Chapter 831: Charles Discovers Austin
Charles stopped munching.
A Bentley?
The same Bentley from last night?
The sudden noise made everyone look up.
They all sneaked a peek at Charles, seeing he was frozen, then boldly leaned against the glass window at the top of the cafeteria.
They were on the third floor, not too far away, and folks with sharp eyes could see clearly.
Charles was momentarily stunned but quickly got back to eating.
Though he looked chill on the outside, only he knew the food, which had tasted great before, now tasted like cardboard.
Did Hannah leave for that "ordinary friend" Stella mentioned? Or was it another dude?
Maybe they really had some urgent business.
As Charles was lost in thought, he heard the employees chatting nearby.
"Which car, which car? Which car did Hannah hop into?"
Charles frowned.
Yeah! Which car?
Just as this question popped into his head, he got an answer.
"The champagne-colored one, did you see it? It's waiting at the crossroad for the red light!"
"Which one? Which one? Why didn't I see it?"
"Are there many Bentleys here? Is it that hard for you to spot one?"
"You looked the wrong way; it's on the left, not the right! The Bentley is parked across the street, heading straight."
"Oh, I see it now! Is that the one? It's a luxury car worth millions of dollars, right?"
"I just saw the price of that car online a few days ago; it's seven million dollars!"
"That expensive? I always thought Mr. Watson drove the fanciest car! Hannah is impressive, knowing such rich folks."
"I'm curious, what's their deal? Isn't Hannah Mr. Watson's girl? Why did she suddenly leave with another dude? It should be a dude, right?"
"Usually, guys drive such cars."
Their voices got louder and louder.
Everyone was deep into the gossip, forgetting that the person they were talking about was sitting right next to them.
"So, it's really a dude inside?"
"I thought Hannah was Mr. Watson's girl, but it turns out her boyfriend is someone else."
"What if they're just regular friends? You can't just assume they're a couple because of this! I have many guy friends, and I occasionally ride in their cars."
"Yeah, maybe he had something urgent to discuss with Hannah!"
As their chatter grew louder, Charles frowned slightly.
He couldn't take it anymore, so he put down his utensils and left.
Someone noticed him leaving and quickly nudged the gossiping group.
"Stop talking; Mr. Watson is pissed."
"I got too excited and forgot Mr. Watson was here. I'm screwed; Mr. Watson won't fire me, will he?"
Charles ignored them and took the elevator back to his office. He pulled out his phone and accessed the surveillance footage from the company's entrance.
His rational side, which hated invading others' privacy, had vanished.
In the footage, Hannah happily ran out of the company, crossed the street, and got into the Bentley parked across the road.
The Bentley's driver's seat faced the company.
After some hesitation, he zoomed in on the driver's seat, wanting to see who had taken Hannah away twice.
As the video zoomed in, Austin's blurry face appeared on the screen.
Even though it was just a blurry outline, Charles recognized him right away, his eyes narrowing sharply.
Worried he might be wrong, he opened his laptop and used some software to clear up the zoomed-in image.
A few minutes later, Austin's face popped up clearly on Charles's screen.
Charles was floored, staring hard at Austin's face.
The Bentley's owner was Austin.
How could it be Austin? Austin knew him.
Last night, Austin must've recognized him from the car but didn't show himself.
Was he scared of being recognized? Or did he just not want to deal with him?
Before Violet disappeared, they had beef because of her.
So, it made sense that Austin didn't want to deal with him.
He didn't expect Austin to be in Country D and he had no clue.
After Violet disappeared, he never saw him again, only occasionally hearing from his parents that he was super sad and went abroad after middle school.
As for where he went, he didn't care, so he never asked.
So, did Carter and Lassie know he had found a girl who looked a lot like Violet here?
Charles thought for a moment, then pulled out his phone and called Carter.
There were some things he needed to figure out.
Since learning that Hannah got into Austin's car, a question had been bugging him.
The call connected quickly.
Even though a lot of time had passed, Carter had never given up searching for Violet, but he no longer wallowed in the sadness of losing her, especially after having a younger daughter. The whole family was happier than before.
Carter said, "Charles! Why you calling me?"
Charles forced himself to stay calm and asked, "Lucas, I need to ask you something."
Carter chuckled, "What's up?"
Charles asked, "Where's Austin now?"
Carter was clearly thrown by the question.
Carter confused, "Weren't you not close to him? Why ask about him suddenly?"
Charles replied, "I haven't seen him since Violet disappeared, so I'm curious."
Carter then said, "I see. After Violet disappeared, he was super sad and stayed in his room all the time.
I was so scared he would never bounce back! Luckily, he picked himself up after a month. But the vibe at home was bad back then; Lassie and I cried every day, and he felt terrible too. So after middle school, he wanted to go abroad, and we sent him."
Charles asked, "Which country did he go to?"
Carter replied, "He went to high school in Country E, and now he's in college at D University in Country D! He's in the same city as you! I even thought about asking you to look after him. After all, he's still young, leaving home alone, and I was worried. But he said he wanted to rely on himself and didn't want me to ask you! Plus, you two weren't close, so I didn't ask you."
Charles roughly got the picture.
Finally, Charles asked, "Do you know if he has any friends here? Has he ever mentioned a girl named Hannah?"
He didn't know which answer he was looking for.
When he found out Austin knew Hannah, a thought suddenly popped into his head, but when he tried to grab it, it vanished.
Maybe he could find the answer from Carter.
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