Filed to story: My Husband Regrets Divorcing Me (Audrey & Cornell)
Alec was stunned. What? Merely absent for a few days, and Vicki was already in custody. No wonder Jarrod sought to annul the engagement swiftly. Alec refrained from further inquiries, confident he could obtain precise information upon his visit to the police station.
Jarrod issued a directive, “I’ve heard of an esteemed doctor residing in seclusion at South Mountain Hospital after retirement. Seek means to extend an invitation to him for Mrs. Schultz’s medical care.”
Mrs. Schultz? Alec’s confusion surfaced. “Mr. Schultz, a new Mrs. Schultz?”
“It’s Nicole. We’ve registered our marriage,” Jarrod stated succinctly.
Alec was silent for a long moment, his mind reeling as if on the brink of madness. How had these two ended up married?
After a lengthy pause, Alec finally voiced his frustration, unable to hold back his anger. “Sir, what are you thinking? You know that woman is out to harm you, yet you’re keeping her close?”
Alec was utterly baffled. It seemed to him that Jarrod’s judgment needed serious questioning, perhaps even a medical evaluation. “He really seems unwell, like he needs treatment,” Alec said to himself grimly.
“Don’t worry about it. Just follow my orders,” Jarrod commanded sharply.
Alec had earned the right to question Jarrod, having stood by him through thick and thin, even facing death together. Otherwise, he knew well enough that such questioning would normally be off-limits.
“Sir…” Alec started, hoping to remind Jarrod of their early struggles and the peace they had worked so hard to achieve. To Alec, instead of distancing himself from a potential threat, Jarrod was now, metaphorically, sleeping with a time bomb.
“Enough,” Jarrod cut him off. “Nicole is my wife now. All resources of the Schultz Group must support her unconditionally. Also, I will not tolerate anyone mistreating her. Do you understand?”
Alec was at a loss for words. He couldn’t understand. He couldn’t grasp why Jarrod would commit so completely to a woman known for her ruthless and calculating nature. But he was left with no choice. He had to comply with Jarrod’s directive and ensure his safety simultaneously.
“I understand.” Alec nodded.
“Proceed.” Jarrod dismissed him.
After leaving, Alec’s frustration manifested in his actions. He reprimanded the slackers among the staff, signaling to everyone at the company that it was best not to cross him today.
Meanwhile, Nicole had rested briefly and decided to venture out. She headed to the police station to speak with the nanny, who was now a key figure in proving Vicki’s involvement. Nicole knew that Vicki would never confess to any wrongdoing.
On her way, Nicole encountered the short-haired female police officer who had spoken so assertively at the gate the other day.
The officer recognized Nicole and greeted her politely, “Miss Lawrence.”
Nicole was surprised. “You know me?”
“Yes, I saw your photo in a magazine covering the Lawrence Group’s annual meeting,” the officer replied.
The mention of the Lawrence Group’s annual meeting felt surreal for Nicole. It had been six years since her father had passed away. The name “Lawrence Group” now seemed so distant…
“I apologize for not greeting you properly yesterday while on duty,” the short-haired female police officer added.
“It’s fine. I didn’t expect you to remember the Lawrence Group,” Nicole said.
“I should remember. I was a beneficiary of the Lawrence Group’s Hope Project,” the female police officer remarked.
Nicole wasn’t surprised. Her father had been dedicated to helping children through the Hope Project, and many of these children had grown to make significant contributions in various fields.
The officer introduced herself as Ethel Castro. She was relatively new to the force, filled with enthusiasm and ambition for her job.
After exchanging pleasantries, Ethel got to the point. “It’s quite a coincidence you’re here. I’ve been wanting to discuss something about your father’s case with you,” Ethel stated.
“What?” Nicole asked, puzzled.
Ethel seemed surprised. “I believe there’s more to meet the eye than what was publicly disclosed.”
Nicole was taken aback by Ethel’s statement. Wasn’t her father’s suicide an established fact? How could there be hidden details?
“What… My father… What you know…” Nicole’s heart raced, her words becoming jumbled in her anxiety.
“Don’t worry, Miss Lawrence. I just have some suspicions, so I wanted to discuss them with you,” Ethel reassured her.
Ethel had joined the force recently and was still in school when Nicole’s father’s death was reported as a suicide. After her own father’s sudden death, Ethel’s life spiraled when her mother remarried and left, abandoning Ethel to face creditors who stripped away her family’s possessions.
Facing the threat of having to drop out, Ethel’s academic prowess and the intervention of her homeroom teacher led her to receive support from the Lawrence family’s Hope Project. This lifeline motivated Ethel to work hard and give back to society once she was able.
By the time Ethel entered college in Ardlens, the Lawrence Group had dissolved. Nicole’s father, known for his benevolence, had reportedly committed suicide amid allegations of economic crimes, jumping from a building to escape imprisonment.
There were whispers that his charitable acts were merely a facade to mask his criminal activities. But Ethel couldn’t accept these rumors. She had once seen Nicole’s father during one of his visits to rural areas.
His kind face and gentle smile reminded her of her own father, a man of good character. This personal impression led her to believe in Nicole’s father’s inherent goodness, despite the accusations circulating about him.
Fortunately, the Schultz Group later clarified that the contract fraud case involving the Lawrence Group was the result of an employee’s sabotage, and the mastermind had been held accountable. This revelation cast further doubt on the theory that Nicole’s father had jumped off the building to avoid jail. After all, an innocent man wouldn’t have any reason to be afraid.
Motivated by these inconsistencies, Ethel dedicated her spare time to investigating Nicole’s father’s alleged suicide once she started her police career. Her inquiries eventually unearthed some intriguing clues.
Ethel led Nicole to her desk and presented Nicole with some surveillance footage. “Miss Lawrence, please look at this.”
The footage displayed the interior of the Lawrence Group’s office building, a place Nicole knew well. It was dated the day Nicole’s father had died. Since it was related to an economic fraud case, all surveillance from that day at the Lawrence Group’s office had been archived for investigation.
Ethel fast-forwarded to a specific time, saying, “Your father is reported to have jumped at 14:00. Before that, only your mother left the office. But at 14:45, someone else appears in this corner.”
She paused the video, highlighting a figure lurking near a corridor. “This corridor leads only to your father’s office…”
Nicole was shocked. She hadn’t known there was someone else in her father’s office besides her mother on the day he jumped. Her mother had exited the office before her father’s tragic leap. And notably, this person had been there both before and after her father’s death. Why was this person there? What did he witness?
Ethel continued, interrupting Nicole’s thoughts, “I’ve reviewed all the footage, but I couldn’t find any evidence of this person entering the office. This individual must have avoided the cameras somehow.”
Anyone who deliberately avoided surveillance had something to hide. That much was clear. This mysterious person had clearly planned something sinister before entering the building.
“But maybe, in his panic, he slipped up,” Ethel speculated, leaning over the monitor. “He forgot about the corner camera while leaving the office, and then remembered and avoided the rest.”
Ethel paused the footage. “From this floor down, he vanished.”
Identifying someone from a blurry image was no easy task. The suit the individual wore didn’t help. Everyone in the office dressed smartly, and it only made things harder.
Nicole felt lost as she squinted at the screen. She couldn’t quite place the figure.
Ethel rewound the footage. “But I scoured every angle of the building and finally got a clear shot on the second-floor corner. He jumped out of a window onto the platform below, dodging the cameras.”
Nicole’s suspicion deepened. Who would go to such lengths to avoid being seen unless they were hiding something serious?
Ethel’s fingers flew over the keyboard. “Tech analysis confirms this is the same person who came from Mr. Lawrence’s office. Miss Lawrence, do you recognize him?”
The footage was grainy and aged, so the quality was degraded. One could barely make out the person’s pixelated face and the black suit. However, the partial frontal view caught a frustrated expression on the individual’s face.
Nicole leaned closer, a strange familiarity tingling in the back of her mind. “It’s him!” she exclaimed.
Ethel’s eyes lit up. “Miss Lawrence, you recognize this person?”
Ethel had spent countless hours, night after night, piecing together the surveillance puzzle. She had painstakingly tracked this person frame by frame, finally finding a reasonably clear image.
Yet, the footage was just clear enough for someone who knew the person to recognize them. To an unfamiliar eye, it would be almost impossible to make out any definitive details. Here they were. Nicole had recognized him. Her persistence had finally paid off.
Nicole nodded. “That’s Brett, my father’s assistant.”
Nicole wouldn’t have remembered a regular employee. There were thousands in the Lawrence Group. But Brett, as her father’s assistant, had interacted with her often. The frown on the screen was unmistakably his.
Ethel leaned in, urgency in her voice. “Do you know where Brett is now?”
Nicole paused, her mind racing. This revelation opened a labyrinth of questions she wasn’t ready to face.
The day’s meeting had been somber, with all the employees receiving their final compensation before leaving the company for good. Nicole had no idea where Brett had vanished to. Yet, the more she pondered, something about his absence nagged at her.
At her father’s memorial, the room had been filled with the company’s employees, all there to honor the man who had been more than just a superior. Yet Brett, who had owed so much to her father, was nowhere to be seen. It didn’t make sense.
Nicole remembered how her mother often spoke of Brett’s humble beginnings and how her father had extended a hand to help him rise. Brett had repaid that kindness tenfold, working harder than anyone else, often staying late into the night, determined to prove himself.
Every year, around the holidays, her father would invite Brett and his family over for a festive dinner, always slipping them generous gifts as tokens of appreciation.
Nicole vaguely recalled that Brett’s youngest daughter had health issues, though the exact ailment escaped her. She knew the treatments were costly. Brett had spent most of his earnings on his daughter’s medical bills, aside from purchasing a modest home.
While Nicole’s father had offered financial aid, Brett, a man of pride, declined anything he didn’t earn through his labor. He insisted his salary was sufficient for his daughter’s needs.
So, given their close bond, it was bizarre that Brett hadn’t attended her father’s funeral. Everyone else had come, even those with only a passing acquaintance with her father, like casual employees. Brett’s no-show felt like a deliberate omission.
After the upheaval within the Lawrence family, Brett had vanished completely from Nicole’s life. At that time, Nicole was too consumed by her own grief to notice his disappearance. Now, the more she thought about it, the more suspicious it seemed.
Nicole turned to Ethel with anxious eyes. “I can’t pinpoint where Brett is right now, but I do remember his home address.”
Ethel’s response was immediate and decisive. “Give it to me. I’ll check it out after work.”
Officially tracing Brett’s whereabouts would have required a mountain of paperwork, a slow and cumbersome process, especially for an old case. Nicole giving the address directly was a faster and more efficient route. Plus, investigating after hours meant no bureaucratic interference.
Nicole scribbled the address on a scrap of paper and hesitated before handing it over. “Can I come with you?”
Nicole needed to know if her father’s death had hidden facets. Brett undoubtedly held some answers, and a chilling suspicion gnawed at her. What if her father’s death wasn’t a suicide?
Ethel noticed the worry in Nicole’s eyes. “Miss Lawrence, it’s not just about finding Brett. It could be dangerous.”