Chapter 549
Chapter 549:
Without looking back, she rushed to the main road, heart pounding, and lifted her arm to hail a cab.
By some small stroke of luck, an empty one rolled into view within minutes and eased to a stop.
After she slid into the back seat and murmured the address, the driver’s brows drew together. Through the rearview mirror, he studied her in silence. Beneath the dim interior light, the young woman kept her baseball cap pulled low, hiding most of her face in shadow.
“Miss, that area isn’t exactly safe at this hour. You sure about this?” He’d driven past it once before, and even without stopping, the barren stretch had left an uneasy weight in his chest.
A flicker of hesitation crossed Kailey’s face, but she swallowed it. She tore off half the stack without counting and leaned forward. “Please, sir p>
Though he’d been about to argue again, the thick pile of cash shut him right up. Money had a way of settling arguments fast.
Spurred on by her insistence, the driver pushed the car hard and cut the trip from four hours down to three.
Once they reached the base of the mountain, a deep breath escaped him. Nothing but thick blackness stretched ahead — no streetlamps, no houses, not even a distant flicker of life.
“Miss, you’re certain this is the spot p>
𝘈𝗰𝘵𝘪𝘃𝖾 𝘤𝗈𝗆mun𝗂𝘁у 𝗈𝘯 𝗴𝘢𝘭nоvе𝘭𝘴.с𝗈𝗺
Suspicion tugged at him. What on earth could she want in a place like this?
“I’m here to retrieve something,” Kailey answered, biting down on her lower lip as her damp fingers curled into her coat. “Could you wait here? I’ll be quick. Once I have it, we’ll head straight back — I’ll pay you the same for the return p>
“Fine, but don’t take long. I’ve got to get home p>
She gave a tight nod and stepped out. With a click, her flashlight cut a narrow beam through the night, and she followed the path etched in her memory. The little house wasn’t far.
Moments later, its silhouette emerged exactly where she expected.
She hurried forward, hand already lifting to knock — then halted mid-step.
The door gaped open, and the house beyond was utterly empty.
Could Lionel have dismissed them already? That didn’t make sense. He didn’t have it in him to pull off something that neat, and there was no way he’d toss aside an opportunity he’d fought so hard to get.
The moment she stepped inside, Kailey found herself holding her breath.
Weeks of neglect clung to the air. Rain had seeped through somewhere and drenched the trash scattered across the warped wooden table, while a half-eaten carton of takeout lay overturned on the floor, its greasy contents mashed into the mud.
The skies over Aslesall had been cloudless for days.
That could only mean Lambert had lied.
As Kyson’s longtime friend, he would never have offered help and then left her hanging on hollow promises — unless Kyson himself had given the order. Kyson might already have taken whatever her mother had left behind.
But why would he keep something like that from her?