Chapter 244 He Was Just Angry
With Berta’s departure, the vast living room was now a solo stage for Calista.
She glanced around, taking in Yara’s warning about five visible surveillance cameras and the potential for hidden ones in uncharted territories. Who were they monitoring? Was it her?
During Calista’s first visit, Berta and the mysterious man had the manor entirely themselves. However, Berta had just disclosed that the unidentified man had left. So, who was on the upper floor?
Calista felt her heart race amidst the eerie silence. Her heartbeats seemed to resonate uncomfortably
close to her ears. Thump… Thump..
She pivoted and gracefully climbed the staircase, her steps nearly silent thanks to the plush carpet and the soft–soled disposable slippers on her feet.
The study was on the second floor, yet there was no sign of anyone as she reached the corridor on this level. A faint, distant sound, too low to discern, seemed to originate from the third floor,
Calista’s hand rested on the granite handrail of the staircase, and the frigid temperature prompted her to
curl her fingers.
After climbing for another three steps, a loud alarm suddenly blared from above her. The sudden, piercing noise shattered the eerie silence, causing her to jump in startle.
Calista stopped moving. Soon after, Berta appeared at the stairwell, fixing a stern gaze on Calista with a
dark expression.
“Who said you could come upstairs? Don’t you know the basic rules when you’re in someone else’s
house? Like, seriously?”
Suddenly, a soft, gender–ambiguous cough interrupted Berta while she was confronting Calista. Her demeanor changed suddenly as if an invisible hand had tightly covered her mouth and silenced her.
“My bad. I figured the wind might’ve knocked something over, so I came here to check if you needed a
hand.
Calista remained unruffled despite her embarrassment and chagrin from eavesdropping. She turned and descended to the study room on the second floor.
In contrast to her previous visit, the study’s curtains were drawn wide open this time, and the windows
wire slightly njar. The room was bathed in ample, brilliant sunlight on the second floor,
wow the time of year when spring was in full bloom, and the scent of flowers wafted in through the half-
Calista made her way to the window in the study, which overlooked the backyard.
During this season, the dogwood trees were full of splendor, while the adjacent pergola was adorned with jasmine vines, not yet in bloom but rich and verdant,
All of these were the kinds of flowers her mother had cherished.
Though Calista couldn’t fathom why Berta held such a grudge against her, she continued her work in the
study, keeping a low profile to avoid confrontation for her future investigation.
It was 5:00 PM when Calista wrapped up her work and glanced out the window, noticing the daylight
fading. She neatly organized her things and headed downstairs,
With surveillance cameras seemingly everywhere, particularly in common areas like the living room,
Calista restrained her temptation to snoop. She needed more time to blend in.
As she descended the stairs, Berta emerged from the kitchen. Had Calista not been fixated on the
kitchen, she might have jumped out of her skin
Berta looked visibly displeased, likely due to Calista’s unauthorized intrusion earlier. Her expression
clouded with anger, marked by deeply furrowed brows.
“Why’d you take off so soon? Sir was itching to get his hands on that painting.”
Calista responded, “Tell him if it works for him, I can take the painting home and speed things up. Or
maybe he could find me a spot with better lighting, this dim setup…”
She was on the verge of complaining, but then a thought crossed her mind. What if this place had some
connection to her mother, especially considering the flowers in the backyard?
Berta seemed to be infuriated at Callista’s response. Her expression twisted as if she wanted to say a lot
more, yet in the end, she bit her tongue and glared at Calista before silently returning to the kitchen.
As Calista drove, the night had fully descended, shrouding everything in darkness.
A scene from a drama she’d watched suddenly popped into her mind, urging her to stay focused on the
road, anxious about the possibility of an accident.
She was suddenly reminded of Hector’s words, prompting her to feel the urge to submit her resignation to
the mysterious man. This job was pushing her to her limits.
Suddenly, her phone rang. Calista glanced at the screen and saw an unfamiliar number. She answered the
and switched to speaker mode
“Hello.”
‘Calista, you think you’ve got this in the bag, huh?”
A woman’s voice, sharp and grating, echoed from the other end. The voice sounded familiar, but the caller was too agitated to speak properly. It was impossible to tell who it was. Calista was bewildered.
“Wait, who is this?”
The caller, perhaps incited by her answer, fell silent before responding, “Calista, you’ve won the game, so why pretend to be innocent and embarrass me?”
Calista immediately recognized the caller’s identity. It was Lily, a self–centered and pretentious woman who thought the universe revolved around her.
Lily always saw those who didn’t comply with her as disrespectful and always painted herself as the
ultimate victim.
Calista replied with a hint of exasperation, “Ms. Scott, either speak properly or press that hang–up button. I’m not going out of my way to deal with your drama, no matter how much you bring to the table.”
Lily retorted, “Calista, don’t think you’re all that. Lucian only seeks solace with you because he’s angry with me, thinking I’ve done him wrong. He’s using you as a temporary escape. You and him won’t have a lasting future. He’ll move on to someone else when he gets tired of you, the dull and uninteresting fool
you are.”
Calista was left dumbfounded. Was Lily for real? After Lily delivered her tirade, she abruptly hung up
without waiting for Calista to respond.
While waiting at a traffic light, Calista checked Facebook to see what had triggered Lily’s outburst. Lily’s news dominated her news feed, and the content was nothing short of explosive.
“Explosive Headlines! The acclaimed dancer, Lily Scott, was accused of securing her title through
controversial means,”
“Scandal Alert! Did Lily seduce married men for her lead dance role?”
Calista’s social media feed erupted with sensational headlines and jaw–dropping revelations about Lily.
Chat records, hotel reservations, and even intimate photos and videos flooded the online sphere. The evidence against Lily continued to pour in, leaving no room for doubt.
Calista cast her phone aside as the traffic light turned green and started moving her car. She had picked up some takeout on her way home and was carrying it as she exited the elevator on her floor.
To her surprise, she found Lucian waiting there. His gaze fell on the paper bag she carried, and his brow
creased in a puzzled expression.
“You eat this stuff?”
“It’s regular human food, Mr. Northwood. You’re welcome to leave. I’d hate to see your fancy shoes get dirty on my doorstep, Calista responded, sensing that he might be up to something.
Calista unlocked the door with her fingerprint.
Suddenly, Lucian grabbed her arm and said, “I need to talk to you
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