Before dawn the next day, Sidney woke up early, too nervous and excited about her upcoming trip to sleep. As she got up, she accidentally woke Jayson, who didn't seem to have slept well either. As soon as she moved, he got up as well.
"Where are you going?"
"I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep, so I came downstairs to get some water."
He nodded and lay back down.
Sidney went downstairs to the dining room, poured herself a cup of warm water, and sat in a chair staring blankly. Her head felt heavy from the lack of sleep.
She turned on the TV and muted it. At this hour, it was all reruns of the previous day's shows. She wasn't interested in the current dramas, so she switched to the news channel to check the weather forecast.
After flipping through several channels, she finally found the weather report. Once she confirmed she had packed enough clothes, the screen suddenly shifted to familiar faces. Sidney immediately recognized Sanaa and her aunt, both crying inconsolably.
Sidney focused intently on the subtitles, trying to figure out what had happened.
When Shelby's photo appeared on the screen, Sidney's heart sank. The subtitles read that Shelby had committed suicide at her home the previous afternoon at five, with the cause still under investigation.
Five o'clock—wasn't that shortly after they had spoken on the phone?
Sidney held her breath, her eyes locked on Sanaa's grief-stricken face. A heaviness settled in her chest as she watched the sorrow unfold before her, making her feel an uncomfortable tightness inside.
How could she have suddenly committed suicide?
And it was right after their phone call.
The news said her legs had been useless for years. This time, she had tied a rope to the doorknob, a clear sign she was determined to end it all. The finality of it hit Sidney hard.
It's been reported that a suicide note was found at the scene, but the family hasn't made it public, and the police are keeping quiet. There are rumors that it's related to family struggles.
Famous business figures connected to the Calderon family were named one by one, and the following sections were filled with speculation, including photos of Sidney and Jayson. Not long ago, the incident at the resort had just made the news, and the public still remembered it vividly.
Sidney felt a sharp pain in her stomach. She went upstairs, found her phone, and opened the contacts, but could not find the names of Sanaa or even Esteban. She searched again, puzzled, then glanced at Jayson lying on the bed, who seemed to have finally fallen asleep, feeling that everything was too strange.
She opened the blacklist on her phone and was shocked to find both of their names listed there! Who could have set this up?
This was all too strange.
She raised her trembling hand and shook him awake.
He opened his eyes and looked at Sidney in confusion, noticing her pale face.
"What's wrong?"
She held up her phone and waved it in front of him. "Did you do this?"
"What?"
"Who else could it be? Did you tamper with my phone?" Sidney asked, struggling to control her temper.
"..." Jayson said nothing.
"Did you already know that Shelby had committed suicide and deliberately rushed back, tampered with my phone, just to prevent them from contacting me or me contacting them?" Sidney erupted like a volcano.
"…"
"You knew I would find out soon, so you hurried to take me away from here, right?" Sidney took a deep breath, her exhale trembling. "Why did you do this?"
"You're pregnant, and I'm worried about you getting upset. Please listen to me calmly," he said, placing both hands on Sidney's shoulders to make her look at him. "Shelby did commit suicide, and the timing is too sensitive. The police investigated, and her last phone call was to you. Also, the note she left behind mentioned you and me. I didn't want you to be investigated, so I handled it this afternoon. The police have cleared us, but the Calderon family doesn't believe that. To protect you from unnecessary trouble, I secretly added them to the blacklist. I rushed to take you abroad because I'm worried about you facing public scrutiny."
Why are you in such a hurry to take me abroad right now? Are you trying to help me or make things worse? Isn't it strange that I didn't even attend her funeral?"
"The Calderon family won't let you or me set foot anywhere near it," he said.
"Does this have anything to do with you? Why are they all saying it's you?" Sidney was on the verge of breaking down but remained unusually calm.
"It has nothing to do with me," he said flatly.
"Did you hire someone to buy Calderon Corporation?" Sidney bit her lip and asked.
"…"
"Why would you do that?" A chill ran through her.
