Chapter 181 Find me a date
Chapter 181: Find me a date
The call came in the middle of the night.
Golden stirred beneath the thick hotel duvet, her body heavy with exhaustion from the long day. For a few seconds, she ignored the ringing, hoping it would stop on its own. But it didn’t. It persisted, sharp and insistent.
She reached for her phone blindly, eyes still half-closed. The name on the screen snapped her fully awake.
Her heart skipped.
She sat up slowly, pushing the covers aside as a chill ran through her. “Hello?” Her voice was low, uncertain.
“Ms. Nixon,” the man’s voice came through, calm and professional. “I apologize for the late hour, but I have the information you requested.”
Golden swallowed, her throat suddenly dry. “Go ahead.”
There was a brief pause on the line, as though he was choosing his words carefully.
“The man you asked about, Allan Renshaw, experienced a major incident approximately two years ago,” he began. “His immediate family, his mother and siblings, were involved in a motor accident.”
Golden’s fingers tightened around the phone.
“They did not survive.”
The words landed like a blow to her chest.
For a moment, she said nothing. She could not. The room felt too quiet, too still, as if everything around her had frozen in place.
“I…” Her voice faltered. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, ma’am. It was confirmed through official records.”
Golden pressed her free hand against her lips, her breathing growing uneven. Images of Allan and his family flooded her mind.
“There’s more,” the investigator continued.
Golden closed her eyes briefly. She wasn’t sure she wanted to hear it, but she forced herself to stay on the line. “Go on.”
“Following the accident, Mr. Renshaw’s lifestyle changed drastically. He developed a pattern of excessive drinking and gambling. Financial records show significant losses over a short period.”
Golden’s chest tightened further.
“And his girlfriend at the time, Lindsay, appears to have taken advantage of his situation. She gained access to his remaining assets, transferred funds, and subsequently left the country.”
Golden’s eyes snapped open. “Left?”
“Yes. She relocated to India with another man. She has not returned since.”
Golden felt something inside her crack.
“She took everything?” She whispered.
“Yes, ma’am. What remained of his finances was depleted shortly after.”
Silence stretched between them for a few seconds.
“And after that?” Golden asked quietly.
“He left the United States and eventually relocated to London. That is where he has been residing since.”
Golden’s grip on the phone loosened slightly, her strength draining out of her.
“That will be all for now,” the investigator said. “If you require further details, you may contact me again.”
The call ended.
Golden sat there, unmoving, the phone still pressed to her ear long after the line had gone dead.
Then the tears came. They came hard and fast.
Her shoulders shook as she bent forward, clutching the edge of the bed. A broken sound escaped her, one she didn’t even try to suppress.
Golden pressed her palm against her chest, as though trying to hold herself together.
“How did it get this bad?” she whispered into the empty room.
She didn’t know how long she cried.
At some point, her vision blurred completely, and she could no longer tell if she was sitting or slumped against the bed.
Her phone slipped from her hand onto the mattress.
For a few minutes, she just breathed. Shallow, uneven breaths that did little to calm the storm inside her.
Then she reached for her phone again.
She needed to talk to someone.
Her fingers trembled as she dialed Alex.
The call connected on the third ring.
“Hello?”
Golden tried to speak, but her voice broke immediately.
“Gigi?” Alex’s tone shifted instantly, alert now. “What’s wrong?”
Golden swallowed hard, trying again. “I… I found out what happened to Allan.”
There was a pause.
“What do you mean?”
Golden closed her eyes, forcing herself to speak through the tightness in her chest. “His family… they died. Two years ago. A motor accident.”
“What?” Alex sat up on the other end, her voice sharp now. “All of them?”
“Yes,” Golden whispered. “His mom… his siblings. Everyone.”
“Oh my God,” Alex breathed.
Golden continued, the words tumbling out now. “After that, he started drinking. Gambling. He lost everything. And Lindsay…” Her voice cracked again. “She scammed him. Took whatever he had left and ran off to India with someone else.”