《The Love Mark of the Werewolf》 Chapter 1 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios I didn¡¯t really want to go to this bachelor party, even if it was specially held for me. I got into the cab and leaned out of the window to watch Abraham¡¯s figure fade away. He stayed where he was until I couldn¡¯t see him anymore. Although we¡¯re getting married tomorrow and will be spending a lot of time together in the future, I still want to spend all my spare time with him. If it weren¡¯t for Rachel¡¯s calls to get me out of the house, I would still be lying on his arm, enjoying the sense of security and belonging that his warm, strong muscles give me. The party wasn¡¯t far away. I felt like I¡¯d only been thinking about how Abraham would be like tomorrow for a little while before I arrived. The moment I got out of the car, my heart suddenly tightened. The intense pain sucked all the energy out of me and I fell to the ground without any warning. The driver quickly got out of the car to help me up and asked if I needed to call an ambulance. I was in a daze. I didn¡¯t know why, but I suddenly felt that I was going to lost something important.. The first person I thought of was Abraham. I immediately took out my phone, wanting to call him. Before I could even did anything, I was sober. I heard voices around me and saw the driver¡¯s anxious face. All of a sudden, I was stuck wondering what had just happened. ¡°Miss, how are you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine, thank you.¡± I put my phone away. If I just called Abraham like that, he would be worried about my heart. Thankfully, I haven¡¯t called him yet. There was still a faint uneasiness in my heart even when my condition was already normal. An indescribable uneasiness. Rachel and the others were as clich¨¦ as ever, setting the party at the karaoke place she owned. When I found the private room and walked through the door, a cylinder of confetti shot out and sprayed all over me. ¡°Wow! Congratulations on getting married!¡± Rachel took pictures with her phone, and a dozen people applauded while welcoming me. Sara walked over to me with the microphone and handed it to me. She then said to everyone, ¡°Quick, select a song for the bride. ¡®Happy Breakup¡¯!¡± Everyone burst out laughing. I glared at Sara, and Alice rushed over to pull me back. ¡°Come on, gorgeous. You haven¡¯t had dinner yet, right? Have something to eat first.¡± Sara smiled. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be eating. The bride has to put up a performance today, or else she won¡¯t be able to leave!¡± Performance? I had already expected it. In order to get out of this perfectly, I already prepared for it. ¡°Ordinary songs surely won¡¯t satisfy everyone. I¡¯ll perform a high note. Is there anyone who wants to challenge me?¡± Sara immediately raised her hand. ¡°Me! And all of us. Let¡¯s sing together. Your voice must surpass ours in order to pass. Are you up for it?¡± I couldn¡¯t help but frown. It was definitely challenging, but everyone was eager to try. I had no choice but to bite the bullet and try the high notes for the song ¡®Hello¡¯. Holding the microphone in my hand, the accompaniment started. I tried to make the starting point lower before I started singing. But to my surprise, Sara started singing before I could even open my mouth. She turned the pitch really high up, and when I picked up the second verse, I had a difficult time singing. Gradually, their voices rose higher and higher. From time to time, they would let me sing while they drink water and rest, but I had to keep singing from start to end. At the end of the song, in order not to embarrass myself, I ruthlessly sang at the top of my lungs. The room was filled with cheers and clapping, but when I finished singing, I felt my throat go hoarse and my body go limp. Just as I was about to take a good rest, I felt someone wrap their arms around my waist. Their hands kept moving up and down. The next second, someone pressed against me from behind, their hips swaying from side to side as if they were going to have a hot dance. I quickly turned around to see who it was, but I didn¡¯t recognize the person. I was furious. ¡°Are you at the wrong place?¡± Sara laughed loudly once she saw me. ¡°He¡¯s at the right place. He¡¯s the sexy dancer I mentioned to you the other time. Isn¡¯t he handsome? Come on, let¡¯s dance!¡± Someone then switched to a sexy dance song, and people around us began to hoot. Alice then gave me a shove, pushing me right into the arms of a male sexy dancer. He wrapped his arms around me and leaned down to whisper in my ear. ¡°I¡¯ve heard about you for a long time. You¡¯re even better looking than I imagined. There¡¯s no need to feel nervous. I¡¯ll dance with you.¡± His voice was very light, and his hand quickly slid up my back. Feeling slightly offended, I broke away from his embrace. But someone pushed me right back almost immediately. This time, he directly squeezed my hip, and I couldn¡¯t take it anymore. I jerked away from him. The atmosphere became a little awkward, so I could only say, ¡°I¡¯m a little tired from singing just now. I just want to rest.¡± Sara said, ¡°This is our last bachelor night. We¡¯ll have plenty of time to rest in the future.¡± Rachel saw my unhappy expression and retorted, ¡°It only takes me one look to tell that you¡¯re single. Can¡¯t you tell that Emma¡¯s not cherishing her last moments of being single at all? Look at her, I can tell that she¡¯s dying to get married.¡± I smiled and couldn¡¯t help but hug Rachel. ¡°You know me best.¡± Rachel made everyone have fun by themselves and pulled me into a corner to rest. Everyone felt a little disappointed, but they were afraid that I would really get angry, so they didn¡¯t ask me to do anything. In the noisy environment, Rachel looked at me silently. Her silence was especially piercing. I suddenly felt uncomfortable and took the initiative to break the awkward silence. ¡°Rachel, you can still look for me anytime in the future.¡± Rachel took a sip of her wine. She wanted to pour it for me, but when she raised her hand halfway, she suddenly pulled back. ¡°Forget it. Don¡¯t drink. You have lots to do tomorrow.¡± I took Rachel¡¯s hand. ¡°You should drink less too.¡± ¡°Just let me be.¡± Rachel¡¯s eyes were filled with sparkles. ¡°I¡¯m so happy that you¡¯re marrying someone you love. You¡¯re really lucky to have met each other. The word ¡®match made in heaven¡¯ is the perfect word for the two of you!¡± ¡°You¡¯ll find the one for you too.¡± I had sympathy for Rachel. A man just hurt her feelings not too long ago. He cheated on her with two other women while spending their money without any remorse. Rachel froze for a moment. She was reminded of her ex, but she smiled. ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about that. Let¡¯s talk about something else. Hmm¡­ Did you see the news today? Someone took a picture of a werewolf. Although the picture is blurry, I can tell from the outline that it¡¯s a werewolf.¡± Chapter 2 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios I didn¡¯t know how to respond to Rachel¡¯s abrupt change of topic, so I just shook my head. ¡°I haven¡¯t had time to see it. I¡¯ve been busy with the wedding lately.¡± I wasn¡¯t particularly interested in such topics. There were many claims of people photographing a werewolf, but they were all fake. ¡°Oh, right. Yes, you¡¯re pretty busy. Emma, I suddenly feel like men are really too unreliable.¡± Rachel quickly held my hand. ¡°Except Abraham, of course.¡± I replied, ¡°It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s really okay. I get what you mean..¡± ¡°What I meant to say is werewolves are better than men. Werewolves will only have one lover in their entire lifetime. They will leave a mark of love on their lover. This mark is much more reliable than wedding rings and wedding vows.¡± ¡°Rachel.¡± I guess I¡¯ve been so focused on getting married lately that I didn¡¯t care much about Rachel. It¡¯s only then that I realized Rachel¡¯s haggard face. I couldn¡¯t help but worry about her. ¡°Why don¡¯t you come with us when I go on my honeymoon with Abraham? Take a break.¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Rachel hit my head. ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear your happy moans.¡± Alice popped over. ¡°What are y¡¯all whispering?¡± She pulled a man over and made him sit beside me. She then told me excitedly, ¡°This is the macho man I found for you. You won¡¯t have a chance to feel the ecstasy of other men in the future. Grab your chance tonight.¡± My face was filled with horror. The moment the man grabbed my hand, I quickly stood up and moved far away from him. I really didn¡¯t anticipate that. Everyone appeared to be quite reserved, why were all of them so daring tonight? Alice was puzzled and asked me, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I shook my head. ¡°I¡¯m not interested in that.¡± The atmosphere became awkward again. Rachel hurried over to help me. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s play with some dice.¡± I quickly pulled a few of my friends over to start playing dice. I had just experienced all of that, but what filled my mind was Abraham¡¯s perfect, sexy body. It wasn¡¯t until ten at night that I saw it was about time, so I let everyone else just do whatever they wanted. I had to go. Sara pulled me back and refused to let me go. ¡°It¡¯s only ten o¡¯clock. It¡¯s still early. If you leave, all the men here won¡¯t be in the mood to have fun anymore.¡± ¡°I have to go. I have to get up early tomorrow.¡± I didn¡¯t want to look bad tomorrow. Rachel slapped Sara¡¯s hand away and pushed me to the door. ¡°Get out of here and go home to get your beauty sleep. You must appear as a beautiful lady tomorrow.¡± ¡°You¡¯re my bridesmaid, you¡¯re going to have a handsome man tomorrow!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll leave it all up to fate. I don¡¯t care anymore. Of course, if there are any werewolves, I¡¯ll go to bed right now,¡± she jokingly said before giving me a hug and waved goodbye. I was overwhelmed with emotions. As I walked out of the KTV, I felt as if I was about to have a whole new life instead of just a wedding. The cool breeze outside was refreshing. It was pretty close to my home, so I decided to just walk back. There were many couples along the streets, holding hands and laughing. At that moment, I sincerely wished that they would be together forever and live a blissful live. After passing by a park, I turned into a shortcut. It was an alley, and the dim yellow light was accompanied by fallen leaves. Even though it was such a desolated scene, it still looked very warm for me. All of a sudden, a sharp cat scream pierced through the silence at night and startled me. I quickly calmed down and just as I was about to move forward, I felt something behind me. I gathered my courage and turned around. Under a street lamp nearby, a man dressed in full black stood there. He wore a large black hat that covered almost his entire face, he was facing me and didn¡¯t move at all. I could obviously feel that he was looking at me. I felt a little panicky, but I was very familiar with the area. There were many cameras around and I was sure that he wouldn¡¯t dare to be so bold. I quickened my pace, wanting to get out of this uncomfortable line of sight. However, as soon as I started walking, I felt the man behind me follow too. I was the only one in the entire alley. The air was terrifyingly quiet, all I could hear was the sound of our footsteps. He had his eyes on me! I started walking even faster, but the person behind also followed my pace. I didn¡¯t dare turn back to look at him. I was afraid that if I did, he would pounce on me. 100 meters. 50 meters. 10 meters. I dashed out of the alley and ran to the mall on the opposite side. There were lots of people on the main road, so I finally dared to turn back and look as I ran. Who knew that he would start running as well. He quickly dashed towards me. He was very agile, and it seemed like his black outfit was going to burst open from his huge muscles hidden underneath. What if he didn¡¯t care about his life and really intended to do something to me, it would only take him seconds to take my life away once he came over. I was so scared that I rushed to the entrance of the mall to look for security. I panicked and wanted to explain myself to the security guard, but before I could even say anything, a loud explosion came from above. It was deafening. Everyone instinctively covered their ears, and I was no exception. After that, many heavy objects flew out of nowhere and smashed onto the road. The crowd panicked and fled in all directions. Someone shouted, ¡°Fire! Fire!¡± ¡°There¡¯s an explosion! Explosion!¡± Hearing that, the security guard broke into a run. I wanted to get out of the place as well, but I didn¡¯t dare act rashly. I had to determine the man¡¯s location first to prevent him from coming out of nowhere and stabbing me. I scanned the area quickly but didn¡¯t see the man wearing the black hat. People kept running out of the mall, and I kept getting pushed out. I looked around for the man wearing the black hat, but I couldn¡¯t find him. I couldn¡¯t care less. Taking advantage of the panicked crowd, I ran in the direction of my home. I ran all the way to the entrance of the neighborhood, but the man wearing the black hat didn¡¯t appear again. I heaved a sigh of relief. It seemed like I had successfully gotten rid of danger. However, I just couldn¡¯t figure out his motive. If it was to rob me to get money and lust, why was he still chasing me on the main road? He charged at me as if he wanted to take my life. Chapter 3 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios The man wearing the black hat was fully covered up in black clothing. Even if I call the police for them to check on the surveillance cameras, they might not be able to find anything. I sifted through all the people I might have offended and couldn¡¯t figure out who could be the culprit. I was an easygoing person. Even if I did offend someone, it wouldn¡¯t be to the point of that person wanting to kill me. When I got home, my mother, Selina, opened the door and immediately noticed that something was wrong with me. She quickly asked me what had happened. I knew that Selina had always been overly concerned about me. I didn¡¯t want her to worry, so I just said that I was too tired. Selina closed the door and pushed me into the bedroom. ¡°Get some rest.. I¡¯ll wake you up tomorrow.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± I changed into my pajamas, removed my makeup, and walked towards my bed. Selina was holding a photo album and staring at it dazedly. It was a photo album that she had flipped through countless times. It recorded almost everything that had happened throughout my growing up years. Something was different about Selina as she looked through the photo album tonight. She seemed to be filled with reluctance and nostalgia. Once she saw me coming out of the bathroom, she smiled and waved for me to sit beside her. After I sat down, she pointed at a photo. ¡°Look, you were carrying a shotgun. The shotgun was much taller than you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s pretty heavy, I remember.¡± Back then, my grandparents and I lived in the countryside and my parents were often out. Grandpa loved to hunt and always took me into the mountains. Every time, he would bring home some good hunts and cook them for us. Selina flipped to the next page. When she saw the picture, she couldn¡¯t help but sigh. It was a picture of me lying in a hospital bed. She said with lingering fear, ¡°That was your ninth birthday.¡± ¡°It¡¯s already in the past.¡± On my ninth birthday, I followed my grandfather into the mountains early in the morning and came back with serious injuries. I was stuck in a coma for a few days before I finally woke up. ¡°No one expected to encounter a large group of wolves fighting.¡± That was probably my closest brush with death. ¡°But I bumped into Abraham that time.¡± The corners of my lips unconsciously curl into a smile as I recall Abraham from back then. I¡¯d forgotten most of what had happened in the forest at that time, but I could still clearly remember the boy staring at me. He wore a long white robe that was white as snow and was running around the wolf pack. He must have been scared. When he saw me from the corner of his eye, he stared at me in shock for a good ten seconds. Then he charged towards me. My grandfather was running with me and I immediately said, ¡°Let¡¯s wait for him. I think he¡¯s alone. No one¡¯s taking him along.¡± Grandpa was probably only thinking about running away at the time and didn¡¯t hear a word I said. Seeing that my grandfather wouldn¡¯t stop, I threw his hand away, hoping to get his attention, but at that moment, a huge wolf lunged at me. I have no idea what happened after that. All I know is that Grandpa and I survived. Grandpa was seriously injured, and so was I. But fortunately, we both recovered after treatment. During the treatment, I kept thinking about the little boy. He would appear even in my dreams. I kept asking Grandpa if the little boy was still alive, but Grandpa didn¡¯t know either. In the midst of my physical pain and my psychological worries, I watched my parents argue and go through divorce. It was a difficult time. Whenever there were any conflicts at home, I would want to take a walk alone in the forest. However, I was very afraid. After all, there were many wild beasts in the mountain that I couldn¡¯t deal with myself. So I chose to walk to the foot of the mountain and find a tree to sit on all by myself. I would look at the road that led up the mountain. I don¡¯t know why, but at that time, I felt as if something in the mountain was attracting me. Countless times, I had unconsciously taken a step into the mountain, only to step back because of the fear. It wasn¡¯t until the day my parents announced their divorce that I went to the bottom of the hill, seating on a tree while in a daze. Abraham finally appeared in front of me. I was ecstatic. I jumped down from the tree and ran towards him. ¡°You¡¯re still alive!¡± Abraham seemed like he was about my age, but his face was very calm. Yes, he had always been like this since he was young. He gave off a very calm and composed vibe. I was very curious about him and wanted to ask him many questions. He seemed to also feel the same way. ¡°My name is Abraham. What about you?¡± ¡°Emma.¡± ¡°Do you still remember the spell that you were chanting that day?¡± ¡°Spell? What spell?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the one you were muttering after you were attacked by the wolf.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think I did.¡± I scratched my head, wondering if I¡¯d been influenced by Selina. Selina would occasionally study witchcraft and teach me some spells. I wasn¡¯t interested in those spells, but sometimes, I would think that they were beautiful and would play along. Abraham¡¯s eyes flashed with disbelief at my words. ¡°How about this? As long as you tell me that spell, I can grant you a wish.¡± ¡°Really?¡± I couldn¡¯t help but find it funny that he decided to hit on a girl in such a clumsy way, but I decided to just play along. I chanted a bunch of spells. Somehow, the more I chanted, the more anxious he became. By the time I finished all the spells and told him that I had none left, his face was gloomy. It was obvious he wasn¡¯t in a good mood. ¡°Why don¡¯t we hang out some other time?¡± I was worried he might be facing the same situation as me. He might have some problems at home. He didn¡¯t say a word. He just nodded and walked away. I didn¡¯t sleep that night. The next day, I went to wait for him early in the morning. However, I still didn¡¯t see him even after waiting for three consecutive days. Three days later, Selina packed everything and took me away. I leaned against the car window and stared at the scenery outside. I was looking forward to meeting Abraham again, but I didn¡¯t. Chapter 4 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios Up until I left that town, I still didn¡¯t see Abraham. I followed my mother to Elsingborg and stayed there. Life there was very different from the town. There were a lot of things that I have never seen before, and a lot of personalities that I didn¡¯t understand. On my tenth birthday, I was cornered by a group of female thugs in the woods behind our school. They surrounded me, sizing me up with expressions of disgust and jealousy. Leona, the only girl I know, reached out and rubbed my hair so hard that it hurt my scalp. I swat her hand away, feeling a little scared inside. ¡°Leona, I think there¡¯s a misunderstanding between us. If I¡¯ve done anything to make you feel uncomfortable, you can tell me about it.¡± ¡°Did you kiss Myron?¡± Leona stared at me aggressively.. ¡°Of course not. I only spoke to him a few times in class.¡± I didn¡¯t understand where such rumors even came from, but I understood what Leona meant. Myron was known at school as a good-looking, well-to-do boy who received love letters every day. Leona must have been one of his admirers. Leona didn¡¯t seem to believe me at all even after I denied it. ¡°You¡¯re still trying to deny it? Everyone in class knows about it! Myron is my future husband. How dare you lay your eyes on my man? I¡¯m going to teach you a lesson today!¡± After saying that, she started instructing the girl standing beside her, who had a tall and heavy build. ¡°Slap her! Beat her until her face is swollen!¡± The heavy girl nodded and raised her hand at me. I subconsciously turned around to run, but someone hugged me from behind. Another girl grabbed my hair and stopped me from moving. ¡°Beat her to death!¡± Leona roared. The heavy girl raised her plump, calloused hand high in the air and jerked it toward my face. I closed my eyes and resigned to the impending blow of pain. However, what came next wasn¡¯t the sound of a slap, but a scream. I quickly opened my eyes. The heavy girl had already fallen in front of me. She covered her hands and a pained expression came all over her face. Following that, the surrounding girls started screaming and covering their hands. I figured out the reason for one of the girls¡¯ screams. A pebble had struck her wrist. Leona was furious. ¡°Who¡¯s hiding in the dark? Come out now!¡± No one responded. I had no idea what was going on, but this was the best time to run. While they were still looking around for someone, I turned and ran. But to my surprise, one of the girls, even with a sore hand, had no intention of letting me go. She grabbed me by the collar and yanked me to the ground. I wanted to resist, so I reached out and grabbed her wrist. Before I could even break it off, another pebble flew towards us. I saw it clearly this time. It flew from the right and hit the girl¡¯s shoulder. The next moment, the girl clutched her shoulder in pain and let go of my hand. I scrambled to my feet and kept running. Once Leona saw me, she ran towards me, but it only took her two steps before a pebble hit her ankle and she fell to the ground. The heavy girl got up too. She wanted to grab my hair, but the next second, her arm was hit by a pebble and she instinctively retracted her hand. And just like that, I ran ahead of them. Anyone who tried to grab me from the back got hit by the pebbles and it was too painful. They could not longer continue chasing me. I ran all the way to the front door of my house. After making sure that they weren¡¯t behind me anymore, I heaved a sigh of relief. I was depressed. I didn¡¯t expect this to happen. At the same time, I felt very lucky. The person who played with the stones had helped me greatly. Just as I took out my keys to open the door, someone called me from behind, ¡°Emma, it¡¯s been a long time.¡± Though I had only heard him speak a few words, those sentences had repeated countless times in my heart. I quickly turned around. Abraham was standing on the road. The huge banyan tree behind him emitted rays of light that sprinkled on his cute and quiet face. There seemed to be stars in his eyes. They twinkled brightly and captured my heart. ¡°Abraham!¡± I rushed over and hugged him. I was indescribably happy. ¡°You¡¯ve come to Elsingborg too?¡± ¡°Yes. I didn¡¯t expect you to be here. I came with my uncle.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great. I thought I¡¯d never see you again.¡± He took my hand. ¡°I think we¡¯re in the same school. I saw someone bullying you earlier, so I helped you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s you? You were the one playing with the stones?¡± I was filled with joy. Abraham nodded. ¡°It¡¯s me. Don¡¯t worry. If anyone bullies you in the future, I¡¯ll help you.¡± I was initially worried that they¡¯d be looking for me when I go to school tomorrow. I hadn¡¯t expected Abraham to appear before me like a savior. His eyes were sincere and clean, reminding me of the trickling mountain springs in the mountains. They reminded me of the soft moonlight spilling down from the full moon. I was mesmerized by his eyes since that day. Abraham fulfilled his promise to protect me, even till now, when we¡¯re about to walk into the wedding hall. The corners of my lips kicked up into a smile just thinking about it. Chapter 5 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios Selina heard my words and came out of those terrible memories. ¡°Well, at least you gained something.¡± She suddenly became serious again, putting down the photo album as she looked at me guiltily. ¡°Emma, do you still blame me for the divorce?¡± ¡°Of course not,¡± I took a stance quickly. Even though I was caught off balance from Mom¡¯s sudden divorce at that time, after all these years, I didn¡¯t mind it anymore. ¡°We¡¯re both doing fine now, and that¡¯s enough.¡± Selina was relieved. ¡°But I still have to tell you the real reason why I divorced your father.¡± ¡°The real reason?¡± I was confused. ¡°I remember you saying that it was because you didn¡¯t think they protected me well enough, and also because you and Dad didn¡¯t have any feelings for each other anymore.¡± ¡°Yes, those were some reasons.. However, those were not enough to make me divorce him so decisively.¡± She looked into my eyes and held my hand. ¡°I know it¡¯s hard to believe, but I felt it too strongly back then. At that time, I felt that if I didn¡¯t leave that place, I would lose you. I felt that someone was going to take you away.¡± Her grip suddenly tightened and as she spoke, tears welled up in her eyes. It was as if the pain from that moment had reappeared. It felt incredible. I could tell from Selina¡¯s reaction that she was telling the truth. At that time, she had truly felt the danger. But why did she feel that way? I quickly hugged her. ¡°I¡¯m still here. I¡¯m fine.¡± She calmed down and hugged me tightly. ¡°Yes, yes, you¡¯re still here! All these years, every time I think of that time, I¡¯d be terrified. Now, you¡¯re still by my side, and you¡¯re about to walk into the wedding hall soon. Words aren¡¯t enough to describe my happiness.¡± She wiped her tears and let go of me, putting the photo album away. ¡°You need to get some sleep. Have some rest.¡± I nodded. I wanted to ask her if she was okay, but she quickly turned and left. I knew she probably wanted to calm herself down. She has always been strong. I simply couldn¡¯t imagine how sad and terrified she must have been 15 years ago for her to still be in such a panic after so many years. The streets outside were quiet, and I was the only one left in the room. An indescribable feeling suddenly hit me, reminding me of the pain I felt before I got out of the taxi, as if I was about to lose someone important. I put my hand over my heart to comfort myself. This must be an illusion. I must have been too tired recently. Selina had felt that way 15 years ago, but I am fine now. I feel the same way now, and I¡¯m sure I¡¯d be fine. I lay down and gradually fell asleep. But when I woke up, I wasn¡¯t in my own home. I was in a dark room. There was no one around at all. The cold stone walls exuded a suffocating pressure. There was a window in front and the full moon hung outside the window. Moonlight shone into the room and it made one feel nervous inside. Where am I? Why am I here? I got out of bed and instinctively looked for my phone, but I just couldn¡¯t find it. I searched around the house in the eerie moonlight. ¡°Hello?¡± I asked. The only response I got was a cold echo. I walked to the window and looked down. It was a bottomless cliff! There must be another way out. I turned around, only to fall into a warm embrace. He wrapped his arms around me and lifted me up, taking a few steps before he dropped me onto the soft bed. I couldn¡¯t see his face clearly, but I was terrified. ¡°Hello, I need your help¡­ Hey, what are you doing?¡± He reached for my shoulder strap, pulling it up. He did it effortlessly, ripping the strap off, and I had a red mark developed on my shoulder. The left side of the dress came down since the strap was broken, exposing the entire left side of my chest to his view. He grabbed my chest, rubbing it up and down like he was rubbing a toy. Even a fool would know what he was up to. I opened my mouth to shout for help, but he suddenly lowered his head. Just as my voice was about to came out of my throat, he pressed his hot lips against mine. He was aggressive, ravaging my mouth with his tongue, even touching my throat. I couldn¡¯t close my mouth and was salivating. The saliva ran down the side of my mouth, from my cleavage to my abdomen. He held my waist with his right hand, and my waist appeared very slender in comparison. After playing with my chest for a while, his left hand reached for my lower body. I kept struggling, but my struggles were just like a kitten scratching an itch to him. It didn¡¯t work at all. His skin was really tough. I pinched him so hard that I almost broke my nails, but he didn¡¯t seem to have a sense of pain at all. He just continued doing his thing. My underwear was pulled down, and his palm encompassed my entire private part. My body trembled with fear at what was coming for me. Chapter 6 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios His thick, long fingers dug into my body, pumping and thrusting. I grasped his back, and I couldn¡¯t help but think of the tender affection I felt when I made love to Abraham. I didn¡¯t know why, but my body gradually relaxed. There was something on his back and I carefully touched it. It was fur! Thick and long fur instantly grew out of his body. I was scared out of my wits. I struggled even harder, but he grabbed my waist with both hands. He aimed his lower body at my lower body and thrust. He forced himself into me! My entire body trembled, and I even forgot to breathe. Although I was already slightly wet after he had inserted his fingers inside me, his lower body was simply too huge. I felt as though I had been split into half. He seemed to sense my pain and stopped. He reached out to touch my body gently and caressed me. The fur on his palm moved along my skin and the slight itchiness made me shiver. It took a long time before I felt less painful. He seemed to be able to feel it too, and his started moving his body. I was reminded of Abraham again. I thought of his smile, his eyes, all those sweet words he¡¯d said to me. I couldn¡¯t believe that I was feeling pleasure. I pulled his fur, trying to make him feel painful, but he just let me be. He just continued moving rhythmically. The moonlight slowly crept from his legs to his waist and to his neck. He sped up and I couldn¡¯t help but moan. Just as I was about to reach my climax, the moonlight shone on his face. He had sharp teeth and long ears. His face was covered in fur and he had blood-red eyes. He looked like a monster! ¡°Ah!¡± My heart suddenly shrank, and the immense fear made me sit up on the bed. The lights were turned on. Selina rushed into my room from the room next door and hugged me. ¡°Did you have a nightmare? It¡¯s okay, you¡¯re fine now. You¡¯re awake.¡± My forehead was covered in cold sweat and my breathing was rapid. I looked at the familiar room and felt Selina¡¯s arms around me. I was sure I just had a nightmare, but it felt so surreal. I couldn¡¯t help but recall the details of the dream, especially the man¡¯s face. Now that I thought about it, that was probably a werewolf. Seriously, it¡¯s all Rachel¡¯s fault for talking about werewolves. Now I even had a nightmare about it. ¡°What time is it?¡± I snapped to attention. I didn¡¯t want Selina to worry about me. Selina let go of me and checked on me repeatedly. Only after making sure I was okay, she said, ¡°It¡¯s half past four. The make-up artist should be here soon.¡± I smiled forcibly. ¡°Seems like I can¡¯t go to sleep anymore.¡± Just as I said that, someone knocked on the door. Selina opened the door, and Rachel came in with the make-up artist. ¡°It¡¯s almost time, so I went to pick her up.¡± She threw herself at Selina. ¡°Hehe, congratulations on getting married!¡± Selina covered her nose in disgust. ¡°Alright. You can lie down here.¡± Selina helped Rachel onto the couch next to her. Rachel mumbled something and slowly lay down. I laughed and shook my head, letting the make-up artist do her thing. I sat in front of the mirror and the make-up artist kept praising my appearance. I felt really happy inside. I hope I would become the most beautiful person in Abraham¡¯s heart today. Around six o¡¯ clock, I had already changed into my wedding dress and someone knocked on the door. Selina went to open the door, but there was complete silence. There was no sound at all outside. It was surprisingly quiet. I lifted my wedding dress and walked to the living room, only to find Selina staring into the eyes of a man. ¡°Dad!¡± I shouted excitedly. It was only when Jeffrey heard my voice that he pulled himself out of the awkwardness and happily came over to hug me. ¡°You¡¯re really beautiful.¡± Jeffrey¡¯s eyes were filled with tears, and his face instantly turned red. I could sense his body turning abnormally stiff and cold. ¡°You¡¯re early. Where¡¯s Aunt and the others?¡± ¡°Oh, they¡­ Oh, they¡¯re only going to come at noon. As for me, I came here yesterday and just strolled around.¡± His eyes flickered, and it was obvious that he was lying. ¡°You didn¡¯t walk around, right?¡± I asked. The thought of seeing Selina and his daughter getting married must have caused him to be nervous and sad. How would he even be in the mood to stroll around? Jeffrey changed the subject. ¡°You haven¡¯t eaten yet, right? I brought you a lot of food.¡± He walked to the door and pulled in two suitcases. He wanted to open them up and introduce everything to me. Selina, on the other hand, wasn¡¯t appreciative, ¡°That¡¯s enough. Leave your stuff here, you¡¯re not going to lose anything.¡± Jeffrey was furious. ¡°This is for Emma, not you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not just any ordinary day. Hurry up and fix that balloon.¡± Selina pointed at the wall behind her. Half of the balloons were stuck to the wall, and the other half were on the ground. Jeffrey felt really helpless. ¡°Your temper hasn¡¯t changed at all.¡± ¡°Hurry up!¡± Selina acted like she was going to hit him, and Jeffrey very naturally covered his head. Selina didn¡¯t end up attacking him because a knock on the door interrupted her. She opened the door and saw her friends gathered outside. The living room was filled with laughter. Many people took turns to take photographs of me. I was really happy, but even after Rachel woke up and washed up at nine o¡¯clock, Abraham still hadn¡¯t shown up. Chapter 7 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios Just then, Rachel received a call from one of Abraham¡¯s friends asking if we had seen Abraham. Rachel frowned. ¡°I wanted to ask y¡¯all. Where is he?¡± ¡°We haven¡¯t seen him since yesterday afternoon. We held a bachelor party, but he didn¡¯t show up. We thought that he was sleeping at home, but when we went over today, his parents thought that he was with us.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°His family hasn¡¯t seen him since yesterday afternoon. His phone is switched off. We can¡¯t find him!¡± The joyous atmosphere in the living room instantly died down. I quickly gave Abraham a call.. His phone was switched off. Then I called the front desk of Abraham¡¯s company. The front desk went around asking questions and finally replied that Abraham hadn¡¯t been to the office every since he took the day off. Did something happen to him? Abraham¡¯s mother called me, her voice sounding frantic. ¡°Emma, don¡¯t worry. We¡¯re looking for him. If you don¡¯t mind, you can come together with us. Of course, you can choose to wait at home too.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t wait. I¡¯ll go and look for him now.¡± I ended the call and asked someone to help me take off my wedding dress. Selina tried to calm me down. ¡°Why don¡¯t we wait a little more? He might be drunk and sleeping somewhere.¡± ¡°He¡¯s never been drunk.¡± Yes, I¡¯d never seen Abraham drunk before. No matter how much alcohol he had, it was just like water to him. He was a good drinker. Please make sure he¡¯s safe! I couldn¡¯t wait and immediately rushed back to my room to change into normal clothing and put on some sneakers. Everyone looked at me when I came out. Selina noticed that my expression wasn¡¯t looking too good. She took my hand and said, ¡°Emma, we¡¯ll all go with you to look for him. Don¡¯t panic.¡± Rachel stood beside her and said, ¡°Yes, we¡¯ll all help you.¡± Everyone nodded and told me they would use all their connections to help find Abraham as soon as possible. I was touched when I saw how worried they were about me. ¡°Thank you.¡± I pulled out my phone and checked the maps. ¡°I parted with him at the Xin Garden last night.¡± We would move to stay at the Xing Garden after getting married. We went there to put down some stuff yesterday. ¡°Seems like I was the last one to see Abraham.¡± Jeffrey said, ¡°It seems like Abraham didn¡¯t just go somewhere. We should call the police.¡± I nodded. ¡°I think so too.¡± Selina immediately called the police and asked them to check the surveillance cameras in Xing Garden. We also rushed to Xing Garden and after some explaining, we finally got the surveillance footage. From the footage, we could clearly see Abraham and myself parting ways as I got into a taxi. Following that, he turned and walked into the compound, into the stairwell, and went upstairs. From the surveillance cameras in the elevator, I could see him safely walk out of the elevator. After that, he didn¡¯t take the elevator anymore. He just stopped showing up in the neighborhood. He seemed to have disappeared into thin air. Since I couldn¡¯t find him, I let the police into our new house. After some investigation, we found nothing unusual. As much as I couldn¡¯t believe it, I had to tell everyone who was looking for him about the result so that they could look in other directions. We then split up and began searching the entire city. I¡¯d just gotten downstairs when a camper van pulled up in front of me. Without any hesitation, I pulled open the door and got in. ¡°Where should we go?¡± Mylo asked. Apart from Rachel, Mylo was my friend. He knew me well, and had been keeping up with my posts. He claimed that he wouldn¡¯t come to my wedding in a fit of pique, but he eventually did. ¡°The library. All the libraries in the city,¡± I said. Abraham would go and sit in the library and read all day whenever he was in a bad mood. ¡°Okay.¡± Mylo started the engine and headed for the nearest library. I couldn¡¯t sit still, and tried to recall Abraham¡¯s every move for the past two days over and over again. ¡°His appetite wasn¡¯t too good yesterday. He only had one cup of coffee in an entire day,¡± I muttered. Milo kept his eyes fixed on the road ahead. His deep green eyes were just like a bottomless pit of water. ¡°So he ran away from home because of his poor appetite?¡± ¡°No, no way. Of course not. Wait, let¡¯s not go to the library. We¡¯re going to the hospital. Could it be that he actually passed out?¡± ¡°That won¡¯t happen. If that¡¯s the case, the hospital will notify his family.¡± ¡°What if he didn¡¯t have his phone with him when he arrived at the hospital?¡± ¡°Then you can tell the others about this possibility and ask them to help out in the search.¡± ¡°Right. Yes. I can¡¯t do it all alone.¡± I immediately sent out a message to all my group chats. When we arrived at the library, Mylo told me to wait in the car. How could I wait? I rushed into the library and searched every floor. Chapter 8 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios When I was at the second floor, Mylo¡¯s voice was broadcast. ¡°Abraham Fisher, if you¡¯re here, please come to the front door immediately. All of us are looking for you. Don¡¯t forget, today is your wedding day!¡± Mylo sounded calm yet angry, as if he would have given Abraham a few good punches once he found him. As I moved between the bookshelves, I heard people talking about whether this groom had run away because he didn¡¯t love his bride. I smiled. That was the most unlikely reason. I searched the entire building, but there was still no sign of Abraham. My feet hurt, but I didn¡¯t dare stop. I ran down the stairs. Mylo had already put up a search notice in the library¡¯s bulletin board.. I don¡¯t know how he¡¯d managed to convince the administrator of the place. Anyway, he wasn¡¯t happy when he saw me. He told me to get in the camper van and carried me onto the bed. He then handed me a glass of water. ¡°Lie down for a while. I¡¯ll call you when we reach our next destination.¡± ¡°Mylo¡ª¡± ¡°Don¡¯t try to convince me. There¡¯s no use sitting in front. You have to conserve your energy.¡± ¡°What if he¡¯s walking along the streets?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll look out for him.¡± Mylo was starting to get angry. His bushy eyebrows drew together. ¡°If you don¡¯t lie down, you¡¯ll collapse soon. Look at your face now. Drink some water and lie down,¡± he ordered. I don¡¯t know how I look right now, but I know that I¡¯m not doing well. At that moment, the police called and told me that Abraham had no record of taking a plane or a train. He should still be in Elsingborg and haven¡¯t left yet. With a little sigh of relief, I finished the water under Mylo¡¯s supervision and lay down. It was only then that Mylo was finally relieved and went to the front to drive. I looked at the oil paintings on the ceiling for a long time, but I couldn¡¯t tell what they were about. Messages kept popping up on my phone. I looked through them and many people were telling me the places they¡¯ve searched and they found nothing. My heart tightened every time I looked through them. To my surprise, Sara also sent a message. I thought that she had heard about Abraham¡¯s disappearance from someone else and was going to help me search for him. Very unexpectedly, she said, ¡°I¡¯ve always told you to stop being so boring. Now Abraham has run away from you.¡± I deleted her message, not planning to bother with her. Soon, my aunt came to ask me, ¡°Did Abraham run away from the marriage? Really?¡± As far as I could remember, my aunt, Arya, cared for me when I was a little girl. I haven¡¯t seen her in 15 years, and I don¡¯t really remember what she looked like anymore. I had only invited her family to this wedding out of courtesy. ¡°No, it¡¯s just that something happened. Aunt, I¡¯ll have to trouble you to find a hotel to stay at for the time being, or you can go back. I¡¯m really sorry about this.¡± After I sent my aunt the message, I sent an apology to all the guests that I could think of. I continued pressing on the send button and could slowly feel the strength in my hands diminish, with my eyelids becoming heavier. Next, I must have fallen asleep. When I opened my eyes again, Mylo stood beside me. I immediately sat up. ¡°Where are we?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve already searched all the libraries in Elsingborg.¡± He paused for a moment. ¡°I didn¡¯t manage to find Abraham.¡± I felt like he was spouting nonsense. ¡°You¡¯re all alone and you¡¯re already done searching?¡± ¡°It¡¯s already 6.30pm.¡± He pushed open the window. The streets outside were already lit up with dim streetlights. I was extremely surprised. ¡°I fell asleep?¡± ¡°You¡¯re in a terrible mood. It¡¯s better if you sleep.¡± I shook my head. No, that¡¯s impossible. How did I even fall asleep under such circumstances? I looked at the glass of water on the table to my right. It¡¯s the one that I drank in the day. ¡°You drugged the water?¡± Mylo lowered his head in silence. He leaned against the refrigerator behind him. After a moment, he said with concern, ¡°Emma, you probably didn¡¯t realize it yourself. You were shaking all over when you sat in the car.¡± He sounded worried. ¡°Your lips were purple. I really wanted to take you to the hospital.¡± He took a step toward me. ¡°This isn¡¯t a good thing, Emma. We should live for ourselves, and not let our lives be affected by anyone¡¯s disappearance.¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough!¡± I didn¡¯t want to discuss that with him. He never wanted me to marry Abraham. I jumped out of bed and got out of the camper van. Mylo caught up with me and pulled me back. ¡°Where are you going?¡± My phone rang again, and countless messages popped up. I skimmed through them briefly. Half of them were telling me that they didn¡¯t manage to find Abraham, and the other half seemed to be taunting me. They assumed that it must be because I was such a horrible bride that the groom decided to flee on the day of the wedding itself. They did not have any evidence, and just came to a conclusion based on their own thoughts. A gust of autumn wind blew over, and for the first time, I felt the piercing coldness in what should have been a blissful autumn. Chapter 9 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios ¡°I tried my best to find him while you were sleeping,¡± said Mylo. ¡°I still couldn¡¯t find him. Though I don¡¯t approve of your relationship, I don¡¯t want him to disappear just like that.¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t disappear.¡± I didn¡¯t want to hear any bad news at all. ¡°I¡­¡± I could somehow see an aged look on Mylo¡¯s face, the same look I saw on him when I was little. I met Mylo when I first arrived at Elsingborg. At that time, Selina was tired from a long drive and in an instant, she bumped into a child. Selina immediately stepped on the brakes, and we got out of the car to check. A ragged, beggar-like child was lying in front of the car. Selina carefully crouched down in front of him, wanting to reach out and touch him. However, just as her hand was about to touch his face, he suddenly opened his eyes and sat up. It was getting dark, and there was no one en route to the city. His movements were clean and quick like a spring, scaring Selina so much that she quickly retreated and hugged me tightly. I was shocked too, but he didn¡¯t move after he sat up. Selina and I hugged each other and looked at him anxiously. He looked exhausted, as if he had just traveled thousands of miles. He was languid, just sitting there as he waved at us listlessly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I bumped into you.¡± His voice was also weak. ¡°Oh gosh. A-are you okay?¡± Selina suspected he¡¯d hit his head. He just said that he¡¯d hit the car and apologized for it. ¡°Do you need us to take you to the hospital?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine. Let me sleep.¡± With that, he lay down on the ground and fell asleep the next second. Selina called him, but he didn¡¯t respond. She crouched down and patted him, but he just turned around and continued to sleep. We had never met anyone like that before. We looked at each other, and Selina¡¯s motherly love made her decide to take him along and send him to the hospital. So the first thing we did when we got to Elsingborg was to drop Mylo off at the hospital. The doctor did a number of tests on Mylo, and finally diagnosed that it was extreme fatigue and that he needed good rest. We took Mylo home. He slept for three days before he finally got up. We cleaned up our new home and then contacted the Child Protective Services. After Mylo woke up, the agency took him away and eventually found him an adopted family. After that, I visited him frequently. He seemed really tired every time we met. This lasted for around four to five years before it gradually improved. But today, I saw the fatigue that was gone for a long time. I¡¯d been so worried about Abraham that I hadn¡¯t observed him properly during the day. Now that I looked at him, he had heavy dark circles under his eyes, a beard, and his clothes were greasy, as if he hadn¡¯t washed them in a long time. ¡°Have you not been sleeping lately?¡± I asked in a softened tone. He didn¡¯t expect me to suddenly ask him that. A trace of surprise flashed across his eyes, but it was soon replaced with joy. ¡°I couldn¡¯t fall asleep, but I¡¯m fine.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mylo. I just, I was just¡­ really worried about Abraham.¡± ¡°I know. I also hope that you can find him quickly so that you can stop worrying. Let¡¯s not talk about the past. I¡¯ve searched all the libraries today, and the hospitals are almost done too. Do you have a next step?¡± ¡°The park. All the parks.¡± Abraham often visited the park when he was in a good mood. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go.¡± We headed back to the camper van as Mylo drove towards the nearest park. We searched tirelessly for the rest of the night. Elsingborg was just too big. I never knew that this would pose as a problem for me. The next morning, we sat in front of the last park we could search, and were unsure of what to do. Advertisements were playing on the big screen of the mall across the street. It was glamorous and colorful. At that moment, the more beautiful those things were, the more my heart ached. Why didn¡¯t Abraham enjoy this wonderful world with me? Mylo wanted to say something, but he swallowed his words. He went to the camper van and brought a loaf of bread and a bottle of water. I didn¡¯t have much of an appetite so he didn¡¯t force me. He just sat quietly with me. There were many elderly men and women walking behind him. They were laughing and joking as they were about to start their morning exercise in the park. One old man was listening to the radio. The news report sounded very disturbing to me. I was about to cover my ears when I realized I was too tired to even lift my hands. The noisy announcements traveled into my ears. ¡°Eight citizens have gone missing for no reason in the past two days. They are Kelly Davis, Dean Miller, Duncan Garcia, Bill Wilson, Brady Jackson, Abraham Fisher, Angus Taylor, and C¨¦sar White. None of them have been found. After investigation, they are all employees of the Hall Corporation, but the reason for their disappearance is unknown. Please take note of your safety¡­¡± Chapter 10 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios I heard a familiar name. So did Mylo. We immediately took out our phones and started looking through the news. Many media outlets released the news. I searched carefully for Abraham¡¯s name, and when I found it, I double-checked that it was indeed him. There were already reporters contacting the higher-ups of the Hall Corporation, but they had yet to reach them. Mylo and I glanced at each other, and he immediately got it. We headed back to the camper van and drove to the Hall Corporation building. On the way back, Mylo handed me the bread and water again. ¡°I¡¯m afraid we¡¯re going to face a tough fight,¡± he said firmly. ¡°You¡¯ll have to eat to survive..¡± I knew he had a point, so I took huge bites of the bread. When we arrived at the entrance of the Hall Corporation, we alighted from the van and happened to see a group of reporters being chased out by the company¡¯s security guards. The reporters were still pestering them, but the security guards seemed to have received some special order. They refused to say a word or let anyone in. Seeing this, Mylo pulled me over and started looking for another entrance. We walked some distance and saw another door, but it was already locked. When we walked further and saw another door, it was also locked. We circled the building and found out that only the front door wasn¡¯t locked. Mylo wanted to enter from the underground carpark, but when he reached the entrance, he realized that it had been sealed and there were people guarding it. We couldn¡¯t get into the building. I immediately sent the news to all my group chats and asked everyone to think of a way to find information about the Hall Corporation¡¯s higher-ups. However, I didn¡¯t find any useful clues after an entire day. It was obvious that the Hall Corporation was protecting themselves. Just as everyone was at a loss, the interview with the Vice President of the Hall Corporation was reported. I read every word carefully, my heart sinking. The Vice President revealed the attendance records of the eight employees and released a video clip of them signing at work and leaving after work. He also emphasized that they had interviewed all colleagues that interacted with the eight people, with all of them claiming that nothing unusual had happened recently. At the end of the article, the media said that the police had already delved deep into the corporation to begin the investigation. They asked everyone to wait for the results of the investigation. I put my phone down and covered my forehead, suddenly feeling very tired. Seeing me like this, Mylo carefully said, ¡°I¡¯ll send you back first.¡± He paused for a bit before continuing, ¡°Rest at my place for two days. It¡¯ll be really chaotic if you go back now.¡± I knew what he meant. My parents must be worried about me, and Abraham¡¯s parents would probably be even more upset when they see me. But I had to go back. I couldn¡¯t let them worry too much. ¡°You¡¯d better send me back. They must want to see me now.¡± ¡°They¡¯ll only worry more if they see you.¡± He took out a small mirror and handed it to me. ¡°Look at yourself now. I feel really bad for you.¡± I took the mirror with trembling hands and pulled it towards my face. I saw a pale face in the mirror. The makeup on my face had been on since yesterday morning and it had been completely ruined. My mascara was smeared all over my eyes. My anxiety made me look haggard and my eyes listless. At the same time, my facial expression was dull. I was scared by myself. In order to be a beautiful bride, I have been working out, having ample rest, and taking good care of myself recently. My skin had become extremely smooth with my meticulous care. Everyone said that I looked only 18 years old. But now, I seemed to have aged ten years overnight. I quickly kept the mirror and felt a huge blow. Mylo was right. I couldn¡¯t just go back. ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to trouble you.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say that.¡± Mylo started the car and headed for his home. Mylo preferred quiet surroundings. He¡¯d moved out of his foster parents¡¯ house at a young age and lived alone in a small villa in the suburbs. It was completely dark when we arrived at Mylo¡¯s house. I stood in front of Mylo¡¯s house and took a picture of myself, from my neck downwards. I sent it to my parents and Rachel, telling them I was staying at Mylo¡¯s for two days while waiting for the results from the police. Selina replied promptly, telling me to not think about anything and to get some rest. Jeffrey told me that he had settled everything with our relatives. He would find a way to find out more about the Hall Corporation. Rachel said she wouldn¡¯t give up her search and told me to wait for good news. I sighed and walked into Mylo¡¯s house, collapsing lifelessly onto his couch. I have no idea when did I fall asleep. When I woke up the next day, it was already dusk. I scrambled to my feet and found a large tray of incense lit beside me. Mylo loved looking into such things. I presume this was meant to help me sleep better. I quickly grabbed my phone and searched for the news. The investigation results weren¡¯t out yet. Mylo walked in. He told me to take a shower and eat first. I took a quick shower and then quickly finished my meal. ¡°I¡¯d like to borrow your van.¡± Chapter 11 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios Mylo seemed to have already expected me to say that. He finished his meal in big gulps and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± I hesitated. ¡°Mylo, I can go by myself. You don¡¯t have to come here and there with me.¡± ¡°I¡¯m worried when you go around alone.¡±Mylo walked to the door and changed into his shoes. ¡°I don¡¯t want you to drive my van and get into an accident from being distracted. If that happens, I will be guilty forever.¡± He opened the door. ¡°I still have a long way to go in life.¡± He turned around and smiled at me.. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± At that moment, he gave off that mysterious feeling that I¡¯d always felt from him. Yes, Mylo felt really mysterious, but it¡¯s not the time to ask now. I quickly followed him into the camper van and drove to the front door of the Hall Corporation. The main gate of the Hall Corporation was still guarded by many people. We did the same thing as yesterday, circling around to find an unlocked door, but we still couldn¡¯t find a way to enter. We then went to the police station, but still didn¡¯t get any useful information. Mylo said, ¡°Let¡¯s go back and wait for the news.¡± ¡°I want to look around more.¡± I got into the driver¡¯s seat. Mylo didn¡¯t stop me and he got into the passenger seat. I started the van and started driving around the city in a daze. I went to a few restaurants that we frequented, and then to all the schools we¡¯d been to since we were kids. The night passed by really quickly. I hadn¡¯t been to many places and it was already dawn. Mylo stretched. ¡°I¡¯m too hungry. We need to go back and eat something. We also need some rest to replenish our energy.¡± I took out my phone and checked the news. The police still hadn¡¯t released anything. I continued my search for a while longer, but Mylo couldn¡¯t stand to watch any longer. ¡°Pull over by the side of the road,¡± he told me without emotion. ¡°I¡¯ll drive.¡± I knew he was really hungry and sleepy, so I stopped the van by the road. I got out of the van. He got out too and walked to the driver¡¯s seat. I smiled at him. ¡°Mylo, thank you. You should go back and rest.¡± Mylo¡¯s expression darkened. ¡°Aren¡¯t you coming with me?¡± ¡°I was hoping to look around a bit more.¡± I don¡¯t know what expression I¡¯m wearing right now. I can only feel the muscles in my face go numb. He seemed to think that I was being unreasonable, and there was a faint flicker of anger in his eyes. But after a moment, his eyes were clear again. ¡°I¡¯ll drive. We¡¯ll look around again.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to stay with me, Mylo.¡± ¡°I want to look around the city too.¡± He pulled me along, then walked back around to the passenger seat and pushed me into the car. He got into the driver¡¯s seat and drove without an expression on his face. I suddenly felt really guilty. When I find Abraham, I must get him to bring a gift and thank Mylo. We drove around the city¡¯s main thoroughfare, my eyes glued to the pedestrians on the road, afraid to miss a glimpse of Abraham. After a long day, my eyes were unbelievably painful. In the evening, Mylo drove the van back to his house. I only paid attention to the pedestrians and not the roads. Only when the van stopped in front of Mylo¡¯s house then I realized that I was already there. Mylo handed me the mirror again. ¡°Look at your eyes. They¡¯re already bloodshot.¡± I didn¡¯t want to look, but I knew my situation was definitely terrible. Mylo said helplessly, ¡°Take a rest. You¡¯ve been searching for an entire day.¡± I didn¡¯t want to rest. All I could think about was Abraham. Mylo saw that I was stubborn, so he picked up his phone and took a picture of me. He then threatened me, ¡°If you don¡¯t get some rest, I¡¯ll send this picture to your parents.¡± I gave in and went to eat and sleep, just as Mylo wished. Mylo put a sleeping pill in my water, all in my presence. ¡°Half a pill. I hope you¡¯ll have a good dream.¡± I drank it without hesitation, since I knew that I couldn¡¯t sleep without the help of the drugs. When I woke up, it was afternoon again. I took out my phone to check the news, finally seeing the news from the police. However, after reading through the entire article, the police still didn¡¯t manage to find any useful information about the Hall Corporation being involved in the disappearance of those eight employees. They learned towards the possibility of the eight employees disappearing due to some personal reasons and it had nothing to do with the Hall Corporation. My greatest hope was gone. I looked around. Mylo¡¯s not here. I left a note for Mylo and walked out. There was only one thought in my mind right now. I needed to find him, even if it meant spending the rest of my life searching for him. I switched off my phone and began to weave through the streets of Elsingborg. I bought water to drink once I was thirsty and would eat bread once I was hungry. I have no idea how long did I do that, up until I lost consciousness on a bridge. Chapter 12 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios I felt like I was in a pretty long dream. I saw Abraham. We spent many years together in the forest happily. Until a wolf bit off his head. I woke up in shock and gasped loudly. The door suddenly opened and Selina rushed in with a soup ladle in her hand. She sat next to me and hugged me with tears in her eyes. I was home. Feeling the familiar embrace, I couldn¡¯t hold back my grievances anymore. I hugged Selina and burst into tears. Tears kept falling down my face.. All the grief I¡¯d never felt in my life poured out of my heart in a steady stream, burning my throat, stinging my heart, flooding my brain. I cried until I was out of breath, as if this time I was going to use up all the tears I would ever have in my life. Jeffrey came over without me realizing. He opened up his arms, wrapping them around Selina and I. After so many years, I finally experienced the warmth of being protected by my parents again. I cried for a long time, it felt like it was almost a century long. When I finally let Selina go, her clothes were soaked with my tears. Selina¡¯s eyes were swollen too. She took my hand and squeezed out an ugly smile. ¡°It¡¯s good that you¡¯re crying, baby. We still have a lot of time. We can take our time looking.¡± ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right,¡± Geoffrey said. ¡°Emma, I think there are many methods we can try. We can do it slowly.¡± I looked over at Jeffrey. His face was worn and haggard, and he looked like he hadn¡¯t slept well in a long time. I felt incredibly guilty when I saw they were so worried. Abraham loved me, and I was the one he wanted to marry. How could I drag them into this? I pinched my aching throat and forced myself to sober up. ¡°Mom, are you making soup?¡± ¡°Oh, yes.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great. I was just thinking about having some soup.¡± I got off the bed. ¡°I¡¯ll wash my face first.¡± I quickly walked into the bathroom and washed my face. I put on some light makeup to cover my withered face and deliberately put on some blush to make my complexion look better. When I came to the dining room, both Selina and Jeffrey stared at me in shock. I sat down to eat with them. The food didn¡¯t taste very good in my mouth, but I pretended to enjoy it. Jeffrey brought me a pile of information about the Hall Corporation while eating. ¡°I¡¯ve looked up a lot of information about the Hall Corporation. This company is very large, and it¡¯s a multinational corporation. They have their headquarters in Elsingborg, and are involved in a wide range of industries. I¡¯ve looked for other employees who work at the Hall Corporation to get some information from them, but they don¡¯t know anything about Abraham and the others¡¯ disappearance. It doesn¡¯t seem like they¡¯re lying.¡± Selina continued, ¡°The eight missing people are all employees of the Hall Corporation. They deleted all information about their executives immediately, and sent a very detailed report to the media. No matter how I look at it, there seems to be a problem.¡± She leaned closer to me and said, ¡°I¡¯ve drawn many magic circles to search for Abraham¡¯s whereabouts, but the information displayed by the magic circles is very strange. They¡¯re all information I¡¯ve never seen before. There must be some unspeakable secret.¡± I never believed in Selina¡¯s witchcraft theory, but the first half of her words made sense. There was definitely something up with Hall Corporation. I should investigate them. After dinner, I told those who were concerned me that I was safe. I took the Hall Corporation files and studied them carefully. The Hall Corporation was truly old money, and had existed for over five hundred years, but they had always kept a very low profile. No one could accurately calculate their assets and could only estimate a rough number that was probably far from their actual strength. When Abraham was working at Hall Corporation, he had specifically told me not to ask too many questions about his work because the company required them to keep it a secret. Up until now, I only knew that he was an ordinary designer at Hall Corporation. I knew nothing else. It was obviously not an easy task to fight against such a mysterious and massive corporation. But the hope of finding Abraham was driving me forward. Even if there was a cliff that was a hundred thousand feet tall, I would jump down in an instant. I spent three days studying the Hall Corporation and quit my old job. I prepared a new resume and sent it to the mailbox of the Hall Corporation¡¯s human resources department. Of course, I did all of this behind my parents¡¯ back. After two days, I received an interview invitation from the Hall Corporation. The next morning, I got up early and put on my suit. I combed my long hair into a clean ponytail and put on some light makeup to appear professional before I made breakfast for Selina and Jeffrey. Breakfast was just ready when they got up. Seeing that I was in a good state of mind, their tense nerves eased a little. I took a sip of milk. ¡°Mom, can you pass me your car keys?¡± Selina became alert. ¡°You¡¯re driving?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just going to work. I¡¯m okay now, I can drive.¡± Jeffrey was shocked. ¡°You¡¯re going to work? Didn¡¯t I already apply for three months of leave for you?¡± ¡°My boss just urged me to go back. I gave it some thought. I¡¯ll always think of Abraham when I¡¯m at home. I¡¯ll probably feel better if I go to work.¡± Chapter 13 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios Selina and Jeffrey looked at each other. It¡¯s been a long time since they last spent so much time together under the same roof. They exchanged glances, and Jeffrey said, ¡°Emma, I think I made a mistake in one of my forms. I don¡¯t know how to fix it. Can you help me?¡± ¡°What form?¡± ¡°It¡¯s my company¡¯s financial statement. I think I might have filled in the wrong column.¡± ¡°No problem.¡± I knew he was testing me. ¡°Just bring it over.¡± Jeffrey got up, grabbed the computer, and showed me the form. He¡¯d filled in some wrong columns and it only took me two minutes to solve the problem. Jeffrey looked, then asked me again, ¡°You¡¯re really going to work?¡± ¡°Yes, Dad,¡± I replied firmly. ¡°Mom, please give me the keys.¡± Selina was reluctant, but after some thought, she got up and gave me her car keys. I gave them a hug before I left the house to reassure them, then went downstairs and drove away. In the car, I put on my wedding ring. I felt as if Abraham was there for me. As long as I had his company, I could get through the next hurdle, no matter how hard it was. When I arrived at Hall Corporation, there were no more reporters at the entrance. However, the security was still strict. I showed the security guard the email from the Hall Corporation, and he let me in. The receptionist led me to the eighth floor, into a waiting room. The place was already filled with people, all waiting anxiously. When they saw me enter, everyone¡¯s eyes were on me, as if I was their strongest competitor. I walked to the side and sat down, trying to keep my composure. We were interviewing for the position of secretary of the General Manager. Although I had no prior experience as a secretary, I had previously worked in the marketing department. I knew all the skills that a secretary was supposed to be equipped with, and I could do it well. After I sat there for a while, a man next to me asked me in a low voice, ¡°Hello, may I have your contact number?¡± I smiled awkwardly. ¡°No, I¡¯m already married. Thank you.¡± I didn¡¯t say it quietly and deliberately showed my wedding ring. Seeing this, he could only shut up. I could sense that the few gazes that were be sizing me up instantly turned away after hearing my words. I waited about an hour and a half before it was my turn to enter the office. The atmosphere in the office was tense. There were four interviewers sitting opposite me. Once they saw me, their eyes lit up. The fatigue from interviewing for long hours was suddenly gone and they became energetic. After I sat down, they took turns asking me questions. The research I had done came in handy now. I answered their questions with confidence and ease. Ten minutes later, they smiled and told me to go back and wait for their notice. I left the Hall Corporation, feeling all perturbed. Of course, I couldn¡¯t just go back. I continued to drive through the city, looking for Abraham. It wasn¡¯t until the sun had set that I pretended to be home after work. That evening, I received an offer from the Hall Corporation. I didn¡¯t expect them to be so efficient. Of course, that was the outcome I was wishing for. I spent the next few days finishing the onboarding process and on October 13, I officially joined the Hall Corporation. Edwin, the general manager, was beaming when he saw me. The deep wrinkles on his face were visible when he smiled. His hair was thick, and he had a pair of shrewd eyes that made me feel like he was a thunderously quick and devious man. ¡°It¡¯s good to finally see you. You look even more beautiful in person.¡± Edwin shook my hand warmly, trying to look approachable. ¡°Is the paperwork all done?¡± ¡°It¡¯s done.¡± I nodded. ¡°That¡¯s great, Bessy!¡± He shouted for someone outside the general manager¡¯s office, ¡°Bessy!¡± Soon, a woman wearing a pair of black glasses came in. ¡°General Manager.¡± She quickly walked to the desk and nodded respectfully. Edwin said, ¡°Give all the information to Emma. Let her familiarize herself with it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s already on her desk.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Edwin turned to me. ¡°We¡¯re going to work together from now on.¡± ¡°Thank you, General Manager.¡± Bessy shot me a look. ¡°Come with me.¡± I followed Bessy out of the general manager¡¯s office and into a small room beside the office. It was very crowded, with two desks and two cabinets inside, while the rest of the space was filled with files and books. Bessy adjusted her glasses, she didn¡¯t seem to like me. ¡°This is your desk.¡± She pointed to the desk on the left side of the small room. ¡°You have to finish reading everything on the desk by today.¡± ¡°By today?¡± There were at least four piles of materials on the table. ¡°Yes.¡± Bessy said, ¡°You have to get used to your new job as soon as possible.¡± She added in a strange tone, ¡°The Hall Corporation focuses on competencies, not appearances. If you can¡¯t perform well, no matter how beautiful you are, you will still be eliminated.¡± With that, she picked up a stack of documents and walked out. I couldn¡¯t help but sigh. It seemed like she didn¡¯t like me. But it didn¡¯t matter. I¡¯m not here to work, I¡¯m here to investigate. Chapter 14 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios In order not to be suspected, I cautiously picked up the document and browsed through it. These documents contained the corporation¡¯s development history, product information, outlet information, general organization structure, and so on. They were more comprehensive than what I had previously found online. With the information I had previously found online as a foundation, I quickly finished reading all the documents. While I was trying to find something else to look at in the room, Bessy came in. She put her things on the table and took out a mirror to touch up her makeup. ¡°I¡¯m going out for a while. You¡¯d better hurry up.¡± After touching up her makeup, she picked up a stack of papers and went to knock on Edwin¡¯s door. Edwin came out, and they left the office together. I closed the door and began rummaging through the small room for any useful information. In the afternoon, the administrative staff took me to meet the other colleagues. Since Edwin¡¯s staff were mainly working on the sixth floor of the office, they only took me around the sixth floor to get to know some of the people I should know. I kept observing my surroundings while walking around, hoping to find something unusual. However, I ended up only finding out that the Hall Corporation was much busier than ordinary companies. By the time I got back to the small room, it was time to end work. People were starting to leave the office one after another, and I went back to the small room to continue rummaging. As I searched around, I found a notice that spelled out that they weren¡¯t allowed to use silver products in all Hall Corporation¡¯s offices. Looking back at what I saw in the company today, I realized that there were no silver products in the entire company. Jeffrey¡¯s in the jewelry business. Mado, the town I was been born in, had a huge silver mine. Jeffrey would always bring back some silver ore he¡¯d dug out of the mine when I was a kid. He¡¯d also bring us lots of nice silver products. I was extremely familiar with silver. Even if I couldn¡¯t tell just by looking, I could definitely tell if it was real or fake by touching it. I recalled that none of my colleagues wore silver accessories. This is strange. Why would the Hall Corporation ban silver. I walked out of the small room and saw that someone was still working, so I invited them to have dinner together. The branding department in charge of the liquor products sat not too far away from the small room. Job Dana and Bonnie Aston from the branding department took out the instant noodles they just bought once they heard my invitation. Bonnie held up one of the boxes and told me, ¡°I originally wanted to eat two boxes. Now I¡¯ll give you one.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± I didn¡¯t know what to say at that moment. ¡°Um¡­ I meant that¡­ we can go downstairs and eat.¡± Bonnie shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m sick of eating that.¡± ¡°You guys always have dinner here?¡± Hall Corporation¡¯s cafeteria offered only breakfast and lunch, not dinner. Job stood up to get some hot water. ¡°Of course. We don¡¯t leave until eight or nine.¡± ¡°Really?¡± I tried to keep my emotions in check. ¡°What about the people who usually get off work at five or six?¡± I remember Abraham always got off work at 5.30pm every day. Bonnie opened the instant noodles box. ¡°Some people are like that. Those in the financial services end on time, the administrative staff also leave quite early.¡± I saw a lot of pictures on Bonnie¡¯s computer, so I asked, ¡°Are you a designer?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Where are the designers? Do they all end late?¡± ¡°It depends.¡± Bonnie stood up to get some hot water as well. ¡°Are you not going to have some?¡± ¡°Yes, please.¡± I took the bowl of instant noodles from Bonnie¡¯s table, opening the packaging and I poured the hot water in, eating together with them. I noticed the pearl earrings Bonnie was wearing and said casually, ¡°Your pearl earrings are very special. The chain is made of tin, and it looks really good with the pearls.¡± I took a bite of noodles. ¡°My father is in the jewelry business. The silver accessories sell really well. You can have some if you want.¡± Bonnie hurriedly said, ¡°No, no, no!¡± She quickly explained, ¡°You just came, so you don¡¯t know. We can¡¯t wear silver accessories in our company.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°They said that the CEO is allergic to silver products. Didn¡¯t the administrative staff tell you today?¡± I shook my head, and she immediately said, ¡°Oh, right. The President hasn¡¯t been in the office for a while. Maybe the administrative staff became a little lax about it.¡± Job had already finished eating. When he heard that, he leaned over and whispered, ¡°I heard some rumors about the company recently. We might have a new President soon.¡± Bonnie was shocked. ¡°Why though?¡± ¡°Who knows?¡± Job shrugged his shoulders. I thought about it. If I suddenly mentioned the missing employees, it might alert them, but I still decided to test the waters. ¡°Could it be because of the few people who went missing a few days ago?¡± Hearing that, Bonnie rushed over and covered my mouth. ¡°You can¡¯t say that.¡± She looked around and made sure that no one was looking, before she whispered, ¡°The company has made it clear that the missing people have nothing to do with the company. They told us not to mention it again. If anyone mentions it again, they will be fired.¡± I couldn¡¯t help but wonder, if the Hall Corporation¡¯s executives really thought that this matter had nothing to do with the company, they shouldn¡¯t have to make it such a serious matter. Just as I was considering whether to ask if they knew the missing people, a phone call from an unknown number came in. I picked up the call. The other party¡¯s voice was very formal. ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Claire from the Hall Corporation¡¯s human resources department. You should still be at the office, right? Please come to the 10th floor. I need to give you some instructions.¡± Chapter 15 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios ¡°Okay,¡± I said just as Claire hung up. I went to look for her on the tenth floor. Claire shook my hand and ushered me into a small office. She was wearing a necklace. When I looked closer, I realized it was made from titanium. Not silver. Was the management of the Hall Corporation really this tyrannical? Just because their President was allergic to silver, everyone could not wear silver? Just because they were afraid that their employees would talk about missing people and affect the company¡¯s reputation, that¡¯s why they didn¡¯t hesitate to threaten the employees with expulsion? ¡°Emma, I¡¯m very sorry.. I should have looked for you when you first arrived at the office this morning, but we had a very important meeting at the last minute. Now I need to tell you some things to take note of. Firstly, you can¡¯t use silver products because our President is allergic to silver.¡± She handed me a notice sheet, same one as the one that I found in the small room. ¡°Isn¡¯t this far too autocratic?¡± I asked. ¡°If you can¡¯t agree with it, you can leave anytime,¡± she said firmly, sounding like this was a non-negotiable matter. ¡°What if we have a new President?¡± ¡°That¡¯s none of your business. Secondly, the 18th floor is the President¡¯s office. The President gets off work on time, so he¡¯s definitely not around after work, so please don¡¯t go to the 18th floor after work. Of course, the President¡¯s assistant is responsible for locking the 18th floor, so no one can enter. What I need to tell you is that if you smash the door or use any other methods to enter the 18th floor, you will be held responsible, legally.¡± Claire¡¯s eyes were sharp, and there was a strange glint in them. It seemed like this had happened before. My instincts told me that there might be something that I need in the President¡¯s office. ¡°Thirdly¡­¡± Everything else was related to my work and responsibilities, so I didn¡¯t really care. The only thing inside my head was about how to get into the President¡¯s office. Half an hour later, I left the HR department. I entered the elevator, and pressed the button for the 18th floor. Just as I¡¯d expected, the button wasn¡¯t working since it was already after work hours, so I pressed for the 17th floor. When I got to the 17th floor, I crossed the stairwell and climbed the stairs to the 18th floor. The emergency exit on the 18th floor was also locked, so I couldn¡¯t push it open. I pressed my ear against the door to listen for any sounds inside. Nothing. Seems like I need to find another way to enter the President¡¯s office. I decided to go back to the small room and continue looking through the documents. On the way back, I went to the toilet. Just as I sat on the toilet seat, I heard rapid breathing sounds from outside. I could hear a female voice. ¡°This is the female toilet. Hold on.¡± With that, she started yelling in the toilet. ¡°Hello?¡± I was about to respond, but before I could say anything, a man suddenly said, ¡°No one, honey¡­¡± Then there was the sound of the cubicle door being pushed open, the sound of clothes being pressed together, and then some kissing sounds. I closed my eyes and shook my head. Seriously? Were these people in such a hurry? They actually started doing this in the company¡¯s toilet. However, I was in a dilemma. If I went out now, they would definitely be embarrassed and might even hold a grudge. ¡°Oh ~ oh ~ Your pinches are a little painful¡­¡± The female voice cried out softly. I was considering whether I should cover my ears. ¡°Your breasts are so beautiful. I¡¯m going to eat them.¡± Then came the sound of him nibbling, accompanied by a slight moan from the female. Without hesitation, I covered my ears and pulled out my phone to look for news, to see if there was anything new about the missing people. However, the bathroom was small. Even when I had stuffed some toilet paper in my ears, I could still hear some sounds from outside. In the quiet toilet, the suppressed breathing was more erotic. ¡°So wet? Looks like you can¡¯t wait!¡± ¡°Oh ~ bastard, come quickly. I¡¯m feeling good today.¡± ¡°I¡¯m coming!¡± ¡°Oh! Oh my god, you¡¯re in! Oh my god¡­¡± I rolled my eyes and tried to drown myself in the glow of my phone. There¡¯s a constant banging outside. After another ten minutes or so, the voices quietened down. I don¡¯t find any new articles. My heart ached as usual. I could hear them putting on their clothes. I was finally going to be free. At that moment, the female said, ¡°Have you heard? The new President is going to take over.¡± ¡°Who did you hear that from?¡± ¡°Claire from human resources. They were all called to a meeting this morning to talk about it. The notice should be out soon.¡± ¡°That¡¯s strange. Why did they change the President so easily?¡± ¡°The President hasn¡¯t been coming to the company recently. It¡¯s already very strange. It¡¯s probably a feud between rich and powerful families.¡± They then left the washroom. I immediately linked the replacement of the President to Abraham¡¯s disappearance. Was there some sort of connection? Suddenly, Mylo called. I picked up the call. Mylo questioned me, ¡°Where are you?¡± ¡°At the office.¡± ¡°I heard that you went to work today, so I wanted to pick you up from work. I¡¯ve been waiting downstairs for three hours.¡± I didn¡¯t expect Mylo to pick me up. I immediately lied. ¡°Oh, well, I¡¯m not at the office anymore. I went out to visit a client this afternoon.¡± ¡°I already asked them. You resigned.¡± Mylo sounded even more stern. ¡°Where are you?¡± Chapter 16 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios I brushed my hair back. I used to think that long hair looked good, and Abraham loved it, but now, it¡¯s just a burden. I had to take time to wash and dry it. It was troublesome. I tucked my hair behind my ear and considered what to say to Mylo. ¡°I¡¯m not on the streets. I¡¯m not looking for anyone along the streets. Mylo, I want you to swear that you¡¯re not going to tell my parents this.¡± ¡°I swear,¡± he said without hesitation. ¡°I resigned and joined the Hall Corporation.¡± A deathly silence came from his side. ¡°Mylo?¡± I shouted. After a while, he said worriedly, ¡°Although I don¡¯t know what the Hall Corporation is up to, it¡¯s really not simple. It¡¯s very dangerous for you to go in like this.¡± ¡°I know, but the eight missing people are all from the Hall Corporation. I really can¡¯t just ignore this matter.¡± ¡°Are you in the Hall Corporation now? Are there people around you?¡± After hearing his reminder, I realized that even though no one had stepped forward to stop the sex scene, it didn¡¯t mean that there was no one else in the toilet. I quickly got up and started to push the toilet doors open one by one. When the last door was pushed open, I heaved a sigh of relief. ¡°No one.¡± Mylo¡¯s concern only intensified. ¡°We need to talk.¡± ¡°Listen to me, Mylo. Just pretend that you don¡¯t know about this. You¡¯ve already spent a lot of time and effort to find Abraham. This is my business. I don¡¯t want to implicate you.¡± ¡°There are many ways to find him. Why must you choose such a dangerous method?¡± ¡°I¡¯m tired of searching the streets and alleys. I¡¯m exhausted, and yet I don¡¯t have any leads. I¡¯m tired of pinning my hopes on someone else. Even the police are powerless, so who can help me?¡± I suppressed my voice, but I couldn¡¯t control my emotions. ¡°Mylo, you don¡¯t have to worry about this. I¡¯ll go home later. Please don¡¯t tell my parents about this.¡± With that, I hung up before Mylo could respond. Just then, someone came into the bathroom. Seeing that I didn¡¯t look too good, she asked if I was okay. I shook my head and left the bathroom. I went back to the small room to search through the files, but I didn¡¯t find any useful clues. Around nine o¡¯ clock, Selina sent me a message asking when I was going home, so I went home first. When I got back, Selina made me some supper and I took the opportunity to tell her I might be working overtime for the next few days. Selina was worried about me. ¡°Are you okay?¡± ¡°Of course. I¡¯m sure I can hang in there while we wait for the police to find out what¡¯s going on. I just want to get back to work and live my life so that when Abraham comes back, I¡¯ll still be the same as before.¡± Selina nodded satisfactorily. I realized something was wrong at home. It took me a moment to realize that Jeffrey wasn¡¯t there. I wanted to ask Selina where Jeffrey had gone, but she didn¡¯t seem to have any intention of mentioning it to me, so I called Jeffrey privately. Jeffrey was delighted to hear my voice. ¡°Oh, God, my baby girl is still the best. I was kicked out by your mom. She was chanting some kind of spell at home today, and she made a mess. I just said one word to her and she kicked me out.¡± ¡°Then what are you going to do, Dad?¡± ¡°I¡¯m currently at a friend¡¯s house in Elsingborg. I have some business to take care of here. I¡¯ll probably be staying for a while. You can look for me anytime.¡± ¡°Okay, Dad.¡± I was silent for a moment. ¡°Thank you, Dad.¡± He was pleasantly surprised. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re welcome. I¡¯ve got some friends at the police station. I¡¯ll keep in contact with them.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Rest early.¡± After hanging up, I couldn¡¯t help but sigh heavily. Everyone was silently caring for me in different ways. It made me even more desperate to find Abraham. The next day, when I arrived at the Hall Corporation, Edwin assigned me a task. He wanted me to help him make an exquisite PowerPoint presentation for his next itinerary. The task wasn¡¯t that difficult. I did it for him in an extremely short amount of time, but I didn¡¯t send it to him. I could buy myself more time to investigate. I stepped into the elevator and reached the 18th floor. The doors opened and I saw an empty concrete space, possibly around twenty square feet. Behind that was an office with locked doors. Seeing that there was no one around, I walked to the office door. It was made of glass, and the lower half of it was clear. I looked inside. The decor was simple and clean. No one was there. I looked around for the location of the surveillance cameras, but to my astonishment, there was nothing here that looked like a camera. Suddenly, I heard a rumbling explosion. Something flew out from the left. I turned around and something seemed to have blown up. I quickly opened the emergency exit and left the scene, returning to my own small room. The noise was so loud, someone would definitely rush to the 18th floor. If they found me there, I would have trouble explaining myself then. Chapter 17 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios I sat in front of my desk to compose myself. People were starting to talk outside. I was invited into a group chat by Bonnie. People inside were asking what the hell was going on. Bonnie said, ¡°We were on the sixth floor. We didn¡¯t hear anything loud, but everyone above the 10th floor did.¡± Job said, ¡°I was on the 12th floor just now. Bang! I was scared to death. Now, some people are rushing to the 18th floor. I wanted to go too, but I was stopped.¡± Someone said, ¡°Ordinary people naturally can¡¯t go. They can¡¯t even go to watch the show. Let¡¯s just wait for the notice..¡± The group chat only became quiet after a while. When it was almost time for lunch, I received a notification in my inbox. It was an explanation for the explosion on the 18th floor. They claimed that the 18th floor was undergoing renovation and a wall collapsed by accident. The group chat quickly became lively. Everyone was discussing why the 18th floor was suddenly renovated. They were also discussing what had caused the wall to collapse and make such a loud noise. I didn¡¯t say a word. I was pretty certain that wasn¡¯t caused by the renovation team. I didn¡¯t hear anyone on the 18th floor or any sounds of machines. If it wasn¡¯t for a bomb, the wall must have been penetrated by some strange force. By twelve o¡¯ clock, everyone was streaming into the canteen for lunch. I was on my way when Mylo called. I stared at my phone, feeling conflicted. After a long time, I picked up the call. ¡°Hello?¡± ¡°I¡¯m downstairs. May I have the honor of grabbing lunch with you?¡± Hearing that, I didn¡¯t really want to say yes. I was worried that he would scold me again. Bonnie knocked on the door and pushed it open. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go eat?¡± I tilted my head towards the phone. ¡°My friend is here for me.¡± ¡°We could take him with us.¡± Bonnie looked genuinely curious. ¡°If he¡¯s a hot guy, that would be even better.¡± I was surprised. ¡°Can I take my friend to the canteen for lunch?¡± ¡°Of course. Just let him pay with your card.¡± Mylo immediately said, ¡°I heard you. I¡¯ll wait for you at the entrance of the canteen.¡± Before I could even say anything, he hung up. I felt a little helpless. It seemed like I really needed to talk to him. Bonnie, Job, and I went to the canteen entrance. Once Mylo spotted me, he smiled and ran towards me. His eyes were restless as he studied my face. I had put on some makeup today and looked pretty good. I successfully made him think I was doing fine. He sighed in relief and introduced himself to Bonnie and Job. I notice Bonnie and Job¡¯s eyes light up visibly. Job, in particular, seemed more excited than Bonnie. I looked over at Mylo and saw that he was wearing a very casual denim outfit today. He hadn¡¯t shaved his beard in days, but it didn¡¯t make him lose his points. Instead, it made his deep-set eyes appear even more attractive. Quite a few people had told me that Mylo was very handsome, and I had to admit it, but so far he hasn¡¯t had a single girlfriend. Now that I saw Job, I had a new idea. Maybe he liked guys? We went into the canteen and got some food. I volunteered to sit with Bonnie so that Mylo and Job could sit together. Job was very happy, and as soon as we sat down, he asked if the food was enough for Mylo or not. Mylo nodded, then frowned. ¡°I just didn¡¯t expect that there would be no garlic in the whole canteen. I quite like garlic.¡± Jober explained, ¡°This is a special thing about the Hall Corporation. Not only is there no garlic in the restaurant, but if you want to bring your own food, you can¡¯t have garlic either.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I heard that it¡¯s because a few executives from the corporation are from Styx County. You know, the people there don¡¯t like to eat strong tasting food.¡± ¡°So even you guys can¡¯t eat it?¡± ¡°This is the Hall Corporation¡¯s specialty. However, this is just a small matter, it¡¯s not a big deal. When it comes to work, we can still give as many opinions as we want.¡± Job passed a piece of beef to Mylo. ¡°This is delicious.¡± Mylo turned to look at Job. Job quickly looked down, feeling shy. Mylo frowned in confusion, but said nothing. I was ecstatic as I watched them. After lunch, Job offered to help Mylo clear his plate. Bonnie also understood what it meant when she saw that. She couldn¡¯t help but shrug her shoulders at me, showing me that she was going to be generous and give Mylo up to Job. Mylo didn¡¯t notice the small movements and eye contact between us. ¡°I¡¯ve prepared some coffee,¡± he told me. ¡°It¡¯s in my van. Do you want to go down and have a cup of it?¡± I nodded. Bonnie hurried at that. ¡°I wonder if Job and I can join?¡± Milo laughed. ¡°Sorry. I have something to tell Emma.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Bonnie didn¡¯t say anything else after, but I know that she¡¯d turn around and tell Job about it. Mylo and I walked down the stairs to where he¡¯d parked his van. There was a faint scent of lilies in the van. Mylo would keep his van clean no matter what, and he seemed to keep himself in good shape all the time too. He handed me a cup of coffee and leaned against the coffee table. ¡°I thought about it seriously. If you really want to continue your investigation at the Hall Corporation, I¡¯ll also apply for a job at the Hall Corporation.¡± Chapter 18 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios I almost spit the coffee out of my mouth. ¡°What are you going to do?¡± ¡°Protect you,¡± he said, looking me in the eye with extreme seriousness. I shook my head. ¡°No, no! Hall Corporation isn¡¯t dangerous. I mean, at least I haven¡¯t felt any danger yet.¡± ¡°It¡¯s really dangerous.¡± He didn¡¯t sound like he was just assuming things, but rather, he knew what he was talking about. ¡°The Hall Corporation is more dangerous than you think.¡± ¡°Do you know something?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need to know too much to figure out that there¡¯s something fishy going on.¡± ¡°Mylo¡­¡± I pleaded..¡± I hope that you won¡¯t get too involved in this. You have your own life. And I¡¯m working hard for mine. ¡± ¡°Then, it¡¯s my personal plan to work at Hall Corporation. I¡¯m not discussing with you, I¡¯m just here to inform you.¡± I couldn¡¯t help but want to laugh. ¡°What if I leave Hall Corporation?¡± ¡°It would be best if you leave now.¡± ¡°Mylo¡­¡± ¡°Okay, that¡¯s it.¡± He lifted the coffee pot and asked me, ¡°Do you want another cup?¡± ¡°Mylo¡­¡± ¡°Before I join the Hall Corporation, don¡¯t act alone.¡± ¡°You¡¯re so unreasonable.¡± I suddenly wanted to lash out. Mylo was always trying to interfere with my life and my freedom. Ever since he was a child, he had always thought of me as a weakling, a little sister who should be protected. He could sacrifice my life and freedom just to protect me. For this reason, Abraham had once quarreled with him. Of course, I was on Abraham¡¯s side. Ever since then, he interfered in my matters a lot less. But now that Abraham was missing, he seemed to have returned to the way he was. At that, Mylo sipped his coffee in silence. I knew there was no way I could change him. ¡°Whatever. I¡¯m not giving up the investigation, no matter what.¡± I finished up my coffee and washed the cup for him. ¡°Thanks.¡± I left the van and went back to the office. Later that afternoon, I gathered the employee information about the eight missing people, checking them online and chatting with my colleagues. I decided to investigate the department they were in. The first department to investigate was naturally Abraham¡¯s department. He was a designer and a member of the design department of the Hall Corporation¡¯s furniture business. Their department worked on the 17th floor, and Bonnie¡¯s brother happened to also be on the 17th floor, so I used Bonnie¡¯s name to come to the 17th floor to deliver some food to her brother, Carol. We exchanged contact details and I found Abraham¡¯s desk just as we were about to leave. I looked at the dust-covered desk and felt an indescribable sadness. I turned around and walked over to Carol. Pointing at Abraham¡¯s workbench, I whispered, ¡°Do you know the person who works there?¡± Carol looked up in the direction I was pointing, then sighed. ¡°He¡¯s missing. But we¡¯re not allowed to talk about this right now.¡± ¡°Was there anything weird about him previously?¡± Carol gave me a strange look. ¡°Why do you ask?¡± ¡°After all, this matter has blown up quite a bit. I¡¯m also working here now. I¡¯m also afraid of going missing.¡± Carol smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll be fine. Aren¡¯t we all fine?¡± I didn¡¯t ask any more questions. I knew that I wouldn¡¯t get much out of this office. I chose to move on to the next department, looking for colleagues who were close to the missing people. When it was almost time to end work, I sent the PowerPoint slides to Edwin¡¯s account. I carefully calculated the time and took the elevator to the 18th floor just a minute before 5.30pm. I moved cautiously through the empty space. There was an unusual silence around me. My heart beat wildly. I reached the glass door and peered inside. No one was there. I walked to the left corner. Part of the wall had already been patched up, but there was still a hole. Looking through the hole, there was no one there. I heaved a sigh of relief. Just as I expected, it¡¯s close to the end of the day. There¡¯s no one there. I climbed through the hole. It was a mess inside. There were some things on the table, broken and dusty. Someone must have picked it up after it fell on the ground. There was a large window on the opposite wall, but there was a hole in the window. Could someone have broken in through the window and installed explosives here? This was the 18th floor. I felt a chill run down my spine. If there really was someone deliberately trying to destroy this place in broad daylight, that person must have immeasurable power. If I happen to run into someone trying to destroy this place, my life would be in danger. I could only pray that I won¡¯t be so unlucky. There were many cabinets in the room, a desk, and the nameplate on the desk read ¡°Assistant to the President.¡± I took out a pair of gloves and put them on. I tried to pull open the drawer on the desk, but it was locked and I simply couldn¡¯t. I took out my tool bag and took out the various tools to unlock it. In the few days that I was at home, other than looking up information about Hall Corporation, I also learned how to open locks. I had little sleep because I spent a lot of time learning how to open locks. So far, I¡¯ve only been able to open general locks. I haven¡¯t mastered overly complex locks. I started using my tools to carefully open the lock. It was quiet and there was no one bothering me. I opened it in very quickly, much faster than when I was practicing. I pulled open the drawer. There were many documents inside. I took them out and checked them one by one. They were all business-related documents. One drawer, two drawers, three drawers, four drawers. There were no useful clues. So I started opening the cabinets, checking every one of them. Chapter 19 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios I searched until I lost track of time, and soon, it was dark. There was no light at all, so I switched on the torch on my bracelet. The light wasn¡¯t very strong. Though the windows were huge, people outside probably wouldn¡¯t be able to see any light through the 18th floor¡¯s windows. Finally, I opened the last cabinet. I pulled it open and it turned out to be a safe. I turned the lock, listening to the sound inside. I was sure that I couldn¡¯t open it. In that case, I had no choice but to abandon this safe and move on to the next room. I went to the right and pulled the door open. It wasn¡¯t locked. That was easy.. Inside was a small corridor with a bathroom on the side. Further ahead was a dining room. Further ahead was the office I had seen outside. There was a long wooden desk with a computer on it and a floor-to-ceiling window behind it. There was only one bookshelf in this room. The bookshelf was full of the greatest books. I continued to walk to the right, entering a large room with a dark red sofa and an enormous crystal chandelier. Through the refraction of the chandelier, I realized that the moon outside was very round and bright. The entire room was filled with a faint, gentle moonlight. This must be the VIP reception room. I reached out and touched the table. There wasn¡¯t a speck of dust on it. It seemed like someone cleaned it every day. I searched for a place where I could store the information, but when I turned around with my back facing the floor-to-ceiling window, I felt a breeze. I quickly turned around to check the window. It was closed. Where did the wind come from? Was I hallucinating because I was too nervous? I took a few deep breaths and turned around. A huge shadow suddenly appeared in front of me. ¡°Ah!¡± I was so frightened that I couldn¡¯t help but scream. The other party immediately covered my mouth. He stood in the shadows, tall and imposing. I couldn¡¯t stop shaking. I tried to run, but he grabbed my hand and twisted it behind my back. He pressed himself against my back, sniffing deeply. From my back to my neck and to my cheek, he was sniffing me like a dog. Her covered my mouth so tightly that I couldn¡¯t speak, or rather, didn¡¯t dare to speak. I wasn¡¯t sure if he was part of the Hall Corporation or the Hall Corporation¡¯s competitor. Suddenly, he stuck out his tongue and licked my face. I couldn¡¯t take it anymore and started to struggle, but he was too strong. I couldn¡¯t even move. ¡°Mmm¡­¡± I wanted to say something, but I couldn¡¯t. He suddenly exerted his strength and threw me onto the sofa beside him as if I was a rag doll. I immediately sprang up to run, but he pressed me down, pressing me onto the soft sofa. The moonlight outside couldn¡¯t reach here, neither could the light from my torch reach him. I didn¡¯t know what he looked like, but I knew that he must be very fierce and had a very strong body. I sobbed as I pleaded, ¡°I¡¯m not trying to do anything bad. As long as you let me go, I¡¯ll agree to your conditions.¡± He stretched his hand out and touched my cheek, very gently. But I felt terrified. ¡°Please. I can pay you.¡± He said nothing. I felt his palm. It was oddly rough, sliding across my skin. It was somewhat tingling. He kept stroking, and the tingling became even more pronounced. Soon, I understood what¡¯s causing the tingling sensation. It wasn¡¯t caused by callous, but rather, fur! I immediately recalled my previous dream, the monster with sharp teeth and fur! No, impossible. That was just a dream. How could it exist in real life?! I tried my best to pull my hand out of his grasp, but when I moved, he suddenly made a sound. This sound was like a wolf¡¯s low voice when facing its prey. My scalp instantly went numb. Was he really not a human? Was he really a monster? I dare not move. He didn¡¯t move when he saw me staying still. We just froze, reaching a stalemate. The moonlight gradually moved, and about five minutes later, it shone on his feet. I could clearly see that he wasn¡¯t wearing shoes. Instead, his feet were covered in thick fur! The shape of them looked exactly like the feet of a giant animal! He really wasn¡¯t human! He really wasn¡¯t human! He seemed to be able to sense the moonlight shining on his feet. He quickly turned to look at his feet. I tried to break free while he was distracted, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn¡¯t. ¡°Waaooo!¡± He suddenly roared at me. His loud voice made my ears hurt, and the porcelain sitting around also rustled. I panicked. It seemed like I really couldn¡¯t escape. I¡¯d thought about running into people from the Hall Corporation or competitors of the Hall Corporation, but I¡¯d never expected to run into a monster. He was very likely a werewolf, if I¡¯m not wrong. Oh god, there really were werewolves in this world! Werewolf? That¡¯s right, Selina had taught me the spell to deal with werewolves before. ¡°You ka foo ran chi ha ha gong sa ri ta!¡± I was like a lunatic as I pinned my last hope on the spell. I wasn¡¯t sure whether I had read it correctly or not. Was it really useful? I only knew that I wanted to run away. I wanted to use everything I had. I wanted to live! When I finished, there was dead silence. Two seconds later, his body began to shake strangely. Following that, his fur grew longer and longer. In the darkness, I couldn¡¯t see his eyes clearly. At that moment, two red spots appeared before my eyes. Those were his eyes, blood-red eyes! Chapter 20 - Ridiculous He lifted his head and roared at the ceiling. The crystal chandelier on the ceiling trembled and collided with each other. His hands relaxed and I immediately used all my strength to push him away. To my surprise, I actually managed to push him away! I saw a glimmer of hope and bolted for the door. The moonlight was intense now, illuminating the room and my path at the same time. I leaned forward in the moonlight, my steps quick, pinning my eyes on the door that leads to the office outside. Soon, I touched the door handle and pulled. As I pulled, I felt something touch my waist. The next second, he grasped my waist and pulled me back. ¡°No!¡± A huge force picked me up and I watched as the door handle moved further and further away from me.. ¡°No!¡± He pressed me back onto the sofa. The moonlight illuminated the entire room. I could see his face clearly. He had a pair of huge blood-red eyes, and his entire face was covered in long fur. His mouth was slightly swollen, and behind his thick purple lips was a pair of sharp fangs. He looked at me and growled. My heart was pounding like crazy. I was scared. My nails were practically digging into the couch. ¡°Please!¡± I wasn¡¯t sure if he could understand me, but now, all I could do was beg him with tears welling up in my eyes. He suddenly stopped growling. The next moment, he turned around and punched the marble coffee table beside him. The sturdy coffee table broke into several pieces. But he didn¡¯t stop there. He picked up one of the broken pieces and crushed it with his hand. The marble crumbled to dust. I¡¯d never seen such terrifying power. If those hands were gripping my throat, then he¡¯d just have to squeeze a little harder and I would lose my life. I was stunned. I didn¡¯t know what expression to put on, and I didn¡¯t dare run again. However, my obedience didn¡¯t earn me his kindness. He wasn¡¯t going to let me go. He extended his long sharp claws and used a fingernail that was as long as one of my fingers to hook onto my clothes. He pulled and ripped my clothes. He then he did the same thing to my pants. I stiffened in disbelief. Was he, a werewolf, going to rape a human being? I didn¡¯t expect to guess correctly. He nimbly tore my shirt and threw it aside like a rag. My skin was covered in large red marks. He then extended his huge tongue and licked my body like a wolf licking a baby wolf. Fortunately, there was no strange taste in his mouth. Otherwise, I might have vomited on the spot. He licked me for about two minutes. He used a lot of strength, and pressed me down with every lick. During the process, he didn¡¯t do anything else, and he didn¡¯t seem to have any intention of hurting me. Although my nerves were still tense, I saw hope of surviving. Suddenly, he scooped me up and spun me around in the air, pinning me to the couch. I kept taking deep breaths. Something pressed against the lower half of my body, and before I knew it, he entered me violently. He was too strong, and when he pushed, I felt excruciating pain. ¡°No! You can¡¯t do this, ah!¡± I felt the most painful sensation I have ever experienced in my entire life spread through my body. My body involuntarily curled up and I convulsed. My brain stopped functioning and I was left with pain. I was almost dead as he held me in his arms. I couldn¡¯t move. He stopped moving. After a few seconds of silence, he stuck his tongue out to lick my face. I was still in pain. I haven¡¯t breathed for almost a minute. He kept licking, faster and faster. Finally, I felt alive. I was breathing hard. He stopped licking and began thrusting. I wrapped my arms around his furry hands and begged him loudly, ¡°Please slow down. Please.¡± He didn¡¯t slow down. He seemed to have his own rhythm. The pain kept coming, and soon I found liquid running down my thighs. I was terrified. I must have been injured down there and was bleeding. I could only tolerate the pain, with sweat and tears mingling on my face. I just wanted this ridiculous intercourse to end quickly. But ten minutes passed, and he still had no intention of ending it. Instead, his movements became faster and faster. I pinched his hard flesh. My lips were numb from me biting on them. God, why would you punish me like that? Chapter 21 Another ten minutes passed before my pain began to subside. This allowed my other senses to slowly recover. I could smell the thick scent of sweat from his body. Strangely, it also seemed to carry a faint scent of hazelnuts. His movements became faster and faster. I couldn¡¯t help but follow his movements and silently counted the rhythm. To my disbelief, my body started reacting strangely. Oh no, not it wasn¡¯t strange. It was a familiar feeling, a wave of pleasure. As he sped up, the feeling became even more intense. Five minutes later, I couldn¡¯t help but moan. I didn¡¯t know if he¡¯d like the sounds.. I immediately covered my mouth and nose. My strong desire to live made me swallow all my moans back down my throat. But I couldn¡¯t control my body, and soon I climaxed. He didn¡¯t stop and continued. Ten minutes later, I climaxed again. I was covered in sweat. My cheeks were impossibly hot. I wasn¡¯t crying anymore. I was enjoying it. After another twenty minutes, I came again. I watched the time tick by on my wrist as I enjoyed the physical comfort. Three times, four times, five times, six times¡­ I couldn¡¯t take it anymore. The pleasure was slowly becoming a torture instead. Suddenly, he scooped me up again and spun me around in the air so that I lay on my back on the sofa. He then continued what he was doing previously. I felt terrible every time he moved. The pleasure felt really sharp and it was simply unbearable. My tears unconsciously flowed down and my breathing became ragged and painful. I gritted my teeth while enduring the pain, my nails digging into his hard skin. My fingers hurt, but it was the only way to distract myself. It took a really long time. Too long. My consciousness faded. Finally, I closed my eyes. I couldn¡¯t see anything anymore. I sank into deep darkness. It was cold. I couldn¡¯t touch anything. I couldn¡¯t see anything. I felt pain all over. I wanted to run. I kept shouting, but there was no response. I was too tired. I sat down on the floor and hugged my knees, letting myself cry. I don¡¯t know how much time passed, but I felt warmth. It was like the warmth of the sun. I struggled to keep my eyes open. A patch of light shone in my eye. An oil painting appeared above me, it was colorful. A crystal chandelier in the corner of my eye. Sparkling and brilliant. I was¡­ still in that room! I immediately rolled over and sat up, when a man came into my line of sight. He sat on the sofa across from me, pouring himself a steaming cup of black tea from a pale yellow teapot painted with chrysanthemums. When he saw me sit up, he looked at me, seemingly with joy in his eyes. ¡°You¡¯re awake? Did you sleep well?¡± I was shocked. His tone, demeanor, and movement resembled Abraham¡¯s, but he had a completely different face. ¡°Where¡¯s the werewolf?¡± I asked agitatedly. ¡°Where¡¯s the werewolf from last night?¡± I looked around warily, afraid that the werewolf would pop out of nowhere and choke me. The man shrugged in confusion. ¡°What werewolf? You were sleeping when I came.¡± ¡°Werewolf! Last night, he¡­¡± I suddenly noticed that the marble table that should have already been broken from last night was fine. There wasn¡¯t even a crack. How could that be? Could it be that someone had replaced it? I looked at my ten fingers. I had broken two of my fingernails, and there were slight bruises on my fingertips. My clothes had been changed. I carefully moved my feet, and an intense pain came from my lower body. Yes, that¡¯s right. I was assaulted last night. By that werewolf! ¡°Who are you?¡± I asked him. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m¡ª¡± ¡°Look at my injuries.¡± I show him my hand. ¡°And my body. If I go for an examination right now, I¡¯ll know for sure whether I was assaulted here last night.¡± ¡°By a werewolf?¡± He laughed. ¡°You probably had a dream.¡± ¡°The wounds on my body are real.¡± ¡°Yeah, I can see that. Maybe you broke into my office illegally and accidentally hurt yourself in the dark.¡± He picked up his teacup and sat down next to me. ¡°Do you want to have a cup of this?¡± I watched his casual reaction and calmed down. Yes, I broke in here illegally, and the worst thing was that there were no cameras here. If I went for an examination, I could certainly prove that I was indeed assaulted, but I couldn¡¯t prove that I was assaulted by a werewolf. If the police heard what I had to say, their reaction would probably be even worse than this man¡¯s. Who would believe me? Chapter 22 Wait, he said that this was his office? I suddenly stood up and because I had gotten up too quickly, the sharp pain caused me to close my eyes and clench my fists. When I finally calmed down and opened my eyes, I could somehow see the worry and heartache on his face. However, the next moment, the expression was gone from his face. I guess I must have been mistaken. We were strangers. How would he be worried about me? ¡°I¡¯m sorry. May I ask who you are¡­?¡± ¡°Andrew, you can call me that.¡± ¡°You are¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m the new President of the Hall Corporation.¡± He sat on the dark red sofa.. The sunlight shone in, making him look very warm. He had narrow eyes that were clean looking, but nonetheless filled with ruthlessness. His facial features were masculine, with skinny cheeks, and his lips seemed to be wrapped in a layer of innate loneliness. I couldn¡¯t help but cover my forehead. How could I see so much explicit content from him? Also, what kind of luck is this? Just yesterday morning, the HR department¡¯s meeting held a confidential meeting regarding the new President and now, he¡¯s already in the office. No matter what, he should only appear next month according to the onboarding procedures and timeline. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, President. I did enter your office, but¡­¡± ¡°Andrew.¡± He looked up at me and laughed softly. ¡°Call me Andrew.¡± ¡°Okay, Andrew, I¡¯m not lying to you. I swear, there really was a werewolf here last night. We were on this sofa and he assaulted me. All night. There¡¯s no way I¡¯m wrong or mistaken. All night. How could I see wrongly? I¡ª¡± ¡°I believe you.¡± He stood and put his hand on my shoulder, seemingly comforting me. I looked up and his entire face was magnified in front of me. An indescribable warmth flew through me, making my hair stand. For some reason, I felt as though I¡¯d made contact with Abraham. But he clearly wasn¡¯t Abraham. ¡°I trust you,¡± he repeated, meeting my gaze without blinking. I looked at him. His eyes didn¡¯t flinch, they were full of sincerity. I could see the trust in his eyes. He wasn¡¯t lying. I suddenly felt very aggrieved. It was exactly the same as when I used to argue with someone, I would be very tough, but after the argument, I would be very vulnerable when I see Abraham. I had endured an entire night¡¯s worth of pain and fear. I could finally relax a bit now. I wished I could rest in Abraham¡¯s arms and cry. Suddenly, Andrew hugged me, very gently. His right hand pressed against my head, letting my head rest on his shoulder. His left arm wrapped around my waist, giving me a sense of security. ¡°It¡¯s been hard on you,¡± he murmured in my ear. Then he leaned his head toward mine. The warmth from his body reached me, pulling me back from that dark and cold dream. It was a wonderful feeling, and one that put me at ease. I hadn¡¯t felt this way ever since Abraham disappeared. But he wasn¡¯t Abraham. I looked up immediately, then pushed him away and took a step back. He fell onto the sofa and covered the area that he landed on. He had an uncomfortable expression on his face. ¡°You¡¯re really heavy-handed.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry.¡± I swear I didn¡¯t use much force. He smiled and sat up straight, pushing his teacup closer to me again. ¡°Have a drink. I prepared breakfast for you.¡± He opened the box beside him and took out two sandwiches and two servings of mousse. I felt uneasy. ¡°Did you¡­ poison that?¡± He was stunned for a moment before laughing loudly. ¡°Why would I poison you?¡± ¡°I broke into your office. Aren¡¯t you going to arrest me?¡± ¡°There was a loophole in the office security. You came in, and so did the werewolves, but no one noticed.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not going to hold me responsible?¡± ¡°You were hurt by a werewolf, in my office You¡¯re the victim.¡± He pulled out a serving of mousse and scooped some out with a spoon, pausing the spoon in mid-air. ¡°If you ask me for compensation, I¡¯ll pay.¡± I stared at him in disbelief. The previous President of the Hall Corporation was allergic to silver and so the entire company could not use silver, and it was an extremely autocratic management style. On the other hand, not only did this President not hold me responsible for breaking into his office, he even wanted to compensate me? He took a bite of mousse, holding the spoon elegantly with his slender fingers. One could tell that he wasn¡¯t any different from ordinary people by carefully looking at him. ¡°Name your price. I¡¯ll send you the money right away.¡± He must have sensed my disbelief and wanted to prove that he was sincere and meant his words. Chapter 23 Of course I didn¡¯t believe him. I decided to find my phone first. I got down on my knees and searched everywhere. I looked under the coffee table before I heard a loud bang. My phone suddenly appeared on the coffee table. Andrew seemed to be waiting for me to be grateful towards him. ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± I picked up my phone and checked it. Luckily, it wasn¡¯t broken. I checked the time and realized it was already 8.50am.. There was only ten minutes before work! I hadn¡¯t applied for leave, which meant I had to get to work on time if I still wanted to stay in this company. Of course, it was under the premise that the President would allow me to continue working here. ¡°Are you really not going to hold me responsible?¡± I asked. ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°Then the werewolf¡ª¡± ¡°I will do my best to find it. I will inform you once I have any news.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± I picked up the cup of tea and finished it in one gulp before putting it down. ¡°I¡¯m going to work.¡± At that moment, I suddenly felt the tension of facing my superior. Yes, he¡¯s my superior¡¯s superior. He looked at the time and said, ¡°It¡¯s indeed time to go to work.¡± ¡°I have to go.¡± I turned around and headed for the door. After just six steps, he suddenly called out to me. I looked back at him and he stood up, staring into my eyes as he slowly moved closer to me. My nervousness became even more apparent. He was dressed in a suit, holding something in his hand. He looked at me so seriously, slowly walking towards me. It was exactly like the wedding scene that I had imagined countless times. It was a scene of Abraham walking through the sea of flowers with a bouquet in his hand, coming to take my hand and lead me into the wedding hall. He stopped in front of me, with his eyes fixed on mine. ¡°You¡¯re a little nervous,¡± he said. ¡°Like a panicky little swallow that jumps around on my hand after being caught.¡± ¡°Abraham!¡± I blurted out. Those were the exact words that Abraham said to me when I took an examination back then. Surprise flashed in his eyes, and I quickly covered my mouth. How was that possible? Even if he underwent plastic surgery, it was impossible for him to recover so well in such a short period of time. ¡°Oh. I¡¯m sorry. M-my memory is messed up. I seemed to have heard this saying before.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a poem,¡± he said at once. He then quickly handed me my breakfast and turned to walk towards the window, pressing his hands against the glass. ¡°You can leave now.¡± His voice was suppressed and trembling. He changed tremendously. This quickly. I couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°What happened to you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine. You¡¯re almost late.¡± ¡°Are you really alright?¡± ¡°I¡¯m really fine. Go to work.¡± His back was facing me, and he seemed to be wrapped up in an invisible, heavy negative emotion. But it was obvious that I shouldn¡¯t ask any more questions. I grabbed my breakfast, walked through the office, and came out from the hole that hadn¡¯t been fixed. After giving it some thought, I decided to take the stairs down to the 17th floor and then take the elevator, just in case I run into someone. I opened the emergency exit and walked down the stairs, taking one step at a time. I felt sore all over with every step that I took. It no longer felt like a sharp pain in my lower body, but I still felt uncomfortable. It took all my willpower to return to my desk. I sat down, feeling exhausted. I still couldn¡¯t believe what had happened last night and this morning. I couldn¡¯t control myself, the werewolf¡¯s face kept appearing in my head, over and over again. It wasn¡¯t until Bessy came in, then I was cut off when she flung a pile of papers at me. ¡°Check it out,¡± she said before opening the door to leave. I poured myself a glass of water and finished it in one gulp. It was only after letting out a long sigh of relief that I felt slightly better. I went to the toilet and took out a small mirror. I took off my clothes and checked myself down there. The strange thing was that there I had no injuries on my lower body. The red marks on my body from last night had all disappeared. I looked at my finger and was surprised to find that the bruise on it was gone! Just like the werewolf that had disappeared into thin air, the traces he left on my body had also disappeared! No, this was impossible. There had to be some reason that I didn¡¯t know of. I hurried back to my desk and started looking for information about werewolves. What surprised me even more was that the recent news about werewolves that Rachel had mentioned didn¡¯t exist at all! The most recent news about werewolves online was actually from fifteen years ago. I¡¯d seen reports related to werewolves when I was a kid. How could it have been fifteen years ago? It could only mean that someone had deleted all reports about werewolves over the past fifteen years. I didn¡¯t know what that meant. The unease inside me continued growing. Chapter 24 After long research, I still couldn¡¯t find any credible explanation. A lot of the information was speculative. I wasn¡¯t surprised at all. After all, few people had actually seen werewolves. Interestingly enough, there was a website dedicated to werewolves. Many people posted stories about their adventures with werewolves. The website was very secretive, and I only found it after another internet friend introduced it to me. However, not all of the content on the website was useful. After browsing through a lot of posts, I found an article that analyzed werewolf abilities. There was a detailed description of the werewolf¡¯s strength, speed, and control over incantation. It mentioned that there was a type of incantation that could allow a person¡¯s wounds to heal quickly. It would take around one to three hours for the wounds to fully heal.. At this point, I was shocked. If this was just a story, perhaps I wouldn¡¯t have cared. However, the content actually happened in real life! I quickly left a message for the author, stating that I had encountered a situation that couldn¡¯t be explained by science. I hoped that he would provide me with more information about werewolves. After leaving the message, I couldn¡¯t help it but to drink a huge cup of coffee. I was going crazy! I actually met a werewolf and even believed those strange remarks online. Bessy walked in and sized me up. ¡°Did you not sleep last night?¡± she asked in a malicious tone. ¡°How are you going to work in this state of mind?¡± She pointed with her sharp chin at the information on my desk. ¡°Have you checked everything?¡± Only then did I remember that I still had work to do. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m really tired. Something happened at home, but rest assured. I¡¯ll finish up as soon as possible even if it means I can¡¯t have lunch.¡± Bessy rolled her eyes. ¡°You should separate work and life. Don¡¯t let your personal life bother you at work.¡± She then sat down and started typing away, not even sparing me a glance. I was suddenly impressed with this workaholic. It had nothing to do with whether she was doing meaningful things, at least she did everything seriously. I quickly started checking the information. Bonnie came in and asked me to go for lunch. I politely declined and went to get a cup of instant noodles before getting back to work. Bessy saw me and said nothing more. She just headed to the canteen to have lunch. I continued working all the way till it was time to get off work. I arranged the documents and went to knock on Edwin¡¯s office door. Edwin let me come in. I stood at his desk, with the file in my arms. He was on the phone and I decided to wait for him. His back was facing me as he sat in the swivel chair. His voice was anxious. ¡°Listen up. No one expected the new President to arrive so quickly. I heard that he suddenly showed up in his office. We have to organize all the project information properly, just in case he wants to go through them.¡± ¡°No problem at all. That project was approved by the previous President. Even if the new President wants to overturn it, he has to give a valid reason.¡± ¡°Understood. Make the arrangements as soon as possible. We¡¯ll talk later.¡± He hung up and was silent for a while before turning around. When he saw me, his lifeless eyes lit up. ¡°Oh. Hello, Emma.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve finished checking the documents.¡± I set the file on the desk. Edwin nodded. ¡°Okay. By the way, how¡¯s your alcohol tolerance?¡± ¡°Not that good,¡± I answered truthfully. ¡°How much can you drink?¡± ¡°Well¡­ I rarely get drunk anyway.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± The worry on Edwin¡¯s face instantly disappeared, and he showed an inexplicable excitement. ¡°What matters is your capability. Familiarize yourself with the company for the next few days. I¡¯ll take you to some cocktail parties in a few days and introduce some important people to you.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± I didn¡¯t really care about the work related stuff. ¡°You mentioned on the phone about the new President?¡± ¡°Yes, he came a little too suddenly. He just appeared today and had a meeting with a few higher-ups. We haven¡¯t received any official notice yet. I don¡¯t know what he¡¯s thinking.¡± He stood up, walking over to stand beside me. He extended his hand and patted my shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We have good benefits here. Even if there¡¯s a new President, the system won¡¯t change much. This is the Hall Corporation after all. If you work hard, you¡¯ll definitely receive generous returns.¡± I nodded smilingly and hurried out of the office. I¡¯d met a lot of guys like him. He had obvious motives. That reminded me of a man I once met, who tried to assault me when I was drunk. He was a former colleague of mine. We were on a business trip and he claimed to not have a computer but had something important to do, he borrowed mine. He called me to his room at twelve midnight, giving me his room number. He asked me to go to his room to get my computer. I didn¡¯t think too much at that time, so I just went to his room. I didn¡¯t expect him to lock the room once I went inside and he offered me a drink to thank me. Chapter 25 There was a lot of wine and some supper on the table. I took my laptop and was about to leave when he blocked the door. He didn¡¯t let me open the door and started touching me. I was furious, but I knew that there was no way I could beat him, so I ran into the bathroom while he wasn¡¯t looking. I hid in there and called the police. He was eventually arrested and fired from the company. When I got back, I told Abraham about it. Abraham was even angrier than I was. Two weeks later, he sent me a set of photos of that colleague. That man was naked and tied to a tree, being watched by everyone. I quickly called Abraham to ask what was going on, and he said, ¡°He was released. I originally intended to just warn him, but I saw him teasing girls again. I had to beat him up..¡± I snapped out of it and returned to the small room, sighing helplessly. Now that Abraham was gone, no one would go that far for me anymore and to teach anyone who bullied me a lesson. I was feeling a little down. I sat in front of my desk and didn¡¯t know what to do. I told Selina that I was going to see Mylo last night. I had no excuse for tonight and had to go back. Anyway, I couldn¡¯t enter the President¡¯s office for now. I could only continue looking into clues from the missing people. After giving it some thought, I ordered some pizza and specialty dishes of Elsingborg and went to look for Bonnie. She saw that I had ordered a lot of food, and couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°I want to treat you and Carol to dinner.¡± Job stuck his head out to look at me. ¡°And of course, Job too,¡± I said immediately. Bonnie was surprised, she then asked with an evil smile, ¡°Could it be that you fell in love with Carol at first sight?¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± I handed her the phone she¡¯d left on the table. ¡°Quick, call Carol.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Half an hour later, I put the food down in the small room. Bessy had already left. It was more private here. Just then, Carol came downstairs and said hi. I smiled. ¡°Can I trouble you to bring in two chairs for me, Mr Carol?¡± ¡°Oh, okay.¡± He nodded, aiming for Job and Bonnie¡¯s chairs. ¡°Quickly get up.¡± He yanked the chair out from under Job¡¯s bum. Job was very dissatisfied. ¡°Carol, did I offend? Or did your personality suddenly change drastically? Oh. Could it be that you¡¯ve forgotten your friends after someone you like?¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Carol rolled his eyes at Job and moved the chair into the small room. Bonnie and Job brought in some water and closed the door. We began to enjoy our delicious dinner. We made some small talk, then I pretended to casually play with my phone and navigated to the report on ¡°All Missing People Are Employees of the Hall Corporation.¡± I looked at it. ¡°This is just too much of a coincidence.¡± I showed them my phone screen. ¡°It¡¯s still incredible now that I think about it.¡± Job was happily eating a bowl of dessert. ¡°I don¡¯t believe it either.¡± Once I sensed that someone was willing to speak up, I asked Carol, ¡°Carol, is your missing colleague a drug dealer?¡± It could be due to the private setting, or because it was easy to open up while having a meal together, but Carol no longer avoided the topic. Instead, he smiled and said, ¡°How could that be? But we actually made a lot of guesses. These eight people must have something in common.¡± Based on my investigation, other than the fact that they were all employees of the Hall Corporation, I couldn¡¯t find anything in common. ¡°Did your colleague behave abnormally before he went missing?¡± ¡°No. Before he disappeared, he told me that he was getting married.¡± Hearing this, Bonnie stopped eating and her expression turned gloomy. ¡°I can¡¯t believe he disappeared the day before his wedding. What a poor thing.¡± Carol nodded. ¡°Yes, no one expected that. Abraham was an excellent designer. He amazed us with his work. However, the higher-ups didn¡¯t like his style and often insulted him. There was one time, Monde kicked Abraham in front of everyone.¡± What? Abraham was kicked in public? Anger burned through me. ¡°Who¡¯s Monde?¡± ¡°He¡¯s the Vice President.¡± ¡°Monde Duff?¡± I¡¯d seen his introduction in the information that Bessy gave me.¡± Carol nodded. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s him. He¡¯s mainly in charge of the furniture business. He looks down on Abraham and often finds all sorts of excuses to bully him. But Abraham isn¡¯t a pushover. He always gets off work on time and doesn¡¯t stay in the company for even a minute more than he should.¡± At this point, Carol was puzzled. ¡°Many of us found it very strange. No matter how much Monde hated Abraham, no matter how many conflicts they got into, Monde never tried to fire Abraham, while Abraham never tried to leave.¡± Bonnie said, ¡°I think you told me about this before. I kind of remember it. I was wondering at that time if these two actually had feelings for each other and loved each other.¡± Carol knocked Bonnie¡¯s head. ¡°What are you thinking about all day? Abraham has a fianc¨¦e. Moreover, Monde is a playboy and often changes girlfriends.¡± He frowned at this point. ¡°Actually, I suspect that Monde secretly kidnapped Abraham.¡± Chapter 26 I gave him my full attention. ¡°Did Monde have problems with the other seven missing employees?¡± Carol shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not sure about their relationship.¡± Job replied, ¡°I don¡¯t think so. The other seven employees are not part of the furniture business, so they shouldn¡¯t have any dealings with Vice President Monde. Moreover, even if there¡¯s really some animosity between them, Monde wouldn¡¯t dare to kidnap eight people at once. If we investigate this, he will be the prime suspect.¡± Bonnie suddenly slammed the table and said agitatedly, ¡°Vice President Monde hasn¡¯t been to the office in a long time.¡± She then immediately lowered her volume and said, ¡°Carlisle from the HR department had an ambiguous relationship with Vice President Monde. She slept with recently and he just disappeared. She couldn¡¯t find him no matter how hard she tried and she thought that he was avoiding her.¡± Job blinked in surprise.. ¡°Who did you hear that from?¡± ¡°Carlisle said so herself. She¡¯s very dissatisfied with Vice President Monde now and intends to force him to show up.¡± I quickly asked Carol, who worked under Monde, ¡°Have you heard anything about this?¡± ¡°It¡¯s likely to be true. Monde has bad conduct.¡± ¡°No, I mean, is Monde really missing?¡± Carol shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t think so. There are a lot of decisions for him to make every day. If he goes missing, it will definitely cause a huge uproar. Since he¡¯s not in the office recently, he must have gone elsewhere for an inspection.¡± I still felt like something wasn¡¯t right. ¡°Bonnie, did Carlisle mention exactly when did Monde become uncontactable?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go over the records.¡± Bonnie switched on her phone and started looking through the chats. I put down my drink, feeling anxious inside, but I tried to control my emotions and make it seem like I was just a gossipy woman. After a long search, Bonnie finally found it. ¡°Around 20th September. Carlisle didn¡¯t specify which day.¡± Abraham disappeared on the night of 2nd October, the dates were close. Was there any connection? ¡°You guys can continue eating. I have to go.¡± I grabbed my bag, stood up, and walked to the door. The three of them looked at me in disbelief and asked in unison, ¡°You¡¯re leaving just like that?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ I just remembered something.¡± I opened the door and stepped out. ¡°Finish everything.¡± I closed the door behind me and hurried down the stairs, buying plenty of coffee before rushing to the department where the other missing person was. I found an empty workstation and looked at the name on the workstation¡¯s nameplate. Then, I used this person as an excuse to ask the other colleagues and get close to them. I then left the coffee behind for them. I did the exact same thing in seven different departments, trying to improve my relationship with them. In the next few days, I had to treat them to meals to get information from them. I was just finishing up with the last department when Selina called and asked when I was going back. I glanced at the clock. It was ten o¡¯ clock at night. ¡°I¡¯ll be right back.¡± Just as I walked out of the front door, a beam of light came from afar and shone on my face. I subconsciously squinted, and waited for the lights to move away. I peeped through my fingers and saw that it was Mylo. He smiled and walked towards me. ¡°I need to tell you some good news. I¡¯m going for an interview at the Hall Corporation tomorrow. I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll go well.¡± He was smiling, but I was helpless. I really wanted to hit him. I¡¯d been holding myself back for the past few days and had been trying to find a place to let it all out. Even though it was wrong to vent it on Mylo, I really wanted to hit him. ¡°What position did you apply for?¡± ¡°Security guard.¡± It made sense. He hadn¡¯t been to school ever since he graduated from middle school. He wasn¡¯t interested in his studies from a young age, but he enjoyed training. His figure was excellent. Although his figure wasn¡¯t comparable to a bodybuilding champion, it was pleasing to the eye and gave one a sense of security. ¡°I know that I may not be able to convince you to change your mind¡ª¡± ¡°I won¡¯t,¡± he said before I could even finish my words. I bit on my lip, feeling all determined. ¡°I hope you won¡¯t interrupt my plans. Don¡¯t get in my way.¡± ¡°Of course not. You should tell me your plans. I¡¯ll be on your side.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t tell you.¡± Given what I knew of him, if he decided that it wouldn¡¯t work, he would definitely get in my way. ¡°Abraham is our friend. We both want to find him. I hope that you will search in your own way, while I¡¯ll do it my own way.¡± ¡°You know that I¡¯m not here to look for him.¡± He lowered his head and looked at me. It was a little strange. His gaze made me a little flustered. I had no idea why, but I suddenly felt a little flustered. I quickly regained my composure. ¡°I don¡¯t need your protection, Mylo. Our priority now is to find Abraham.¡± ¡°Alright, I got it.¡± Mylo shook the keys in his hand. ¡°Let¡¯s go, I¡¯ll send you back.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think you know¡ª¡± ¡°I have my own plans,¡± he said, staring earnestly into my eyes. Chapter 27 Mylo had his own way of doing things. Sometimes, I don¡¯t quite understand him. At that moment, I was convinced that he had his own plan, and that he didn¡¯t need my intervention. I¡¯d support him in whatever he did, as long as I can find Abraham. But just as he said, his main purpose might be to protect me. That might raise suspicions instead. I couldn¡¯t convince him to not enter the Hall Corporation, so I could only try to keep a distance from him. ¡°I hope we don¡¯t need to have much interaction in the company. Of course, it would be better if you could tell me your plan.¡± ¡°I wish you¡¯d tell me that, too.¡± He stared into my eyes sincerely. . I knew that this conversation was going nowhere. I was desperate whenever it came to searching for Abraham. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± I headed for the van. Mylo followed behind and I guess he must have a helpless expression on his face now. We both kept quiet, not saying a word until we reached my place. I thanked him and headed upstairs. All I could think of was how I was going to continue my investigation tomorrow. I¡¯d have to ask the colleagues from the seven departments out individually, then figure out a way to get them to open up, just like what I did with Carol. When I got home, I was greeted by a strong smell of smoke. It was a rather peculiar smell, probably because Selina had burnt something for some ritual. Once Selina heard the sound of the door closing, she rushed out excitedly and hugged me. ¡°Oh! Emma, I found traces of Abraham! He¡¯s in this city!¡± ¡°Where?¡± Hearing that, I hurriedly asked. Even though I didn¡¯t believe in witchcraft, at that moment, I really hoped that it would be effective. Selina said, ¡°I am sure that he¡¯s in this city, but I¡¯m not sure where he is. This is much better than before. There were only strange signs and guidances previously but now, I¡¯m sure that he¡¯s in Elsingborg.¡± ¡°Are you able to determine the exact location?¡± ¡°I have to try harder.¡± Selina smiled. ¡°I can confirm that he¡¯s still alive.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great.¡± By now I was convinced that what Selina said was true. No matter where she got the information from, I¡¯m sure what she just said was true. ¡°Our efforts won¡¯t be in vain,¡± Selina said with her hands on my shoulders, feeling very relieved. I nodded. I somehow felt that I¡¯d be able to find him soon. The next morning, I arrived at the office. As soon as I stepped inside, I heard a lot of people talking about the new President. Even in the afternoon, I heard people talking about it everywhere. With every mention of the new President, I was reminded of Andrew. I thought about him over and over again, and the more I thought about it, the more I felt that his tone, demeanor, and movements were very familiar. But it¡¯s none of my business. I¡¯d always find opportunities to talk to the remaining seven colleagues whenever I was free. I spent all my time and energy meeting up with the colleagues from all seven departments. None of the seven missing people had anything to do with Monde and none of them had behaved oddly before they disappeared. The only thing they had in common was that these seven people, like Abraham, were talented and capable, and they didn¡¯t seem to get along well with their superiors. They all refused to work overtime and got off work on time. Could it be that they were held captive by the Hall Corporation just because of that? No, no way. The Hall Corporation wouldn¡¯t be so stupid to hold eight people captive at once for such a reason. On the 24th, I went to work as usual. As soon as I reached the door, I saw Mylo standing there majestically. I walked over with my head down, and fortunately, he didn¡¯t greet me. As soon as I entered the elevator, I heard two young ladies talking about the new security guard. ¡°That new security guard is so handsome.¡± ¡°Yeah, I even secretly took two photos just now. I can share them with you.¡± ¡°I wonder if he has a girlfriend.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter even if he does have one.¡± Although I had no idea who they were talking about, Mylo seemed to be the only new security guard at the door. As usual, he was well liked by girls. As soon as I entered the small room and sat down, Job burst into the room and showed me a photograph. It was Mylo. Job looked a little surprised. ¡°Emma, what brings Milo to our company?¡± ¡°You could ask Mylo that same question and strike up a conversation with him.¡± I winked at Job. I had no idea what was going on in Job¡¯s head, but he was all excited. ¡°That¡¯s great.¡± Job gave me a hug and rushed out again. I switched on my computer and was ready to finish my work as soon as possible. I had just logged on to WeChat when I received a notification from a group chat. I clicked it open and saw that it was an official notice of the new President taking over. Chapter 28 I carefully scanned through the notice. It stated that from today onwards, Andrew Byron would become the new President of the Hall Corporation and would oversee all affairs. The private group chat I was in was bombarded with messages. Everyone was guessing what had happened to the previous President. I remember that the previous President¡¯s name was Ryan Byron. He sounded like he was from the same family as Andrew. A colleague in the group said, ¡°According to our past rules, when the former President leaves his job and the new President takes over, the former President will definitely bring the new President around to make him familiarize himself with the environment and do a good handover. But now, this new President just appeared out of nowhere. The former President is probably doomed.¡± ¡°This is such a big corporation. There must be a lot of unglamorous things. Perhaps the former President has already been sent to prison.. The new President is obviously seizing power.¡± ¡°Looks like this President is not a simple person. Everyone, be careful.¡± ¡°He¡¯s the President, we won¡¯t see him more than twice a year so we don¡¯t have to be careful. This has nothing to do with us.¡± Looking at the discussion in the group, I asked, ¡°When was the last time the old President appeared in the company?¡± Bonnie replied in the private group chat. ¡°I remember seeing him last month.¡± ¡°Which day?¡± ¡°About a month ago.¡± It was very close to the time when Monde was avoiding Carlisle. Just as I was still wondering, another notification was sent in the group chat. I clicked it open and my eyes widened. It was a notification of the removal of Vice-President Monde, and someone named Giala Wallis was going to take over his place. I tightened my grip on the mouse. Although I didn¡¯t have concrete evidence, I could deduce that Monde Duff and the old President had gone missing together. It seemed like they had gone missing a few days earlier than Abraham and the others. However, Monde Duff and the old President¡¯s whereabouts weren¡¯t mostly unknown and they were hardly in the office, they might have all gone missing together! In other words, Abraham and the others¡¯ disappearance might be related to the change of management of the Hall Corporation! In that case, it was very likely that Andrew knew the inside story. Was Andrew behind it? Or was it the Byron family? ¡°Emma!¡± I was pulled out of my thoughts by a sharp scream. I shivered and looked at the person in front of me. Bessy handed me a hard disk expressionlessly. ¡°We¡¯re holding a new wine tasting launch in two weeks¡¯ time. This is the workflow and some information drafted by the marketing department. Familiarize yourself with it. If the client has any questions, you¡¯ll have to answer them.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± I smiled and took the hard drive. The way Bessy looked at me, for some reason, was filled with disgust. ¡°There¡¯s a list of names in there too. Draft the invitation and send it to me before you print them out and send it to their door.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t just stand there in a daze.¡± Bessy rolled her eyes at me. ¡°Give me the draft by this afternoon. I want the printed invitations by today. This is the contact of the printing company.¡± Bessy handed me a business card and I nodded. ¡°Okay.¡± Bessy probably felt out of sorts talking to me, so she turned and left. I covered my forehead, my mind filled with Andrew¡¯s voice and smile that morning. He seemed like a nice guy, but now he was involved with Abraham¡¯s disappearance. Next, I had to look into Andrew and the Byron family and get to the bottom of this. And of course, before that, I had to confirm whether Monde and the old President were really missing. After lunch, I finished liaising with the printing company about the invitations and got them to send it over to the office. I then sent Selina a message telling her that I had to work overtime tonight. At that moment, the phone on the table rang. It was Edwin¡¯s voice. ¡°Come over.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± I arrived at Edwin¡¯s office. Although his eyes lit up when he saw me, his face was still clouded with worry. He handed me a document. ¡°This is the application for the new product launch of the Craftsman series wine. Take it to the 18th floor and get the President to sign it.¡± I felt that something was wrong. ¡°Didn¡¯t we already start preparing for the press conference a month ago?¡± ¡°Yes, but that was approved by the previous President. Now that the new President is in office, I have to seek his opinion again. The press conference is in two weeks¡¯ time. Time is tight, so I have to get this signed today.¡± From the way Edwin was frowning and looking very helpless, I could tell that something was wrong. The company had just informed everyone about Andrew¡¯s appointment, and Edwin was pushed to get Andrew to sign a document. It was clear that the various branches were pushing him to test the temper of the new President. Everyone guessed that Andrew took over the position through power play. He wasn¡¯t a simple person, so no one wanted to go. Of course, Edwin didn¡¯t want to go either. So he made me do it. I swallowed my saliva when I looked at the sum written on the application. They were requesting an additional one million dollars on top of the original sum. If I were to face the person who gave me breakfast, I wouldn¡¯t feel a thing. At most, I would be scolded for raising the budget. However, it was very likely that he was the one who planned the shocking conspiracy that caused many people to go missing. ¡°Emma, the President is in his office now. You should go now.¡± Edwin smiled warmly. He hid his intent behind that smile. I took the application, stepped into the elevator, and pressed the button for the 18th floor. Chapter 29 I¡¯d seen the workflows and some creatives for the Craftsman series¡¯ press conference, but there¡¯s no sign of budget constraints. It¡¯s obvious that Edwin was being used as a tool to test the temper of the new President, so he had to come up with an application to raise the budget. Everyone seemed to be curious about Andrew, and some of them were even hostile towards him. It would be a difficult path for Andrew. I arrived at the 18th floor and stepped out of the elevator. There were two sculptures placed on the empty space. The exterior was painted with a very dark gold color, which added a luxurious touch to the solemn monochrome office. When I got to the glass door, I saw Andrew at his desk talking to some people. The office was soundproof and I couldn¡¯t hear a thing. There was a window on the right side, and it was open. A gust of wind poured in, and I couldn¡¯t help but shiver. It was then that I felt something huge behind me, slowly approaching me.. I suddenly recalled the werewolf from that night. I was frightened and quickly turned around. A blond man was standing right in front of me. I heaved a sigh of relief and smiled. ¡°Hello.¡± He lowered his head and stared at me as if I looked strange. I checked my outfit and found nothing special. He suddenly grinned and laughed, but no sound came out of his throat. Suddenly, he jerked toward me, and I instinctively backed away, slamming into the glass door. He leaned forward, burying his face in the crook of my neck. I wanted to scream out in fright, but before I could, the glass door behind me suddenly opened. I lost my footing and my body fell backwards. The next thing I knew, I was in someone¡¯s arms. I quickly looked up. Andrew¡¯s defined jawline covered my entire view. He stared at the blond man, radiating a murderous aura that terrified me. I even felt something brush past my body and fly outside. The blond man quickly took two steps backwards, and the air became quiet. I quickly straightened my body and got out of Andrew¡¯s arms. Andrew took a step forward and pushed me behind him. From Andrew¡¯s side, I saw the blond man open his mouth and laugh again, but still, no sound came out. After laughing for a good five seconds, he licked his lips and raised his eyebrows. ¡°Can I say I¡¯ve found your weakness?¡± He combed his blond hair with his fingers. ¡°I can¡¯t believe it¡¯s that simple.¡± Andrew took out something from his front pocket and threw it to the blond man. It seemed to be a small black cylinder with strange patterns on it. The blond man looked at Andrew before he opened the cylinder and pulled out a piece of paper. He opened it slowly, looking at it a few times, and then he started laughing madly. Andrew seemed to have lost all patience. He turned around and pulled me into his office. He then said to the two people in the office, ¡°You two can go talk to him.¡± The two of them bowed, receiving the orders. They walked out and closed the glass door, before exchanging a few words with the blond man. The blond man then left with them, heading for the assistant¡¯s office. ¡°Emma¡­¡± Andrew called my name and that pulled me back. It was then that I remembered I was there to do Edwin¡¯s bidding. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Emma.¡± Andrew withdrew his earlier imperiousness. He seemed to be enveloped in an aura of ultimate tenderness now. ¡°I scared you just now.¡± ¡°A little.¡± I didn¡¯t know when he had found out my name, but as the President of a corporation, it was easy to check any employee¡¯s resume. ¡°Oh. I have nothing on that werewolf..¡± He moved towards the right side of the office. ¡°Want a cup of tea?¡± ¡°No, thanks.¡± I showed him the application that I was holding. ¡°I¡¯m here on Edwin¡¯s behalf to ask for your signature.¡± He stopped and turned again. Taking the application letter from my hand, he looked at it and smiled. ¡°Let¡¯s sit down and talk.¡± He walked into the reception room on the right again and pulled open the curtains. The bright light accentuated the retro feel that the reception room gave off. He sat down on the dark red sofa and poured me a cup of tea. ¡°Come in and sit down.¡± I was a little traumatized by the reception room. I was reminded of that torturous night when I looked at the furnishing. I walked very slowly towards the door, not really wanting to step in. He seemed to have realized my hesitation. He stood up, placing the tea set on the golden tray, and brought it out. He walked past me to the desk, setting the tea set down and turned a chair around. It must be the same one that one of the two men had been sitting on earlier. He turned the chair towards me. ¡°Please take a seat.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± I walked over and sat down, feeling a little more at ease. He sat next to me and took a sip of tea. ¡°Have you been sleeping well?¡± I was a little stunned, not sure why he asked me that question. Chapter 30 Andrew quickly realized that his question was inappropriate, and he hurriedly added, ¡°Oh, it¡¯s just that you seemed to be a little scared just now. I¡¯m sure the issue with the werewolf has been bothering you.¡± ¡°I still can¡¯t believe it.¡± I can¡¯t believe I met a werewolf that night, and I can¡¯t believe that Andrew really believes me. ¡°It¡¯s indeed shocking. However, the legend of werewolves has been around for thousands of years, and there are many who claim to have seen werewolves. On the contrary, I feel that there must be some facts in there for these things to be circulated around.¡± ¡°Are you investigating this matter?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been busy taking over the corporation recently and haven¡¯t launched a full investigation on this matter. When I¡¯m slightly free, I¡¯ll definitely conduct a thorough investigation. When the time comes, I¡¯ll definitely let you know if there¡¯s any news.¡± It sounded like a perfunctory reply, but at the same time, that look in his eyes didn¡¯t seem like it was perfunctory.. It was only then that I realized that his pupils were unusually black, making me feel that they were dark and mysterious. For some reason, the atmosphere between us suddenly became awkward. I lowered my head and took a sip of tea. The tea tasted bland, as bland as water. It didn¡¯t taste good and so I put it down again. Andrew took the initiative to break the awkward silence. ¡°Do you have any thoughts about this application?¡± It was work mode now. ¡°I¡¯m just here to get it signed for Edwin,¡± I said quickly. ¡°Edwin?¡± Seeing the puzzled look on his face, as if he didn¡¯t know Edwin, I explained, ¡°He¡¯s the General Manager of the Hall Corporation, in charge of the liquor industry.¡± ¡°Oh, okay. I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t know many people in the corporation. I have an idea for the Craftsman series¡¯ product launch. I want to make it grand and invite all the VIP clients of the company to participate. Of course, the main purpose is to let those people know that I will also be there.¡± I immediately understood what he meant. He wanted to use this press conference to officially make himself known to the world as the President of the Hall Corporation. ¡°Then Edwin is going to be flattered,¡± I said. Andrew smiled. ¡°I wonder if you¡¯re interested?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°I know that you used to work in the marketing department. It should be easy to organize an event. I want you to organize this press conference.¡± ¡°Me?¡± I pointed at myself, unable to believe what I just heard. ¡°I want it to be grand. How about this, I¡¯ll raise the budget by 20 million dollars.¡± I wasn¡¯t drinking any tea, but I nearly choked. I¡¯d organized events with million dollar budgets, but I¡¯d never been involved in events with budgets of more than 10 million dollars. I was here to investigate Abraham¡¯s disappearance, not to work hard for the Hall Corporation. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mr President¡­¡± ¡°Andrew,¡± he said sincerely, moving a little closer to me. I could almost smell his body scent, faint, a little nutty. The more I thought about it, the more it didn¡¯t feel right, but the conversation had to go on. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Andrew. I¡¯m Edwin¡¯s assistant. He¡¯s in charge of this event. If I steal his show, I won¡¯t be able to stay in the company.¡± ¡°You¡¯re worried about this?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°If this event goes well, come over and be my assistant. I happen to lack an assistant. As for Edwin, if he¡¯s unhappy about it, I can transfer him out of this place.¡± ¡°Your assistant?¡± My heart raced as Andrew and I stared at each other. My mind went blank for a moment. I quickly looked away, my heart still racing and my whole body starting to heat up. It felt a little like when Abraham and I were getting ready for a hearty intercourse. We would hug each other and look at each other¡¯s aroused expressions. I quickly took a sip of my tea and took a long breath, suppressing my inexplicable feelings. It must be because Andrew was so charismatic, making me feel attracted to him. It was the same type of attraction as when I saw models in a magazine. I had no other feelings. How could I have feelings for other men while I was searching for Abraham? ¡°I¡¯m worried I¡¯m not good enough.¡± I shirked the responsibility. I thought that he would force me to seize this rare opportunity. After all, this was indeed a rare opportunity for everyone else. However, Andre didn¡¯t make use of his authority as President. He only said gently, ¡°I¡¯ve seen your resume. You¡¯re outstanding. Of course, that wasn¡¯t the main reason why I chose you. I feel that you¡¯re a good fit for me.¡± ¡°Good fit?¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯ve watched all the events you¡¯ve worked on before. I love them.¡± His upper body leaned against the table, the sun shining gently on him. He said the last three words softly, complementing this lazy afternoon. I somehow felt some power in his words, it was crazily pulling me. That power kept telling me that it wasn¡¯t because he liked the events that I organized, but rather, because he liked me. Chapter 31 I knew that I was not bad, but I wasn¡¯t narcissistic enough to think that the President of the Hall Corporation would fall in love with me after seeing me twice. But his words disrupted my thoughts, and I couldn¡¯t bring myself to say no. But I couldn¡¯t promise him. Wait, if I became his assistant, wouldn¡¯t it be easier to investigate him? I was enlightened and my inner conflict dissipated. ¡°Then¡­ Two weeks is not enough time.¡± ¡°It might not be easy to adjust the timeline. It has already progressed to this stage. It will be troublesome to adjust it again.¡± ¡°Yeah, a little.¡± My mind raced as I tried to figure out what to do if Andrew was going to attend the press conference.. There were only two weeks left, which was too little time for such a huge event. Andre could tell I was nervous. He stood up, walked back across the room, and sat down in the President¡¯s office chair. ¡°I¡¯m going to issue an immediate notice and have the entire corporation cooperate with you to prepare for this press conference. If you still find it difficult, I¡¯ll increase the budget by another ten million dollars.¡± I stared at him with widened eyes. He was certainly from a wealthy family, doesn¡¯t he know how much money was that? Of course, I didn¡¯t feel bad for him spending so much money. I was just afraid that he would have high expectations of me and end up feeling that I had wasted money. He didn¡¯t notice my expression at all. He just typed some stuff on his keyboard and stopped after a while. He gave it some serious thought and muttered to himself, ¡°Oh, I should do this too.¡± Not long after, he printed out a document. He put his signature and stamp on it before he took a photo, sending it to the group chat. I took out my phone and clicked on the photo to see what he had written. He directly appointed me as the Executive Director of the product launch for the Craftsman series wine. He also wrote down the requirements of the VIP client and himself, and requested the entire corporation to do their best to cooperate. I would be paid five times my salary as long as I worked overtime for the press conference. From the General Manager of each branch, to the security guards and even cleaners, if anyone did not cooperate with me, the human resources department could directly fire them. As I watched, I felt something in my throat. In all my years of working, I never had someone who trusted me so much and gave me so much encouragement and support. Andrew looked at me with starry eyes. I had no idea whether I was just imagining things, but he seemed to be asking for my praises. ¡°Andrew¡­ what if I screw up¡­¡± ¡°That won¡¯t happen. The company has an excellent operations team. You only need to give the orders.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t even need to provide my creativity?¡± I asked, feeling a little unsure. ¡°You¡¯re in charge of assigning resources and making decisions. I¡¯m not saying that you have no creativity. It¡¯s just that time is tight, so it¡¯s better for it to be a collaborative effort.¡± Hearing this, I instantly felt less pressure. However, I wasn¡¯t confident that I could pick the best proposal out of the many proposals for a large-scale event with a budget that was close to 40 million dollars. Andrew stood up and sat down beside me. He studied me for a moment, then smiled. ¡°It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s just an event.¡± ¡°This is not an ordinary activity.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just an ordinary event. If you mess it up, just treat it as practice. You¡¯re my assistant, you shouldn¡¯t be troubled by small disturbances.¡± ¡°If I screw up, will you sue me? Will you fire me?¡± He suddenly fell silent and a guilty look flashed across his face. I must have seen it wrongly. Why would he feel guilty? Even if he felt sorry, he wouldn¡¯t show it in front of me so easily. He said in a low voice, ¡°You¡¯re feeling insecure, but it¡¯s not your fault. You can only blame the person beside you for not giving you a sense of security.¡± I didn¡¯t understand what he meant. What did it have to do with my insecurity? I was just afraid of screwing up the event. Just as I was about to ask him, he continued, ¡°It¡¯s okay, this is just an event. I¡¯m here. You¡¯ll never have to worry about not having someone to back you up.¡± His words were like a flurry of arrows, shooting wildly at me and puncturing countless holes in my body, making me tremble uncontrollably. Abraham said the same thing to me when I was being bullied. That was our first time having such a deep conversation outside of our usual financial and career topics. I didn¡¯t expect that another person would say that to me. I suddenly felt like crying. I quickly turned around and wiped the tears in the corner of my eyes. My movements were so obvious that Andrew saw it. His voice was tense as he asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m fine. It¡¯s just that my eyes are feeling a little uncomfortable.¡± ¡°Let me see.¡± He came around, very naturally cupping my face with one hand, while using his index finger and thumb of his other hand to open my eyes. He didn¡¯t seem to think it was an intimate move at all. Oddly, neither did I. It¡¯s as if he¡¯d done it many times, and we were both used to it. ¡°There doesn¡¯t seem to be anything inside.¡± Andrew looked at me seriously for a while before saying, ¡°But I can see that you haven¡¯t rested well.¡± ¡°Yes. I didn¡¯t rest well.¡± I took his hand away, moving my chair back a little. Even though his charisma was drawing me closer, I had to keep my distance from him. He could be my enemy. An embarrassed look flashed past his face when he saw what I did. He probably didn¡¯t expect that a woman would want to stay away from him. Chapter 32 I wanted this awkward moment to end as soon as possible. I stood up and picked up the letter, it actually felt heavy in my hands. After giving it some careful thought, I said, ¡°I hope to select some people to form a temporary project team for the press conference. I¡¯ll be in full command.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± He nodded admiringly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll work overtime with you. As long as you¡¯re still here, I¡¯ll be here. You can look for me if you need anything.¡± At that point, he hesitated for a moment. I had no idea whether it was just my imagination, but he smiled shyly. ¡°You can come to my office if you want to. How about I move your things up immediately?¡± . ¡°Oh, no, no way,¡± I immediately declined. Seeing the startled look on his face, I somehow felt that it was wrong of me to reject him so bluntly, so I quickly added, ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll feel comfortable with that. But of course, I¡¯ll need an office. Anywhere.¡± ¡°I can set one up for you on the 18th floor.¡± ¡°Except the 18th floor.¡± ¡°If you are closer to me, we can solve all problems quickly.¡± ¡°The elevator is pretty fast.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± We suddenly heard a knock on the glass door that interrupted our conversation and we both looked out. The blond man from earlier was licking his lips and staring straight at me. The message in his eyes was that he wanted to cut me up and eat me. I couldn¡¯t help but shiver. Today wasn¡¯t a good day at all. I was supposed to just get his signature, but now, I was here and even ran into a pervert. Andrew stepped in front of me, blocking me away from the man. ¡°Get out!¡± It was soundproof here so the blond man definitely couldn¡¯t hear Andrew, but he probably would have seen Andrew¡¯s lips. His arrogant and devilish face suddenly became full of hatred, and he kicked the glass door hard. I could clearly hear the sound of glass shattering! Could this kind of glass be broken with a kick? I immediately poked my head out from behind, trying to look for any cracks that might appear on the glass door. Andrew turned around and raised his arm up, quickly moving his arm near my neck, causing me to fall back into the chair. In that instant, I felt something fly out of Andrew¡¯s body. It was somewhat like a current. I might have seen it wrongly. Maybe it was just the way his arm was leaning forward that made it seem like a current. When I looked at the glass door again, the blond man had already left. I voiced my doubts. ¡°I felt the glass shatter just now.¡± ¡°It looks fine.¡± Andrew¡¯s arm didn¡¯t move away. He just rested it on the desk behind me. His other hand rested on the back of my chair, and I was completely surrounded by him. We were too close to each other, and I could feel his uneasiness. His eyes looked like a lost deer. ¡°You are right. The 18th floor is not suitable for you. You were frightened just now. But I will make this place suitable for you within two weeks. I will make sure those who are not supposed to appear will not appear again.¡± It¡¯s like a promise. I became as uneasy as he was. We¡¯d only met twice, why would he make such a promise? Just in case he had any ideas about me, I said, ¡°Thank you for the considerations, it¡¯s just that I might be very busy from now on. I need to get my husband¡¯s opinion first. If he doesn¡¯t agree, then I can¡¯t take on this project.¡± He was puzzled, just as I had expected. ¡°Your husband?¡± ¡°Yes. We held our wedding on 3rd October.¡± He suddenly froze, his face turning red. I didn¡¯t understand what was wrong with him. Just as I was considering if I should ask him, he suddenly pulled his arms together and hugged me. I was shocked and instantly wanted to push him away. However, he was faster than I had expected. Before I could push him away, he had already let go of me. Yes, he quickly let go of me, only giving me a light hug in the process. Before my heart could ripple, it calmed down again. He then walked over to the window, with his back facing me. He placed his hands on the edge of the window, his veins bulging and his voice slightly panicky, sounding like he was about to cry. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m not feeling too well.¡± ¡°Do I need to call an ambulance?¡± This seemed like the same situation as last time. Could it be that his old habit was acting up again? ¡°Nope.¡± He seemed to have a lot to say, but he merely said that one word. He just covered his forehead and said, ¡°You can go get busy.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°Go ahead. Call me if you need anything.¡± Since he¡¯d already said that, it wasn¡¯t my place to ask any more questions. ¡°Then I¡¯ll get going.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± I took the letter and walked out the glass door. When I closed the door and looked inside, he was still looking out the window. I didn¡¯t bother with him anymore. I turned around and got into the elevator, returning to the sixth floor. I stepped out of the elevator and walked towards my small room. Everyone looked at me along the way. The originally noisy office became extremely quiet because of my appearance. Their gazes were very diverse. Some were shocked, some were afraid, some were disdainful, and some were envious. If it were in the past, I would probably be happy for a consecutive few days for such an opportunity. I would even wake up from my dreams smiling. But now, I have no interest in such things. Chapter 33 I opened the door to the small room. Somewhat unexpectedly, Edwin and Bessy were sitting in the room, waiting for me. I could already imagine that they were frightened by the notification. Bessy, as usual, didn¡¯t give me a pleasant look. When she saw me come in, she rolled her eyes openly. Edwin sat at my desk. His expression was dark, but in the next moment, he suddenly stood up and gave me a smile. ¡°I really made the right decision. I was really surprised by today¡¯s incident.¡± He approached me and whispered, ¡°There¡¯s no one here. Tell me, are you here to learn? Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t tell anyone. I¡¯ll definitely cooperate with you.¡± . I knew that he must have thought that I was one of the President¡¯s relatives. The way he spoke was similar to the way that those middle-aged men at parties would speak. They would brag and at the same time, try to dig information out of me. Instead of rushing to answer him, I went back to sit in my seat. Now that I think about it carefully, what happened today was truly unbelievable. From an outsider¡¯s point of view, I was either the President¡¯s relative or his lover. If I denied that I was the President¡¯s relative, then it goes without saying that everyone would think that I was hooking up with a rich man. No matter how I explained, no one would listen. On the contrary, if I took the initiative to admit that I was the President¡¯s relative, no one would think that I am a sugar baby. This would cause me less trouble. I looked over at Edwin and smiled. ¡°Manager, I didn¡¯t think that Andrew would assign me something to do so soon. I was planning to continue learning for a while longer.¡± I said it so ambiguously that I didn¡¯t mention anything about my relationship with Andrew, but I was sure that Edwin could infer. Edwin and Bessy both widened their eyes at my answer. Countless scenarios came up in their heads. Edwin¡¯s smile widened. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll learn a lot from me. I¡¯ll fully support you in this upcoming press conference.¡± ¡°Thank you for your support. I need some time to myself to calm down and think about what¡¯s next for the press conference.¡± ¡°Sure, of course. What can I do for you?¡± ¡°Can I have some time alone in this room?¡± ¡°Oh. No problem, no problem at all.¡± Edwin rubbed his hands together and awkwardly stopped smiling. ¡°Then I¡¯ll wait for your instructions.¡± Edwin shot Bessy a look before he opened the door and went out. Bessy walked behind him and when she closed the door, her eyes were still filled with disbelief, indignation and anger. I tried my best to not be affected by others. Now, my only goal was to stay beside Andrew and focus on investigating. I took out a pen and paper, categorizing all the actions needed for the press conference and writing them down. It was then that I realized organizing an event with ample support and funds was surprisingly easy. Not long after, someone knocked on the door. I thought it was a colleague who came to gossip, but it was someone I didn¡¯t know who came in. She smiled at me respectfully and said, ¡°Oh, hello, Emma. I¡¯m from the administrative department. You can just call me Dixie. Sorry to disturb you, but the office that the President asked us to prepare for you is ready. You can move in anytime.¡± ¡°Where is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s on the sixth floor. After all, you¡¯re going to hold a red wine press conference. The sixth floor is definitely more suitable for you.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°No worries. Do you need help moving anything over?¡± ¡°Nothing much.¡± I grabbed my bag and followed Dixie to the new office. The new office had a large floor-to-ceiling window and was larger than Edwin¡¯s office. Looking beside me, there was a conference table that could fit 12 people. I wrote down a list of names and sent it to the head of the human resources department. I got them to quickly contact these 10 people and settle the terms so that they could quickly put down their work and fully support me in the press conference. The head of the human resources department asked no questions and quickly left to handle the work. While waiting for them to arrive, I put out a request in the group chat, offering rewards for the best proposal. I then called Andrew and asked him some important questions regarding the press conference. Andrew sounded surprised when he picked up the call. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to call me. Actually, you can come and find me.¡± ¡°I just need to ask about some stuff.¡± I didn¡¯t want to go up to him again. The atmosphere between us was too awkward. ¡°Okay, you can ask me now.¡± ¡°It¡¯s about the invitation list for the press conference.¡± ¡°Can I give it to you tomorrow? We need to have a meeting on it first.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± The conversation stopped abruptly. I was ready to hang up, but I didn¡¯t think it was right to just hang up like that. Chapter 34 He immediately asked me, ¡°Do you like the new office?¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. It¡¯s just a place to work in.¡± ¡°Oh, yes. But you still have to like it.¡± I could sense that he was a little nervous, and he didn¡¯t seem to know what else to say. ¡°Then I¡¯ll get back to work.¡± I decided to end the conversation quickly. ¡°Hold on.¡± He stopped me. ¡°You have to work late tonight, right?¡± ¡°I guess so. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll sleep well for the next two weeks..¡± ¡°I¡¯m working late too. Shall we have dinner together tonight?¡± I refused without even considering the option. ¡°If everyone is going to work late and I spend a few hours eating dinner, my reputation is going to suffer.¡± ¡°No, no, no. It¡¯s not that kind of dinner. I know you¡¯re serious about work. It¡¯s just a quick dinner.¡± I couldn¡¯t find any other reason to refuse. After all, no matter how busy I was, I still had to eat. After thinking for a while, I said, ¡°I¡¯m on a diet. I¡¯m not going to eat dinner.¡± He went silent for a while. When he spoke again, I could feel the suppressed anger in his voice. ¡°You¡¯re already very slim, why are you still trying to lose weight?¡± This conversation made me laugh. The way he talked, the tone of his voice, he sounded exactly like Abraham. Whenever I want to lose weight and not eat anything, I would stare at Abraham with widened eyes when he ate, then he would explode with rage. I still find those incidents funny, he was really cute. Andre heard my laughter and became even angrier. ¡°I¡¯ll wait for you in the office for dinner. If you don¡¯t come up after seven, I¡¯ll come down with dinner and come and look for you.¡± I then heard some tapping sounds. I must have clicked the wrong button and didn¡¯t actually end the call. We were still connected on the call. Andrew¡¯s voice came again. ¡°I¡¯m hanging up.¡± I couldn¡¯t help but imagine what he was doing. Could it be that he was so angry that he wanted to hang up on me, but he felt bad hanging up, so he told me about it? Hmm¡­ He didn¡¯t really behave like a scheming President who was successful in his power play, but more like a young boy. ¡°Okay.¡± I tossed my phone on the table and got ready to get back to work. But from the corner of my eye, I could see that he hadn¡¯t hung up yet. I quickly clicked the button on the screen to end the call and after that, I couldn¡¯t help but think of Abraham. If it wasn¡¯t under special circumstances, he would never hang up on me. Even after the call ended, he would still wait for me to hang up. I couldn¡¯t help but wonder why Andrew and Abraham were so similar. His familiar aura and behavior surprised me. Suddenly, a phone call from an unfamiliar phone number came in. When I picked up the call, the voice on the other end was a little hoarse. ¡°Hello. Did you leave a comment under my article to find out more about werewolves?¡± I immediately tensed up. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s me. May I know who you are?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to know who I am. What do you want to ask?¡± I was supposed to just shoot my questions at him? I was full of doubt, but he sounded almost impatient. I didn¡¯t want to end up losing the clue so I just tested the waters. ¡°Have you ever met a werewolf?¡± ¡°You should ask about things related to yourself. Don¡¯t try to ask about my matters.¡± His tone became even more impatient. I had to ask the question that was on my mind. ¡°I was hurt by a werewolf on the 15th, but the next day, all the traces on my body had disappeared.¡± The other party¡¯s voice suddenly became deep. ¡°During the full moon?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± He went silent. This suffocating silence made me ask, ¡°Are you still listening?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± he said. ¡°You must mean something special to werewolves. Werewolves tend to go berserk during a full moon, and it¡¯s easier for them to go into heat. If you¡¯ve driven them mad, you probably would have been torn apart as an ordinary person. Do you remember how he hurt you that night?¡± ¡°Oh¡­ um¡­¡± I covered my forehead. It was hard to say anything about it. ¡°He assaulted you?¡± The other party was resolute. I immediately laughed to hide my embarrassment. But at the same time, I had a little faith in him. He must have known quite a bit about werewolves. ¡°Yes,¡± I replied. When he heard my answer, he continued, ¡°Then he probably didn¡¯t want to hurt you. It¡¯s just that he couldn¡¯t control his feelings for you during the full moon. Do you have any marks on your body that weren¡¯t from birth? It might look like a birthmark or a scar.¡± There was so much information for me to process, I couldn¡¯t really understand what he was talking about. How could that werewolf have feelings for me? As for the marks that formed after birth, I subconsciously touched my ear. ¡°I have a scar.¡± ¡°Did you encounter anything abnormal when that scar was formed?¡± ¡°Wolf!¡± I blurted out. Yes, I met a wolf when I was nine years old! The other party said, ¡°That should be it. The one you encountered at that time was definitely not an ordinary wolf, but a werewolf. Your so-called scar should be the mark of a werewolf¡¯s love.¡± ¡°What?¡± I slid my fingers into my hair, unable to believe him. He continued, ¡°It seems like you¡¯ve heard of it before. Werewolves will only have one partner in their lifetime, and he will brand the Seal of Love on his chosen partner. With this Seal of Love, werewolves will develop telepathy with their partner. Clearly, you¡¯ve been chosen by a certain werewolf.¡± Chapter 35 I felt my ears burn. How could I be involved in such a legend? ¡°Is there a mistake?¡± ¡°Of course not.¡± He was absolutely certain. ¡°I¡¯ve been investigating werewolves for years. I¡¯m sure I won¡¯t get this kind of basic information wrong.¡± His voice gradually became excited. ¡°That werewolf will definitely come looking for you again. You can tell me where you are, and I can help you.¡± ¡°I¡­¡± I ran my fingers through my hair again and again. ¡°I¡¯m a little confused right now.¡± That was a werewolf! He could kill me with a slap. If he really came back and asked me to become his partner, how could I refuse? Was there any way I could refuse him? . ¡°I need some time to think about it,¡± I said. ¡°Of course. If you need help, I can come to you immediately.¡± ¡°Okay, thanks.¡± I was dazed after I hung up. My heart raced as I remembered how the werewolf looked that night. I felt a fear I¡¯d never felt before. What if he just abducted me and took me to a dark forest? Then I¡¯d have to live there for the rest of my life as a savage, living in the wilds of the jungle. I just want to find Abraham and live my same old life. Oh God, what have I done wrong to deserve this? A knock on the door snapped me out of it. I quickly grabbed my cushion foundation from my bag and touched up my makeup, reapplying my lipstick, and I took two deep breaths to appear normal. I opened the door and Carol greeted me. ¡°Hi, I don¡¯t know how I should address you now.¡± ¡°Emma. My name hasn¡¯t changed. Please come in.¡± I pointed in the direction of the conference table. ¡°Take a seat first. The others should be here soon.¡± Carol was one of the names in the list. Out of the remaining nine people, seven of them were colleagues of the seven missing people. Although I didn¡¯t find out anything much while having dinner with them, I was sure that I could get some additional information if I were to spend more time interacting with them. Carol didn¡¯t expect me to get him to provide support to the press conference. ¡°Emma, I¡¯m in the furniture business. What can I do for the press conference?¡± ¡°Of course you can. You are very good at setting up spaces. You will be needed at the press conference.¡± ¡°I did design venues and banquet halls, but the design and setting for the press conference is different.¡± ¡°What I want is to be different. If you want to make something extraordinary, you have to take an unusual path.¡± I looked for a cup and poured Carol a glass of water. ¡°You just need to perform well.¡± Carol looked at me intently, his eyes full of hesitation. Before he could say anything, I said, ¡°I know what you want to ask. Andrew and I are not in that kind of relationship.¡± ¡°Then¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m not the person that you think I am.¡± I blinked playfully and he became even more confused. But he quickly thought of another relationship. ¡°You and the CEO are rela-¡± Another knock on the door interrupted Carol. I gave him a mysterious smile and then got up to open the door. It was someone else on the list. Next to arrive were Bonnie and Job. I submitted their names because I was more familiar with them, and they were designers for the liquor industry. Bonnie and Job were tempted to ask me something, but they didn¡¯t speak in front of the others. I certainly wasn¡¯t going to explain anything to anyone. Carol would eventually tell them about it, and Edwin and Bessy would tell those who really wanted to know what was going on. In less than two hours, all 10 people had arrived. The image of a werewolf flashed in my mind from time to time, but I was forced to enter work mode given the current situation. Just as we were getting ready for the meeting, someone knocked on the door again. ¡°Come in.¡± It was Bessy. She opened the door and came in. She had her laptop in her arms and finally gave me a smile. ¡°The General Manager asked me to come and help you. You¡¯ll need an assistant for the next two weeks.¡± It was true that I needed an assistant, but I didn¡¯t have the right one in mind. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that Edwin would be so proactive, even sending his own assistant over. ¡°Thank you, Bessy. Please come and sit down.¡± I believed in Bessy¡¯s capabilities. She must have come with some agenda. She not only had to please me, but also needed to find out exactly what kind of relationship I had with Andrew. There must be quite a few people like Edwin in the company these days. Instead of having someone unfamiliar lurking around, I might as well just use Bessy. Bessy didn¡¯t expect me to accept her so quickly. Feeling uneasy, she came to sit beside me and turned on her computer. The first meeting I hosted at the Hall Corporation officially began. I was probably too invested in work and didn¡¯t pay much attention to the notifications on my phone. It wasn¡¯t until a few knocks on the door disrupted my flow. That annoyed me a little. Bessy stood up and went to open the door. I could hear her gasp. She quickly opened the door and all of our gazes riveted over. Andrew was standing at the door coldly. Behind him were ten people, each holding a plate of¡­ steak? Chapter 36 ¡°President.¡± Bessy hurriedly bowed and greeted him. The others at the conference table also stood up and bowed. Andrew¡¯s eyes shot straight to me, and I quickly glanced at the clock. It was exactly seven o¡¯ clock. I¡¯d lost track of the time and what Andrew had said. I stood up in a panic and explained, ¡°We discussed a lot. Time is really tight and I wanted to finish assigning the tasks today, so I lost track of time.¡± ¡°I know.¡± He smiled and gestured for the people behind him to bring the food in and place them in front of everyone. He walked over to me and said to everyone, ¡°Everyone has worked hard.. We will need everyone¡¯s full support for Emma¡¯s work.¡± ¡°You¡¯re too kind, President. That¡¯s our responsibility.¡± Everyone scrambled to answer, everyone¡¯s voices overlapping. It was a good opportunity to show their loyalty to the President. There were many people in the company who yearned for this opportunity. Andrew said, ¡°Let¡¯s pause this meeting and have dinner first.¡± ¡°Thank you, President,¡± everyone replied. I could clearly see the light in everyone¡¯s eyes. They were probably touched by the President¡¯s move. Andrew looked over at me. ¡°Come on, Emma. I¡¯ve prepared dinner for you too.¡± Everyone¡¯s eyes lit up even more. It¡¯s only then that I realized, I seemed to be flustered about losing track of time. Why should I be? I never promised him to have dinner together anyway. ¡°I¡¯ll just eat with everyone.¡± Besides the steak, there was a box of pizza and three plates of pasta on the table. Even if they included me, there was enough food for everyone. Andrew replied, ¡°You should let me know about the contents of your discussion today so that I can quickly correct any mistakes.¡± I looked at him skeptically. That sounded too much like an excuse. He didn¡¯t give me a chance to refuse, walking over to the door as he said, ¡°I¡¯ll wait for you at the elevator.¡± He then walked out of the door. The people behind him followed him out one after another. Bessie raised her computer. ¡°These are the meeting minutes. It should be helpful for you.¡± I was slightly annoyed. I was now under Andrew¡¯s control. When I come to think of it, it seems right for him to do that. I reluctantly took the computer and smiled forcibly. ¡°You guys can go ahead. When you¡¯re done eating, give your family a call. You might not be able to leave on time ¡®tonight.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Everyone relaxed a little and sat down to get the cutlery. I took a deep breath, walking out of the door while holding the computer. With every step I took, I could feel many pairs of eyes staring at me from behind, they were all filled with curiosity. But I wasn¡¯t bothered. All I could think of was the ferocious and terrifying appearance of the werewolf. When I was about to reach the elevator, I could see from the corner of my eyes that several people had already taken their bags, but still pretended to be chatting, on their phones or reading documents. They didn¡¯t come forward to take the elevator. That was all because Andrew was standing in the elevator. A strong-looking man that was about his height was keeping the door open for him. They were probably waiting for me. Just as I was about to reach the elevator, a woman quickly appeared in front of me, blocking my view. She rushed into the elevator, just like how one would take the elevator. She then confidently turned around and smiled at Andrew. ¡°Hello, President.¡± I raised my eyebrows and stopped in my tracks. There were also many people looking inconspicuously. Andrew had been looking down at his phone and typing something, and when he heard the voice, he replied hello without looking up. The atmosphere instantly turned cold. The beauty had luscious, waist-length hair. She was tall and had defined facial features. She would definitely attract the attention of many people as she walked along the streets. She must be aware of her charms, if not, she wouldn¡¯t exude such confidence. However, she was also slightly stunned at that moment. She quickly put away her doubts and moved closer to Andrew. ¡°Are you waiting for someone?¡± Andrew seemed to have finished typing. He looked over with precision, it seemed like he already knew that I was standing there. He gave me a look that said, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you coming over yet?¡± I was about to break down inside. It was too embarrassing to go over in this situation. ¡°You guys go ahead. I¡¯ll take the next elevator.¡± Andre¡¯s black pupils suddenly became unfathomable. There was something surging in them that made me afraid to meet his gaze. I looked away, but I could somehow still see him from the corner of my eye. The next second, he walked out of the elevator. The man beside him instantly understood his intentions and pressed the button for the other elevator. ¡°President?¡± The elevator slowly closed with the beautiful woman¡¯s surprised gaze. The people who were peeking at us were shocked as well. I could almost feel the waves of shock rising in their hearts. Andrew was standing in front of another elevator, looking at me with a slightly cold expression. Did I see wrongly? There seemed to be a slight helplessness in his expression, that same look that Abraham would give me when I wear jewelry that he could never appreciate. It was this damn familiarity again that made me feel like I was betraying Abraham. The elevator doors opened, and Andrew stepped inside first, waiting for me to follow suit. I was too embarrassed to say no again, so I followed him inside. The doors closed, cutting off all sound and people from the outside world. I held the computer tightly in the cramped space. Chapter 37 ¡°What happened to you?¡± I jumped, subsequently realizing that it was Andrew who had spoken. ¡°Did I scare you?¡± Andrew asked worriedly. I quickly shook my head. ¡°No, you didn¡¯t. I was thinking about work and was too engrossed in it.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Oh, of course.¡± All of a sudden, I felt dizzy and couldn¡¯t stand properly. I just fell down like that. ¡°Emma!¡± I heard a cry.. The next moment, I fell into an embrace. My body felt like it had been drained of all energy. I felt as if my soul had left my body, it was so uncomfortable and I felt as if I was in a void. Only after two or three seconds then my vision gradually cleared up. ¡°Emma?¡± It¡¯s Andrew¡¯s voice. His face appeared in my pupils and it was only then that I realized I had fallen to the ground, and he had crouched down to grab hold of me. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m a bit anemic.¡± It was normal for me to faint from the recent fatigue, downward acceleration, and anemia. ¡°Thank you.¡± I struggled to get up, but Andre suddenly hugged me. He held me so tightly that I almost couldn¡¯t breathe. I wanted to push him away, but I wasn¡¯t able to. I wanted to ask him to let me go, but the moment I opened my mouth, the first word that came out was ¡°Abraham!¡± I was stunned by my own cry. He was Andrew! Although Abraham had many similarities with Abraham, he was still Andre after all, not Abraham. Could it be that I had already, subconsciously him for Abraham? ¡°Okay.¡± Just as I was feeling vexed over my call, Andrew unexpectedly answered. He used his right hand to hold the back of my head and pulled me tightly into his embrace. ¡°I¡¯m here. It¡¯s been hard on you during this period of time.¡± I was going to go crazy! I missed Abraham too much, so I called out his name. That was normal. But what about Abraham? What did Andrew mean by that? Was he muddled from work? ¡°An-President Andrew. It¡¯s only right for you to work hard.¡± I quickly used work as an excuse to ease the atmosphere. I stretched my arms out to push him away. ¡°I¡¯m fine. Please let go of me.¡± The elevator doors suddenly slammed shut. It was then that I realized we were already on the 18th floor. The doors had opened and closed. Following that, I felt a strong force pushing against my legs. In the next moment, Andrew lifted me up. ¡°Andrew!¡± I shouted. ¡°Don¡¯t move. What if you faint again later?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± The elevator doors opened and Andrew carried me out. It was only after we entered his office then he let me down. The moment I landed on the ground, I felt incredibly comforted, feeling as if I had just gone through a therapy session in Andrew¡¯s arms. ¡°Wow! I feel so good right now.¡± It has been a long time since I last felt like that, I couldn¡¯t help but sigh. Andrew smiled, his eyes extremely gentle. His current expression was exactly the same as when Abraham looked at me lovingly. My heart throbbed, and I couldn¡¯t help but blush. I even wanted to throw myself back into his arms, the exact way I¡¯d run into Abraham¡¯s arms. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s have something to eat first.¡± He very naturally took my hand and led me into the reception room on the right. I didn¡¯t want to go in, but when I looked over at the reception room, I was stupefied. The dark red sofa, coffee table, crystal chandelier, and the vintage oil paintings on the wall were all gone! The walls of the reception room were covered with a layer of light blue wallpaper. The wall facing the door had been built into an arched bookcase that was as high as the ceiling. In between the bookcase were a few armchairs and a small white table. About two meters away from the window, there was a pastry cabinet on the left and a dining table on the right. A wooden bar was built against the walls facing the windows, with all sorts of popular wines in the wine cabinet. Andrew walked over to the dining table and pulled out a chair for me. I had no choice but to sit down and shrug my shoulders, not knowing what else to say. ¡°Wow. That¡¯s a huge transformation.¡± Our house was only 100 square meters but Abraham and I took a long time discussing about the renovations of our house, which was only 100 square meters. Back then, I really wanted a huge bookcase that was made of solid wood, but after looking at the prices, I had no choice but to give up. It was really too expensive. But now, Andrew had taken only one afternoon to completely renovate the reception room, even building such a huge bookcase. Andre observed my expression and said, ¡°You don¡¯t look scared anymore. I was thinking that if you still refuse to come in, I¡¯ll change my office.¡± ¡°What?¡± I couldn¡¯t believe it. ¡°You mean that, you¡¯ll change your office because of me?¡± He wanted to work in another building? ¡°Yes, of course.¡± He sat across from me, holding a knife and fork, looking at me without blinking at all. Chapter 38 Andrew was extremely good looking. His facial features weren¡¯t perfect, but it was precisely so that made him outstanding. He looked at me, his eyes filled with warmth. I bet there weren¡¯t many people who could withstand his affectionate expression. If it weren¡¯t for Abraham, I might have already been conquered by him. But I was sober. Come to think of it, Andrew and Edwin weren¡¯t any different. Rachel had also dated rich second-generation heirs. The man had sweet-talked her in order to woo her, gifting her with a car and a house. Rachel had been so touched that she had given her whole heart to him, even preparing to spend the rest of her life with him. However, the good times didn¡¯t last long. Within two months, he revealed his true colors and started to treat Rachel coldly.. On Rachel¡¯s birthday, he didn¡¯t appear and only called to say that he was working on a project. Rachel felt that something wasn¡¯t right and started looking for him, until she finally found him in the middle of the night. At that time, he was kissing a model passionately in the car. Now that I think about it, I really regret it. I shouldn¡¯t have stopped her back then. I should have let her go up and give that scumbag a good beating. At most, I would accompany her to the prison for a period of time. That scumbag had hurt Rachel so deeply that Rachel looked at all rich men with disgust afterwards. I hadn¡¯t reached that level yet, but I knew that Andrew was just trying to get in my pants right now. I had to look at it objectively now. I wasn¡¯t supposed to think that he¡¯s a devoted, nice man just because he gave off the same vibes as Abraham. After telling myself that, all my nervousness dissipated. I took big mouthfuls of food. ¡°Thank you for the food.¡± I quickly finished the steak on my plate. Andrew looked at me and couldn¡¯t help but laugh. I simply couldn¡¯t be bothered with him. I then turned on my computer and gave him a brief summary of the meeting. He didn¡¯t finish eating until I finished talking. He nodded. ¡°Not bad.¡± I frowned. His answer was too perfunctory, and his expression was also very perfunctory. Though he was looking at me, he didn¡¯t seem to have clearly understood what I was saying. ¡°Then I¡¯ll get back to work.¡± I closed the computer. ¡°I¡¯m curious about you.¡± Andrew said with a soft voice. ¡°Can you tell me more about your husband?¡± I immediately became wary. I couldn¡¯t figure out if he was trying to flirt with me now, trying to find out who his competitor was, or if he¡¯d found out who Abraham was and was testing how much I knew about the disappearance. ¡°He¡¯s nice,¡± I said. ¡°I don¡¯t like to talk about personal matters when I¡¯m at work.¡± ¡°I can tell that you love him very much.¡± Andrew¡¯s eyes were full of tenderness. Yes, I wasn¡¯t mistaken. It was tenderness. It was neither jealousy, suspicion, or wariness. It was tenderness, full of it. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever mentioned Abraham to anyone in many days. I would just think about Abraham by myself, silently. Andrew¡¯s was just like a tree hole that was ready to listen to anything. He was enticing me to share everything about Abraham with him. ¡°I love him very much,¡± I said firmly. ¡°Where is he now?¡± ¡°He¡­¡± I kept reminding myself not to tell the truth. ¡°He has some health problems and he¡¯s currently recuperating at home. I changed my job because I wanted to earn more money to help with his medical bills.¡± My every word was a signal to him that I loved Abraham so much that no one else would stand a chance. ¡°Oh, I see.¡± He suddenly touched his brows and a wide grin appeared on his face, as if he¡¯d just heard a good joke. I didn¡¯t understand why he smiled, but I felt offended. ¡°What¡¯s so funny about it?¡± His smile instantly disappeared. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I just thought of something else. Hm, if he¡¯s really sick and needs special treatment, you can look for me. I can help to set you up with the specialists.¡± ¡°No, he¡¯s good now.¡± ¡°Can I treat him to a meal someday?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to.¡± ¡°Or I could visit?¡± ¡°Andrew.¡± I was a little angry. ¡°These are my private matters. Please don¡¯t ask too much about it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just concerned about my employees. This has always been the Hall Corporation¡¯s culture. If anyone¡¯s family falls sick, the company will organize donations and visits.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need them. I just need to get back to work.¡± I was afraid that if I continued the conversation, I might just end up punching him in the face. ¡°Thank you.¡± I left the reception room and walked out of the office without hesitation. It was already 7.30pm. It seemed like Andrew had broken the rule of not allowing anyone to enter the 18th floor after 6pm. I came back to the sixth floor and went to the pantry to give Selina a call. It was only then that I realized Selina had sent me a lot of messages. Selina told me that she had received a gift. There was a greeting card on it that said thank you to her for raising an excellent daughter on behalf of the company. It also served as an official notification that I had been promoted. The gift was a dress that she had her eyes on for the longest time ever, but she hadn¡¯t bought it since it was so expensive and she wasn¡¯t able to fit in it. Selina hadn¡¯t expected to receive the dress because of this exact reason. Her every word seemed to be filled with excitement. I was scared out of my wits. I immediately clicked on all the photos she¡¯d sent me and carefully looked through them without missing a single detail. Chapter 39 I looked around and found that there was no logo of the Hall Corporation anywhere, be it the box, the greeting card, or the small label inside. I heaved a sigh of relief, I guess it made sense. If Selina had found out that I was in the Hall Corporation, she would have come to find me. Was it part of the Hall Corporation¡¯s culture to send thank you letters to the family of employees who were promoted? Or did the administrative department deliberately do this to please me? Or did Andrew specifically instruct them to do so? I had to get to the bottom of this. After I sent Selina a reply, I immediately went to the administrative department to ask about it. I had to ask around before I found Dixie¡¯s office. Dixie heard my question and replied with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s a new set of rules set by the President. This applies to everyone, not only you. Anyone else who is promoted will receive a gift from the company.¡± ¡°Did Andrew specially instruct you to send my mother a gift?¡± ¡°Yes, the President indeed instructed me to do that.¡± . Hearing Dixie¡¯s answer, my heart raced. While I was investigating him, he was also watching me and the people around me! He even found out what my mother liked! This was too dangerous. A notification popped up on my phone. Selina sent me another text. ¡°Abraham mentioned that he was going to save up and buy me this dress. I finally have it now. Even if it wasn¡¯t from him, I still feel that he¡¯s right here with us.¡± I had mixed feelings. By the time I got back to my office, people were already coming to me with some preliminary proposals. I had to pull myself together and get back to work. I got Bessy to set up the projector so we could all work together on reviewing the feasibility and innovativeness of the proposals. A few other people came to me with various proposals and by the time we finished discussing, it was already six in the morning. To my surprise, Dixie came over with a group of colleagues and brought us breakfast. Job was so surprised that he almost cried. ¡°Since when did our company treat employees so well? We can go on the news.¡± Dixie glared at him. ¡°What are you talking about? The company treats everyone like family.¡± Job hurriedly slapped himself on the lips. ¡°Yes, yes, yes. I didn¡¯t sleep for the whole night. I am feeling a little muddled.¡± Dixie distributed breakfast to everyone and then told me, ¡°Emma, you should take a break. We¡¯ve prepared a room for you on the 19th floor.¡± Bonnie nearly choked while drinking a mouthful of milk, coughing several times before she got better. She immediately asked, ¡°The 19th floor? Aren¡¯t the rooms there exclusively for VIPs, for them to rest?¡± Dixie smiled. ¡°Those who serve the company selflessly are VIPs.¡± Bonnie and Job exchanged a few glances with each other, they weren¡¯t convinced at all. They seemed to have understood each other¡¯s intentions. I could feel a headache coming on. I hope I wasn¡¯t the reason behind this situation. I picked up some cheese bread and was about to take a bite of it when I heard someone knock on the door. The door opened and someone was here with another proposal. Fine, seems like I won¡¯t be able to get any sleep. We won¡¯t be able to get any sleep before we decide on a proposal. We resumed our discussion after having breakfast. We were supposed to go to the canteen for lunch, but Dixie sent us food for lunch and also afternoon tea later in the day. Everyone was in high spirits. No one complained and they all worked efficiently. We finally decided on a proposal when it was nearing the end of the day. Under everyone¡¯s expectant gazes, I asked Andrew if he was in his office. Andrew replied, ¡°Waiting for you.¡± I quickly went up to him with the proposal. I explained our idea to Andrew in detail and he looked at me admiringly. ¡°Very good. You¡¯ve worked hard.¡± ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± ¡°That¡¯s all.¡± I raised an eyebrow. This was probably the easiest update ever. He didn¡¯t raise any issues at all. I quickly sent a message to my colleagues, who were still waiting for me, telling them that the proposal had been approved. They were so happy that they were all sending stickers in the group chat. ¡°Everyone, please go and take a break. We can discuss how to implement it tomorrow morning,¡± I replied in the group. ¡°I can tell that you¡¯re very happy.¡± Andre smiled faintly. His eyes were filled with the same warmth as yesterday. ¡°I hope you¡¯re always so happy.¡± He sounded serious when he said that, with a somewhat affectionate expression. For a moment, I actually thought that he was genuine about it. I even felt a little touched. However, I quickly regained my senses and said politely, ¡°I hope that you¡¯ll be happy everyday too. I¡¯m going home now. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll arrive at work early tomorrow.¡± He quickly stood up. ¡°Oh. I can give you a lift.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to do that, I drove here.¡± ¡°I mean, you didn¡¯t sleep all night. What if you fall asleep behind the wheels¡­¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m good now.¡± ¡°No matter what, it¡¯s still too dangerous. I¡¯m going out anyway. It¡¯s on the way.¡± I was kind of annoyed. He would always take the initiative to do such things for me, and if I said no, it would seem like I didn¡¯t know what¡¯s good for me. ¡°I can head back by myself. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re busy, you shouldn¡¯t waste so much time on me.¡± I made myself clear, but as soon as I said that, I regretted it. If I really pissed Andrew off and made him decide to kick me out of the company, all my previous efforts would be wasted. His expression changed instantly. He was shocked at my words, subsequently showing an embarrassed and regretful expression, even somewhat annoyed. He seemed to agree with me. Chapter 40 I was about to say something to make up for the slip of the tongue, but he said, ¡°Sorry, Emma. Can you finish this before leaving?¡± He sent me a document. It was a list of people to be invited to the press conference. ¡°Oh. The invitation. Of course, this is really important.¡± I switched on my computer and started working on the invitations. I didn¡¯t know many of them, but fortunately, Andrew was just right next to me. He would tell me who should be invited individually. I felt sleepy as I worked on it, but I just kept going. After a while, I was so sleepy that I couldn¡¯t keep my eyes open. My mind felt fuzzy and I started typing nonsense on my computer. . I wasn¡¯t able to stay awake. When my head hit something soft, I immediately woke up. Andrew¡¯s palm was on my keyboard. He used his hand to protect my head. ¡°Get some sleep. You¡¯re too tired.¡± His words were like a mantra, making me feel drowsy again just as I woke up. I couldn¡¯t help it and finally lay down. I arrived in that dark, cold castle again. But unlike the previous time, I knew I was in a dream. The evening breeze blew the curtains around and the moonlight shone into the room. It was a romantic atmosphere. ¡°Emma.¡± I heard a very familiar voice and turned my head in the direction of the voice. Abraham stood three meters away from me, with both his arms stretched out. ¡°Abraham!¡± God, it was Abraham! He had returned to my side! I quickly rushed over and hugged him tightly. ¡°Emma, I¡¯ve missed you so much.¡± He lowered his head and whispered in my ear, his breathing heavy. ¡°I missed you too.¡± Even though I knew I was dreaming, I didn¡¯t want to wake up at all. He let go of me, cupping my face in his hands, and I looked up at him. He hadn¡¯t changed at all. His handsome eyes, his sensual gaze, his sexy lips. He lowered his head and began to kiss me, while I reciprocated passionately. We kissed each other, his soft tongue traveling around in my mouth, and the tingling sent my body into a frenzy. His hands suddenly moved down, holding my hips as he forcefully lifted my body up. My lower body immediately rose and sat firmly on his arms. He licked my neck as I experienced waves of pleasure in my lower abdomen and thighs, making me shiver. ¡°Abraham,¡± I called out his name, my breath coming in ragged gasps. He worked his way down, biting open my shirt and nibbling on my left chest. An itchy electric current coursed through my limbs, and I couldn¡¯t help but gasp. He sucked on my chest, and I straightened my back to give him better access to my chest. After a while, he looked up at me. It was Andrew! ¡°Ah!¡± I cried out in fear and instinctively wanted to escape from his embrace. However, he ran and threw me onto the bed with just a few steps. He climbed onto the bed and supported himself with his arms beside me as he looked at me from above. ¡°Andrew. Why is it you? How come it¡¯s you?¡± I frantically tried to push him away. He grabbed my hand and said, ¡°It has always been me. It has been me since we were young.¡± We exchanged glances, and I could sense that same familiarity as Abraham from him again, surrounding me all over. He kissed the tip of my nose as gently as Abraham did and pressed his lips against mine. ¡°I am Abraham.¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s impossible.¡± ¡°I love you Emma. I¡¯m back.¡± He kissed me and his soft lips pressed against mine. I was shocked. This feeling was exactly the same as when Abraham kissed me! His hand reached inside my shirt and slid up my waist. I unconsciously straightened my back when the itchiness from his touch entered my bones. I could now feel his hard-on. ¡°Feel me carefully, Emma. Feel me and you¡¯ll believe it,¡± Andrew said as he yanked my pants. ¡°No, I can¡¯t.¡± I wanted to resist, but he covered my mouth. I forcibly opened my lips, biting down on his finger. I thought he¡¯d let go because of the pain, but he didn¡¯t budge. He moved towards my lower body, even with his finger being bitten by me, he started pleasuring me down there, sucking on it nonstop. ¡°Mmm¡­ mmm¡­¡± I couldn¡¯t scream, but the thrill of it made me grip the sheets tighter. His head was between my legs, attacking my sensitive zone. The pleasure kept coming, and I clung to the sheets tightly. I was sweating, and soon my legs were shaking as I reached my climax. He knew my body too well, as if he had made love to me countless times. Only Abraham would know me so well, but he was clearly Andrew! ¡°Feel me, Emma.¡± He pried my legs open and pulled down his pants.