Chapter 2569
“Mara, dare you swear to me that you’ve got nothing to do with this mess?”
Mara let out a scoff and stepped back, “Oh, Balfour, you’ve gone mad. I get it, she’s hurt, and it’s tearing you up inside. But you’ve got the wrong one to blame. Who snatched Ivy? Go hunt down that culprit! Why the hell are you grilling me?
After all these years, our friendship doesn’t mean jack to you, does it? Can’t you muster a sliver of trust for me? If I were behind this, why would I waltz right into the lion’s den, visiting Alyssa today?”
Mara’s brain was racing, scrambling for any reason to clear her name.
Balfour’s brow furrowed as he listened, his eyes clouded with doubt, “Is that so? You’d better not be pulling a fast one on me! You get it, right? I didn’t want to drag you into this mess, that’s why I came to you for the truth.”
Hearing Balfour’s words, Mara breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed he was starting to buy her story.
“Alright then. Do you have any idea how much your interrogation just now hurt me?”
“I guess I’m just a mess of worry. Ivy’s still not out of the ER, and it’s been one damn thing after another. I’m sorry.”
Mara exhaled, “Fine, what else can I do except forgiving you? We’ve been tight for years, and I get where you’re coming from. But how’s Ivy doing now? Is she alright? How did she end up kidnapped again? The kidnappers didn’t hurt her, right?”
Balfour shook his head, “Thankfully, it was just about money. Ivy took some knocks and was scared to unconsciousness, so she hasn’t woken up yet.”
“Is that so?” Mara queried.
She had tasked Clara with snapping incriminating photos of Ivy, then leaking them online to ruin her reputation for good.
But Clara had bungled even this simple task, getting greedy over their cash instead!
Disappointment was plain on Mara’s face.
“What’s with that look? You don’t seem happy to hear she’s okay.”
Balfour’s question snapped Mara back to reality, and she plastered on an exaggerated smile, “What? No way!”
She waved her hands, “I mean, Ivy and I aren’t exactly BFFs, but she’s your girl, of course I want her to be alright.”
Balfour watched every flicker of emotion on Mara’s face.
“By the way, do you still have that old photo you put in my room? It’s been ages, and I miss your sister.”
Mara froze, unsure of what Balfour was getting at. Why was he suddenly bringing up her sister?
Even after she’d planted those photos under Ivy’s pillow, he’d never pressed the issue. Why bring it up now?
“Nope, they’re gone. Don’t have any keepsakes of her on me.”
Mara’s gaze fell, her discomfort clear as day.
“Really? If you find one, please give me one. I’d like to keep it for old times’ sake.”
Mara shook her head frantically, “I really don’t have any left. Probably lost them when I moved abroad.”
“That’s a shame.”
“Yeah.”
After a few more vague questions, Balfour left as abruptly as he’d arrived.
