Chapter 926 Charles Confronts Austin
Hannah had no clue what Wyatt was saying on the other end, but man, Charles looked like he was about to explode.
They'd known each other forever, but she'd never seen him this ticked off.
When Charles finally hung up, she grabbed his arm, all worried. "Who was that? What's going on?"
Charles didn't want her stressing, so he forced a smile. "I might not be able to hang out tonight. Gotta handle some stuff. I'll drop you back at school first."
Hannah was super worried and didn't want to leave him. "How am I supposed to chill at school when you're like this?"
Charles knew he looked rough, so he tried to smile. "I'm good, really! Just a ton of work piled up at the office. Don't sweat it! Wyatt's got my back, so nothing's gonna happen."
Hannah still wasn't buying it. "For real?"
Charles grinned and messed up her hair. "For real! I know you're freaked out. That car accident was just a fluke. I was too hyped and careless. Won't happen again. Plus, I gotta look after you. If something happens to me, what'll you do? I don't want you marrying some other dude!"
Seeing him joke around, Hannah couldn't help but roll her eyes.
"Alright, fine! Just take care of yourself! No need to drive me; I'll grab a cab."
But Charles wasn't cool with her going alone and insisted on driving her.
Hannah had no choice but to go along with it.
Charles's legs were still messed up, so he couldn't drive fast or long. What should've been a ten-minute drive took half an hour.
They finally pulled up at Hannah's school.
Hannah unbuckled, leaned over, and kissed Charles on the cheek. "Drive safe. Text me when you get there so I know you're good."
Charles nodded. "Got it! You text me when you're back in your dorm too!"
"Will do!" Hannah smiled, kissed his other cheek, and hopped out of the car.
Charles didn't leave right away. He watched her walk into the school. As she disappeared, his smile vanished too.
Charles drove to the office, looking like he was ready to punch someone.
Wyatt had been waiting forever.
When Charles parked, Wyatt walked over to the driver's side. Charles slid over to the passenger seat, and Wyatt got in.
Charles asked, "Where's he at now?"
Wyatt knew he meant Austin. "He's at home. I've been keeping tabs on him. After he split from Hannah at City Hall, he didn't come back right away but showed up after you did. He's been chilling in his dorm mostly. Sometimes he goes home but hasn't been anywhere sketchy."
Charles didn't hesitate. "Let's go to his place."
Wyatt looked worried. "Just us? Need backup?"
Charles shook his head. "Nah."
Wyatt didn't argue and started driving to Austin's neighborhood.
IntelliMerge Technologies was pretty far from Austin's place, so it took them a good half hour to get there.
They parked the car in a nearby lot and strolled in from the sidewalk.
Luckily, the neighborhood was packed with people, and while cars were a no-go, walking in was a breeze. They just blended in with the crowd and dodged the facial recognition cameras.
They found Austin's building and headed straight to his door.
Wyatt rang the doorbell.
He kept ringing it, but no one answered.
Charles frowned. "Is he not here?"
Wyatt shrugged. "He was here a bit ago. Maybe he stepped out."
Charles, getting pissed, started pounding on the door.
Just as he was about to tell Wyatt to track Austin again, the door creaked open, revealing Austin's scruffy face.
Both Charles and Wyatt were caught off guard, not expecting him to look like a mess.
Austin blinked, surprised to see them. He glanced nervously towards the room.
His mom, Karen, was still locked in the bedroom.
If Charles found out, his cover would be blown, and all his secrets would spill out.
He blocked the doorway with his body and said flatly, "What do you want?"
Charles ignored him and told Wyatt, "Wait outside." Then he turned to Austin, "We need to talk."
Austin didn't budge. "Talk about what? How you stole my fiancée? You've already got Hannah, so why are you here? To rub it in? To laugh at me?"
This was the hallway, and Charles didn't want to cause a scene or have a scandal about the president of IntelliMerge Technologies fighting over a girl.
Charles said, "If you want everyone to know what you've done, we can chat right here."
Austin's brow twitched, feeling a bad vibe. "What are you talking about?"
Charles didn't mince words and dropped a name, "Jack."
Austin flinched, getting the hint. Panic washed over him, but he kept a straight face.
Charles raised an eyebrow, smirking. "What? Want me to spill it here?"
Austin clenched his jaw, hesitated, then stepped aside to let Charles in.
As soon as Charles walked in, he was hit by the stench of booze. The floor was littered with bottles.
The living room curtains were drawn tight, no fresh air, making the smell even worse.
Seeing this, Charles could guess how Austin had been living.
Austin shut the door and locked it.
Austin asked, "What do you want from me today?"
Charles answered with a punch.
Austin, caught off guard, took a hit to the left cheek and stumbled back, almost falling.
The taste of blood filled his mouth.
Austin spat out blood, his anger boiling over.
Without thinking, he swung at Charles, but Charles caught his fist.
Austin had been stewing in anger for a long time.
He'd been plotting for seven years, and just when he was about to marry Violet, Charles wrecked everything.
He'd been down in the dumps for months.
His anger had no outlet, and now Charles had hit him, unleashing all his bottled-up rage. He went wild, yanking his fist back and swinging at Charles again.
Today, it was either Charles or him.
After losing Violet, he couldn't keep going.
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