Dead at Heart (Ariel and Jayson) novel Chapter 724

Jayson's phone on the table rang again. He glanced at it once. It was an unknown number, so he declined.

The caller seemed to be getting worked up. They kept trying.

While flipping through Sanderson Group's details, Jayson simply blocked the number.

…

Ariel didn't rest for long. The flare-up had been unexpected, but she still needed to wrap up the first phase of work at the base.

She went to the hangar to run the new system tests. Maintenance and integration required repeated trials.

By the time she wrapped up, it was late afternoon.

Walking from the hangar toward the data center, she nearly ran into Samson stepping out of his car.

She hadn't seen him since the last incident.

When he spotted her, something flickered across his usually composed features. He stopped where he stood to watch her.

Ariel just glanced up briefly before returning her focus to the detailed data in her hands.

The investigation into the altered data was still ongoing. It clearly wasn't a simple case, as there were no clear leads yet.

However, Ariel was already certain about one thing—the person in front of her was someone she shouldn't trust.

She had no intention of interacting with Samson anymore and didn't even plan to greet him. She just wanted to turn and head upstairs.

But Samson beat her to it. "Ariel, can we talk?"

Ariel could only stop.

Since there was hardly anyone around, his voice carried clearly.

Samson could see plainly Ariel's complete indifference toward him. He walked over slowly and lowered his gaze to stare at her. "It looks like you're avoiding me. You don't have to do that. I actually came to apply to leave the research project."

"I kept calling him, and he blocked me! I only wanted to invite him to my exhibition! Why is he avoiding me like this?" Cecilia had probably had a bit to drink. Her tone was angry and agitated, with party music blaring in the background.

Samson frowned silently.

He knew Cecilia wasn't in a great state. Her parents divorced; she had grown up abroad, unsupervised, and her temperament had always leaned extreme.

On top of that, she was adopted into the Pryce family. Not being their biological child had caused her fair share of drama growing up.

Moreover, Jayson was a sensitive trigger for her. A few years ago, his coldness had even triggered her bipolar disorder.

For those six months, Cecilia couldn't hear a word about Jayson. She either locked herself away, painting endlessly without eating or sleeping, or drowned herself in alcohol.

Samson knew artists' private lives could be complicated, especially those with a name for themselves. Cecilia, with her upbringing and circumstances, was even more so.

"Where are you?" Samson asked, his voice cold. He had a bad feeling about how Cecilia was handling herself.

"Tell me, if I somehow get Ariel to my exhibition, he's got to come see me, right?" Cecilia ignored his question.