Chapter 618
Anna stood in front of the cookie shop, staring at the closed display window.
The shop looked even dirtier than last time. Rain had turned the dust into muddy streaks that covered everything.
Anna watched for a while, then started wiping it with a paper towel. But years of grime couldn’t be cleaned easily.
“Anna,” Rebecca called out.
Anna shivered before turning around with a strained smile. “It’s you.”
“You are back?” Rebecca tried to calm her racing heart.
“Yes,” Anna replied. “I came back a long time ago.”
“A long time ago?” Rebecca muttered, confused. “How long?”
Had she and Vance split up? Or had they returned together?
“Soon after Vance was discharged,” she replied.
Rebecca stood frozen, unsure of how to ask Anna about the details. She managed, “Is his recovery not going well?”
She wondered if his leg had been left with a permanent issue like hers, or worse. That might explain why Anna had left him.
Anna looked down. “No, it’s manageable.”
Rebecca breathed a sigh of relief. But why had Anna come back alone? Where was Vance?
Anna looked up, her eyes full of quiet pain. “Actually, I wasn’t his girlfriend.” 1
“What?” Rebecca’s mind went blank.
“I was just…” Anna paused, swallowing her words, then gestured at the cookie shop. “He needed staff for the shop. I was just hired help. He paid me double, so I would pretend to be his girlfriend in front of you.”
“He did.”
Rebecca’s spirits lifted. “Where?”
“He said he was going to find that person.” Anna made a writing gesture. “The one who wrote the diary.”
“Darren Horton?”
“Yes.”
“But…” Darren was gone. Rebecca’s mind spun. “Please be clear. Did he mean he was going to retrace Darren’s travel route, or…
She couldn’t finish the sentence. It couldn’t be that He must have meant the route.
“I don’t know,” Anna replied. “That’s what he said. He told me not to follow him anymore.”

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