Chapter 102: If He Can't See Me, He Goes Crazy
I watched Gale's retreating figure, raised my phone to take a picture, and posted it in our family group chat.
James stood beside me, also curiously watching Gale and Julie. "Strange, when did Mr. Sorelli become so close with Julie?"
I glanced at James. "At a time like this, you should be saying, 'Oh my God! I've never seen Mr. Sorelli look so anxious and concerned over a woman!'"
James laughed cheerfully. "I know, in that popular TV drama lately, the domineering CEO male lead's butler has similar lines. But don't you think it's silly? Besides, the women Mr. Sorelli cares about most are his late mother and you."
I waved my hand. "Family love and romantic love are different. By the way, why would Brenda come to Starstream City? Did she get divorced, too? Look into it."
James deliberately imitated: "Oh my God! This is the first time I've seen you care so much about a woman. I guarantee in one minute, you'll have her complete file!"
I rubbed the goosebumps on my arm. "So silly."
James walked away laughing. I decided to stop watching those cheesy soap operas that aired two episodes every night at eight on the local channel.
Back in my office, I pulled out my constantly vibrating phone from my pocket.
In the family group chat, Brian was the first to reply.
Brian: [Is that Gale and Julie in the photo?]
Marcus: [What are they doing? @Bella]
Marcus: [Oh, right, I just remembered! Brian, that night you and Gale had that huge fight about setting Bella up on blind dates, Gale got drunk, and I went to pick him up.]
Brian: [Was Gale very upset? Because of what I said?]
Marcus: [That's not the point. The point is, the person drinking with Gale was Julie! The person who called me saying Gale was drunk was also Julie! Julie said she just happened to run into Gale.]
Seeing this, I quickly joined the conversation and mentioned the perfume and scarf. While Gale was probably busy chasing after Julie, we talked freely about Gale's love life.
After chatting for a while, I brought up Brenda. Brian immediately sent a string of angry emojis.
Marcus: [She almost got us killed, and she still dares to show up!]
Marcus: [We haven't rushed to settle the score with her yet, but she's delivered herself to our doorstep, so I must teach her a lesson!]
Marcus: [Should we break her arms and legs, or throw her in the ocean to feed the fish?]
Brian: [Why not break her arms and legs first, then throw her in the ocean to feed the fish? Too bad Amelia escaped, otherwise the fish in the ocean would have already had a feast.]
I was about to reply when someone knocked on the door again. Thinking it was James, I called out for them to come in. The door opened, but it was Lucas.
"Why are you here?" Seeing him suddenly made me flustered.
Since that day, every night before bed, what happened at the ocean park would circle in my mind for a long time.
Lucas held a file folder. "Brenda's information, for you."
I was stunned for two seconds. "How did you know I needed this?"
"I've been looking into what happened five years ago recently, and happened to learn about Brenda, so I kept an eye on it," Lucas said in a flat tone.
I was surprised not only that Lucas investigated Brenda, but more that he came so quickly.
I hesitated, didn't ask if he was secretly monitoring me, and casually opened the file he gave me.
The information showed that after Brenda married Alvin, she lived glamorously for several years, frequently visiting high-end venues, covered in luxury goods, living in even more decadent luxury than wealthy family ladies.
She didn't like the bloody and violent ways of the gang, but she had no real ability and only knew how to spend money and play petty tricks. No matter how rich Alvin's resources were, they couldn't withstand her squandering.
Recently, Alvin suffered a crushing defeat in a power struggle within his family and was exposed for misappropriating huge family assets. The family of three was driven out of Dawnharbor.
For some reason, Brenda and Alvin brought their six-year-old daughter to Starstream City, rented a tiny place in the Chaotic Zone, and lived in the same building as the "lowly people" she looked down on most.
The file also contained two photos placed together.
In one photo, Brenda stood beside a luxury car, wearing a haute couture evening gown with exquisite makeup, looking very proud. In the other, she wore a tracksuit, carrying a bag of discounted groceries from the supermarket, head down with an unpleasant expression, walking into an old building that looked like it might collapse.
The file also said Brenda fought with Alvin every day. She would call "Alvin a waste" dozens of times a day, and Alvin would hit her. Neighbors often heard the sounds of beatings and Brenda's screams.
I closed the file and only then realized Lucas had been sitting for several minutes, and I hadn't even offered him water.
I hesitated for a few seconds between "having coffee face-to-face with Lucas" and "kicking him out," then decisively chose to kick him out.
"Thanks for the information. Do you have anything else?" I kept a straight face and pointed at the door. "I'm very busy."
Lucas seemed to have anticipated my reaction. He pulled out a familiar velvet jewelry box from his pocket.
"I want to return this to you."
He did something unexpected again.
But my first reaction was actually suspicion—would he really just return the necklace to me that easily?
Sure enough, when I reached out my hand, Lucas pulled his back.
As if unaware I was glaring at him, he nonchalantly opened the box, flicked the necklace inside with his index finger, and said regretfully, "Too bad most of the gems are fake. I should wait until I find all those missing real gems and have it repaired before returning it to you."
I tapped on the desk. "Are you messing with me?"
"Why would you think that?" Lucas looked at me in surprise. "Can't you tell? I'm trying to find topics to talk about and refusing to leave."
I was about to say "if you won't leave, I will," when Lucas said, "Oscar says you're the 'medicine' that can stabilize my emotions. If I can't see you and touch you regularly, I might go crazy again."
His tone was light, as if discussing something trivial, but Adrian and Cole beside me both stepped closer simultaneously, their nerves tense as they watched Lucas, preventing him from abducting me again.
But even I had no way to deal with Lucas, let alone them.
Lucas closed the jewelry box lid and said, "I mistook you for the Miracle Surgeon before. Later, I thought about it carefully—that day when we came back from Whisperwind Isle and were ambushed, you were very panicked and scared, your reaction to blood was terrified, your hands kept shaking when you treated my wound, making it hurt—you couldn't possibly be the Miracle Surgeon."
I opened my mouth dumbly, uttered a soundless syllable, then closed it again.
Lucas looked at my expression and spoke carefully, "Even if you're not the Miracle Surgeon, you're still very important to me. I've decided to give up looking for that person from back then."
My emotions were quite complex. Before, when Lucas insisted on finding "me," I was unhappy. Now that he'd stopped looking, I was still unhappy.
Just then, someone knocked on the door again, and without waiting for me to say "come in," pushed the door open. Someone so rude could only be Roger.
"What do you want?" I asked.
"There are too many patients! I can't handle them all!" Roger said irritably.
"Didn't we hire several assistants for you?" I frowned.
"All of them together don't compare to one of you!" Roger approached, staring at my hands with intense fascination. "You were originally a very skilled surgeon, right? Too bad your hands are ruined. Haven't you thought about doing reconstructive surgery on yourself?"
I immediately felt Lucas's gaze putting immense pressure on me.
He asked me, "What's wrong with your hands?"