Take My Breath Away

There were times Debbie felt Elsie spoiled Piggy even more than she herself did. Before ending the video chat, she told Piggy over and over to be a good girl and not make too much trouble for Elsie.

Lying on the bed, Debbie stared at the ceiling. She replayed memories of things that happened three years ago in her head, not to mention the events of the past few days. It was then that she hatched a plan.

She wanted to carry out her plan right away, but she had spent a terrible restless night in her car the night before, so she decided to nap first.

Debbie didn't wake up until well into the afternoon. Leaning on the headboard, she grabbed her phone from the nightstand and made a phone call. "Hi, Bree, it's me, Debbie. Yeah. Listen, you know some private detectives in Y City, right? Any of them good? I know. Don't worry about the cash. I'm good for it. But they need to be discreet. Yeah, this needs to be kept secret. Okay, thanks. Next time, dinner on me. Bye."

The young mother had barely hung up before a notification came in on her phone. Bree texted Debbie a number, quicker than she thought. Debbie hesitated a little before dialing it. "Hi, Mr. Wu. I'm a friend of Bree's. Could you do a background check on James Huo, and what would that cost me?"

She spent the whole afternoon calling people. She was on her phone even after the sun had set and dinnertime was approaching.

Finally, she called up Ivan. He was browsing advertisement opportunities, figuring out which ones were the best ones for his employees. "Hi, Ivan, you back in Z Country?" Debbie asked.

"Yeah. I stopped off to spend some time with Piggy. Now I'm on my way to the office. How are things with you?" Ivan asked.

"A little dicey. Ever consider doing business in Y City?" Debbie asked. After she saw Carlos, she realized that things were way more difficult than she thought. It would take quite a bit of doing to win him back.

Ivan stopped what he was doing. "You do know what could happen if you're recognized, right?" he asked Debbie.

"Yeah, I do. But—"

"Hey, I'm the boss of the company.

ot of joy to the family. She filled a hole that had been dug by Emmett's death.

Emmett's mom liked her a lot and she finally had something to keep her mind occupied. She lavished attention and affection on the girl. A young girl requires a lot more of one's time than a grown man, so she had lots to do.

Marc had retired. When he saw Debbie and her friends at the door, he asked Emmett's mom to prepare a big meal for them.

At the dinner table, they talked about school and the future.

Tacitly, no one said a word about Emmett or Carlos so that the atmosphere of the dinner wouldn't be so heavy. They were touchy subjects for all involved.

Debbie stayed in a hotel. When they said their goodbyes to Emmett's parents, it was quite late. Kasie insisted that Debbie crash at her place.

Failing to turn her down, Debbie asked Jared to drive them to Kasie's place.

She went back to the hotel to pack her things. When she got out of the hotel with her luggage, Jared lugged her suitcase out to the car and into the trunk. Then the office called him, saying he needed to be there.

Seeing that Jared was busy, Debbie hefted her suitcase out of the trunk of his car and said to him, "You should go. It's cool. Kasie and I will take a cab." She and Kasie had drunk a little wine with Marc, so they couldn't drive. Taking a cab was the only option left.

"Okay, I'll hail a taxi for you."