Ariana's tone then turned indignant as she continued, "But later, I spoke to a respected senior who knew Holden well, and according to her, he isn't disfigured at all, and his personality is far from what is known."

Ariana placed her hands on her hips and snorted before saying, “Don't you think he's a two-faced person? Why would he play the victim in front of others? That's quite a personality!"

She spoke confidently, but Theodore was getting uneasy by the second!

Disfigured in a fire and betrayed?! He had no inkling of any such tales.

However, he soon realized that Jennifer was spinning yarns. He clenched his fist, boiling with anger, already plotting to settle scores with her later.

Yet facing Ariana, he found himself at a loss for words, unable to divulge the situation.

Thinking Theodore's silence was due to their business partnership, Ariana dropped the topic, not pressing further.

She leaned in and planted a kiss on Theodore's cheek, saying with a smile, "Enough about them. I'LL go hunt down Judy and see if there are any midnight snacks.”

As Ariana descended the stairs, she noticed her phone buzzing incessantly in her pocket. Taking it out, she saw the group chat ablaze with notifications. There were already a lot of unread messages.

Ariana opened the chat and saw that the Latest message was from Betsy.

“By the way, where’s Tyler? We've been talking, but he’s as silent as a grave."

Sarah quickly followed up with a question mark.

“Yeah, isn't he supposed to be on vacation these two days? But he's vanished without a trace. Where could this guy have disappeared to?"

In the western part of the city, the barbecue restaurant hummed with life, drawing a crowd of people eager to savor its delectable flavors.

Though its storefront appeared somewhat shabby, this small establishment had perfected the art of barbecue over its decade-long existence, winning over numerous Loyal patrons and gaining popularity in the neighborhood.

Amidst the bustling scene, Tyler, adorned with a mask and a hat, worked diligently.

The restaurant belonged to Tyler's family, and he willingly Lent a hand whenever he had the chance.

As he focused on grilling the skewers, a mysterious figure suddenly appeared, dressed in black from his clothes to his mask and hat.

The person, with a deep and hoarse voice, approached Tyler and requested, "I'd Like five hundred skewers of lamb kebabs."

Tyler glanced up, noting the time, and responded politely, "I'm sorry, but it's almost closing time. Grilling five hundred skewers would be quite a task, especially as we still have previous customers’ orders to fulfill. Perhaps you could try another place?"