Chapter 343 Standing Guard
The room was filled with Yara's belongings, and her photos were plastered on the walls.
Yesterday, Frank told her that this villa wasn't just a place where Yara used to work. Instead, it was where Yara had lived for several years. No wonder Winona felt a sense of familiarity everywhere. Even the flowers in the garden were ones she liked.
The feeling of familiarity grew stronger once she entered the room.
Yara had been gone for over a decade, and many of her memories had faded, but seeing these things brought them back.
Winona ran her fingers over the vanity table. It was spotless, indicating that it had been cleaned regularly.
The items here were obviously old, but each one was well-preserved. Following Carlos' remarriage, the belongings of her mother in the Sullivan family were banished to the basement, where they collected dust, and any valuable possessions were promptly sold.
Looking at these things now, Winona sneered. Carlos was truly despicable.
This villa belonged to Frank, so Yara must have lived here before she got married. It had been at least twenty-five years and many of these things Winona had never seen before.
Winona found an old-fashioned photo album on the nightstand. It had clearly been looked through many times, with a leather cover that had weathered the years.
The photos weren't laminated and had yellowed and faded, but it was still clear how stunning the woman in the photos was: long, smooth hair, sun-kissed skin, rosy lips, and bright eyes.
Even without makeup, she was captivating at a glance.
Seeing the youthful Yara, Winona finally understood why Carlos had been so determined to marry her.
The backgrounds of the photos were all in this villa—the garden, the rooms, the living room, the hallway, and the window.
Most were solo shots, but there were some group photos where the other person had been thoroughly cut out, leaving not even a corner of clothing.
Was the person cut out Frank?
This separation didn't seem amicable, and it looks like Emerson was almost eager to tear things apart. Yara must have betrayed Frank.
Winona's mind was already spinning a tale of love turned to hate.
She then thought about Eva and Ian's ruthless behavior, wondering what kind of parents could raise such vicious children.
The Turner family really had that terrifying vibe.
Winona stayed in the room for two hours, during which she sent information about Xavier's wife and children to the private detective she had hired earlier.
In a drawer, she found a box of beads, very cute.
Winona picked out a pink bead with a bow, surprised that the usually serious Yara liked this style.
These kinds of things were never seen in the Sullivan family.
It seemed that Yara was genuinely happy living here.
Winona sighed, putting the bead back in the box. Accidentally, she dropped the lid, causing the beads to scatter.
The ones outside were easy to pick up, but the few under the bed were a bit hard to reach. Winona didn't find a broom, so she had to crawl under to retrieve them. Thankfully, the floor was clean.
After picking up the beads, she crawled back out and glanced up, noticing something stuck to the bed frame.
It was in a corner, impossible to see without crawling under.
It had been there a long time, and the tape was yellowed and peeling.
Winona pulled it off. It was a black notebook. She dusted it off and crawled out from under the bed.
The notebook contained notes on artifact restoration, but if that was all, why had it been hidden so secretly?
Halfway through, she found something different in the diary.
March 2nd: I got married.
September 17th: The baby was born, named Winona.
February 8th: It's been a year.
The diary entries were short, especially the one on February 8. Winona didn't understand what had been a year?
The entries continued sporadically, only noting significant events, with no years mentioned, so she had to deduce the timeline from known dates.
Winona flipped through several pages, and the entries became more detailed.
July 31st: Someone asked me to restore a painting today. It was from the Turner family.
August 3rd: He actually brought the painting home, saying an old friend asked him for help. I didn't want to get involved with the Turner family, but he kept persuading me and even got angry for the first time. After thinking it over, I agreed to help. I owed him.
He?
Winona guessed it was Carlos because the diary mentioned "brought it home."
November 11th: The handwriting became messy and heavy, almost tearing the paper: He lied to me. The person he brought the painting for wasn't a friend. It was someone from the Turner family. Why did the Turner family specifically seek me out for this painting? Did they find something?
November 17th: Someone is following me. Thankfully, he's been driving me around lately.
The diary ended there.
Because on November 19th, Yara died in a car accident.
Tears streamed down Winona's face. She couldn't fathom what her mother felt when she hid this diary.
From the diary, it was clear that after marrying Carlos, she had completely cut ties with Frank. She hadn't mentioned him once in all these years.
However, in the end, perhaps due to something, she chose to hide this diary in the villa.
Leaving the villa, Winona drove aimlessly through the streets. Her mother's death was like a tangled mess of threads. Years of investigation had only made it more convoluted.
Unknowingly, she found herself parked outside the Bailey Group building.
It was work hours, and the bright, spacious lobby was nearly empty. Winona parked and stared blankly at the towering skyscraper of the Bailey Group.
The glass exterior reflected the blinding sunlight.
Dylan came downstairs to pick someone up and noticed Winona's car in the parking lot.
It wasn't that his eyesight was particularly good, but he recognized Winona's car model. He checked the license plate and confirmed it was her.
Winona was lost in thought when she heard a knock on the car window. She snapped back to reality and looked over.
Seeing who it was, she rolled down the window and asked, "Why are you down here?"
Zachary tugged at the car door handle, signaling her to unlock it, "Dylan said someone was sitting in the car like a statue, staring blankly at the company entrance."
Winona unlocked the car door, and Zachary bent down to get in.
He was dressed in a suit and tie, the collar snug against his Adam's apple, with metal cufflinks on his sleeves, exuding a restrained yet sexy vibe.
"You're already downstairs. Why not come up?" he asked.
"I didn't want to disturb your work," she replied.
Zachary stared at her, seeing through her lie instantly, "Liar, you just don't want to go up."
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