CHAPTER 22: CHAPTER 22: FOSTERING CLOSER TIES

"The number you dialed is currently busy..."

The call was forcefully hung up, and he casually placed the cellphone on the bar counter, ordering another shot of strong alcohol.

He raised his hand, slowly undoing his tie, his fingertips twirling the fabric with a slight resistance.

The number no longer belonged to Claire Caldwell.

The few remaining ties between them were completely severed.

The drink the bartender just served was quickly downed by him again.

He lowered his head, closed his eyes for a moment.

His eyelids lifted again as his large hand fell against the icy marble countertop, his knuckles slightly paling.

He stood up, his steps unsteady, yet his shoulders and back remained straight.

"Lawyer Holden, let me call someone to pick you up. You’re not getting back like this."

The bartender pulled out his phone from under the counter.

Justin Holden casually recited a string of numbers and continued heading out. At the door, he steadied himself by the window frame, pressing his fingertip against the clear glass.

"Hello, who’s this?"

A familiar female voice echoed behind him, halting his motion of pushing the door open. He turned back to look at the bartender behind the bar.

Justin Holden quickly walked over as the bartender spoke to the woman on the phone.

"Hello, are you Lawyer Holden’s friend? He’s currently at..."

Before he finished talking, the call was abruptly hung up.

The bartender turned to Justin Holden with a sense of helplessness, handing him the phone, "Lawyer Holden, how about you try another person?"

Justin Holden took the phone and saw the number; it was eleven digits, none of which were wrong.

It was Claire Caldwell.

The woman who answered the phone must have been her.

He pressed the dial button again, and the courteous, cold female voice sounded clearly.

"The number you dialed has been turned off..."

She shut off the phone, yet Justin Holden didn’t feel angry, instead he smiled faintly.

The bartender gaped, surprised to see someone so glad when a phone call was cut off.

What was more bewildering was that Lawyer Holden, who had been drinking here for several days, never smiled, his face consistently gloomy.

He seemed drunk and yet not.

Under the bartender’s gaze, he picked up the phone, grabbed his briefcase, and strode out rapidly.

"Hey, Lawyer Holden."

The bartender tried to call out to him but, seeing Lawyer Holden not driving, walking alone along the roadside, he let it go.

Samual Pryce was woken by a series of knocks on the door.

In the dead of night, not a soul on the road, he opened the door to see Justin Holden standing outside, reeking of alcohol.

"In the still of night... Do not sleep, let us stroll in the courtyard."

Though he had drunk a lot, he seemed in a good mood.

Samual Pryce sighed, helped him inside, saying as they walked, "No one’s strolling in the courtyard, you sleep on the sofa tonight."

Wendy Wallace, hearing the commotion, put on a coat and came out of the bedroom, turning on the living room lights.

"What’s up with him?"

Samual Pryce dragged him to the sofa and handed him a cup of warm water.

"Drank too much."

"Lawyer Holden’s a heavy drinker too, no wonder you two can party together."

Wendy Wallace cast a reproachful glance at Samual Pryce, taking a new blanket from the cupboard next to her and tossing it to him.

Telling him countless times to drink less outside, and yet he couldn’t remember.

She walked over, arms crossed in front of her, speaking to her husband: "Is Lawyer Holden facing some trouble lately? You’ve been good friends for so many years, you should help him."

"He wants to find the dead, where can I find them for him?"

Samual Pryce lowered his voice, yet Justin Holden heard it.

He straightened up, leaned back into the depths of the sofa, raising his arm hanging beside him to press against Samual Pryce’s shoulder.

Eyes closed, his breath mingled with the smell of alcohol, saying, "She’s not dead."

"Yes," Samual Pryce concurred, "She’s not dead, there’s traces of Claire Caldwell everywhere in his house, you’ve mentioned it several times."

Justin Holden raised his hand in front of him, the phone screen was dark, "I called her, it was her voice, she’s alive."

Samual Pryce felt his condition worsened, previously it was hallucinations, now it’s auditory hallucinations.

If he continues like this, is it really alright?

Wendy Wallace heard the name Claire Caldwell, it sounded familiar, and she suddenly looked at her husband.

"Is she the cute girl who secretly liked him? Always around your academic building, shy and introverted, not daring to talk to Justin Holden."

Samual Pryce nodded.

"When did they get together?" Wendy Wallace asked again.

Samual Pryce sat in the single armchair nearby, furrowing his brows, lost in thought.

"During our school days, I was too shy to ask you out. I had Justin Holden deliver my love letter to you, many classmates saw, and rumors about you and Justin reached Claire Caldwell’s ears."

"The day after that, Justin Holden got together with her. Yet the details, I’m not too sure."

Wendy Wallace blinked, lightly tapping Samual Pryce’s shoulder.

"It’s your fault for the way you set things up, needing a mediator for a date."

Samual Pryce wrapped his arms around her waist, his large hand resting lightly on her slightly rounded belly, "Justin had his eye on Claire Caldwell since high school."

"Oh, I remember now, you three were classmates."

"Did Claire Caldwell like Justin Holden back then?"

Wendy Wallace perched on his knee, her slender arms draped over his neck.

Samual Pryce remembered something, a faint smile curved his lips, though his gaze held some sadness.

"Yes, from the very first day Justin Holden transferred, she secretly followed him after school, they lived close, just a dozen meters apart."

"Such twists of fate, who knew those things would happen to the Caldwell family later."

Wendy Wallace lowered her eyes, feeling a bit sad.

She wasn’t particularly familiar with Claire Caldwell, only recalling her as an adorable girl, somewhat plump but with refined features, also very pretty.

Her family was wealthy, yet she was quite well-behaved, not at all like some of the spoilt rich girls at school.

"Lawyer Holden can’t go on like this, what’s done is done."

She looked at her husband, her gaze filled with intent.

Samual Pryce pursed his lips, frowning slightly, "He’s really keen on one woman recently, but..."

"But what?"

"She’s a single mother, with a child."

Wendy Wallace glanced at Justin Holden, shifting her gaze back to her husband, "Lawyer Holden can certainly afford to raise a child, what’s there to worry about. You two love drinking so much, being a godfather doesn’t require any preparation or abstaining, isn’t that good?"

Samual Pryce remained silent.

He hadn’t voiced his biggest concern yet.

Importantly, the woman had a criminal record, served five years in prison.

Justin Holden, a top lawyer, founder of a law firm, having a wife with a criminal past, who’d dare approach Keystone for legal services in the future?

Justin Holden’s phone suddenly lit up, the contact displayed as Jean Ellison, it was a text message.

"Hello, Lawyer Holden, you scheduled a meeting tomorrow, but haven’t sent the time and place yet."

Before Samual Pryce picked up the phone, Wendy Wallace snatched it and typed a few times on the screen.

"Corvin River Rose Garden A112, 8:00."

Samual Pryce glanced at the information on the phone, "Why did you make that decision?"

Wendy Wallace nonchalantly, "Amidst all the messages, only this chat is pinned. She’s the woman who has piqued Lawyer Holden’s interest recently, right?"

"Coincidentally, let her pick up Lawyer Holden tomorrow, improve their rapport."

She set the phone down, her smile brightening her face.