I couldn’t help but frown. She lowered her voice.

“What do you mean?”

“It’s something strange I discovered. When the fire happened, it looked like William didn’t show up until later, but there’s a gap in his alibi during that time. Like, no one knows exactly where he was. In other words, there’s a period where his whereabouts are completely unaccounted for.

“And the people who were with you during the fire? Pretty much all of them have disappeared, too. Everyone connected to that incident has gone off the grid.”

Just hearing that gave Rachel the chills. The more she thought about it, the more unsettling it felt. If William had nothing to hide, then why had everyone involved vanished into thin air?

That fire had been so intense that even the firefighters hesitated to charge in, but William somehow made it out without a scratch.

She blamed herself. Back then, she had been too blinded by love to notice the red flags. If she had paid more attention, maybe she wouldn’t have been deceived for so many years.

Now, she was determined to uncover the truth and to find out just how much William had kept from her.

“You have to dig into this. Get to the bottom of everything. As for Tyler, I’ll handle that myself.”

It was just a scar, after all. It shouldn’t be too hard to verify. She would find a chance to check for it.

Just then, the person on the line added something that made her freeze.

“Oh, right. One more thing. According to what I found, the scar is on the inner thigh. You wouldn’t be able to see it unless you spread the skin a little.”

Rachel nearly lost her mind. “Excuse me? What did you just say? The inner thigh? Are you kidding me right now?”

“I’m not joking, Rachel. It’s the truth. You can check for yourself later. Besides, haven’t you two already sealed the deal? It shouldn’t be an issue for you. You’ve got this, Rachel!”

“You little brat! You’ve really gotten mouthy over the years,” Rachel teased.

The voice on the other end went quiet for a moment. This time, the person sounded more serious.

“Rachel, thank you. If it weren’t for you, I’d probably still be rotting in prison. If you hadn’t worked so hard to find a doctor for my brother, he might not have made it.”

Rachel didn’t feel like she had done anything extraordinary. She just knew that the guy wasn’t a bad person at heart. If it hadn’t been for his sick brother, he wouldn’t have let Yvette manipulate him into betraying her.

Not wanting him to dwell on it, she said gently, “Don’t carry that burden. Maybe this is just fate pulling us together.”

“Yeah. I get it. And I mean it, Rachel. Everything I have now is all because of you. Whatever you need, I’ve got your back. Always.”

Rachel hesitated a little and said, “Vander, check flights. It’s time you came back. Make sure to bring Sunny with you.”

It had been months since she had seen her dog. Being back, and especially being around Ray, made her miss her dog even more.

“Can I really come back now?”

“Yeah. I’ve got a new project coming up, and I need someone I trust. Didn’t you study e-finance and budgeting? I don’t feel comfortable handing this off to anyone else.”

Hearing that, Vander Salt was overwhelmed with gratitude.

“Don’t worry, Rachel. I’ll give it everything I’ve got.”

Just then, Rachel heard the shower turn off in the bathroom. She quickly lowered her voice.