The Night I Left, He Turned Grey

Before leaving, Gwen asked, "What about Zachary? President Sinclair has already made it to the hotel."

Nathaniel Cole frowned. "President Sinclair’s sister has something to do with this. Pull the surveillance footage and investigate thoroughly. Then, in the name of The Cole Crest, sue Cecilia Sinclair for attempting to damage the hotel’s interests."

"Understood." Gwen nodded.

She closed the door on her way out.

Madam Dalton said to Nathaniel Cole, "In a moment, I’ll need you to take off or cut off her clothes, and then hold her down. It will hurt her if she moves around."

"Mm." Nathaniel Cole looked at Leila Jennings, who was already starting to sweat in the tub. He asked her, "I need to cut your clothes off with scissors. Nod if you agree."

Leila Jennings felt as though ants were crawling all over her. With only a sliver of consciousness remaining, she looked at Nathaniel Cole and nodded weakly.

Nathaniel Cole said, "I’ll have to touch your body, too."

Leila Jennings nodded with difficulty and closed her eyes, a single tear clinging to the corner.

...

「The Cole Crest Hotel」

Sean Sinclair forced his way upstairs. Following his sister to the correct floor, he found the hallway flooded with water.

The water was flowing from the room Cecilia Sinclair had booked. Ross and a team of staff were in the middle of cleaning it up.

Both Cecilia Sinclair and Sarah Lynch were stunned.

"What’s going on here?"

"I don’t know."

Sean Sinclair strode ahead to the doorway. Beyond the hotel staff cleaning up, he saw a room full of water and a smashed-in door.

Ross recognized Sean Sinclair and approached him. "President Sinclair, how can I help you?"

"Where’s the person who was in this room?"

"Are you referring to Miss Sinclair?"

Sean Sinclair frowned, turning to look at his sister.

Cecilia Sinclair panicked slightly. ’Why would a hotel just give out guest information like that?!’

"What is going on?" Sean Sinclair asked his sister. "You’re the one who booked this room?"

Sarah Lynch was exasperated. ’I never should have put Cecilia in charge of this. The airhead only knows how to cut corners.’

’Now that Leila Jennings is gone, so much for catching her red-handed.’

Sarah Lynch decided to watch and see how things unfolded.

"Yes, I booked the room. Leila Jennings was drunk, so I helped her into this room myself..." Trailing off, unsure how to salvage the lie, she abruptly changed the subject and directed her question to Ross. "So where is she now? I just saw President Cole downstairs. He said he was going to find Leila. Did he take her somewhere?"

Sarah Lynch gave Cecilia Sinclair a surprised look. ’Maybe she’s not completely hopeless after all,’ she thought.

"President Cole must have a private suite in his own hotel, right?" Sarah Lynch chimed in.

Cecilia Sinclair immediately jumped in. "Leila Jennings was drunk. President Cole must have taken her by force!"

Ross gave a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. "Miss Sinclair, are you aware of the consequences for slandering President Cole?"

Cecilia Sinclair shrank back.

"If you want to prove President Cole’s innocence, then take us to see him! Leila Jennings must be with him!" She grew more confident as she spoke. After all, Nathaniel Cole had snatched Leila’s phone right out of her hand and had someone lead him to her.

’Leila drank something she shouldn’t have, and now she’s with Nathaniel Cole. The two of them are probably getting it on somewhere right now.’

Ross said, "Our President Cole isn’t someone you can see just because you want to. Even President Sinclair needs to make an appointment in advance."

This was Nathaniel Cole’s territory. Sean Sinclair didn’t dare to overstep, so he could only suppress the anxiety and anger building inside him.

Politely, he said to Ross, "Please contact President Cole. If you can’t reach him, and I can’t reach Leila Jennings, I’ll be forced to file a missing person’s report for my wife."

"The police?" Cecilia Sinclair’s heart skipped a beat. "Th-that’s not necessary, is it, bro?"

"It is necessary." Sean Sinclair’s voice trembled slightly. He couldn’t imagine what might happen between a drunk Leila Jennings and Nathaniel Cole.

’In four years, he had never so much as touched Leila Jennings.’

’What gave Nathaniel Cole the right to get near her?!’

Sean Sinclair stared intently at Ross. "Call President Cole."

At the same time, he pulled out his phone and dialed Leila Jennings’s number.

It rang and rang.

No answer.

He tried again.

Still no answer.

He tried a third time, and just as his patience was about to run out...

...the call connected.

"Leila?"

"It’s me." Her voice on the other end of the line was weak.

Sean Sinclair’s expression softened, his previous sternness replaced by pure anxiety. "Leila, where are you?"

A snippet of another conversation came through the phone.

"Ma’am, what’s your clinic called?"

"It’s called the Dalton Clinic."

It was the voice of an elderly woman.

"Sean, I’m at the Dalton Clinic. You can look up the directions."

The line went dead.

Sean Sinclair turned to leave.

Sarah Lynch grabbed his arm. "Sean, where are you going? Have you found Leila Jennings?"

Sean Sinclair said, "The Dalton Clinic."

Sarah Lynch and Cecilia Sinclair exchanged a confused look. Why would she be at a traditional clinic?

’Did Nathaniel Cole really take her to a clinic?’

’Is he crazy?’

’He had a perfect piece of meat right in front of him and he didn’t even take a bite.’

As the three of them headed downstairs, Zachary stepped forward to block Cecilia Sinclair’s path. "Miss Sinclair, you can’t leave."

"Why not?" Cecilia Sinclair said, anxiously watching her brother and Sarah Lynch walk on ahead. She wanted to follow them and see what was happening.

Sean Sinclair heard her and turned around.

"Bro! They won’t let me go!" Cecilia Sinclair wailed.

Sean Sinclair sighed and walked back.

Zachary said bluntly, "A drink from the executive lounge was found to be tainted. You were the only one who handled it, Miss Sinclair. We need you to stay and cooperate with our investigation."

Cecilia Sinclair’s pupils shrank.

’But I made sure my back was to the camera when I put it in the drink. How could they have possibly seen me?’

"What are you talking about?" She wasn’t about to admit anything. "I’ll sue you for slander!"

Zachary replied, "No need to trouble yourself, Miss Sinclair. Once our investigation is complete, we’ll be contacting the police. However, if you refuse to cooperate, we can just call them right now."

Seeing the situation, Sarah Lynch tugged on Sean Sinclair’s arm. "It must be a misunderstanding. The hotel will sort it out. Aren’t we in a hurry to find Leila Jennings?"

’There’s no way Leila Jennings could have gotten to a clinic on her own.’

’Nathaniel Cole must have taken her there.’

’As long as Sean sees her with another man, tonight’s plan won’t be a total loss.’

Sean Sinclair looked at Zachary. "My sister can stay to cooperate with your investigation, but if she suffers the slightest grievance, you will answer to me."

Zachary smiled. "Of course."

Cecilia Sinclair cried out in a panic, "Bro! Sarah!"

She couldn’t believe it. ’How could her brother and Sarah just abandon her here?’

’Especially Sarah! They had planned this whole thing to frame Leila Jennings together!’

Sarah Lynch, worried that Cecilia might expose her, quickly sent a message to placate her as soon as they got in the car.

[Cecilia, I’m going ahead with your brother so our efforts won’t go to waste. As long as you don’t admit to anything about tonight, they won’t have any evidence. Besides, you have Sean. He’s your brother, and he adores you. Sometimes, I’m even a little envious.]

[I know you want to study abroad. Once Sean divorces Leila Jennings and gets together with me, I’ll give you anything you want. Who could refuse such a beautiful, adorable sister-in-law?]

Cecilia Sinclair’s lips curled into a smile as she read the messages.

Her confidence was instantly restored.

"Fine, I’ll cooperate." She plopped down on a sofa in the lobby and even asked the front desk staff to bring her a cup of hot water.

Sean Sinclair and Sarah Lynch arrived at the Dalton Clinic.

The first people they saw inside were Gwen and Caleb Dalton.

The moment she saw Gwen, Sarah Lynch knew their plan was back on track.

She smiled. "It looks like President Cole is here as well. He seems very concerned about Leila Jennings."