Chapter 881: Not Right

Chapter 881: Not Right

"Mr. Walker, it's me, Cora. Can we meet up?" The woman's hollow

voice echoed in Preston's ear.

Preston narrowed his eyes, and his expression turned cold instantly. He

calmly said, "Mrs. Norman, are you mistaking me for someone else?

My name is Baxter, not the Mr. Walker you mentioned."

"Don't pretend you don't recognize me, Mr. Walker. Since I can call you,

it means I already know your true identity. Is there a need to be so

secretive?" Cora chuckled lightly, but her voice remained eerily hollow,

as if she was making the call in a vast and echoing place.

After her words, Preston's expression grew more serious and somber.

She had mentioned it this far, so Preston stopped beating around the

bush. With a cold tone, he asked, "Just say what you want straight up!"

Cora smiled faintly, "Mr. Walker, I want to make a deal with you. How

about it?"

"What makes you think you have anything to offer in a deal? As far as I

know, you've been held captive by Ayan for so long that even Austin

couldn't find you. It's hard for me not to suspect if you were sent here

by Ayan to fish for information," Preston replied with a hint of

casualness in his voice, but there was no trace of joking in his meaning.

He was on guard with every word he spoke to Cora, especially since

she had been hidden by Ayan for so long. How could she suddenly

contact him? He couldn't understand why Cora wanted to get in touch

with him. There had been little interaction between them, and logically,

if she wanted to contact anyone, it should be Austin, even if he was

facing difficulties of his own. There was no reason for her to reach out

to him.

These unanswered questions only increased Preston's wariness

towards Cora.

Her doubt didn't stop Cora. She proceeded to provoke him, “Is Mr.

Walker afraid of Ayan? Is that why you are so cautious around him?"

Preston disliked being compared to Ayan, especially when people felt

he was inferior. It was like touching his sore spot.

He let out a cold snort, his voice filled with iciness, "Huh, what's Ayan?

If he really had the ability, would he still be fooled by me until now?"

Cora smiled lightly, “If that's the case, then why worry about me being

sent by him? Mr. Walker, let's make a deal. It's a win-win business, and

you won't lose. Interested?"

Preston liked hearing others praise him, not just simple compliments,

but comparing him to Ayan.

What did he care if Ayan was stronger?

So far, Ayan hadn't been able to outmaneuver him.

Preston's thoughts had always been this way, and he never intended to

hide it from anyone.

He didn't immediately agree to Cora's proposal but asked nonchalantly,

"What kind of deal?"

“No hurry. Let's meet in person when you have time. True deals can't

be discussed over the phone. I don't feel at ease unless we talk face-

to-face," Cora's voice lacked much emotion, but if you listened closely,

you could sense some trembling in her words.

However, she was trying her best to appear composed as she

continued, "Mr. Walker, the matter involves Camille and Ayan. I can

only tell you this much for now. If you're not interested, consider this

call never happened. If you're intrigued, it's best to meet me within two

days. Otherwise, I can't guarantee that I won't collaborate with

someone else.”

Mentioning Camille and Ayan piqued Preston's interest.

Preston asked in a calm tone, "Why is it involved them?"

“That's something I can only tell you in person,” Cora refused to reveal

her purpose over the phone and didn't want to share what she knew

about Ayan directly with Preston.

Preston didn't deny being curious about her words, but he didn't think it

necessary to make a special trip from Flento to Hance for something he

didn't know. After all, he still had unresolved matters to deal with, and

he didn't want to waste any extra time on other things.

But the mention of Ayan made him unable to resist his curiosity.

After a moment of contemplation, he said indifferently, “I'm not in Hance

at the moment. If you insist on meeting me to talk, then come to

Flento."

Cora immediately refused, "I can't go to Flento."

Her response seemed a bit too eager, arousing suspicion in Preston's

mind.

Preston asked, "What do you mean, Mrs. Norman? Don't want to work

with me anymore?"

Cora said, "Of course, I want to. Why else would I call you? I believe

Mr. Walker knows that I've been in Ayan's hands without any news for

so long. Now that I can call you freely, you can guess what it means.

So I can't leave Hance. If I try to go to Flento, Ayan will catch me before

I even get there."

Cora had slipped out this afternoon. She had been waiting for this day

for a long time, and getting out of the mental hospital had come at a

great cost.

Thinking of those difficult days, she felt intense hatred towards Ayan.

She loved this man, but he was heartless. He was willing to ruin her,

leaving Cora with no way to endure it.

She told Preston, “If Mr. Walker can't come back to Hance for now,

could you please arrange a place for me to stay? I won't let you lose. I

know things that will definitely satisfy you."

Finally, Preston agreed to Cora's request. He had his secretary,

Quintus, contact Cora. If there was anything, she could reach out to

Quintus temporarily.

After finishing the call with Cora, Preston felt uneasy and had Quintus

inquire about the current situation in Hance.

But Quintus couldn't get close to Ayan, so there was no way to find out

what Ayan was up to.

Preston hesitated for a while before deciding to call Camille himself.

They hadn't been in contact for a long time. The last time they met was

at the museum before Camille went to Flento. Since then, they had no

communication at all.

So this phone call was their first contact in a long time.

Camille answered after a long time, and her voice sounded somewhat

distant, "Hello? What's the matter?"

Her tone was too cold, making Preston's gaze slightly stiff.

Preston furrowed his brow, his voice hoarse as he said, "Cami, is it a

good time to talk? I want to discuss something with you."

Camille replied calmly, "Go ahead, what is it?"

Preston's frown deepened, and he said, "Cami, I can't help but feel

something is off from your voice. Are you not in a good mood?"

In a soft tone, Preston was trying to probe for information about Ayan

from Camille's words.

But Camille had always been tight-lipped. If she didn't want to say

something, it was almost impossible to get her to talk.

Camille replied indifferently, “Nothing's wrong. Just tell me what you

want. If you have nothing to say, then I'll hang up. It's late, and I need to

rest.”

Every word Camille said felt distant to Preston. Even though she had

been like this for a long time, he still couldn't get used to it. So every

time they spoke like this, Preston would become agitated.

He asked Camille, "Cami, you didn't use to be like this to me. Why are

you always like this now? Does Ayan not allow you to continue being

friends with me? He doesn't truly love you. If he really cared for you, he

would want you to be happy and carefree, not control every aspect of

your life like he does now, Cami!!!"

“Is that all you wanted to say? If you called to talk about these

irrelevant topics, then I won't answer your calls again next time. So

what do you want from me?" Camille made it clear that she didn't want

Preston to say anything negative about Ayan.