C06
Corey froze, stunned. He momentarily didn’t comprehend what the secretary was saying. It took him a while to
process. “The document? What are you talking about? That’s been locked in the police station for three years. How
could she have found it now?”
The secretary was sweating profusely, his voice stammering. He glanced at the hospital bed and leaned closer to Corey. “I don’t know either, but your wife mailed a copy. I tried calling her to explain, but she didn’t answer. I
suspect she knows about what happened back then. I rushed here to tell you before I could even go to the police
station.”
“What should we do now? If Madam files charges or exposes this, all the reputation the company has built up over the years will be ruined!”
On the hospital bed, Jennie’s eyes flickered with a hint of smugness, though she quickly replaced it with a worried expression. “Corey, what’s wrong? Did something happen at the company? Maybe you should head back to
check on things. I’m fine here. Sebastian will be here soon, so go handle your work,” she said softly.
Corey’s face darkened. After a moment of hesitation, he finally explained, “I’m sorry, Winona has gone missing. I’m worried something might’ve happened to her, so I need to go and look for her.”
Hearing this, Jennie chuckled and covered her mouth with her hand. “Oh, so that’s what it is. Winona, huh? You
know how she is–it’s not like you just met her yesterday. She’s probably still upset about whatever happened at the
banquet. Don’t worry about it too much. She’ll come around in a couple of days. You should focus on work for now
and not let this affect you. She’ll understand.”
Corey felt a little relieved after hearing her words, but Jennie began coughing violently just as he turned to leave. He had no choice but to stay, quickly instructing his secretary to investigate Winona’s whereabouts. For now, he
stayed back at the hospital to care for Jennie.
As soon as the secretary left, Jennie’s demeanor shifted completely. She lay back on the bed as if nothing had
happened, casually chatting away about the past.
Her words were subtle but cutting–either blaming Winona for being unreasonable or accusing her of being overly dramatic. Every remark carried a veiled implication that reached Corey’s ears, but no matter how hard he tried,
he couldn’t reconcile these descriptions with the Winona he knew.
Lost in thought, he suddenly realized Jennie was still talking non–stop. His face grew cold. “That’s enough. Winona isn’t like that–I know her better than anyone,” he said firmly.
The remark immediately brought tears to Jennie’s eyes. She anxiously climbed out of bed, trying to apologize. “I’m sorry, that’s not what I meant. I know Winona is a good girl and you’re a good person too. I don’t know how
would’ve gotten through these past three years if it weren’t for you. I was just worried that she might upset you and make you feel disheartened.”
“Corey, you know me–I don’t mean anything else by it. That car accident involving Aunt Edna years ago, I swear it wasn’t intentional. I had no idea the brakes would fail. I only wanted to pick Winona up from the airport and take her home. Who could’ve predicted that…”
Every time that car accident was mentioned, it felt like a knife twisting in Corey’s chest. The pain left him speechless. He knew Jennie wasn’t entirely at fault, but all the evidence back then painted a far more complicated picture of her involvement. Even the police who investigated the case concluded it wasn’t just an accident.
4:11 PM
Loving a Liar
Remembering my panicked and helpless face at the wedding, he felt a sense of disgust towards Jennie for the first time. “Stop bringing it up. What’s done is done. I’ve got things to handle. I’ll call Sebastian and ask him to come take care of you. I’m leaving,” he said curtly.
Jennie tried to stop him multiple times, but Corey didn’t give her another glance. Without looking back, he walked out of the hospital room.
As soon as he walked out of the hospital, the secretary called. “Mr. Gail, I spoke to the police. Mrs. Zettel came to them a day ago to investigate that old case. She didn’t say much, but she did copy a letter of understanding and left. Since the statute of limitations isn’t up yet, the police refused to reopen the case. She must have realized something is wrong. You should go back and check!”
Corey froze mid–step. “A day ago?”
Something clicked in his mind and his heart sank. He bolted toward his car, slammed the gas pedal and sped toward home, running several red lights along the way.
He called her number or messaged her whenever he had a moment, but all he saw on the screen was a red exclamation mark. Her phone was still turned off.
