Chapter 21
Evelyn scanned the room.
Plenty of people had arrived. Mostly familiar faces from the city's business and political circles. She'd attended similar events during her time at Ashford Group and recognized a few, though none she knew well.
Cedric picked up two glasses of champagne and handed her one.
"Frederick Hawk hasn't come out yet. He usually shows up about halfway through the evening."
Evelyn took the glass.
"What about Nason Hawk?"
"Third table on the right. Gray suit, wearing glasses."
Evelyn followed Cedric's gaze.
Nason looked to be in his early forties, thin build, narrow face, gold-rimmed glasses perched on his nose. He was speaking quietly to a woman in an evening gown beside him. Probably his wife—their body language was intimate.
Evelyn looked away.
"I won't approach him yet. I'll see how things go."
Cedric nodded. His meaning was clear: she'd set the pace.
Evelyn sat with Cedric in the lounge area near the bar. Cedric introduced her to several business associates who came over to chat, presenting her as a partner. Evelyn responded politely, didn't say much, but everything she said was appropriate.
About forty minutes passed. Evelyn stood to use the restroom.
Walking down the corridor on the right side of the main hall, she needed to pass by Nason's table.
Her pace was unhurried. She didn't deliberately look at anyone.
But as she passed within six feet of Nason, she heard a very soft sound of glass colliding.
Evelyn's eyes flicked over.
Nason's wine glass had tilted. Red wine spilled onto his cuff, the deep crimson liquid running down his suit sleeve.
But he didn't look down to wipe it off.
He was looking at her.
Evelyn felt the weight of that gaze. Not scrutiny, not curiosity. Something far more complicated than either.
Nason's lips parted slightly. His pupils dilated. The color drained from his face in three seconds. Like he was seeing someone who shouldn't be here.
The woman beside him—his wife—got wine on the hem of her dress. She frowned and tugged at Nason's sleeve.
"Nason? What's wrong?"
Nason snapped back to himself. His Adam's apple bobbed.
"Nothing. I thought you were someone else."
He looked down and grabbed a napkin to wipe his cuff. His fingers trembled when they touched the fabric.
Evelyn didn't stop. She walked into the corridor and turned into the restroom.
As she washed her hands, her mind raced.
Nason's reaction had been too strong. Not curiosity toward a stranger. Shock at seeing a face.
What had he seen in her face?
Evelyn dried her hands and pushed the door open.
Cedric was standing at the corner of the corridor.
She walked over. Cedric's voice was very low.
"You saw Nason's reaction?"
Evelyn nodded.
Cedric turned slightly. The two of them stood side by side in the shadows of the corridor. Light from the main hall spilled around the corner, stretching their shadows long.
"Frederick's first wife died thirty years ago."
Evelyn's fingers twitched.
Cedric continued. "You look a lot like her in photos from when she was young."
Evelyn didn't speak.
Her heart pounded heavy and fast beneath her ribs.
Her mother had changed her surname. Wantan Wen.
If her mother's original surname had been Hawk, if her mother had been part of the Hawk family, then Frederick's first wife would have been her grandmother.
She looked like her grandmother.
Evelyn's lips pressed into a tight line.
Cedric glanced at her. He didn't press for answers or rush her.
The two of them returned to the main hall.
The gala was more than halfway through. Some guests had started to leave.
Evelyn sat in the lounge area holding a cup of coffee she didn't drink. Her gaze occasionally drifted toward Nason's direction. Every time, she could feel him sneaking glances at her.
Nine-twenty.
The carved wooden doors at the entrance to the main hall were pushed open from outside.
An elderly man in a dark gray suit appeared in the doorway. His hair was completely white, his frame thin but upright. He held a walnut cane in his left hand, his right arm supported by a butler in a black suit.
People in the main hall automatically parted to make way.
Frederick.
Evelyn stood up from the sofa.
Frederick walked slowly, taking a few steps and pausing, nodding slightly to guests on either side. His expression was calm, carrying the composure of an old-guard family patriarch.
When he reached the center of the main hall, his gaze swept unconsciously across the crowd.
That gaze passed over Evelyn.
Then snapped back.
Like something had yanked it back urgently.
Frederick's steps stopped cold.
His cane pressed into the carpet, leaving a deep indentation.
The butler felt his entire arm trembling and immediately steadied him, alarmed.
"Sir?"
Frederick didn't answer the butler.
His gaze was locked on Evelyn's face.
Thirty feet between them. The crystal chandelier light hit the side of Evelyn's face, outlining her brow bone, the bridge of her nose, her jawline.
Frederick's lips began to tremble violently.
He pushed the butler's hand away. His body leaned forward. His left foot tried to step forward, but the strength seemed to drain from his legs.
He took another step forward. The cane dragged a mark across the carpet.
The butler was practically holding him up.
"Sir, please be careful!"
Frederick's eyes turned red.
Evelyn stood in place without moving. Her hands hung at her sides, palms clenched tight.
Only fifteen feet left between them.
Frederick looked at Evelyn with an incredibly complex expression. In those clouded eyes, layers of emotion churned—pain, shock, disbelief, fear of confirmation.
His lips moved several times.
A hoarse, broken syllable squeezed out of his throat.
"You—"
His eyes rolled back. His legs went soft.
The cane slipped from his hand, bounced once on the carpet, and rolled half a meter away.
Frederick's entire body fell backward.
The butler didn't catch him.
"Sir!"
The main hall erupted into chaos.
The moment Frederick collapsed, the three people closest to him rushed over. The butler dropped to his knees to cradle the back of his head. A woman in an evening gown nearby screamed. Her wine glass shattered on the floor.
Nason charged over from three tables away, his dress shoes crunching on the broken glass. He knelt beside the old man and pressed two fingers to Frederick's carotid artery.
"Call an ambulance!"
Evelyn stood in place.
The crowd surged toward Frederick, pushing and jostling her back two steps.
Cedric appeared behind her at some point, one hand gently gripping her elbow.
"Don't go over there. Too many people."
Evelyn didn't move. She stared at Frederick's pale face in the middle of the crowd, her chest pounding so fast she could hear her own blood rushing.
He'd collapsed the second he saw her.