Dear Sweetheart novel

No one spoke for a long while after Jefferson finished talking.

The man held his breath subconsciously. He was suddenly regretting lying to Rayna and was worried that he had

caused her more agony.

He was about to say something when he heard the woman’s suppressed sobs.

“If he knew, why didn’t he ask me about it…” Rayna tried to stop her tears as she continued, “I really want to

believe that it wasn’t him who did it, but he told me that he was there when the kitchen staff packed the duck stew

into the lunch box. If that was the case, he must have seen those ingredients in the stew.”

The woman could hardly believe that Curtis had used such despicable means to get rid of her babies. When she

thought about what happened, she felt as though she had been stabbed in the heart.

She was capable of raising the kids alone, and it was perfectly fine if he did not want to have any involvement with

them. He could have just told her.

Jefferson pressed his lips together and said softly, “He was so mad at you over what happened to Kristie. How is it

possible that he would still treat you well? If he still has feelings for you, the two of you would have already

reconciled. Belle, just think about it. He’s always so busy with work and has endless meetings to attend, why would

he go all the way to Summerbank just to accompany you? It’s because he knew that you were pregnant and—”

“Please stop talking. I’m begging you,” Rayna cut the man off mid-sentence. She was inconsolable and was on the

brink of breaking down.

Indeed, Curtis was exceptionally nice to her while they were in Summerbank.

During the flight, he defended her when she was being treated with disdain by the other passengers after vomiting

on the plane. He even flew her to the city in his private jet after the plane turned around.

He had taken her on walks and had personally made her a pair of earrings, cutting his fingers in the process. He

would also get her yogurt to prevent her from getting indigestion from overeating.

Rayna thought that Curtis’ attentive behavior toward her was a sign of his love for her. However, it turned out to be

her wishful thinking.

She remembered how gently he had kissed her when they were filming at Summerbank previously and also how he

had stayed by her side during the power outage the night before, just like her guardian angel, but everything turned

out to be a lie.

“Belle, please don’t cry.” Jefferson felt his heart aching, knowing how painful it must be for Rayna. “It’s all right if he

doesn’t cherish you. You have me. I will always be here for you.”

Rayna hummed in appreciation while her tears continued to fall. “I… I love him so much. It’s so hard for me to get

over him… Why did he do that? I’m so sad…”

“Calm down first, all right? If you keep crying, your babies would be sad too,” Jefferson comforted the woman

gently. “Are you at the homestay or outside now? Wait for me. I’ll be there tomorrow morning.”

“You don’t have to come. Your company needs you.”

Jefferson replied, “It’s okay. Ringo is here. I’m really worried about you and the little ones. I want to be by your

side.”

“There’s no need for that. I’m really fine.” Rayna’s voice was hoarse from crying. “I will be returning to Norwal City

tonight. I will look for you in Jetroina after I settle down.”

Jefferson was relieved after hearing that and quickly suppressed the sense of guilt he felt over the lie he told earlier.

In a gentle voice, he said, “Belle, it’s not worth shedding tears for a man like him. Promise me that you will take

care of yourself, eat well and sleep well, okay?”

“Yup. I won’t ill-treat my babies,” Rayna replied.

Immediately after hanging up, Jefferson put on his jacket and strode out of the house while calling Ringo. “Get me a

private jet. I’m going to Chanaea.”

“Mr. Hamilton, there are no routes for us to fly even if we have a plane,” Ringo replied before continuing, “Mr.

Montail had instructed the air traffic control center to prevent us from flying. It would be very dangerous if we insist

on doing so.”

“Get me an air ticket then!” Jefferson’s expression darkened.

“Mr. Hamilton, you have been banned from traveling by both air and sea. It’s the same for me.” Ringo lowered his

voice and said, “Mr. Montail is determined to keep you in Jetroina.”

“Is he trying to trap me here?” Jefferson cursed before continuing, “It would be much easier for him to hurt Belle in

Chanaea without me around.”

“Mr. Hamilton, just bear with it a little longer. Our lives would be threatened if we try to force our way back now.

Even if you don’t care about what happens to yourself, you have to think about Ms. Garland. I’m sure she wouldn’t

want anything bad to happen to you,” Ringo reminded.

Jefferson took a deep breath to calm himself down.

After a while, he said to Ringo, “My brother had already tried to kill Rayna and her babies. Get our men in Norwal

City to protect her well and make sure nothing happens to her.”

“Don’t worry, Mr. Hamilton. I will make sure they do everything they can to protect Ms. Garland.”

Jefferson hummed in response.

Nothing else mattered as long as he could keep the woman by his side.

Meanwhile, after discussing compensation matters with Claire, Curtis asked her for the remaining duck stew and

got someone to examine its contents.

Then, he headed to the kitchen to look for the chef who was in charge of preparing the duck stew.

“What usually goes into a duck stew?” Curtis asked the chef.

“J-just some normal ingredients.” The chef could feel his scalp tingling when he met the man’s sharp gaze. “I tasted

the stew personally when I was cooking it. Did anything happen?” he asked fearfully.

“Can you cook one for me now?” Curtis asked.

The chef did not know what the man’s purpose was, but he did as he asked anyway.

Curtis observed the entire preparation and cooking process carefully, making sure that he did not miss anything.

“Are these the usual ingredients that go into a duck stew?” he pointed to two of the ingredients and asked.

“Yup. They are common ingredients,” the chef replied.

Curtis cast a deep glance at the chef before turning toward the manager who was standing at one side and said,

“Get me the purchase records of these ingredients as well as the kitchen surveillance footage from the past few

months.”

The manager did not dare to ask any questions and promptly scurried off to do as instructed.

Meanwhile, Curtis stayed in the kitchen and waited patiently.

Soon, Curtis’ subordinate, who was in charge of sending the duck stew to the laboratory for examination, came

back with the test results.

Passing the report to Curtis, he said, “Mr. Faymon, these are the herbs that were found in the stew.”

Curtis did not speak as he scanned the report.

A while later, the manager came back with what he had asked for. Curtis checked the purchase records and noticed

that those ingredients were not frequently purchased.

From the surveillance footage, he could also see that those ingredients were not usually added to a duck stew.

The man asked the chef with a grim expression, “I noticed that you rarely include these ingredients in duck stew. In

fact, the last time they were added was two weeks back. Why would you suddenly use it yesterday?”

“It’s b-because our boss doesn’t allow us to use it frequently,” the chef stammered. “Our boss said that these

ingredients are very costly and shouldn’t be used frequently due to the cheap price of a duck stew.”

The manager chimed in, “These are fresh ingredients that would help to enhance the taste of a dish. As such, we

would only use them in food prepared for our most valued guests.”

No one else witnessed the scuffle between Claire and Rayna on the third floor that morning, and not many people

were aware of Vivi’s miscarriage.

“My manager had made a visit here previously and instructed us to take good care of you. As such, when I saw that

you ordered the duck stew, I specially told the kitchen to prepare it carefully.”

The manager paused and looked at Curtis cautiously before continuing, “Mr. Faymon, was there anything wrong

with the stew?”

Curtis was not able to find a single loophole in the statements of both the chef and the manager.

He swept his eyes across the two men and noticed that they had steady gazes despite looking slightly intimidated.

It seemed like what happened was merely an accident and has nothing to do with them.

Curtis left, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to find out anything even if he carried on with the investigation.