Chapter 684: A Silent Triumph Amid Confusion

Joshua Hughes walked out, barely able to contain his temper.

She didn’t return? Where did she go? Who is she with? What is she doing?

Joshua’s chest felt like it had a pack of explosives in it, his lips tightly pressed together, his jaw tense, radiating a cold aura that shattered the quiet around him.

"Where is she?" He demanded sharply after dialing Victoria Diaz’s number.

This time he was truly angry; seeing her at the banquet had already upset him greatly, and now she dared to run away. The fury he had suppressed in his chest surged like fire, making even his tone frighteningly severe.

Victoria was in a sweet sleep, the phone at her bedside. When she answered, his voice made her face pale even through the airwaves.

She trembled, whispering: "President Hughes, Miss Jane insisted on getting out of the car, there was nothing I could do."

Never before had Victoria heard Joshua sound so terrifying, like a Beast ready to devour at any moment.

"Pack up your things tomorrow, keep your ’nothing-I-can-do’ to find another job."

Joshua’s thin lips uttered merciless words that caused the woman on the other side to burst into tears.

"Joshua, how can you treat me like this, I..."

Before Victoria could finish speaking, Joshua hung up, the beeping sound in the night breeding despair.

For years, she had managed everything personally, never making mistakes at work. But how ruthless this man was, no matter how much she accommodated him, no matter how many times she silently accompanied him working overtime in the office, no matter how much she gave, and yet he told her to find another job?

That decisive tone made her feel like a useless object discarded by its owner, absolutely unacceptable.

Joshua hung up coldly; does he not know what the woman was thinking?

The day Avery Jane called him, he knew perfectly well why.

Why did Avery find Evelyn Yates’s phone filled with photos of her visiting him? He didn’t need to investigate to know Victoria sent them out—cheap tactics, utterly ridiculous.

Those photos did push Avery to realize that only he could protect what she wanted to preserve, forcing her to take the first step in yielding to him.

Victoria, having backfired, won’t be pursued further, granting her a chance. After years of diligent work, she deserved it.

But the woman’s audacity was fattened; after such actions right under his nose, she thought he wouldn’t know? Today, she dared to let Avery out halfway while tasked to bring her back?

Avery wanted to escape, not just recently. He could tear this city apart for a search, yet it would take a significant amount of time. Thinking about not finding her made his chest tight with discomfort.

Tonight’s events had already seeded resentment in Avery’s heart. Now that she fled, perhaps she truly won’t want to return.

Dialing her number, after two rings, it was shut off—this woman dared to turn it off?

Seeing his call, she dared to shut it off?

This realization brought a vicious gleam to Joshua’s eyes, a scarlet rage...

She doesn’t seem to know many people in the city.

In the car, Joshua grew impatient and agitated, loosening his tie and letting it hang askew, unbuttoning several buttons at his chest, driving around where she got off.

This brainless woman, at night, dressed like that with torn clothes, still dared to get off like that.

Isn’t this inviting trouble? Any drifter or drunken man could drag her into the green belt, leaving her no chance to resist.

Driving troubled and frantic, he phoned Arthur Yates.

"Did Avery go back?"

The frigid voice carried anxiety and tension; the answer on the other end added to his unexplainable worry.

The car’s dim light shone on his face, brow furrowed, the black diamond-like eyes lost their usual brilliance, filling his heart with unease. This purposeless searching cracked his usual calm facade.

Making calls to arrange people while driving, searching along the roads. He enjoyed her beauty until she got off several hours ago; did she encounter danger? 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

As he suspected, Avery hadn’t returned to the Yates Family.

"Miss Scott, is Avery with you?" His men quickly provided Angela Scott’s number; she’s among the few friends Avery had in the city.

"No, President Hughes, are you looking for Avery? Well, she seems to have a new boyfriend recently. Maybe she’s with him and his friends?"

Angela answered cautiously; hearing the voice, she knew it was uniquely Joshua’s—cold, enticing, with a rich depth like fine aged wine.

Joshua’s heart relaxed, feeling as if sunshine had poured in.

Boyfriend, is that how she described him to her friend?

Unexpectedly, Joshua felt a bit of delight from such a title. If Avery addressed him this way, the woman had indeed grown wiser, not provoking his anger anymore.