Chapter 242: Chapter 239: Not Answering the Phone
It wasn’t until she saw Galen Collins’ back disappear into the police station that Luna started the car.
She began making phone calls on her way back.
...
North City, Vicars Hotel.
After learning about the current situation, Elliana Lyle also agreed with the doubts raised by Luna.
Kelly Wright still couldn’t be found, and probably Bella also knew something but just didn’t want to say.
But this was just their suspicion without any evidence, which made it inexplicably frustrating.
She said, "I’ll try to push her a bit more."
On the other end of the phone, Luna sighed and said, "Don’t worry about it, I can handle it myself. Didn’t you say you need to go to the desert tomorrow? Get some rest, bring some sunscreen or whatever, make good money, so you can pay me. What Norman Bennett gives isn’t even enough for me to fill the gaps between my teeth."
"Luna, I’m just saying maybe you should save some money each month? Living paycheck to paycheck isn’t sustainable."
Even though buying dresses and gear was Luna’s hobby, she couldn’t help but advise her, after all, living paycheck to paycheck isn’t a solution.
"Why save money? Isn’t spending it better? Send me two thousand, Norman won’t pay me for a few more days."
Elliana: "..."
After thinking for a moment, she agreed to send the money over.
After hanging up, she suddenly remembered her support for Rupert Zeller, which she left to Lana, and she didn’t like logging into QQ or even having it downloaded on her phone.
So she hadn’t contacted Rupert Zeller for several days.
Since she remembered, she decided to check if there were any messages from Rupert Zeller during this time.
After downloading, installing, and finally logging in.
As soon as she confirmed her login, the phone started vibrating and ringing with message alerts.
Rupert Zeller: 99+
Looking at the red unread messages, she was a bit overwhelmed, not expecting that Rupert Zeller had sent her so many messages.
She opened it and scrolled to her last reply.
7:24 Rupert Zeller: "Good morning sister, I’m off to school. My uncle said I shouldn’t stay at school anymore and that staying at home is better."
5:37 Rupert Zeller: "Sister, I’m home from school. Today for lunch, the school had beef rice, with lots and lots of meat. The principal said it was donated by an anonymous person called Clear Breeze and Bright Moon."
8:7 Rupert Zeller: "Goodnight sister, don’t stay up too late with work."
...
Almost every day, Rupert Zeller would send her messages, even though she hadn’t replied to any.
Just then, the notification sound rang again.
Rupert Zeller: [Image]
Rupert Zeller: "Sister, this is my first paycheck from working part-time. I earned 4,000, and my uncle says I now have enough for tuition. I can pay for it myself. When I grow up, I’ll earn more to repay you, sister."
This message made her feel strange. Hadn’t she told Lana to, apart from the tuition, send Rupert Zeller two thousand a month for living expenses?
Rupert Zeller was still young; why was he working? This was clearly off, and she wouldn’t doubt Lana because she trusted her character.
So she began to suspect if Rupert Zeller’s uncle had gotten greedy.
Thus, she replied to explain the situation, even if Rupert Zeller might not believe it since she was essentially a stranger, while that person was his real uncle.
After waiting a few minutes, Rupert Zeller still hadn’t replied. Maybe he didn’t believe it or perhaps he was busy.
Just as she decided to turn off the screen, a message popped up.
Rupert Zeller: "Sister, you don’t need to send me money anymore. The money I earned from my summer job is enough for tuition and three meals at school. The school dorm is free."
"Do you have your own bank card? I’ll transfer your living expenses to it." She wrote this message but then deleted it word by word.
If she remembered correctly, Rupert Zeller was only 13 years old, so he couldn’t possibly have a bank card or even an ID card.
Thinking about it, she decided she should get Rupert Zeller a card, so she said, "You’re so young, your main task is to learn well and find a better job when you grow up. I’ve been busy lately, but I’ll find someone to check on you."
She initially thought of sending Lana, but that little, remote town wouldn’t be safe for Lana to go alone. After some consideration, she thought it best to let Gary Young handle it.
So she continued to send a message: "Uncle Gary Young will go see you."
She then sent over a WeChat profile picture of Gary Young, a formal photo in a suit.
Honestly, the photo was overly retouched. Gary Young wasn’t that fair-skinned in reality.
Rupert Zeller: "Sister, I will study hard, and one day I want to get into South City University, like you did."
After a brief chat, she ended the conversation using the excuse of having something to do.
That was because Director Gary Young had just sent her a message.
He said that Tiana Harris didn’t perform well in her last shoot, and due to time constraints, she needed to arrive by ten tonight, or they’d replace her.
She understood some reasons for this demand, as indeed Tiana’s performance last time wasn’t great. Even though Tiana was her person, she also wasn’t satisfied with her last performance.
Especially with Director Gary Young, who was strict about everything.
So she knew if Tiana could arrive by 10 PM, she would be given another chance. If not, they’d immediately replace her.
Giving another chance meant saving face for both parties.
"Hello, the number you dialed is not answering, please try again later..."
"Hello, the number you dialed is busy, please try again later..."
"Hello, the number you dialed is powered off..."
Just then, it was not answered, now it is showing powered off, could it be out of battery?
And she didn’t know where Tiana Harris was now, so she could only call Bella.
"Hey Bella, is Tiana with you?"
"No, Elliana, something came up at my home, and I’ve already asked Victor King for leave."
This was bad!
She hurriedly called Bella again, "Bella, is Tiana in the dorm?"
"I don’t know, are you looking for her?" Bella said and then started coughing, the background was very noisy, sizzling oil and clanking sounds, like something was being stir-fried.
Even through the phone, she felt the irritation.
"Could you check for me, I just called her and her phone is off."
"Hold on, I’m cooking right now, cough cough—妹啊, go check if the person next door is home or not."
After a while, Bella spoke, "I knocked, but there’s no one. I did see her getting takeout when I got back, so she probably went out again."
"Oh, I see."
Beep―――!
She looked at the time, 7:14 PM, where could Tiana Harris be at this time?
She could only send a message and hope Tiana sees it soon, because if it gets to 9 PM, there won’t be time to go anymore.
At this time.
July Media employee dormitory.
Tiana Harris wasn’t out; she was alone, sitting on her bed, hugging her knees with tear-reddened eyes.
She didn’t want to answer Elliana’s call at all.
Even though the crew previously invited her to be the female lead, Elliana arranged for Bella to take it, and even Bella took leave without telling her.
They were all employees of the same company, yet she never received any attention from Elliana.
Not only did the director scold her in the crew, but Victor King would berate her when she returned.
In contrast, Bella was doing great now, better at everything, and she couldn’t understand why.