From His Fake Wife to Billionaire Heiress Chapter 212: The Mayor's Son

They must've thought nobody would be out at that hour in such a secluded part of the lake. But they ended up running straight into the water patrol.

The young guys heard the sharp blast of the whistle and saw the officers rushing toward them. They panicked completely. No one even tried to pull in the nets anymore—they just scrambled to turn their small boats around. One of the boats nearly tipped over in the rush, setting off a round of frantic shouting.

Then, like a school of startled fish, the little boats scattered in every direction across the water.

The water patrol officers on the shore were furious, yelling at the top of their lungs, but they could only stand and watch the guys get away. Without a boat of their own, all they could do was fume helplessly from the bank.

Riley watched it all unfold and raised an eyebrow. It was almost funny, but it also revealed that security on the lake wasn't nearly as tight as it seemed.

But just as she was about to look away, something caught the corner of her eye—something Harvey did.

The instant the patrol's whistle blew, Harvey's whole body locked up. His arms snapped straight to his sides, his chin tucked down sharply.

The posture lasted maybe a second at most. Harvey seemed to catch himself right away and quickly relaxed back into his usual easygoing stance. He even scratched his head as if nothing had happened, glancing toward the fleeing boats and muttering, "Man, those guys have some nerve..."

But Riley had already seen it.

She turned her gaze back toward the lake, keeping her thoughts to herself.

If she wasn't mistaken, that kind of instant, muscle-memory reaction—snapping to attention like that—wasn't something an ordinary person would do.

It looked more like someone who'd done hard time, where they train you to respond instantly to whistles or commands without a second thought.

The realization settled heavily in Riley's chest.

Here she was, alone on this isolated hillside with someone whose past was clearly... questionable. Probably not her smartest move.

"It's getting late," she said, trying to keep her voice even. "Let's go check out the rest of the town."

Then she turned and walked away from the lakeside hill, back toward the cluster of houses.

Harvey hesitated for just a beat before hurrying after her.

They made their way to the main road through the neighborhood. Riley deliberately slowed her pace, her eyes drifting from one house to the next, scanning the scattered residents as though looking for something.

They hadn't gone far past the first few blocks when, out of nowhere, a man stumbled out from a side street.

He looked to be in his thirties, dressed in grubby clothes, his hair unkempt. His smile was wide but vacant, and his eyes had a distant, unfocused look. It was pretty clear he wasn't all there.

He stared right at Riley, his grin stretching even wider. Then he opened his mouth and called out in a slurred, too-loud voice, "Wifey! Hehe... wifey!"

As he shouted, he started shuffling unsteadily toward her, trying to close the distance.

Riley was caught completely off guard. A wave of disgust rolled through her, strong enough to turn her stomach, and she took an involuntary step back.

"Hey! What're you yelling about? Back off!" Harvey moved quickly in front of Riley and snapped at the man, his expression dark.

The simple-minded man seemed startled by Harvey's harsh tone. He stopped moving, but kept grinning and pointed a wobbly finger toward Riley, mumbling, "Pretty... wifey..."

Just then, two elderly people with graying hair came hurrying out of the same alley. They looked like family.

"Oh, goodness—we're so sorry, miss!" the old woman said, grabbing the man's arm and offering an apologetic look to Riley. "This is our grandson. He had a real bad fever when he was little, and it... well, it left him like this. Whenever he sees a pretty young woman, he just gets it in his head to call her 'wifey.' Please pay him no mind. He doesn't mean anything by it."

The old man kept nodding, his hands raised slightly in a gesture of regret. "That's right, he's harmless—just mixed up in his thinking. We'll take him right home. Sorry he gave you a scare."

With that, the two elders took the still-grinning man by his arms and gently guided him back toward the alley, softly scolding him as they went.

Riley watched them disappear, her face still pale. She knew the guy wasn't in his right mind, and she knew she shouldn't take it personally—but being called that in the middle of the street still left her feeling unsettled and exposed.

After that, Riley's mood—which hadn't been great to begin with—took another dive. She'd lost any desire to keep walking around town. Turning to Harvey, she said flatly, "Let's head back."

Then she started straight toward the construction site.

Harvey took one look at her expression and thought better of saying much. He just followed quietly a few steps behind.

Back inside the temporary site office, Riley pushed the door open to find Anne sitting at her desk with a grim look, muttering curses under her breath. Beside her sat a bottle of hand sanitizer that was nearly empty.