At the studio, Leanna found Zoe slumping on the cashier counter and sighing every five seconds. So, she walked up and asked the young lady beside Zoe softly, "What's wrong with her?"
"I don't know either. She's been like this since yesterday."
"Zoe, have you had your breakfast?" Leanna walked to her side.
A lifeless Zoe looked up and replied, "I have."
"What did you have?"
"A lesson."
This made Leanna speechless before she dragged Zoe to her office. "What's wrong? Are you feeling sick?"
Zoe had dead eyes. "What? Maybe? I do feel very unwell."
At that, Leanna stated, "I'll send you home, then. You should rest up for now. Or do you want to go to the hospital?"
Yet, Zoe only shook her head and lay down on the couch. "It's alright. I just didn't have the best morning today. I'll be fine after a short rest."
Her condition told Leanna that she must have gotten hurt by love again. Without prying any further, Leanna ordered a set of breakfast for her before setting down her phone. "Rest up. I'll wake you up later."
Nodding, Zoe closed her eyes. Half an hour later, the breakfast finally arrived, and she continued to nap after her meal until noon.
Just as she woke up and stretched, someone knocked on the door before a young lady poked her head in. "Miss McKinney, Miss Hart, umm… Mr. Daniel's here." This made Zoe instantly freeze in her stretching position, speechless.
Leanna asked her, "Did he say why he came?"
"He didn't. He did come by yesterday afternoon, but Miss Hart wasn't here. After waiting for about half an hour, he left, stating that he would swing by again today."
Leanna gazed at Zoe. "So, he's here for you."
Zoe slowly put her hands down. "Just say that I'm not around—no—say that I'm out of town, abroad, and I won't come back for another ten years or so!"
The young lady and Leanna were caught speechless by her words.
Then, Leanna told the young lady, "You can tell him that Zoe has gone for a shoot today. If he asks you about the location, just say that you don't know."
"Okay."
When the door was closed, Leanna inquired, "Did you two—"
To this, Zoe had an exaggerated reaction. "We did not! Nothing happened!"
Leanna was puzzled by her. Pausing for two seconds, she then stared at her, wide-eyed. "You were too rash."
Zoe was remorseful. "Don't bring it up. I regret it immensely! What was I thinking? Still, I have to chalk it up to that b*stard, Anthony. If not for him making such a ruckus in the dead of night, I wouldn't have made such a stupid decision…"
Hearing this, Leanna frowned. "Anthony? Did he come seeking trouble?"
Zoe explained briefly, "I don't know how he managed to find my place, but he was making a scene when Daniel showed up."
This made the frown on Leanna's forehead deepen. "You can't stay there anymore. Have you found a new place?"
"I have been doing that, but no suitable ones have popped up. I stayed at a hotel last night."
Leanna took a look at the time before suggesting, "I'm going to pick Louis up before going to Jethro's place for a while. When those are done, I'll come with you to look for a new place."
Nodding, Zoe asked, "Why are you and Louis going back there?"
"Ron wanted me to go over. I don't know why either."
"Ron?"
Leanna replied, "He has been staying there for the time being."
When she stood up and wanted to leave, Zoe followed suit. "I'll come with you since it's meaningless to stay here."
Considering her current situation, Leanna thought that would be better for her to get some fresh air than to stay cooped up in here, so she agreed to it.
At the sight of their exit, Daniel wanted to approach them when he saw them entering the car, seemingly heading to a destination. Without any hesitation, he trailed after them.
After arriving at the school and picking Louis up, Zoe had changed from a sullen expression to an excited one. "Louis, do you have any handsome men in your school that has a six-pack? It'd be best if they're athletes, like playing basketball, super into sports, and has a great body. If there are any, introduce them to me."
Louis did not know how to answer her, so he said, "Did you break up with Daniel?"
Zoe's smile froze up upon hearing this, and she laughed awkwardly afterward. "I'm not even in a relationship with him, so why would you say that?"
Obviously, he did not buy her words.
After a short while, the car arrived outside an old apartment block.
Leanna pulled open the car door. "Let's go." As the one who was leading them, she cautioned the group when they were ascending the stairwell. "The lights are not functioning, so walk slowly." The stairwell was very dark, for no light was able to shine through.
Not familiar with the environment, Zoe accidentally had a misstep and screamed. She thought she was about to fall when somebody suddenly held onto her arm, pulling her into their embrace.
At the same time, Leanna and Louis turned around, wanting to ask her if everything was alright. Yet, the scene made them quietly look away and continued to climb the stairs.
After Zoe had returned to her senses, she quickly stood up and distanced herself from the person. "Why are you here?"
Daniel withdrew his arms and revealed a smile. "I'm here for you."
She did not say anything else and only ignored him before catching up to Leanna.
Unlocking the door, Leanna waited for everyone to be in the residence before she announced, "Come out."
As usual, Ron came in from the balcony. Seeing that it was him made Louis frown, and Ron did not expect so many people in attendance either, so it raised his caution.
Noticing this, Leanna stated, "They are my friends. Since we had something else going on later, they came with us. I can talk in private with you if you want to."
He replied, "No need." He knew that if she wanted to do something to him, she would not have let him stay here for so long. Subsequently, he led them to Jethro's room. "Come in."
At the sight of an empty closet with clothes and trash scattered on the floor, Louis asked, "What do you want to show us?"
Ron stood in front of the closet and replied, "According to my knowledge of Jethro, he would have thought about selling the house after accumulating so much debt. That made me think that there might be something up with this place. My theory is that he hid something here." After a slight pause, he continued, "I searched around for a few days before concluding that the back of the closet is hollow. I'm pretty sure whatever it is he's hiding is in there."
This made Leanna ask, "Haven't you opened it yet?"
"No. Regardless of what is hidden inside, I thought that I should open it in front of you guys."
She knew what he meant, for he wanted to avoid any suspicion directed at him. No matter what it was, it was something that belonged to Jethro's family, so it was only appropriate for them to find out what it was.
Finally, Ron grabbed a metal rod from the ground and smashed it against the back of the closet.
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