The Indifferent Ex-Husband: Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate novel Chapter 489

She remembered that name.

Just a couple of days ago, while on a call in the cafeteria, Kent had mentioned the name — who seemed to be some drifter.

Marian couldn’t for the life of her figure out what a drifter had to do with her dad.

Driven by curiosity, she sneaked closer to the door and pressed her ear tight against it.

She had no clue what was being said on the other end, but she heard Dennis instruct, “No matter what, we’ve gotta keep on with the 'live staking' as planned for Jerry’s thing.”

Marian’s face went stone-cold.

Being in the biz, she knew all too well what 'live staking' meant—burying someone alive in the bridge piers, a human sacrifice.

The name Jerry rang a bell; he was the foreman for the Star·Dempsey Architects’ Zenitha-style resort project.

She wasn’t hands-on with this project, but Don would spill the beans on the progress every fortnight at the meetings, and the company bulletin board had all the details on the project leads, so she was no stranger to the name.

But what she couldn’t wrap her head around was how her dad got mixed up in this gig.

She was in the know about some hiccups the project faced a while back; it was hitting snags, so probably Jerry was banking on 'live staking' to break the deadlock and get the ball rolling again.

Since her dad and Starlight Group were at loggerheads, the fact that Starlight Group hit a wall should be music to his ears, so why on earth would he lend a hand?

A sinister hunch started taking shape in Marian’s head.

Dennis was aiming to fan the flames to take down both Starlight Group and Brandon.

Her heart hammered at the thought.

The room was now quiet. It seemed that Dennis was done with his call, and his footsteps denoted he was heading towards the door.

Almost in sync, Marian spun around and bolted for the sofa, grabbing her bag and dashing out. As she reached the door, the sound of it opening echoed behind her. Hastily slipping on her shoes and putting on a composed face, she yanked the door open, pretending to have just come in from outside.

As she turned back towards the living room, Dennis emerged from the hallway, and they bumped into each other.

Dennis' brows furrowed slightly.

With a calm and surprised look, Marian blurted out, “Dad? Not heading out today?”

“Day off,” Dennis replied, eyeing her, “Why’d you come back so early today?”

“I was just worried you’d be bored to tears all alone at the hotel, and wanted to come back and keep you company,” Marian cooed, kicking off her heels and padding into the living room barefoot.

Dennis seemed tickled by her charm, and his stern face softened into a smile. “And here I thought you’d forgotten all about us after landing a new home.”

As he spoke, he made himself comfortable on the sofa.

Marian chuckled, “How could I? Sure, the Frost family was where I was born, but you and mom are the ones who raised me. I couldn’t forget my roots.”

She hugged Dennis' shoulder, still playing the sweet daughter, “You and mom are the ones who love me most in this world.”

“You remember that, huh?”

Dennis feigned annoyance, with one hand grabbing the hand of Marian that was draped over his shoulder, and the other absent-mindedly striking her thigh.