Chapter 143: Chapter 143: Two Sisters-in-law

Yvonne Sutton didn’t have time to retrieve her umbrella; she just ran frantically toward home.

She ran all the way to her front door and was about to take out her keys when a dark lump in the corner startled her.

Luckily, the light at her door was voice-activated. It clicked on at her cry of alarm. The dark lump stirred, slowly raising its head to look at her.

It was the boy from across the street!

Who knows how long he’d been curled up there. He was soaked to the bone, and his eyes, now fixed on her, were filled with a strange craving.

"Miss, I’m hungry. Give me something to eat."

The boy’s plea for food didn’t sound pitiful. It was more like a venomous snake staring you down, its gaze a silent message: ’I’ve got my eyes on you.’

A chill ran down Yvonne Sutton’s spine. Ignoring the boy, she hastily unlocked her door and rushed inside. She didn’t feel safe until she was back in her house with the door securely locked behind her.

She shook her head, trying to banish the terrifying fragments of memory.

’No, I must be overthinking things. It’s impossible. That person should still be in prison.’

After reassuring herself with these words, Yvonne Sutton slowly began to relax.

She went upstairs, took a hot shower, and then cooked a bowl of noodles. She thought of the boy and glanced out the glass window. He was still curled up out there.

Yvonne Sutton sighed, packed up the hot noodles, and went out under her umbrella to hand them to him.

After taking the noodles, the boy offered no thanks. Instead, with the air of a victor, he strode back to his own house.

Yvonne Sutton went back inside and cooked another bowl of noodles for herself, but after eating half, she completely lost her appetite.

In the middle of the night, she was startled awake by the sound of a motorcycle. She shot her eyes open, unsure if she was dreaming or if the sound was real—until a flash of light swept across her curtains.

She scrambled out of bed to the window and peeked through a gap in the curtains. A man in a black leather jacket had stopped his motorcycle in front of her house. He intentionally revved the engine, its VROOOM VROOOM echoing several times, before he rode across the street to the opposite house.

The person on the motorcycle who had tried to hit her earlier was that man from across the street!

For the rest of the night, Yvonne Sutton tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Her mind was flooded with images of her mother being hit by a car all those years ago, juxtaposed with the scene of her own near-miss last night. The memories echoed each other, as if confirming a terrible truth.

’Is it possible?’

She didn’t know if she was just letting her imagination run wild.

Yvonne Sutton didn’t sleep well that night. The next day, Stewart Pace called in sick, so she simply closed the clinic for the day.

There was no movement from the house across the street all day, which allowed her to breathe a small sigh of relief. ’Maybe I was just overthinking things,’ she thought.

Later that evening, Claire Lawrence called and invited her for a drink at Joshua Hale’s tavern.

Claire Lawrence had been busy filming for ages. She had finally wrapped her shoot and had time to hang out, so of course, Yvonne had to go.

Yvonne Sutton changed her clothes and headed out, deliberately glancing at the house across the street. The door was padlocked from the outside; the father and son were probably both out. She walked a short distance, but still feeling uneasy, she turned back to double-check that her own door was locked before finally leaving with peace of mind.

When she arrived at the tavern, just as she was about to enter, a woman with a round face called out to her.

"Miss Sutton, is that you?"

Yvonne Sutton turned to look at the woman and paused for a moment before remembering who she was. She was Stanley Lynch’s ex-wife. They had met once due to a misunderstanding.

"Ah, hello." She didn’t know the other woman’s name.

The woman let out a hearty laugh. "My name is Lynn Hughes. You can just call me Lynn."

"Lynn."

The two shook hands, and after entering the tavern, they went their separate ways.

Claire Lawrence waved to her from the bar. Yvonne had just walked over and hadn’t even sat down yet when Claire grabbed her arm, looking astonished.

"You know Lynn?"

"We’ve met, that’s all. We don’t really know each other."

"Met is good enough! Take me to her room and introduce me. She’s putting together a project right now—it’s a super hot ticket, and a lot of actors have their eyes on it. I want to land a supporting role."

"Ah, is that appropriate?"

"Of course it’s appropriate! In our circle, you have to force connections even when you don’t have any, let alone when you two actually know each other."

Claire Lawrence immediately shoved a glass of wine into her hand and pushed her toward the room Lynn Hughes had entered.

Pushing open the door, they went inside. Four people were sparsely seated, talking in pairs. The food and drinks hadn’t arrived yet; they were likely waiting for someone—an important someone.

Yvonne Sutton analyzed the situation and knew they had arrived early. But there were advantages to being early: fewer people to deal with and more time to talk.

"Lynn, this tavern belongs to a friend of mine. It’s an honor to my friend that you’ve all come here. So, how about this—tonight’s dinner is on me," Yvonne Sutton said, stepping up to the table.

Lynn Hughes was a little surprised to see Yvonne Sutton walk in, but her expression cleared when she saw Claire Lawrence behind her.

"You’re too kind, Miss Sutton. And this must be a friend of yours?"

Lynn Hughes was giving her a perfect opening. Yvonne Sutton quickly took it. "Yes, this is Claire Lawrence. She’s an actress who just wrapped up a role in Director Travis’s latest film."

"Hello, Lynn. Hello, Director Kensington." Claire Lawrence stepped forward, greeting not only Lynn Hughes but also the tall, thin man sitting next to her.

This tall, thin man was Howard Kensington, a famous director in the industry who had several hit dramas under his belt. His high status made him somewhat arrogant. When Claire Lawrence greeted him, he didn’t even bother to glance her way.

Lynn Hughes, however, was quite amiable. She looked Claire Lawrence over a few times and nodded in satisfaction. "Director Kensington, I think Miss Lawrence here would be a great fit for the role of ’Hannah Reid’ in our film."

Only then did Director Kensington turn his head. He adjusted his glasses, glanced first at Claire Lawrence, but his expression turned to surprise when he saw Yvonne Sutton. He quickly motioned for Lynn Hughes to lean in and whispered something to her. Seeing Lynn nod, he immediately adopted a placid expression.

"We have to show respect to Miss Sutton, it’s just that..."

Before Director Kensington could finish his sentence, the door was suddenly pushed open.

"Director Kensington, Lynn, sorry we’re late!" 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Hearing that voice, Yvonne Sutton’s brow furrowed. She turned around and, sure enough, it was Candice Yates. Candice, too, was a bit startled to see her, but a glance at Claire Lawrence told her everything she needed to know.

"Director Kensington, Lynn, it’s a real mixed bag in here, isn’t it?" Candice Yates added with a sniff.

Just then, someone else entered. Even without turning to look, Yvonne Sutton could feel the shift in the room. The moment he walked in, everyone who had been sitting rose to their feet.

"Mr. Shaw, you’ve arrived! Please, come in, have a seat."

Howard Kensington bowed as he ushered Wyatt Shaw into the room, leading him to the head of the table. When Wyatt Shaw took off his overcoat, Howard Kensington quickly took it from him and hung it on the coat rack.

Only then did Wyatt Shaw sit down, his eyes downcast, not looking up.

Howard Kensington offered him a cigarette and then held out a lighter to light it for him.

"Everyone, please sit. Miss Sutton, you as well," Lynn Hughes said.

Yvonne Sutton hadn’t expected Wyatt Shaw to be here. But she was already here, she had already made her pitch, and she had to see it through to get a result.

"Let me toast Lynn and Director Kensington," Yvonne Sutton said, raising her glass.

Lynn Hughes quickly raised her glass, and Howard Kensington did the same.

"I wanted to offer a toast to you two as well." Candice Yates also raised her glass. With a small smile, she added, "So, which of our toasts are you two going to accept?"

"Well..." Howard Kensington looked conflicted. He stole a glance at Wyatt Shaw, who was just smoking his cigarette without giving any indication, which left Howard even more at a loss. So, he asked a stupid question: "Mr. Shaw, with two lovely ladies offering a toast... which one am I supposed to drink with?"