Chapter 219
Despite everything, I laughed. “Something like that.”
‘Can’t stand men who can’t take a hint,” he muttered. “Divorced but still chasing you around? Pathetic.”
He gripped the wheel tighter. “Don’t worry, I’ve got skills. I’ll lose him.”
‘Hold on!” he warned before accelerating.
I was pressed back against the seat as the taxi lurched forward. I quickly fastened my seatbelt, watching Blake’s sedan trying to keep pace in the side mirror
Blake’s POV
‘Sir?‘ The driver was still sitting nervously beside me. “The taxi’s gone. Should we head back?”
I glared at him. “Which direction were they heading?”
“Toward Pinehaven Village, he replied.
‘Pinehaven Village?” The name struck a chord.
S
“That old village,” he explained. “Four years ago, Hayes Group bought the whole place. Everyone moved out, all buildings demolished. It’s abandoned now. Why would Ms. Sinclair go there so late?”
I frowned, memories surfacing. Laurel’s uncle had purchased shorefront property that Parker Group had deemed worthless. I’d advised Laurel against it. telling her it made no financial sense.
Hayes Group had started demolition, then inexplicably stopped. Pinehaven Village had remained a ghost town for four years.
What business could Audrey possibly have there at this hour?
“Sir, should we follow or turn back?” the driver asked, his voice strained. “They say that place is haunted now…”
I turned to him with cold contempt. “Audrey Sinclair, a woman alone, is brave enough to go there at night, but you’re too frightened?”
‘I’ve always been easily scared,” he mumbled. “Mr. Chen only mentioned driving you during daytime.”
“Get out,” I ordered.
His head snapped up. “Sir?”
‘I’ll drive myself,” I said, opening my door. I walked around and yanked his door open. “You’re fired. Report to Michael tomorrow.”
He hesitated, so I pulled him from the seat. I slid behind the wheel and drove off without a backward glancé.
The road grew darker as I approached the coast. Streetlights disappeared, buildings gave way to scattered trees and then open fields.
Logically, I questioned why I was pursuing Audrey. She was my ex–wife; her choices were no longer my concern. If she wanted village at midnight, that was her business.
Yet something inside me couldn’t accept the thought of her alone in such a place.
It’s too isolated, I thought, pressing harder on the accelerator. I can’t leave her there by herself.
Vander an abandoned
The GPS announced my arrival just as the paved road became gravel. I parked, grabbed my phone for its flashlight, and stepped into the darkness
Most buildings were half–demolished, roofs caved in and walls crumbled.
1/2
Chapter 219
Then I saw it – a larger structure at the village’s edge, less damaged than the others. As I approached, I recognized a small clinic Moonlight fam through broken windows, illuminating a slender figure crouched by the entrance.
Audrey. Her shoulders were shaking slightly. She was crying.
‘Audrey!” I called, striding toward her.
She looked up, tears visible on her face in the moonlight. The sight stopped me in my tracks. Something twisted in my chest. The fear I’d felt about this dark, abandoned place vanished, replaced by an unexpected protectiveness.
Thought that taxi lost you,” she said, her voice raspy. “What are you doing here?”
I picked my way over the rubble. “You think I can’t follow a GPS?”
“It’s after midnight,” I added. “I can’t leave you alone out here.”
Audrey bit her lip, then stood up. “I don’t need a babysitter.”
She turned and walked into the clinic with stiff shoulders. “I know every inch of this place. Nothing’s going to happen to me here.
I frowned at the crumbling building. “How? Why would you know an abandoned clinic in the middle of nowhere?”
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