Chapter 506:

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“It’s me.” Noel’s voice came, husky and tense. “Where are you now? I returned to that farmhouse, but it was empty.”

Thea exhaled, rolling her eyes in mild irritation, and glanced at the clock. “It’s been four, maybe five hours. Of course we wouldn’t still be there.”

“So where are you now?” Noel asked, lowering his voice. “Is she… still with you?”

Thea raised an eyebrow, fully aware he meant Gerda. Feigning innocence, she teased lightly, “Who do you mean?”

𝘔𝗼st 𝗋𝖾𝖺d 𝗍𝗁i𝘴 𝘄e𝘦𝘬 𝗼n galn𝗼𝘷𝘦𝗅𝗌.𝗰𝗈𝗺

Noel paused, then let out a weary sigh. “You know exactly who I’m talking about. Is she… hurt?”

Thea’s mind drifted to the earlier scuffle with Jaylynn’s and Dominique’s men. She let out a soft, amused laugh. “With Jerred’s men and Barnes’ team around? She couldn’t possibly get hurt.”

Gerda hadn’t needed to face those villains herself.

Noel remained silent for a few moments before speaking again, his voice quiet and hesitant. “I wasn’t asking about that. I… wasn’t gentle, under the influence of the drugs, when… I think I might have hurt her.”

He paused for a moment. “I know I shouldn’t tell you this, but you’re the only friend I have connected to her. Could you ask her if she’s truly okay?”

Before Thea could answer, he exhaled slowly, his tone dropping with concern. “If it’s anything serious, she should be examined by a doctor. If not, I’ve instructed my agent to get some ointment ready. Whenever she has a moment…”

Thea’s expression froze as she processed his words, a flicker of tension passing through her.

After taking a slow, steadying breath, she replied, “She’s fine. I took her to the hospital, and everything’s okay with her. You don’t need to worry.”

Relief was palpable in Noel’s voice. “That’s good.”

Then, as if a new doubt struck him, he asked, frowning, “Did she get hurt somewhere else? Why did you take her to the hospital in the first place?”

Thea hesitated briefly, knowing she couldn’t reveal that Jerred suspected the possibility of an STD. She chose her words carefully, masking the truth. “It was nothing serious. Jerred was simply being cautious, worried she might have been hurt by Jaylynn and Dominique’s men before we arrived, so he had her examined.”

Noel let out a small, scoffing laugh, unconcerned about the lie. “Looks like he isn’t entirely heartless.”

A pause, then urgency returned in his voice. “It sounds busy over there. Where are you now? Are you still with her? Give me the address; I’ll come find you!”

“Aren’t you afraid Jerred might hit you if you come here?”

Thea held her phone close, strolling confidently into the sprawling Dawson Estate while chatting with Noel on the phone.

The gatekeepers barely acknowledged her presence; they didn’t even nod. They simply swung the doors open and let her pass.

Completely unbothered, Thea wandered through the sunlit courtyard and sank gracefully onto a stone bench beneath the pavilion. She studied the mansion, its lights gleaming in the dusk. “So… tell me. Why sleep with Gerda and then vanish?”

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