Bride Behind the Mask novel Chapter 665

The car quickly came to a halt at the scene of the incident. Marguerite stepped out, closely following Frederick, her eyes trailing him as he walked towards Robert. She slowed her pace, realizing that to the Fitzgerald family, she might still be a suspect. Fearing to put Robert in a difficult position, she chose to watch from a distance.

The cliffside was illuminated by several large lamps, brightening the dark sky above. Yuna had already returned to the hospital, but Hackett was slumped on the riverbank, staring blankly at the empty river surface. The river was stained with blood, a sight that was shockingly harrowing. The scene before her made Marguerite's heart ache as if it were being sliced open.

Her gaze landed on Hackett’s solitary figure, looking as though he had aged significantly overnight. He appeared so lonely and desolate. In Marguerite’s memory, Hackett had always been stubborn and arrogant. He had never been kind to her, chastising her repeatedly, especially over matters involving Yuna. But today, she saw a different side of Hackett. It was the vulnerability and sorrow of a man who had lost his wife, making Marguerite unexpectedly feel sympathy for him.

At that moment, a police officer standing by the cliff received a call and then led his subordinates towards Hackett. “Mr. Hackett, it’s getting late, so we’re planning to call it a day.” Upon hearing this, Hackett’s wrinkled hands shakily grasped the officer’s arm, tears streaking down his face:

“No! You can’t leave! My wife hasn’t been found yet, how can you just leave? We need to find her, dead or alive. You can’t just walk away!”

“Mr. Hackett, we’re not giving up. But under these conditions, it’s impossible to find her. We’ve deployed nearly a hundred officers, searching upstream, midstream, and downstream. But the river is covered with thick ice, and the undercurrents beneath the ice in the middle and lower sections are too strong, making any search futile! We can only rely on thermal imaging cameras and radar, but these devices need to be airborne, so we have to wait until daylight to continue searching.”

Hearing this, Hackett shakily wiped away his tears. Robert strode forward, speaking with the police about something, and then Marguerite saw the officers, who had been ready to pack up, putting on their life jackets and heading down to the riverbank again. Robert was composed, but Marguerite could still see his inner turmoil. He watched his father continue to gaze desperately at the river, sighed softly, and then walked towards Marguerite alongside Frederick.

Marguerite instinctively hid in the shadows, soon overhearing their conversation. “I’ll handle Poppy Petal Fragrances for a while; you focus on sorting things out at home.”

“Thanks for that.”

“Also, Marguerite has already given her statement at the station, she’s not involved in this.”

“Frederick, you know I’ve never doubted her for a moment.”

Hidden in the dark, Marguerite felt a sudden urge to cry. She longed to step forward and give Robert a hug, like siblings would. After all, Penelope had always treated Marguerite like her own daughter, even planning a 'godparent' ceremony for her. But that ceremony never happened before the tragedy struck. Marguerite’s heart was filled with sorrow, yet she couldn’t bring herself to show any of it to Robert.