NovelOnline
As the situation unfolded, a growing crowd of curious onlookers, comprised mainly of community
residents, began to gather. Ariana’s anxiety swelled, and she didn’t mince words. She confronted the
property manager directly, her voice laced with urgency.
“What’s the meaning of pressing issues? Valuables have vanished from my house! If you continue
obstructing access to the surveillance footage, I’ll be left with no recourse but to summon the
authorities and let them take it from here.”
Then, she feigned dialing the police.
Quickly, the property manager interceded, “Wait, hold on. It’s not that we’re barring you from the
surveillance footage. The stark truth is that our community’s surveillance system has been on the fritz
for years, rendering it inaccessible.”
This revelation drew a chorus of criticism from the onlookers.
“What?
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtninja.com
Have you let the surveillance system languish for years? What have you been doing with the hefty
property fees we’ve been forking over?”
“That’s a valid point. What about our safety? It’s Miss Edwards today, but who knows who’ll be next?
Can you shoulder that responsibility?”
The property manager hurriedly tried to appease the angry crowd, asserting, “Ladies and gentlemen, I
assure you, we’ll take immediate steps to rectify the camera system. We give you our solemn word.”
As the commotion continued, Ariana’s hopes dwindled.
However, she noticed the nearby security guard and clung to a sliver of hope. She inquired tentatively,
“Pardon me, but before my unfortunate incident, did you happen to spot a tall gentleman entering that
building?”
“No.” The security showed certainty on his expression and said firmly, “I’ve been here all along keeping
an eye out for anything. During this whole time, you were the only one who came in and out.”
Upon hearing the security guard’s response, the spark of hope that Ariana had been holding in her
heart was completely extinguished. She lowered her head and managed to utter a feeble thank you. A
self-deprecating smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. She realized that she had let her longing
and imagination get the best of her, making her believe that it might have been Theodore who had
come back.
She turned around and walked out of the building in disappointment.
Watching her leave, a sense of guilt crept over the security guard.
In reality, he took a short break from his work earlier in the morning, so he hadn’t seen anything. But
when Ariana asked him about it, the manager had been standing right next to him, so he couldn’t tell
her the truth and lied.
Later that night, Holden was spending time with Adele in the room.
The girl sat on the bed, engrossed in looking at picture books. As he observed his daughter, Holden
couldn’t help but think of Melon, and then his thoughts wandered to the images of Ariana.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmThe thought of her made him restless, and he felt the urge to call her. Hearing her voice could calm his
mind.
He picked up his phone, ready to dial Ariana’s number, but he stopped midway, thinking that he might
disturb her. In the end, he decided to send her a message first. But to his surprise, as soon as the
message was sent, the notification of being blocked by the other end popped up on his screen.
Holden was momentarily stunned. He told himself that there might be an issue with the messaging app.
He exited the app and sent another message to Ariana, but he received the same result-the notification
indicating that he had been blocked.
Holden’s emotions became more complex. He was left feeling bewildered because he had no idea why
he was blocked.
This was the first time he had been blocked, and he felt somewhat lost, unable to comprehend the
situation.
Growing increasingly anxious, Holden decided to call Ariana. After a brief wait, the call was finally
answered, and he heard rustling noises on the other end of the line.
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