Chapter 132 Have You Seen a Ghost?

Chapter 132 Have You Seen a Ghost?

"Sorry, Mr. Davis, I can't find a single trace of Sophie anywhere."

His assistant's trembling voice came through the receiver.

Preston jerked his hand up and hurled his phone at the floor.

It shattered into pieces, scattering across the carpet.

He collapsed back onto the floor, hands clawing viciously through his unwashed hair. His handsome face looked pale and haggard from days of self-inflicted torment.

Where had his Sophie gone?

Why couldn't he find any trace of her?

"Sophie, Sophie..." he mumbled, grabbing an empty bottle from the floor and tilting it back. Finding it dry, he reached for another and cracked it open.

The room reeked of alcohol. Preston lay sprawled in a drunken stupor, so lost in his haze these past days that he'd completely lost track of time.

He didn't know how long he'd been lying there when he heard a faint sound at the entrance.

But Preston, already passed out drunk, didn't react at all.

A moment later, a petite figure slipped through the doorway.

She tiptoed barefoot across the marble floor, carefully approaching Preston's side.

Looking down at him sprawled on the ground, she crouched down and gave him a gentle push. "Preston, Preston."

Preston, reeking of alcohol, cracked his eyes open slightly. His unfocused gaze met a pair of dark eyes.

He froze for a moment, then instinctively reached up to touch the woman's face.

The gesture made her entire body stiffen. She stood frozen, not daring to move an inch. "Sophie... is that you? Have you come back?"

When Preston spoke, his raspy voice carried an oddly seductive quality.

Hearing him call out, the woman's brow furrowed briefly, but she quickly plastered on a smile and reached out to respond to his touch. "It's me, Preston. You missed me, didn't you?"

"Sophie, you really came back?" Preston's eyes flew wide open. He pushed himself up from the floor and pulled the woman into his arms, holding her so tightly it seemed he might crush her.

The woman couldn't quite handle the force of his embrace. She pushed against him lightly, her voice tinged with vulnerability. "You're holding me... it hurts."

Preston caught a whiff of the bitter medicinal smell on her skin and immediately loosened his grip. He stepped back to look at her. "I'm sorry. I hurt you."

"You smell so strongly of medicine. Are you still not well? Matthew said you got sick after falling into the ocean... It's my fault for not taking better care of you. From now on it'll just be the two of us. There won't be any other women. Sophie, don't leave me."

Preston's hollow gaze fixed on the woman. Looking into her smiling eyes, he tilted his head up to kiss her lips, then pressed her down beneath him.

The woman didn't resist. Instead, she wrapped her arms around him in return.

Preston kissed her back with obvious delight. Before long, intimate sounds filled the living room.

The next morning, when Preston woke up, the room was empty.

He stared at the white ceiling, his expression vacant for a moment.

So it had been a dream after all...

No wonder the Sophie in his dream had been so compliant. Of course...

His head was splitting.

He was pushing himself up to sit when he suddenly noticed someone in the bathroom.

Preston's expression shifted. Could it... not have been a dream?

Just as he was about to get up and check the bathroom in delight, someone knocked on the bedroom door from outside.

A woman's shrill voice came from the hallway. "Preston, get out here right now!"

That voice was...

Violet!

Preston's brow furrowed. With a dark expression, he opened the door.

Violet's raised hand froze mid-air. Seeing Preston's face, weakened from a night of excess, her expression immediately turned cold. "Preston, look at yourself. Do you still have even a shred of dignity as the head of the Davis family?"

Preston's eyes turned cold. He loosened his constricting collar and said hoarsely, "Mom, what exactly are you here for?"

Seeing him completely unmoved, Violet stamped her foot in frustration. "Tormenting yourself over some woman until you're barely human is one thing, but how many days has it been since you've gone to the company?"

Violet was nearly breathless with anger. "Those old vultures on the board were already dissatisfied with your decisions, and now you're pulling these stunts. If you don't want the company anymore, just get lost!"

Bringing up the company only made Violet's chest tighten with rage.

Ever since that crazy woman Sophie jumped into the ocean, Preston hadn't set foot in the office for an entire month. The company was in chaos, and the employees couldn't even focus on their work anymore.

If this continued, no matter how vast the Davis family fortune, Preston would run through it all.

Preston's expression stiffened slightly. He rubbed his nose. "I know. I'll go to the company today."

Violet was surprised he'd actually listened to her. She paused. "Really?"

Preston's lips curved slightly. "Really. Now that Sophie's back, naturally I need to work hard to support her."

Violet immediately looked at him like he was insane. She gave him a once-over. "Have you lost your mind? When did Sophie come back?"

Preston, seeing her disbelief, glanced at the bathroom door and said quietly, "She's in there taking a shower right now."

Violet thought he must have truly gone mad. She shoved Preston aside and entered the room.

When she saw there really was someone in the bathroom, goosebumps erupted all over her body. "That's... that's impossible!"

That woman was already dead. They'd already found the body. How could she possibly...

Violet walked over shakily and shouted at the bathroom, "Are you human or ghost?"

Preston frowned at her outburst and pulled her back. "Mom, stop making a scene. You'll frighten Sophie."

Violet's face had gone pale. Sophie was already dead. How could she possibly come back? "Son, have you picked up something 'unclean'? I'll get you a good priest."

Preston's handsome brow furrowed tightly, the corners of his mouth turning down. His tone was unfriendly. "Mom, I saw her with my own eyes last night. Would I not recognize my own wife?"

"But Sophie's body has already been..."

As the two were arguing, the sound of running water in the bathroom stopped.

The next instant, they both miraculously fell silent, turning their gazes toward the bathroom.

The door handle turned. The bathroom door opened, and Elena emerged wrapped in a white bathrobe.

When Violet saw Elena's innocent-looking face, her racing heart finally settled.

"Why is it you!"

Preston's voice suddenly boomed through the entire room. He glared at Elena with murderous rage.

Elena raised a hand to wring water from the ends of her hair, her lips curving slightly upward. "It's always been me. Who else did you think it was, Preston?"

Her tone carried a hint of crazed satisfaction.

Preston's expression shifted. Thinking about how Elena had taken advantage of his drunken state last night to sleep with him...

His stomach churned violently.

He lunged forward and grabbed Elena by the throat, slamming her against the wall. His eyes held a sinister gleam. "You deserve to die, crawling into my bed while I was too drunk to know better."

Elena never uttered a single word of pleading. Even with her life in someone else's hands, she still managed to taunt him. "Cough, cough, cough... You weren't... completely out of it. You still knew to call out Sophie's name, didn't you? I was just... just going along with what you wanted. Preston... cough, cough, cough, why be so ruthless?"