Reborn, Reawakened, Rekindled novel Chapter 221

I was planning to have a simple dinner with Russel, trying to calm the roller-coaster of emotions I was feeling today, but things didn't go according to plan.

"Russel, you're eating here?" A woman barged into our sightline. She looked a bit younger than me, with a sweet oval face.

I recognized that voice. It was the same voice of the woman who answered Russel's phone this morning.

I didn't speak and just silently stared at Russel.

Russel gave me a quick glance. He seemed to relax a bit after seeing that I had no particular reaction. He answered coldly, "Yes. I'm having dinner with my girlfriend."

The woman immediately turned to me and gave me a gentle smile, "Are you Irene? You're so pretty! No wonder Russel is so smitten with you."

"Hello." I replied politely.

"Hello, I’m Chloe Reynolds. I answered Russel’s phone this morning. I’m really sorry about that. Please forgive me.” The woman looked genuinely remorseful, without a hint of pretense.

I was moved by her gentleness and sincerity. So I just nodded slightly, “It’s okay. Russel has explained it to me. I trust him."

Chloe answered cheerfully, "That's good! I was afraid you'd misunderstand."

After speaking, she gave Russel another look.

From that single glance, I could see that her affection for Russel went way beyond friendship. But her eyes were full of restraint, as if she were trying her best to control her emotions.

After Chloe left, I jokingly asked, "Does Ms. Reynolds have a crush on you?"

"No." Russel's answer was swift. It seemed like he didn't want to dwell on this topic.

I nodded, choosing not to pry further.

The night grew deeper. After bidding Russel goodbye, I drove to the hospital to visit my mom. Now there were specialized caregivers taking care of her, so I didn't need to worry too much.

As soon as I entered the ward, I found that the caregiver was not there, and the medical equipment that was keeping my mom alive was not working. I immediately checked and found that the power had been unplugged.

"Doctor!" I shouted. I quickly reconnected the power and ran to find the doctor.

When the doctor arrived, he performed a thorough check on my mom. Luckily, I found the problem in time, and my mom was not seriously affected.

My heart was racing, and my mind was a mess. After the doctor and nurse left, the caregiver finally returned to the ward.

I questioned the caregiver sternly. She seemed very nervous, "Ms. Finch, I really don't know who did it. Someone called me, saying you had left something downstairs for me to collect. I was only away for ten minutes."

"Give me that phone number." I asked.

The caregiver handed me the phone. I checked the call history. It was a temporary online number that couldn't be dialed.

Now I only had one solution, which was to check the hospital's surveillance.

I requested that the hospital allow me to view the surveillance. They agreed but said it would take some time.

I then dismissed this caregiver and hired another one, emphasizing that I needed 24-hour care. I was willing to pay more for this.

For two days in a row, I was taking care of both my mom and the company's affairs with hardly any rest. After work, I drove home and fell asleep in the car.

"Knock, knock!"

The sound of knocking on the car window woke me up. It was already pitch dark outside with the dim light from the street lamp.