Chapter 190

Elizabeth's expression sharpened. "What's his name?"

But Nash shook his head. "I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"He never told me his name." Only now did Nash realize something terrifying. "I've never even seen him."

"Then how did you communicate? By phone?" Elizabeth thought the situation wasn't too bad. If there were calls or messages, they could serve as leads to track him down.

But Nash's answer disappointed her again.

"I never even heard his voice. Every time, a letter would appear in the mailbox at my front door. The letter would have instructions for me. And it wasn't handwritten."

Great. Now even the handwriting couldn't be traced.

Elizabeth thought for a moment. "Those letters—do you still have them?"

"Yes, yes I do. They're at my place."

Elizabeth decided to find them and check the contents. Seeing her about to leave, Nash immediately stood up. "I told you everything I know. Can you keep me from going to prison?"

Elizabeth had already reached the door. Hearing this, she looked back at him. "Prison isn't necessarily a bad thing for you. You really do need some rehabilitation. But given your cooperation, I imagine the police will take that into consideration during sentencing."

She turned and left, gently closing the door.

Nash slumped into his chair. He knew Elizabeth's words weren't particularly sincere, but right now he had no other options. He couldn't exactly expect this little bit of information to earn Becky's forgiveness.

But even a faint hope was worth fighting for.

He looked toward the door. "Officer, could you please give that lady a message for me?"

Elizabeth left the station, but an officer called out from behind her.

"Ms. Whitaker, Nash has something for you."

The officer handed Elizabeth a key.

Elizabeth was somewhat surprised, but with the key, getting into his place to find those letters would be much easier.

It was only a twenty-minute drive to Nash's place. Elizabeth planned to go right now, but as soon as she got in the car, she received a call from Sam.

"There's a company meeting. Can you make it back?"

"Right now?"

"Yes."

Elizabeth hesitated for a moment. Nash's place wasn't so urgent that she had to go this instant. So she turned the wheel and headed to the office instead.

The meeting lasted a full two hours, discussing only one issue—an upcoming live streaming competition between the company's streamers and those from various platforms.

This competition was huge. Every streamer, famous or not, wanted to participate. Even if they couldn't place well, just participating could win audience favor.

But which company streamers should enter was a problem.

The most controversial streamer in the company was Elizabeth, of course. Based purely on follower count, Flora came next. Unlike Elizabeth, she wasn't tangled up in personal drama. She streamed more often and had more fans who knew her.

Flora had her own take on the matter. "I think Elizabeth should go."

Sam acknowledged. "Your reasoning?"

"I'll admit my follower base is bigger than Elizabeth's right now. But I don't have her buzz. If I go, there are only two outcomes—lose or win. To be blunt, my chances of winning aren't great." Flora was very clear about the current situation and her own abilities.

"But Elizabeth doesn't have enough followers. She'll have a hard time placing high." A supervisor raised an objection.

Flora shook her head in disagreement. "That's not how it works. Elizabeth generates a lot of buzz. Every time she streams, she trends on social media. More and more people know who she is. She used to have a huge fanbase—she just lost them later. As long as she enters the competition, I believe those people will see her again. High buzz means high engagement."

Hearing this, the others began murmuring among themselves.

Elizabeth could vaguely hear they were deliberating. Of the dozens of people sitting here, at least 70% were opposed. Of the remaining 30%, some were neutral.

The situation wasn't in her favor.

And besides...

Elizabeth was also hesitant. What mattered most to her right now was finding out who was behind Nash. This competition was important, but the timing couldn't be worse.

If she entered, she'd have to make all kinds of preparations. She definitely wouldn't be able to focus on anything else. Becky's situation was too important. She couldn't trust it to someone else either.

So while everyone debated heatedly, she stayed quiet.

Sam noticed her predicament. He thought for a moment. "There's still a month until the competition. Why don't we select several candidates? Everyone prepares together. Then on the day of the main event, we hold an internal preliminary round."

At this suggestion, the murmuring stopped.

Elizabeth thought it was workable. "I support this proposal."

Flora considered it. This worked too—a small internal preliminary. Everyone would have a chance. "I support it too."

The two most controversial candidates both expressed support. The other small streamers naturally had no objections. Before this proposal, they hadn't even been in the running. Now they had a shot at the preliminaries—for them, it was an opportunity.

After the meeting ended, it was already evening. Elizabeth didn't linger at the office. She clocked out immediately and drove to Nash's place.

Her car was on the road when a black luxury car passed by. The driver in the luxury car glanced over, thinking the driver looked familiar.

He glanced hesitantly at Cornelius in the rearview mirror.

"Mr. Habsburg, I think I just saw Mrs. Habsburg."

Cornelius looked up out the window. "Where?"

"I saw Mrs. Habsburg's car. Went that direction."

Cornelius looked in the direction the driver pointed. This was an intersection. The right turn was the way home. But the driver was pointing left.

"Follow her."

The car stopped by the curb. Elizabeth got out.

Before her was a block of apartment buildings. A security guard sat in a booth by the entrance, but he only glanced at Elizabeth without stopping her.

Elizabeth easily found the building where Nash lived. What she hadn't expected was that the elevator was broken.

The twentieth floor. She'd have to climb on her own two legs.

Elizabeth closed her eyes briefly. When she opened them, she resolutely headed for the stairs.

By the time she reached the top floor, half an hour had passed. She rarely did this kind of physical labor. Her legs were sore, trembling faintly. She braced her hands on her knees, catching her breath for a while before her breathing steadied.

She walked to the door and stopped.

The door was actually open.

The door was ajar, a crack showing. Inside was quiet.

Had Nash forgotten to lock the door before he left, or... was someone inside right now?

Elizabeth gently pushed the door open.

The apartment was silent. The living room wasn't large. The first thing visible from the entrance was the bedroom. On the left wall was a floor-to-ceiling window, sunlight streaming through from outside.

In the center sat a sectional sofa. The glass coffee table was covered in stains—who knew how long it had been since it was cleaned.

Probably because the owner hadn't been home in a while, a thin layer of dust covered all the furniture.

Elizabeth pulled shoe covers from her bag. Good thing she'd been cautious and bought them beforehand. If someone had been inside, they'd definitely leave footprints. She couldn't destroy evidence.

But right now, she couldn't confirm whether Nash had simply forgotten to lock the door before leaving.

She tiptoed inside. No sounds in the rooms. No signs of anyone's presence.

Had Nash really just forgotten to lock the door?