Chapter 53
At that moment, William was drinking with Terry and Daniel.
The private room at the club was filled with smoke.
Daniel stood up to turn on the exhaust fan and complained to the man sitting silently on the sofa, puffing away, "Stop smoking already, it's killing us."
The three brothers hadn't gotten together in ages, and the moment Terry and Daniel walked in, they were forced to breathe his secondhand smoke.
"So what's going on? Did Ava dump you?"
Daniel figured there was nothing in business this guy couldn't handle, so looking like this, it had to be woman trouble. That dejected look—what else could it be but getting dumped?
Terry picked up his drink and took a sip. "William, don't worry. Finding someone is easy. Unless she never goes online, the internet has memory. As long as she leaves any trace online, I'll track her down for you right away."
Unlike the two rich kids, Terry was self-made. He jumped into the internet business right after college and, in just a few years, built his company into an internet giant, making it into the Fortune 500.
At a business gathering, he hit it off with William and Daniel, and the three became close friends.
He assumed William was worried about finding Lolly. Finding someone was too easy for him—once this mysterious person left any trace online, he could definitely dig her up.
After finishing his cigarette, William pinched out the flame between his fingers.
He'd had his drink and his smoke. After sitting there all evening, he finally spoke.
"If someone wanted to defile your wife, what would you do?"
Daniel's temper flared at those words. "What would I do? If he's lucky, I wouldn't kill his whole family."
Terry chimed in, "I don't have a wife now, but hypothetically, I definitely wouldn't let that person go."
William adjusted his sitting position and asked again, "What if that bad person once saved your life?"
Daniel was practically fuming.
"William, are you out of your mind? If someone saved your life, that's your debt to them. Your wife doesn't owe them anything. No matter how you calculate it, it's not your wife's place to repay that debt. You can't be that stupid, right?"
William was taken aback. Just then, his phone vibrated in his pocket.
He pulled it out to check the message. Those deep brown eyes gradually grew darker, like a thousand-year-old well revealing unknown and terrifying information.
"I'm leaving."
He suddenly stood up, draped his suit jacket over his arm, and headed straight out of the room.
Daniel and Terry exchanged glances, finding his behavior bizarre. He was the one who called them over, and now, after just a few words, he was leaving.
"Bastard!"
Daniel cursed and continued drinking with Terry.
Leaving the club, William instructed James, "To the hospital."
The hospital room was dark, so quiet you could hear her shallow breathing.
William couldn't help but lighten his footsteps. A few rays of pale moonlight filtered through the curtain gap, falling on her palm-sized face.
By the moonlight, he studied this woman carefully. She looked so well-behaved in her sleep, making him want to pinch her cheeks.
Just as his hand was about to touch her face, Ava seemed to sense something and rolled over, accompanied by a murmur.
She was talking in her sleep.
"William..."
William was about to leave when he paused. He heard her call his name.
Probably since Sarah came back, this was the first time he'd heard her call his name in her dreams instead of Joseph's.
He couldn't help but crouch down and pull the blanket up for her.
"William, please let me go."
She said it so earnestly, each word drilling clearly into his ears. His heart suddenly felt hollow—this woman wanted to leave him even in her dreams.
The next day, Ava woke up to see a suit jacket at her legs and was startled. She looked around but didn't see William anywhere.
Jack called, and she hurried to answer.
"Ava, something big happened."
Ava asked urgently, "What is it?"
"That guy who blackmailed Sarah yesterday got taken down by someone. He was sent to the police station that same night with three broken ribs. Multiple charges—rape, attempted murder, burglary—all combined, he'll probably get the death penalty.
Also, your car accident case was reopened. Two cops who covered for criminals were investigated. Seems like someone's getting revenge for you."
Ava immediately knew who did it, but in everything Jack said, there wasn't a word about Sarah. He dealt with everyone who hurt her, yet let the mastermind go free.
Ava knew he must have seen that video. He did all this just to ease that slight guilt in his heart.
Sarah held an unshakeable position in his heart, even if she did terrible things, even if she tried to kill his wife.
Ava's mouth tasted bitter. Just then, someone pushed the door open—it was Lily, the housekeeper from home.
"Mrs. Ava Morgan, you're awake. Hungry? Have some nutritious porridge. I also made your favorite sandwiches."
Lily came in carrying a thermos.
"Lily, what are you doing here?"
"Mr. Morgan told me last night to make some light food and bring it over. He said you were in a car accident. Thank goodness it was just a scare and you're okay."
Ava's stomach was indeed empty, and home-cooked food suited her taste better.
She ate the porridge in small bites while listening to Lily chatter.
"Mr. Morgan ran into something last night and got really angry. I kept hearing him on the phone in his study—probably didn't sleep all night."
Ava made a sound of acknowledgment. "That's just his temper. You sleep your sleep and don't worry about him."
Lily coughed, seeming hesitant to speak.
Ava looked up at her. "Lily, just say what's on your mind."
Ava was always kind to the staff and never made things difficult for the household help. She gave them holidays and bonuses during festivals.
Lily genuinely wanted the couple to work things out.
"Mrs. Ava Morgan, you should move back to the master bedroom. Couples fight, but if it goes on too long, it hurts the relationship."
Ava let out a heavy breath. "What's between us isn't as simple as a fight."
A look of regret came over Lily's eyes.
"Mr. Morgan still cares about you. His way of expressing it is just easy to misunderstand. He's just proud—don't listen to what he says, watch what he does."
Ava thought about it—he hadn't done many decent things.
"Lily, just stop trying to convince me."
Meanwhile, William had stayed in his study all night, finally falling asleep in his leather chair near dawn.
James called. "Mr. Morgan, Miss Brown went back to JadeDragon Bay Residences."
William rubbed his temples and changed clothes before heading downstairs.
When he arrived at JadeDragon Bay Residences, William habitually placed his thumb on the fingerprint lock.
Beep—unlock failed.
He'd forgotten Sarah had deleted his fingerprint and changed the password.
He knocked on the door angrily.
Sarah had changed into clean clothes. She'd drunk too much last night and stayed at a hotel with Emily. Her clothes had been torn, so she came back wearing the hotel bathrobe.
She'd never been so humiliated in her life.
Right now, she wasn't in a good mood either. Usually, only one person came knocking this early.
"What are you doing here so early? Can't a person sleep?"