Chapter 122

Brandon took off in a hurry, but how he planned to handle Earl and Renee was their problem.

Just then, I got a call from the police. They told me Earl was missing from his house.

I was shocked and quickly asked, "How could he be missing? Weren't you guys keeping an eye on him?"

The officer replied, "After you tipped us off, we rushed to his place right away. But it was already empty. Looks like Earl knew we were closing in and took off early. We're checking nearby surveillance to see if we can figure out where he went."

I nodded, "Alright, if you need anything, just let me know. I'm here to help."

The officer thanked me and hung up.

That night, Brandon stumbled back home, drunk, and collapsed onto the couch like a sack of potatoes.

I looked at his drunken state and asked, "Did you find Earl?"

Brandon shook his head and rolled over on the couch. I didn't buy it for a second.

I called his name a couple more times and reached for his phone.

Brandon didn't react at all, clearly too drunk to notice.

He was already out cold, snoring softly.

If even Brandon couldn't find Earl, it meant Earl had slipped away without Brandon knowing.

I thought for a while and suddenly realized that Renee might know where Earl went.

It seemed like a good idea to visit her house tomorrow. Maybe I could find some other clues.

But right now, I had a golden opportunity to check Brandon's phone. He had been keeping a lot of secrets lately, often leaving early and coming back late.

I unlocked his phone and tried to access his second system, only to find that he had changed the password.

I glanced at him, realizing that Brandon was being cautious.

I had five attempts to guess the password. Knowing Brandon, he liked to use significant dates as passwords, often celebrating them with a drink.

I thought for a while and had a sudden inspiration. Maybe it was the day he sealed his overseas deal.

I entered the date, and sure enough, the password was correct. I accessed his second system.

It seemed he had cleaned it out, leaving almost no traces.

His WhatsApp chats were mostly deleted, with only a few unimportant ones left.

Brandon was indeed very careful.

There was only one contact pinned at the top, someone with a red spider lily avatar, but the chat history was cleared. They must have been in touch recently.

His suspicious car club group chat had nothing new, and Simon was keeping an eye on it. If there was any news, he would have told me.

But the person with the red spider lily avatar seemed suspicious. I decided to take a screenshot of the WhatsApp contact and send it to Simon for investigation.

Simon quickly replied, asking what I meant.

I explained the situation, and he understood immediately. "Got it. I'll handle it."

With his assurance, I felt relieved.

At dawn, I told Savannah that we needed to visit Renee's house.

Just as I finished speaking, Brandon came downstairs, holding his hungover head, looking dazed. "Morning, babe!"

I glanced at his disheveled appearance and nodded absentmindedly.

"I need to go to the hospital with Savannah later. We didn't get our discharge papers last time, so we need to sort that out."

Brandon nodded and asked, "Do you need me to come with you, babe?"

I shook my head. "No, Savannah will be with me. You should head to the office after breakfast. It's crucial to keep an eye on things during the early stages of the partnership. We can't afford any slip-ups."

Brandon didn't suspect anything, as I was telling the truth.

He nodded and agreed.

After Brandon left for work, Savannah and I headed out.

We went straight to Renee and Leo's villa.

I rang the doorbell, and Leo answered, looking surprised to see me. "Caroline, what brings you here? Are you leaving already?"

I quickly waved my hand. "No, I'm here to see Renee. Is she home?"

Behind Leo, Briar peeked out, and I greeted her.

Leo shook his head. "She's not home. She left in a hurry a few days ago, said she had to go on a business trip. I don't know what it's about."

"A business trip?"

I was taken aback.

How could it be such a coincidence? Earl had just gone missing, and now Renee was on a business trip. It was hard to believe they weren't connected.

But without evidence, even the police couldn't do anything.

I stood at the door, my expression growing serious.

Leo stepped aside and asked, "Caroline, why don't you come in and sit for a while?"

I hesitated for a moment but agreed.

As soon as I entered, I felt a blast of cold air.

It was already fall, yet they still had the air conditioning on.

I had heard that Renee often felt hot, a common issue for drug users, so she insisted on keeping the air conditioning on 24/7.

It was convenient for her, but poor Leo and little Briar had to suffer.

Briar often caught colds because of it.

I hadn't realized how much Renee's habits affected Leo and Briar. Even with Renee gone, they didn't dare turn off the air conditioning.

I asked, "Isn't it too cold for you and the kid with the air conditioning on so high?"

Leo was taken aback, then smiled. "We just wear more layers. Renee doesn't like it hot."

I shook my head helplessly and didn't press further, letting them be.

I sat on the couch, and Briar brought me a cup of hot water.

Looking at Briar's innocent and sweet face, I couldn't help but sigh. She was a good kid, just born into the wrong family.

Briar looked at me curiously, so I smiled and said, "In a few days, I'll take you to Suncrest City. Did you know that?"

"Let me tell you, it's a lot of fun there. You can swim in the river and catch little fish and shrimp with Brett and the others."

Kids naturally love to play, and sure enough, Briar's eyes lit up at my words.

Thinking of Jason, my heart ached.

They were all unfortunate children, caught up with the Jordan family's mess.

So I could only do my best to help them whenever I could.