Let Me Go, Mr. Howard Chapter 135

"Mr. Wright!" Scarlett's face flushed red as she recognized the gentle voice on the phone—completely different from Chris's cheerful tone. "I'm so sorry—I thought it was Chris calling back..."

After her initial panic, confusion set in. Why would Shawn be calling her?

"I heard you came looking for me at City Hall," he said warmly, his voice suggesting he was alone in a quiet space. "I assumed you might have something urgent to discuss."

His amused tone helped dissolve Scarlett's nervousness. "It wasn't anything urgent. I just wanted to treat you to dinner."

"Because of yesterday?" Shawn asked.

Scarlett pressed her lips together and made a sound of agreement.

"Alright. My schedule will take some time to clear up. How about 7 PM the day after tomorrow at The Golden Palate?" Shawn suggested.

The Golden Palate was a renowned restaurant in Sovereign City, frequented almost exclusively by business and political figures. 

Scarlett had never been there but could guess the price range would be steep. After a moment's consideration of her savings, she reluctantly agreed.

"Perfect. I'll see you then." He chuckled and hung up.

After hanging up, Scarlett flopped back on her bed and searched for The Golden Palate's menu prices. 

They weren't as bad as she'd feared—starting at around two hundred dollars. Still, since this was a thank-you dinner, she bit the bullet and selected the thousand-dollar set menu.

Just then, Libbie knocked on her door. "Ms. Seymour, Mrs. Myers would like to see you."

"Mrs. Myers? From next door?" Scarlett immediately sat up, confused. "Is Sylvia with her?"

"No, Mrs. Myers is alone," Libbie replied.

This puzzled Scarlett even more. While she and Tiffany had exchanged pleasantries several times, they were merely acquaintances—certainly not close enough for house calls. 

Despite her confusion, Scarlett quickly went downstairs.

In the reception room, Tiffany sat wearing a light yellow blazer. Seeing Scarlett, she rose to greet her. "Ms. Seymour, it's been a while. I heard you were ill yesterday?"

They had just seen each other at the birthday banquet two days ago, hardly "a while." But Tiffany was so enthusiastic and immediately expressed concern about Scarlett's health that she could only smile and respond politely.

After they sat, Tiffany gripped Scarlett's hand tightly, patting it while staring intently at her. "Look at you—your beauty is truly one of a kind in all of Sovereign City."

Scarlett found this strange but couldn't embarrass her guest after such a compliment.

Soon, Tiffany revealed the purpose of her visit. She carefully took out a pocket watch from her purse—the enamel craftsmanship immediately reminding Scarlett of the recent auction. 

When Tiffany opened it, Scarlett recognized the mother and child photograph inside the cover.

Of course, two pocket watches with identical craftsmanship could exist in the world. But if they were truly different watches, the deterioration patterns of the photographs inside would surely differ.

The photograph in Tiffany's watch matched the auction piece exactly—the mother's face faded beyond recognition while the infant in her arms remained clearly visible.

"Mrs. Myers, how did you get this watch?" Scarlett asked, startled. If she remembered correctly, someone from the Watson family had purchased it at the auction.

Tiffany hadn't expected Scarlett to recognize it. "You've seen this before?" she asked, surprised.

"I accompanied Mr. Howard to the auction recently. This watch was the first item up for bidding. It supposedly belonged to Mr. Seymour."

"I see." Tiffany nodded thoughtfully.

"Is there something wrong with the watch?" Scarlett asked, noticing her contemplative expression.

"No, nothing's wrong with it. I just heard that Wesley once had a good relationship with your grandfather, so I wanted to ask if you knew anything about this Mr. Seymour."

Surprised that the rumored Wesley had connections to her family, Scarlett shook her head apologetically. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Myers, but I wasn't close with my grandfather, so I don't know anything about Mr. Seymour."

Tiffany didn't seem disappointed. "That's alright. I was just trying to take a shortcut by asking you." She soon said her goodbyes and left.

Though she couldn't help Tiffany, Scarlett's curiosity was piqued. She searched online for information about Wesley, learning he had disappeared over fifty years ago along with his wife and child. 

He'd left behind an enormous fortune that his close friend secretly managed, but this friend supposedly embezzled the funds—hundreds of millions of dollars mysteriously disappeared, along with the friend himself.

In recent years, theories about the fortune varied widely, but almost everyone assumed the friend had stolen it. Aquilonia had never stopped hunting for him.

The pocket watch in Tiffany's possession was indeed once owned by Wesley, but Scarlett doubted whether it could really lead to a fortune lost for over fifty years. 

She believed the money had long been divided and spent—finding it now would be pointless.

"Mr. Howard."

Scarlett, still curled up on the sofa searching, suddenly heard Libbie's voice. 

Looking at the time, she realized it was already eight in the evening.

Sebastian entered, handing his coat to Libbie. Autumn had fully arrived in Sovereign City, and despite its coastal location moderating the temperature drop, it was definitely coat weather now.

Scarlett merely glanced up at him, showing no intention of rising to greet him.

"Not happy to see me?" Sebastian approached anyway.

Scarlett frowned, still refusing to move. Instead, she turned away, showing her back to him. "Aren't you worried Ms. Morgan will be upset with you coming here every day?"

The cushion by her feet sank as Sebastian sat down. "Why bring her up?"