Chapter 42 Congrats, You Got Your Life Back

Arnold squinted and said, "Congrats, you got your life back."

Just a moment ago, Vera eyed the car keys. Without a second thought, she hopped on the motorcycle and headed straight for the underground parking garage. She wasn't one to fear death, and there was no way she was leaving Arnold behind.

But when she got to the garage, the stench of blood hit her hard. Vera wrinkled her nose.

Seeing the bodies scattered all over the place made her stomach churn, but she kept it together.

After all, in prison, she had to clean toilets filled with crap and puke. The smell and sight made her dizzy and disoriented, but she had to clean those toilets. If she didn't, she'd get beaten. So now, the bodies were the least of her worries.

Vera spotted Arnold and rushed over, checking him from head to toe. Once she saw he was unhurt, she let out a sigh of relief.

The smell of urine nearby made her frown. Before she could look, Arnold covered her eyes and whispered, "Don't look, it's nasty."

"Okay."

Arnold told his men, "Call his dad to come get him."

Then he took Vera away, not wanting her to see the mess again.

Auburn watched them leave, his eyes burning with resentment. He clenched his teeth, his eyes red. One day, he'd make Arnold kneel and beg for mercy.

But for now, he had to wait for his dad to show up.

In less than half an hour, a middle-aged man rushed over. He had a thick gold chain around his neck, a cigar in his hand, and his semi-bald curly hair was neatly groomed. His open shirt showed off his rough chest hair. He was John Wilson, Auburn's father.

When John saw Auburn's pathetic state and his urine-stained pants, he was furious.

He thought, "I'm the boss of Eastwood District, and I raised such a useless son."

The more he thought about it, the angrier he got, and he slapped Auburn hard.

"Dad! Wait! I think I recognized that woman!" Auburn tried to defend himself.

"Who?" John asked, his expression softening a bit.

"Arnold's woman," Auburn said.

By the time John arrived, Vera and Arnold were already gone, so he didn't see Vera's face. "Who do you think she looks like?"

"You had an album before, I remember you staring at that woman for a long time," Auburn said.

John's face darkened as he realized who Auburn was referring to.

He said, "I see, I'll look into it."

The plane landed. Vinehaven was pretty remote, the only way to get there was by cargo ship; Vera and Arnold had to go to a nearby city to find an airport. They bought first-class tickets for the trip back.

When they landed, they turned heads immediately. A TikToker who specialized in airport fashion caught them on camera. Without them noticing, a video clip was taken.

That clip blew up online, racking up tens of thousands of likes. They were just that eye-catching.

But Vera didn't notice, lost in her joy as she carried the wind chimes she had chosen as a gift for Charles.

Arnold watched Vera, seeing how her attention was all on Charles. It gave him a feeling he couldn't quite describe.

"Drive me back to the office," Arnold said, tearing his gaze away.

Just then, his assistant spoke up, "Mr. Pierce, I'm sorry, but the investigation you asked for hit a dead end. All the evidence from back then has been wiped clean. But Ms. Garcia doesn't seem to be the girl from back then. She was attending another event at the time."

"I see, let's drop it," Arnold said coldly.

He wasn't happy with that outcome.

When Charles heard they were on their way back, he was already waiting at the door. His amber eyes sparkled as he stared outside, not wanting to miss a thing.

Matthew felt helpless but let Charles have his moment. When Charles saw the familiar figure, he wanted to run over and hug Vera but held back. He kept fidgeting with his small hands, looking at Vera with a shy and uneasy gaze.

Vera felt sorry and hugged Charles, asking, "Did you miss me?"

Charles nodded, gently kissed Vera's face, and then shyly buried his head in her shoulder.

Seeing him like that, Vera guessed he still couldn't speak.

She felt a pang of regret but thought to herself, 'Take it slow, don't rush Charles.'

Like a magician, she pulled out the wind chimes and asked, "Do you like it?"

The wind chimes were beautiful, with patterns that moved like animation when the wind blew.

Charles's face lit up with surprise, and his smile spread wide.

Seeing Charles so happy lifted Vera's spirits.

She was just shifting all the guilt she felt about losing that child onto Charles.

Just then, Adeline called Vera, "Are you free? Can we chat?"

Vera thought it was about the patent that hadn't been transferred yet and asked, "Is it about the patent?"

"No, there's a masked auction dinner tonight," Adeline said, "You mentioned wanting to branch out into other industries. This is a chance, so I'm asking if you want to go?"

"But even if I didn't contact you, Victor would. After the scene you caused last time, the Garcia family's reputation is in shambles. If they don't go, you'll represent Constance Corporation," Adeline said with a smile.

Adeline knew about those things and, besides sighing, she also felt heartache. It was hard to believe that Vera, whom Skylar once cherished, was being treated this way by the Garcia family.

Adeline asked, "By the way, do you know you're trending on the internet right now?"