The Abandoned Wife Dumped Him First (Victoria and Elias) novel Chapter 208

The moment the Prescotts couldn't reach Abbey by phone yesterday, they had a sinking feeling that something might have happened.

That was why Mr. Prescott had reacted so strongly when Victoria first stated her purpose for being there.

After getting the number Abbey had used to text her parents, Victoria sent it to Saul, asking him to see if he could trace it.

Saul called back quickly. "Ma'am, the phone number is a spoofed one. The IP address is located overseas."

Abbey had vanished, and she'd done it thoroughly.

In the afternoon, Victoria returned to the Prescott home with Tamara's parents.

The living room was charred black. Mrs. Prescott, her eyes red, clutched a small photo frame and carefully placed it in front of the urn.

Victoria stood before the table and bowed her head. As she straightened up, her gaze fell upon Tamara's picture in the frame, and a memory of their first meeting surfaced.

It was the beginning of her freshman year. The university had just implemented a new rule strictly forbidding men from entering the female dormitories. The university’s strict key-card policy and the ever-watchful security guard made it impossible for them to help her up.

Her room was on the seventh floor, but thankfully, the building had just been renovated, and the elevator was working.

However, after getting off the elevator, there was still a short walk to her room. Victoria struggled with her two large, heavy suitcases.

It was then that she saw Tamara for the first time.

Tamara looked just like she did in the photo: a faded denim-blue dress and white canvas shoes, her hair gathered into two simple braids that fell over her shoulders. Her smile was always gentle and shy.

She approached Victoria, glancing at the suitcases. Her wheat-colored, delicate face showed a mixture of bashfulness and unease.

After what seemed like a long internal debate, she finally asked in a small voice, "Hey, do you need some help?"

It was ten in the morning. The sunlight was perfect, not too harsh, casting a warm glow on the floor.

Tamara was standing right in that patch of light.

Victoria looked up at her and suddenly realized that some people could look beautiful, even radiant, with freckles.

Tamara was one of those people.

She pushed one of the suitcases toward Tamara, smiled, and extended her hand. "Thanks! I'm Victoria. It's nice to meet you!"

Tamara froze, likely unaccustomed to someone so direct. It took her a moment to react before she shook Victoria's hand.

"It's nice to meet you, too. I'm… Tamara."

-

After paying her respects to Tamara, Victoria prepared to leave.

Mrs. Prescott, having heard about what Victoria had been through the night before, was relieved she was safe and had Mr. Prescott ask someone to fill up her car with gas.

Just before she left, Mrs. Prescott came to the car window. She opened her mouth to speak but hesitated.

Elias was signing a document. At the report, his pen tip paused noticeably, and his dark eyes grew colder. "Didn't I tell you not to report her activities to me anymore?"

Hawk remained silent.

"Mr. Shawn, have you counted how many times you've said that? When has it ever stuck?"

Having been through this routine many times, Hawk knew the drill. He immediately agreed, "My apologies, Mr. Shawn. I'll take my leave, then."

With that, he turned to walk out of the office.

Elias's face darkened, a hint of irritation in his brow. He snapped, "Come back!"

Hawk stopped, a brow raised, thinking to himself, "I knew it!"

"Mr. Shawn." Hawk turned around, suppressing the urge to smile, and asked with a serious expression, "Are there any other instructions?"

The moment the words left his mouth, Hawk felt a chill creep up from his feet.

"Oops, maybe I pushed it too far."

Hawk quickly spoke up, "After Miss Sanger left this morning, she went directly to the Prescott's home."

"The Prescotts?"

"Yes, the family of Tamara, the person involved in the plagiarism case you had me investigate for Miss Sanger," Hawk said. "When Miss Sanger arrived, the Prescott's house was on fire, and she… she ran inside alone."