The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate

The line was open, but no one was picking up.

Tried calling a few times, sthing.

Don was glued to Brandon's side, even tried dialing with his own cell.

Sdeal - call goes through, but no one's on the line.

"Maybe she's tied up with something and missed her phone," Don couldn't help but make an excuse for Sophia. "She's usually

swamped with meetings at work, phone's on silent most of the time. Missing a call or two's nothing weird."

"Smart cookie, that one," Brandon said as he turned and headed for the underground garage.

Don was a bit slow on the uptake. "What do you mean?"

"It's no rocket science. If it happens all the time, you don't start thinking it's out of the ordinary."

Brandon's voice was faint, his stride unbroken.

It was all in Don's head - she'd already flown the coop.

Don's brows knitted slightly, but he caught on quick.

What Brandon meant was that Sophia was intentionally throwing them off the scent.

Turning off her phone or canceling her number would've been a dead giveaway that something was up.

But getting through and not being able to reach her? Happens to everyone. It's a da dozen. At most, you'd think the other

person's just tied up, not convenient to talk, didn't notice their phone, or maybe doesn't want to chat and so on. Loads of

possibilities, but you wouldn't jump to the conclusion they've gone AWOL.

Don got the picture, but his forehead was still furrowed.

"lI don't know what's gone down between you and Sophia these past couple days, but aren't you being a bit jumpy?"

He couldn't fathom why Sophia would take off. With her personality, even if she planned to leave, she'd surely get all her ducks in

a row and hand in her notice properly.

Even if what Cindy said was true, that she'd secretly had a kid, there was no way she could've foreseen Cindy spilling the beans,

especially since Cindy hadn't let it slip when Sophia was heading downstairs.

But Brandon just curled his lips into a cool, detached smile.

"That's 'cause you never really got the measure of her."

Sophia was the type to make big moves in silence.

She always played her cards close to her chest, never making a peep until the dust settled and then - bam - hitting you with a bolt

from the blue.

Divorce was like that, applying for study abroad too, and even having a kid - she pulled it off without anyone being the wiser, let

alone leaving.

For her, it was like second nature.

Don fell silent.

Brandon had reached his car, pressed his key fob twice, and the doors unlocked automatically.

"You head back. Givea buzz if there's any word on her."

With that, Brandon hopped into his car, the door slamming shut with a 'thud' that halted Don in his tracks, instinctively glancing

towards Brandon.

Brandon's handsface was set, expressionless.

Seeing Brandon's grim look, Don didn't dare to probe further but still couldn't help but throw in a word of caution. "Talk it out,

okay? Don't spook her."

Without a word, Brandon rolled up the window and the car sped off.

On the road, Kent called him - Susan's car had been taken to the shop for maintenance, it hadn't been driven away.

"What about other places?"

Brandon asked, eerily calm.

"Somebody spotted them at the airport," Kent replied. "With a kid, looked like they were heading out."

He had a wide network, and the company had its own HR and security resources. Once Brandon gave the word, Kent immediately

reached out to contacts around airports, high-speed rail, train stations, and the like to help track them down.

Sophia had just been on TV at noon, a living, breathing person, easily recognizable without even needing a photo.

In the off-season for travel and on weekdays, the foot traffic at airports and high-speed rail stations wasn't that heavy either,

making it easier to find someone.

"l got it," Brandon said. "Have them hold her."

Brandon ended the call and slowly pressed harder on the accelerator.

The car rocketed away.

Back at the office, Cindy, who was waiting for Sophia to return, stood up instinctively as Don walked in.

"Mr. Dempsey, hasn't Director Yearwood cback yet?"

She felt an uneasy premonition. Brandon had stepped outside the office to instruct Kent over the phone, and she hadn't heard the

conversation, but she could tell from his expression that something was off. The untouched lunch on Sophia's desk also unsettled

her, making her worry that something was amiss.

Cindy's keen concern made others glance towards Sophia's office too.

It was unusual for Sophia not to return to the office around this time.

Don had a hunch about what Cindy was worried about and reassured her with a smile. "Director Yearwood had to take care of

something at home, took stoff. She might not be back this afternoon. You needed her for something?"

"She took toff, huh?"

Cindy seemed a bit disappointed and even more anxious, worried that her slip of the tongue had caused trouble. After sitting in her

seat, wrestling with herself for a while, she hesitated and then composed a message to apologize to Sophia.

[Director Yearwood, I'm sorry. | saw your news while | was having lunch in the cafeteria and accidentally mentioned that you had a

child through a sperm bank. Mr. Crawley was there too, and he seemed to have a big reaction. | hope it hasn't affected you. I'm

really sorry.]

After agonizing over it for a while, Cindy steeled herself and sent the message.

MMMWWLIIOAIfO&L

MMMWWLIIOAIfO&L

mmMwWLHIOfiflO&1

MMMWWLIIOAIfO&L

mmMyWL11I01F1081

MMMWWLIIOAIfO&L

MMMWWLIIOAIfO&L

MMMWWLIIOAIfO&L

mmMwWLHIOfiflO&1

MMMWWLIIOAIfO&L

mmMyWL11I01F1081

mMMwWLIIOfiflO&1