The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate

"Whoa?" Kent got the fright of his life, instinctively yanking the steering wheel toward the curb and slamming on the brakes like

there was no tomorrow.

The tires screeched a long, ear-piercing protest against the asphalt.

Kent couldn't care less about that and whipped his head around to check on Brandon. "Mr. Crawley, what's up?"

But Brandon, with his handsface all tight and tense, didn't even wait for the car to stop before he yanked open the door and

bolted toward the mall across the street.

Kent glanced at the mall, but it was just a sea of strangers—nothing out of the ordinary.

Clueless about what was going on, he hurriedly opened his door and chased after Brandon.

Tia, who had been trailing in her car, was equally puzzled by Brandon's hasty departure. She hastily parked on the side of the road

and followed suit.

Brandon stormed into the mall without skipping a beat.

The place was massive and packed, as it was the weekend.

Brandon stood at the entrance, his sharp gaze scanning over the crowd.

He wasn't sure if he had just seen Sophia.

Sophia with a child in her arms.

Kent was driving too fast, and Brandon had only caught a fleeting glimpse, too quick to make out the details.

But that brief view of her silhouette was so strikingly familiar that even if there was only a one in a million chance it was her,

Brandon couldn't let it slip away.

His eyes flickered urgently across the crowd, but the figure he had glimpsed was nowhere to be seen.

His searching gaze moved to the escalators, connecting the floors.

Nothing there either.

Just as Brandon was about to head to the second floor, Kent crunning up, out of breath.

"Mr. Crawley, what are you looking for?"

His voice was loud, and his panting echoed across the mall's grand atrium.

Sophia paused for a moment in her stride.

She was on the second floor with Theresa in a children's clothing store, well-concealed behind the throng of shoppers and

promotional signs at the entrance.

Theresa noticed the halt in her mother's steps, her big, clear eyes looking up in confusion. "Mommy, what's wrong?"

Sophia managed a smile. "Nothing, sweetie."

She hugged her tighter, but couldn't help craning her neck to peek downstairs, spotting Brandon and Kent below.

Feeling her gaze, Brandon, who had been scanning the area, suddenly looked up in Sophia's direction.

Almost in the sinstant, Sophia crouched down with Theresa in her arms, her heart hammering in her chest.

Theresa was startled by her mother's sudden movement.

"Mommy?" she called out, concerned.

Sophia soothingly cradled the back of her head and whispered, "Theresa, my tummy feels a bit off. Let's head to the restroom,

okay?"

Theresa nodded, "Okay."

She attempted to wriggle out of her mother's embrace, but Sophia stopped her halfway.

"It's okay, I've got you."

With that, Sophia, using the crowd as cover, made her way to the restroom in the adjacent corridor.

Brandon went up to the second floor, his intense gaze sweeping the area before it fell on the children's store where Sophia and

Theresa had just been, his confusion evident.

The store was bustling, but there was no sign of the figure he'd caught a glimpse of from the car.

Brandon frowned slightly and looked elsewhere, still no trace.

Tia arrived out of breath as well.

"Mr. Crawley, what are you looking for?"

She caught up to Brandon and offered, "Lethelp you look; I'm really familiar with this place."

Sophia, clutching Theresa, was in the ladies’ room on the opposite side.

As a young girl's voice rang out, Sophia couldn't help but peek outside and saw a young stranger eagerly trying to engage with

Brandon, hesitating to touch him but her eyes brimming with affection.

Sophia's gaze shifted to Brandon.

Whether he was too preoccupied or simply uninterested, Brandon didn't respond to her, instead turning to look toward the third

and fourth floors.

The girl's face flashed with urgency before she grasped Brandon's arm. "Brandon, | like you, so I'm more than willing to help you

with anything. You don't have to feel like you owe me."

Sophia's breath hitched, and she couldn't help but watch Brandon.

His back was turned to her.

She couldn't read the expression on his face, only seeing him glance at the young girl.

Theresa noticed Sophia's look of concern and curiously peeked outside, spotting Brandon.

She recognized him and excitedly began to say, "Pret—"

Before she could finish, Sophia quickly covered her mouth and pulled her back into the restroom.

Her voice was soft, drowned out by the sounds of running water and chatter.

Brandon didn't hear it.

He simply gave Tia a cold glance. She was practically hanging onto his sleeve, but at his look, her grip hesitated and then relaxed.

Kent, who knew how to read the room, quickly stepped in with a smile and led Tia aside. "Ms. Temple, Mr. Crawley's pretty tied up

right now. Why don't you head on back?"

Brandon had already whipped out his phone and dialed Sophia's number.

Sophia felt the vibration and swiftly pressed the side button to silence it, not daring to make a sound or answer.

Theresa also noticed the phone's vibration and quietly reminded her, "Mommy, you've got a call."

Sophia gave her a reassuring smile. "Yeah, | know."

She held her close but didn't pick up the call.

Brandon tried calling several times with no answer, so he switched tactics and called Don.

"Is Sophia at the company right now?"

As soon as Don answered, Brandon got straight to the point.

Don was taken aback. "It's the weekend; why would she be at the company?"

"What about yesterday?"

"Oh, she took a couple of days off; she wasn't here yesterday."

"Why'd she take toff?"

"Said she wasn't feeling well. She took on a new project recently and had been pulling all-nighters. Her body probably just couldn't

handle it."

"Has anyone checked on her?"

"Ivan did. He happened to be off sick too."

Brandon didn't say anything.

He took a deep breath to steady himself. "Get someone to check out her place, her phone's gone MIA."

"Huh?"

Don immediately started to worry, "Hope nothing's gone south. I'll send Cindy over; she lives closer."

"Right, hitup when you get to her doorstep."

Brandon said, then he hung up the call.

Kent glanced at his watch, realizing that any more dilly-dallying and they'd miss the flight, he couldn't help but nudge Brandon.

"Mr. Crawley, the plane's about to take off."

But Brandon just skimmed the mall crowd with his eyes, before turning to him. "The Starry Group belongs to Mr. Evert's family,

right?"

Kent felt a little thrown by the question, but he nodded anyway. "Yeah, that's right."

"Hookup with Mr. Evert, | need to take a look at the mall's security footage."

Having said that, Brandon was already on his way to the security office downstairs.

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