Chapter 202 The Indifference Now, You Taught Me
"This time, it's not 'The Ring' at midnight, but 'Midnight Terror'," Landon joked, sipping his red wine.
'After all, with Simon and him here, Edward wouldn't dare act up.' Landon thought.
"That jerk showed up? Grab your stuff!" Simon cursed, eyes glued to the screen, fingers flying over the keyboard.
"Grab what? The keyboard?" Evelyn shook her head, looking troubled. "I brought him here, so I'll handle it. I'll go check."
She went to the foyer and opened the video intercom.
Edward's handsome but cold face appeared on the screen.
"What are you doing here?" Evelyn's eyes were emotionless. "Nowhere else to go in Mugden? Had to come to my place?"
"Evelyn, come out. We need to talk," Edward said, ignoring her sarcasm.
"Can't we talk like this? I can hear you," Evelyn replied coldly.
Edward sighed in frustration.
"Evelyn, stop this. Come out. I need to talk to you."
"Stop? You think I'm joking? I'm seriously trying to get you to leave," Evelyn sneered.
"Come out. I want to see you."
Edward's eyes flickered, his voice hoarse with suppressed emotions.
Evelyn's heart clenched, her blood running cold. She bit her lip and stepped back.
After a moment, she took a deep breath and laughed mockingly.
'If this were the past, I'd be thrilled to hear Edward say that. But now, it's too late. Continuing this would just strip away my dignity.'
"Edward, life is cruel. You can't always get what you want," Evelyn said, her mocking smile chilling him. "You taught me that over three years."
"Evelyn," Edward choked, his body tense.
"It shouldn't rain tonight," Evelyn said, looking at the moon. "Last time, I came out because I was afraid you'd get struck by lightning. This time, I'm not coming out. Leave."
She ended the call, plunging him into darkness.
Edward stood outside, eyes vacant, the late autumn chill seeping into him.
Evelyn walked back upstairs, deep in thought.
'I don't get it. Edward, who ignored me for years, now shows up after our divorce, wanting to see me. It's shameless.'
'What is there left to say? He had three years to talk to me but chose to ignore me.'
'I've wasted enough time on Edward.'
As Evelyn entered the study, William asked, "How did it go? Did Edward give you any trouble?"
"Hmph, he wouldn't dare," Evelyn said, leaning over Landon and wrapping her arms around his neck.
"And you, did you give Edward any trouble?" Landon asked with a smile.
"Not really," she replied.
"What a pity," Landon teased, touching her cheek. "With me here, it was a perfect chance to give him a good beating."
Evelyn said coldly, "Landon, I appreciate it, but a devout believer should resolve issues peacefully."
"Evelyn! I found it! Open a bottle of red wine to reward me! The most expensive one!" Simon shouted excitedly.
"William, get the best bottle of red wine for Simon," Evelyn said, her worries clearing. She hurried to Simon's side, placing her hand on his shoulder and staring at the screen. "Who's the contributor?"
"This is her account!" Simon pointed at the screen. "She's a social news reporter for A-Headline, named Dorothy! The IP address matches exactly!"
"Well done, though a bit slow," Evelyn said, raising an eyebrow and smiling.
"This time was pretty quick! Why didn't you call Ulysses? He's the expert in these shady tasks," Simon said.
"I contacted Ulysses a few days ago. He's on an important mission, and I didn't want to disturb him."
"Evelyn, your hacking skills are top-notch too. You could've found out yesterday if you did it yourself," Landon said, puzzled.
Evelyn yawned. "I'm lazy."
Simon stayed silent.
Evelyn browsed through the Twitter account and sneered. "She's quite the righteous journalist, huh? But revealing my hotel wedding setup is a bit too nosy."
"Evelyn, do you think this journalist was instructed by someone?" Landon asked, frowning.
"If not instructed, then at least paid to do someone a favor. Journalists usually stick to their own beats. A social news reporter wouldn't normally meddle in entertainment."
Evelyn stared at the name Dorothy, mumbling, "Dorothy, why does that name seem familiar?"
Suddenly, she remembered and shouted, "I know who she is! She's Mike's daughter!"
"Who's Mike?" Simon asked, confused.
"The former deputy manager you fired and sent to prison?" Landon asked, intrigued.
"Yes! That's his daughter!" Evelyn's exceptional memory kicked in. She recognized Dorothy's identity from Mike's file. "If she's the one who exposed it, then I get it."
"I get it too. You ruined Mike's reputation and sent him to jail. She's being lenient by not putting you in the social news," Simon nodded seriously.
"He was embezzling and taking bribes. Should I have let him stay free?" Evelyn lifted her chin arrogantly. "Mike did wrong, not me. She should be looking after Mike, not trying to get revenge on me. Why should I pay for Mike's mistakes? Ridiculous."
"Evelyn, I checked the surveillance footage. Besides our team, the workers handed in their phones during construction. No outsiders could've approached the wedding venue," William said, eyes darkening. "So someone within the team colluded with Dorothy."
Seeing that Dorothy was pretty, Evelyn made a bold guess. "William, keep a close watch on every team member, especially the men. Monitor them secretly 24/7. If anyone has private contact with Dorothy, report to me immediately."
"Evelyn, why especially the men?" Simon asked curiously.
"Because men are unfaithful when they see a pretty face!" Evelyn sneered coldly. Her failed marriage left her with a deep prejudice against men.
Landon said, "Except me."
Simon said, "Except me too!"
William quickly raised his hand in surrender. "Me too!"
"I know you guys are good without needing to declare it so urgently," Evelyn said, stretching like a graceful kitten. "At least you're better than Edward standing at the door, right?"
It was too late to investigate further, so Landon and Simon stayed in the guest rooms William arranged.
Evelyn, exhausted from the past few days, took a bath and fell into a deep sleep.
Late at night, a flash of purple lightning tore through the sky, waking Evelyn.
She wasn't usually a light sleeper, but the thunder woke her up for no reason.
Unable to fall back asleep, Evelyn got up, put on a silk robe over her burgundy nightgown, and slipped on her red velvet slippers to get some water.
Outside, the wind and rain were fierce, with lightning and thunder.
Evelyn stood quietly by the hallway window, holding a cup of warm water.
She remembered that when she was a child, every time it rained heavily, Victoria would hold her in a rocking chair by the window. She stared at the rain-soaked window and murmured dreamily,
"The night I left that place was also a stormy night like this."
'That place, where?' she thought.
Suddenly, another bolt of lightning cracked the sky!
In the brief flash of light, Evelyn was stunned to see Edward standing in the storm outside the window, looking up at her room, standing firm like a mountain, disheveled in the wind.
