My Mirror Image by Maybe Not (Candice And Alex’s)

Chapter 0324

Candice averted her gaze slightly, not meeting Hanley's eyes. "Just got back."

Hanley looked at the silk scarf around Candice's neck. The color of his eyes was deep, his thoughts hard to read.

Candice felt a bit awkward under his gaze, standing still and unsure of what to do. There was an inexplicable nervousness in her heart, something she had not felt when Yana saw her at the hotel.

Instead, when Hanley looked at her with those eyes, she suddenly felt a bit uneasy. As if caught in a lie.

Hanley's gaze remained on her, and Candice could only avert her eyes.

Seeing this, Nadia, thinking that Candice was too shy to tell them, passionately blurted out everything Candice had just said.

At the end, she added, "And Mr. Warner too. Doesn't he know about Xavier's bad reputation? Why did he still bring him here!"

Ryan's reaction, like Nadia's, was a mix of shock and anger. He clamored to call Mr. Warner and inquire about the situation.

Candice watched them leave in a flurry, and the nervousness in her heart had relaxed a bit. She glanced up, and found herself still under Hanley's intense gaze. Her relaxation faded as her mind started to tense again.

Candice gritted her teeth, just about to speak, when she heard Hanley's deep voice. "Were you very scared last night?"

Candice remained silent.

Hanley sighed. His deep voice carried a soothing tone. "Encountering such a situation, you must have been frightened, being a woman alone. I apologize for not appearing promptly."

Candice did not expect Hanley to say this. She blinked rapidly and gently shook her head. She opened her mouth, intending to say she had not been afraid. But the words could not come out. How could she not have been afraid?

The palpitations she felt when she fell in the corridor last night were still haunting her.

With a gentle palm on her head, Hanley reached out and lightly ruffled her fair, his face full of compassion. "Don't be afraid. I'll take care of this matter."

"Well—" he completely ignored Yana couldn’t help but interrupt. She looked at Hanley with a roll of her eyes. "If you want to show off, can you also consider the fate of us innocent bystanders?"

At Yana's voice, Candice suddenly snapped back to reality.

She cleared her throat, took a step back, and then asked Hanley uncomfortably. "Why did you guys come back now?"

The construction project at Burning Star was still working overtime, and progress on the Blue Artifact's side was halfway done. The department had just started work too. Hanley had been leaving early and returning late recently.

"We came back to collect something,” Hanley said, “and also, the remittance from Aether that was supposed to arrive today hasn't come through yet. I'll have Ryan inquire about it later."

Aether had recently been in chaos, so it made sense that attention towards Burning Star had decreased. The funds allocated to Burning Star were not a one-time payment but on-going. THe matter had originally been handled by Sonia and Sawyer, but with Sonia’s sudden behavior and Sawyer being busy, it naturally got delayed.

Candice nodded. "Yes, we should check with them."

"Yeah, leave it to Ryan, you don't need to worry," Hanley said.

Candice agreed. She didn’t want to go to Aether. Being watched as a spectacle was one reason, but the main reason was that she didn’t want to encounter Alex again.

Hanley didn’t stay at home for long. He took the documents and left with Ryan.

Yana approached with a cheerful smile. "See, Hanley is quite good, isn't he? He's not like a little brother to me anymore. But in life, you still need a reliable and mature man."

Candice swept her a glance. "Don't talk nonsense."

Her body was still a bit weary. Candice went upstairs, freshened up quickly. Lying on the bed felt a bit more comfortable. Her mind remained clear, however, devoid of any drowsiness.

She charged her phone and then opened the voice recording of Sonia, along with some other recordings extracted from Ivor's phone.

With these two pieces of evidence, Sonia could forget about a carefree life. Candice's lips tightened, and a determined light flashed in her eyes.

-

In the afternoon, as the fatigue in her body eased a bit, Candice called Jackson to meet up.

When Jackson arrived, his face looked quite unpleasant, with visible dark circles under his eyes.

Candice asked. "What happened?"

Jackson waved his hand. "It's nothing."

He looked unwilling to say more, and Candice did not press further. Instead, she pushed a USB drive in front of Jackson. "Inside are audio recordings of Sonia admitting to instigating Ivor and Yvonne, as well as evidence of Sonia and Francis drugging me. I might have to trouble you with taking care of them."

Jackson took the USB drive, his voice serious. "What do you mean drugging you?"

Candice had to recount the events of last night once again.

Jackson's expression darkened almost immediately. "Does Alex know about this?" he asked.

Candice lowered her gaze. "This has nothing to do with him."

"How does it not? Doesn't he treat Sonia like a precious treasure? Of course, he should see what kind of person he treasures as if she were his heart and soul!" Jackson, rarely this angry, grabbed the USB drive from the table. "Candy, rest assured, those who do wrong will face consequences."

Candice had decided to give the evidence to Jackson because throughout dealing with the cases of Yvonne and Ivor, his help had ensured a thorough resolution. Moreover, the Shyan family had connections in this regard.

If it were solely up to Candice herself, things might be quite troublesome. After all, Xavier had Brisco Corporation behind him, Francis had Webrews Group, and behind Sonia, there might be Alex.

However, judging by Jackson's current tone, it seemed like he carried some other emotions as well. This belongs © NôvelDra/ma.Org.

Candice, being friends with him for many years, asked quietly, "Do you have something else on your mind?"

Jackson looked at Candice's expression and suddenly went into a daze. From his angle, the light happened to shine on half of Candice's face, as if carving out the shadow of another person. Then, almost involuntarily, he murmured, "Candy, do you happen to know anyone in Solaris?"

The topic changed so quickly Candice took a while to react. "No, why do you ask?"

Jackson fell silent. He had only seen the person he was thinking of a few times in the distance. But in that moment, Candice had looked so similar to them. He had blurted it out, but now, realizing the abruptness and absurdity, he felt both strange and surreal.

Absurd because he had actually thought Candice would know that person. But strange because that person's last name was also Renault.

Jackson suddenly fell silent, and Candice looked at him with a puzzled expression. She softly called his name several times, but Jackson remained in a daze. It was not until Candice raised her voice again that Jackson regained his senses.

He forced a smile and shook his head. "Sorry, Candy, you just reminded me of someone. But I must have overthought it. There's no way you could know him." Jackson paused, then couldn’t help but add, "His name is Darius Renault. You probably don't know him, right?"