Chapter 1087 Suspecting Austin
Charles knew she was overthinking again. He reached out and gently rubbed her head, saying softly, "Before you met me, you were engaged to him and almost got married."
"What?" Hannah couldn't believe it and widened her eyes in astonishment. She knew her relationship with Austin was complicated, but she never imagined they almost got married.
Charles comforted her, "But you didn't like him back then! He saved your father's life, and you mistook gratitude for love, so you got engaged. Later, we met! You realized there was no love between you and him, so you broke up and got together with me."
Hannah blinked. "Is that so?" She felt a bit bad about herself.
Charles cupped her face, gently wiping away the tears from the corners of her eyes, and said softly, "Yes, that's how it is! Love and gratitude are two different things. It's good you realized it early, so you both wouldn't be unhappy if you got married later."
Hannah lowered her eyes, thinking he made some sense. Since she didn't like Austin, even if they got married, it would be mutual torment. How could such a marriage be happy?
Charles didn't want her to overthink anymore. He pressed his thumb against her temple and asked with concern, "Does your head still hurt?"
Hannah shook her head. "It doesn't hurt anymore! As long as I don't think too hard, it won't hurt!"
Earlier, when she tried hard to remember, there was a moment when the pain was so intense she wished she could die.
But as long as she stopped thinking, the pain immediately disappeared, as if the previous pain was just an illusion.
Charles was still worried. "Whether it hurts or not, we should go to the hospital for a check-up!" He needed to rule out all possible causes.
Hannah nodded in agreement.
Charles took Hannah to the hospital for a full-body check-up. After confirming she was healthy and had no issues, they left.
After leaving the hospital, he didn't rush to take Hannah home but took her out on a date. A date just for the two of them.
Charles first took her to get something to eat, then to a movie, and then revisited all the places they had dated before, hoping she might remember something.
Unfortunately, since Hannah remembered a bit about Austin in the morning, she hadn't recalled anything else.
Charles wasn't in a hurry. Since she couldn't remember, they treated it as a simple date. They stayed out all day and only returned home in the evening.
During this time, Patricia called to check on them. Knowing Hannah was fine and they were out on a date, she hung up without asking more.
When they got home, Patricia, Fannie, Maria, and Stella were playing cards.
Seeing them return, Stella immediately stood up and waved at Hannah. "Hannah, come play cards! I'm about to go bankrupt."
Hannah scratched her head awkwardly. "But I don't know how!"
Stella pushed her into a chair. "I can teach you! Don't worry, if you win, it's yours; if you lose, it's mine."
Hannah hesitated and looked at Charles, as if seeking his opinion.
Charles smiled. "Go ahead and play! It's still early to go to bed. Play as much as you want; if you lose, it's on me!"
With his permission, Hannah started playing with ease.
Stella nudged her shoulder playfully. "You haven't even gotten married yet, and you're already listening to him like this? Can't you be a bit more independent?"
Hannah blushed and pulled her to sit beside her. "Stop it! Sit down and teach me how to play! I don't know how."
Stella immediately started explaining.
Charles watched them with a smile for a while, then walked to the living room, where Martin was watching financial news on the sofa. He coughed lightly to get Martin's attention.
Sure enough, their years of interaction had built a strong rapport.
Hearing Charles cough, Martin immediately looked at him. "What's up?"
Charles spoke in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Dad, let's go to the study upstairs. I have something to tell you."
Martin nodded, turned off the TV with the remote, and went to the study on the second floor with Charles.
After closing the study door, Martin habitually sat behind the desk, and Charles sat in the chair in front of the desk.
Martin asked, "What's going on?"
Martin rarely saw Charles so serious about a conversation. It seemed something had happened, and it was significant.
Charles lowered his voice and got straight to the point, "Dad, I suspect Hannah's disappearance is related to Austin."
Martin was taken aback. "Why do you suspect it's related to him? Because Hannah called his name today? Could it be you're overthinking? They had a past, so it's normal for Hannah to remember."
Charles shook his head. "It's not just that. On the way to the hospital, Hannah remembered some things! She said she and Austin were in a house, and Tina was also in the picture."
Hearing this, Martin's eyes instantly sharpened. "You mean, Austin and Tina appeared in the same scene?"
"Yes!" Charles nodded and recounted everything Hannah remembered in the car to Martin.
"Actually, I've had some suspicions about Austin for a while, so I had Wyatt investigate him and Tina secretly! Although I haven't found concrete evidence of their collusion, Wyatt discovered they were once classmates. However, Tina transferred to another department after one semester."
Martin's brows furrowed tightly. "If they were classmates, why did Austin never mention it?" This indeed raised suspicions.
Charles shared his thoughts, "Although Tina was a loner and didn't socialize with anyone, both of them were prominent figures in school. Even if Austin didn't remember Tina was his classmate, how could he forget she was his schoolmate at D University? If Austin had openly mentioned it, I wouldn't have suspected him. But the more he hides it, the more suspicious he seems."
Martin leaned back in his chair, deep in thought.
Charles continued, "And why did Tina kidnap Hannah? She and Hannah were practically strangers; she had no motive to do so. If it was Austin, everything makes sense."
"Austin still had feelings for Hannah, so he resorted to this during our engagement, having Violet replace Hannah while he took Hannah away and had Tina erase all of Hannah's memories. Then, he implanted false memories in Hannah. And Tina's refusal to confess is to protect Austin."
Charles's eyes suddenly darkened, and he said sternly, "There's one more thing I haven't told you."
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