Chapter 41: I’ll Play with You

The atmosphere turned icy for a moment as the sounds from inside the room slowly reached their ears. Amanda Vance, her expression unchanged, tossed the room key into her bag and looked at Samuel Ford with a smile. "President Ford, you still haven’t told me what you’re doing here."

’It seems like he knows something. Is he here specifically to warn me?’

"Nothing. Just passing by," Samuel Ford said, his expression cold.

Just as he finished speaking, the elevator opened again and someone walked out. He narrowed his eyes, glancing sideways at Amanda Vance before leaving without another word.

Hayden Grant brushed past him, sparing him a glance before ignoring him. He walked up to Amanda Vance and shook his head.

Amanda Vance’s heart sank, and the smile instantly vanished from her face.

But then again, she felt it was an expected outcome. It wasn’t surprising; after all, so many years had passed. The hotel wouldn’t have kept surveillance footage from that long ago.

The person who tried to snatch her Jade Pendant sounded like Shirley Vance, but she couldn’t remember whose room she had entered afterward at all.

If Shirley Vance hadn’t managed to steal the Jade Pendant, then it must have been left behind in the hotel.

"Do you remember which room it was?" Hayden Grant asked, suppressing the rage he felt. He wished he could just find that man, drag him out, and beat him to a pulp.

"2309."

She remembered it perfectly. It was just a shame she was there by herself; otherwise, finding that man might make the investigation a little easier.

In the distance, the elevator doors closed, cutting off their conversation. Samuel Ford glanced up just in time to see the two of them still chatting, and he coolly averted his gaze.

’Those two have strong stomachs, being able to chat in front of a door like that.’

On the first floor, the lobby manager saw him and hurried over. "President Ford, you’re here."

"Yes," Samuel Ford grunted, about to walk away when the manager suddenly spoke. "President Ford, someone is asking about the surveillance footage for the 23rd floor from five years ago. We deleted our records from that long ago, but I remember we gave you a copy back then. I was wondering if it might be convenient for you to provide us with a copy?"

The lobby manager spoke with some apprehension. ’What else can I do?’ he thought bitterly. ’The Ford Family and the Grant Family... I can’t afford to offend either of them.’

’I just don’t know why Mr. Grant suddenly decided to check the surveillance footage from that time.’

Samuel Ford stopped short. "Which room?"

"2309." Remembering something, he slapped his forehead. "I believe that was the room right next to yours."

"I see."

’So it’s not his room. For a moment, he actually thought that woman was the one looking into it.’

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Samuel Ford nodded. "I’ll send it to you when I get back."

’That footage is incomplete, though. It doesn’t show who entered my room.’

’But the other time frames are complete. They should be able to use that.’

It was a trivial matter, so Samuel Ford paid it no mind and left as the lobby manager thanked him profusely.

Upstairs, Hayden Grant was still on the subject. He thought for a moment, then said, "The guest registration records from back then still exist, and I remember that room doesn’t seem to have been checked out to anyone."

’How is that possible? If no one checked into that room, how was the door opened?’

Amanda Vance’s brows knitted together. "Are you sure?"

Hayden Grant thought carefully for a moment before nodding. "I’m sure."

Just then, his phone rang. He stepped aside to answer it and seemed pleasantly surprised by what he heard. A moment later, he hung up and walked back over with a smile. "The surveillance footage still exists. A guest happened to take a copy back then. The manager spoke with them, and they’re going to send one to us."

Amanda Vance hadn’t expected such a twist—that they could actually find the footage. A wave of relief washed over her. "That’s good."

’I hope we can find something.’

"Who is it? We should thank them when we have the chance."

But Hayden Grant shook his head. "The person wishes to remain anonymous, and the manager is being tight-lipped and won’t say."

Amanda Vance nodded in understanding, silently committing the favor to memory.

The commotion inside the room grew louder, and a flash of disgust crossed Amanda Vance’s eyes. "Let’s go."

"Okay." Hayden Grant glanced at the room and asked with a puzzled look, "Why does that voice sound so familiar?"

"It’s Holly Vance."

Hayden Grant froze, stunned. He stared at her, his expression strange.

Noticing his reaction, Amanda Vance turned to look back at him. "What is it?"

It took Hayden Grant a long moment to find his voice. "Then the other person is..."

Amanda Vance tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and said casually, "I don’t know. They said his surname is Qian."

Hayden Grant’s eyes narrowed as he pieced together what was happening. Fury flashed across his face. "He actually dared to pull the same trick again."

’It was just like this five years ago. He gave her a drugged glass of wine, which led to everything that followed: getting pregnant out of wedlock, being expelled from school, being forced to flee the country...’

’And all of it was simply because Holly Vance needed money and someone happened to take an interest in Amanda Vance, so he sold her off without a second thought.’

’He wanted nothing more than to storm in there and stab the man. Wasn’t selling her once enough? How dare he try it a second time!’

’Does he have a shred of humanity left? Is Megan even his daughter?!’

’How could he be so cruel and shameless!’

He spun around to charge in, but Amanda Vance shot out a hand and grabbed his wrist. "What are you doing?"

"To beat someone up," Hayden Grant seethed.

"Where’s the fun in that?" Amanda Vance opened her phone and showed him something. "What’s the rush? Let’s take this slowly. He can’t possibly repay what he owes me all at once. This time, I’m just collecting a little interest."

’Since they’re so fond of that stuff, how could I not let them enjoy it themselves?’

’I didn’t swallow my wine, but they certainly drank theirs.’

She wiped her hands with a wet wipe, then tapped her phone.

The phone screen showed two writhing bodies. A middle-aged man’s fleshy jowls filled the frame, and a sense of greasiness seemed to ooze right through the display. Hayden Grant gagged, his face darkening as he snatched her phone. "What are you doing watching this? It’s disgusting. I’ll take care of the rest."

Amanda Vance had no interest in watching them anyway, so when he offered to take over, she nodded. "Okay."

Hayden Grant transferred the video to his own phone and then deleted it from hers. His expression finally relaxed a little as he changed the subject. "I wonder how Jean is doing at school."

At the mention of him, Amanda Vance felt a headache coming on. This was the one and only thing about Jean that truly worried her.

’Hopefully, I’ll get called into school a little less often now that we’re back.’

「At that moment, in Kindergarden, Class One.」

Paddy, whose full name was Charlie King, glowered at Jean, who was sitting in a corner. ’How is that possible? He actually didn’t cause any trouble during class today.’

’Is this really Felix Ford?’

Ignoring him, Jean continued to fiddle with the object in his hands, attracting more and more curious glances from the other children, who were dying to know what he was playing with but refused to ask.

’Hmph. It’s not like we don’t have toys at home. We’ll just ask our parents to buy us the same thing when we get back.’

’But what is he even playing with? His hands are moving so fast!’

The girls in the class found their gazes secretly drifting to his face. They saw his lips pressed into a thin line, his brow slightly furrowed, and a hint of impatience in his eyes. In that moment, they all clutched their little hands to their chests. ’Why does Felix Ford seem kind of handsome today? He’s so cool!’

Seeing this, Charlie grew even more furious. ’So what if he’s good-looking? My dad says real men rely on their fists.’

At this thought, he clenched his fists. Being a chubby kid, his fleshy fists looked quite substantial. His eyes darted about as an idea suddenly struck him. A grin spread across his face as he stared at Jean’s back with malicious intent.

Sensing the stare, Jean let out a bored yawn. The corner of his mouth curved up slightly as he interlaced his fingers and cracked his knuckles.

’Kindergarden is so boring. I might as well play along with them for a little while.’