open gate, its headlights cutting through the darkness.
Arianna’s heart raced as her instincts sharpened. Finally, after hours of silence, something happened.
Through the car window, Arianna caught sight of a middle-aged man and woman seated in the back. She instantly recognized them as Selby’s parents, Brian and Sarah.
The dim hope buried deep within her flickered to life, pushing aside the heaviness that had been weighing her down.
Heading out at such an odd hour was certainly unusual, and Arianna’s pulse quickened with the realization that her gamble might finally pay off.
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