Chapter 189
In the bridal shop, soft spotlights made each wedding dress shimmer brilliantly. The air carried the scent of fabric, perfume, and a barely perceptible hint of anticipation.
Mia held her phone, and only after it rang twice with no answer did she slowly move it away from her ear and press the end call button. The screen's light reflected on her face.
"She hung up." Mia's voice was soft, but clear enough for Amy and Evelyn beside her to hear.
Amy stood in front of a large floor-length mirror, next to the bridesmaid dress prepared for Grace. She had measured the dress herself - the lavender lace made the skin look beautiful. She didn't turn around, just quietly gazed at the empty, beautiful dress in the mirror. After a few seconds, she reached out and gently traced her fingertips over the delicate embroidery on the hem.
"She didn't sound worried," Amy said, her voice lower than usual, with a barely detectable tension. "More like... annoyed."
"A mother who gets annoyed first when she can't reach her daughter, then hangs up - that's not normal." Evelyn stood up from the velvet sofa nearby.
Evelyn had already changed back into her own clothes and was unhurriedly unplugging her phone charger from the outlet, carefully coiling it up and putting it in her bag.
Mia nodded. "You're right."
The three women exchanged glances - an unspoken understanding, heavy and weighing on each of their minds.
"Let's go back to the apartment," Mia said. "We need to check on her whereabouts again."
"This is way too weird."
They didn't waste a moment.
They walked into the changing room, quickly took off their bridesmaid dresses, carefully folded them, and put them back in the boxes.
Amy had come to pick up her wedding dress today, and her makeup was still perfect, which made her current serious expression even more striking. The three of them avoided the shop assistant's inquiring looks and quickly left the bridal shop.
Outside on the street, it was getting dark.
The cool evening breeze hit them, carrying the chill of early winter, slightly easing their tense nerves.
Mia drove, with Amy and Evelyn in the back seat.
Amy leaned against the car window, neon lights from outside casting moving shadows on her face. She said nothing, just took out her phone, opened her chat history with Grace, and slowly scrolled up, carefully reviewing their last conversation - those discussions about wedding details.
As she looked, she held the phone up to Evelyn.
"The day before yesterday, she was still discussing wedding details with me. I sent her the bridesmaid dress styles, and she was really careful about choosing."
"How could she suddenly go abroad and miss my wedding?"
Evelyn looked and nodded in agreement. "You can tell Grace was actually looking forward to your wedding."
"Let's go back first and look into exactly what happened."
They went straight to Amy's apartment.
As soon as they sat down, Evelyn opened the tablet she carried with her, put on an earphone, and said quietly to her voice assistant, "Search Wolfe Corporation, Serenity Springs Resort project, all related news and executive activities from the past week." On the screen, streams of information flashed by quickly, her gaze focused and sharp.
Mia sat in the middle, hands clasped on her knees. She didn't look out the window or at her phone, just sat quietly, as if resting with her eyes closed. But her slightly furrowed brow and the unconscious tightening of her fingertips revealed that her mind was working.
After a moment, she opened her eyes and stood up, saying to Evelyn, "You stay here and research. Amy and I are going to the Parker Villa."
Evelyn nodded without looking up.
Mia and Amy headed out again, driving through the night toward the Parker Villa.
The black sedan slipped quietly out of the parking lot and merged into the city traffic.
The Parker Villa was located in "Cloud Hills Villa," the city's top luxury villa district with extremely tight security. When Mia's car reached the gate, it was immediately stopped by a security guard in a crisp uniform.
"Hello, do you have an appointment?" The guard's tone was polite but distant.
"We're here to see Mr. Parker. We're his friends." Mia rolled down the window and answered calmly.
Mia had driven Grace home once before. Last time, because Grace was with them, they could enter directly. This time, without her, they could only use the name of another Parker family member.
The guard checked with the inside through his walkie-talkie for a moment, then apologetically shook his head. "I'm sorry, ma'am. You two are not on Mr. Parker's visitor list today. Without the resident personally coming out to meet you, we cannot let you in."
So strict.
While searching for Ethan's contact information, Mia muttered to Amy, "With security this tight, Grace definitely didn't disappear from inside the complex."
Finally finding Ethan's contact, Mia called him.
"Hello?" Mia kept her voice polite. "This is Mia, Grace's friend. We heard that Grace has suddenly disappeared recently, and we're very worried, so we wanted to come see for ourselves."
Ethan, on the other end, fell silent for a few seconds, seemingly weighing something. Amy could even hear what sounded like a faint sigh from his side.
"...Wait a moment." Ethan finally agreed.
As soon as the call ended, the guard's phone rang.
The guard answered respectfully, saying "yes" repeatedly.
After hanging up, the guard immediately became welcoming to let them into the complex.
The black sedan drove smoothly into Cloud Hills Villa, gliding along the quiet roads. Garden lights on both sides of the road cast soft halos, outlining the carefully trimmed holly hedges in clear silhouettes. The air was completely silent except for the slight sound of tires rolling over the smoothly paved asphalt.
Mia parked the car in the designated visitor spot outside the Parker Villa. She turned off the engine, and the car was instantly enveloped in a deeper silence.
Amy unbuckled her seatbelt, looking through the window at the huge villa lit up brightly in the night.
Without saying much, they opened the car doors and walked toward the villa entrance one after the other.
Just as they reached the door, the heavy carved wooden door opened from inside.
Ethan stood in the doorway. He had changed out of his casual home clothes into a well-pressed dark gray shirt and pants, and his hair was combed, but it still couldn't hide the fatigue in his brow and the dark circles under his eyes. The composure that belonged to a wealthy young man had been replaced by a troubled unease.
"Come in." His voice was low.
Mia and Amy walked in. The crystal chandelier in the entryway was bright, making the marble floor shine like a mirror. A uniformed servant silently approached to prepare slippers for them.
"Adele is already resting." Ethan led them toward the living room, briefly explaining to spare them the awkwardness of potentially facing Adele.
The huge sofa in the living room was empty, the TV screen was dark, and the whole space was unnaturally quiet.
"Please, sit." Ethan gestured to the sofa but didn't sit down himself. Instead, he walked to the bar, asking somewhat stiffly, "What would you like to drink? Water or coffee?"
"Water is fine, thank you," Mia said.