Chapter 159

Chapter 159

The next morning, when Trent sat down at the dining table, he found Abigail was already eating.

"Abigail, I can explain what happened last night."

Trent had no appetite at all. He jumped straight into trying to explain himself, his nerves clearly showing.

Abigail looked at his anxious face and shook her head.

"You don't have to explain. I get it."

"What exactly do you get?"

Her words left Trent a little confused, then anxious all over again. "It must have been something I did wrong yesterday — I must have leaked the address somehow, which is why that whole thing happened. Don't worry, it won't happen again."

Listening to Trent make his earnest promises, watching him look so wound up, Abigail let out a laugh.

"Am I really that petty to you?"

She gave Trent a dissatisfied look. "For someone like you, it's no surprise people fall for you."

Truth be told, Abigail had felt a little uncomfortable about it yesterday — but that was perfectly normal.

After sleeping on it, she had worked things out in her head.

Whether it was his personal qualities or his family background, Trent was the textbook definition of an eligible bachelor.

It was no surprise that someone like him would attract admirers.

On top of that, he was genuinely remarkable.

It would actually be strange if no one liked him.

She still didn't know how Serenity had gotten hold of the address.

But as long as Serenity didn't keep bothering them, Abigail could let it go.

People are drawn to good things — that's just human nature.

Abigail understood that.

Just as Trent visibly relaxed, Abigail's next words put him on edge again.

"But…"

"But what? Abigail, I promise you, I haven't done anything to wrong you."

Trent said it like he was ready to swear on it.

Abigail nodded. "I can't control other people liking you, but you'd better not do anything to hurt me again."

She felt she had made herself pretty clear yesterday.

If Trent couldn't hold to that, then going their separate ways would be the best thing for both of them.

"I understand. Give me a chance — you can trust me."

This chance to make things right with Abigail had been hard-won. Trent wasn't about to let anyone ruin it.

"Alright, I'm heading to work."

After finishing her breakfast and washing her hands, Abigail gave Trent a little wave.

She had patients to see today, so she needed to get in a bit earlier.

"Okay, I'll have Aiden drive you."

Trent glanced at his watch.

Aiden had been driving Abigail to work lately — yesterday being the exception.

By this time, Aiden was usually already waiting outside.

"Sure."

Abigail didn't argue. She picked up her bag and left.

After she was gone, Trent ate his breakfast while turning over in his mind the idea of digging into Serenity's background.

Yesterday's incident — her spilling wine on him — had looked like an accident on the surface.

But something about it still didn't sit right with him.

When you accidentally cause a scene, a normal person would already feel lucky not to be held responsible. Who would then go out of their way to track down the other person's address and show up with a brand-new suit?

And that card she tucked into the delivery — flirtatious and pointed — was clearly meant to stir up trouble.

This woman had an agenda.

Trent wasn't going to let anyone mess with his family.

With that thought, he called his assistant again, sent over the phone number he had gotten for Serenity, and told him to look into her.

"Find out everything you can about her."

"Yes, Mr. Smith."

The moment the assistant received the number, he got straight to work.

Trent finished breakfast, dropped Paxton off at school, and then headed to the office.

The moment he walked in, his assistant followed him through the door.

"Mr. Smith, I already have some leads on the person you asked me to look into."

His efficiency was, as always, impressive.

The assistant laid the report on Trent's desk. "Her name is Serenity Powell. She's the daughter of the president of Powell Construction."

Trent nodded and picked up the file, scanning it briefly.

Serenity's background was fairly straightforward. It was also clear that running into her yesterday had genuinely been an accident.

Just as Trent was beginning to let his guard down, one more line from his assistant brought it right back up.

"Mr. Smith, Ms. Powell and Bianca are close friends — they met in college. They drifted apart after graduation, but they stayed connected. Ms. Powell only recently returned, which is around the same time Bianca went missing."

The assistant paused and pushed his black-framed glasses up his nose.

That was enough. Trent understood immediately.

Serenity and Bianca were close. There was a real chance that after Bianca disappeared from the hospital, she had gone straight to Serenity.

"Does she know what Serenity's been up to?"

The "she" Trent meant was Bianca.

His assistant shook his head and answered honestly.

"We haven't been able to confirm that, Mr. Smith. But most likely, no."

Given how possessive Bianca was of Trent, there was no way she would be okay with another woman getting close to him. She had schemed against Abigail — so a so-called close friend wouldn't be any different.

Trent caught the unspoken meaning and tapped his fingers lightly on the desk.

"Look into where Bianca is right now, and find out what number she's using. I'll send you a voice recording."

Trent always kept it brief.

His assistant understood perfectly and gave a quiet nod. "Of course, Mr. Smith. Leave it to me."

That was all Trent needed to hear. He packaged up the recording from last night's call with Serenity and sent it over to his assistant.

Then he turned his attention back to work as his assistant slipped quietly out of the room.

After some digging, the assistant successfully tracked down the phone number Bianca was using at the time.

[Ms. Taylor, I'm guessing you haven't heard about this yet. I'm sending you a file — please take a look.]

Bianca was settled comfortably in Serenity's apartment at that moment.

These past couple of days had been pretty good, she thought. She had everything she needed here.

The message came out of nowhere. She almost dismissed it as spam — but the attached audio file sparked her curiosity.

"Who's got time for this?"

Even as she said it, she tapped to download the file.

She switched to the playback screen, and the moment she heard Trent's voice, she went rigid.

So Trent had tracked down her number?

Before she could think too hard about that, she heard another voice — one she recognized immediately.