Love Beyond the Mask novel Chapter 763

"Whitney, what brought you back so soon?" Bryce couldn't hide his surprise as he saw her lounging on the couch.

Usually, she was swamped with work at the Sheldon Group, barely spending any downtime on the couch, but rather retreating to her guest room as soon as she got home.

"Why are you staring at me like that? Daydreaming?" He rubbed his temples, his face etched with gentle concern.

Whitney clenched her fists, pretending nothing was amiss. "Did you manage to sort out Audrey's affairs?"

"Yeah, I spent today with the Perlman family, taking Audrey's ashes back to Banyan City.

You know me, always the good guy. An employee's tragic car accident, I genuinely feel for their family."

Bryce seemed genuinely concerned for his subordinate, but Whitney noticed his tired expression, which seemed to reflect genuine concern.

She surreptitiously observed him, realizing he wasn't wearing the same shirt he had on in the morning...

Thinking back, there had been several instances where his work attire didn't match what he wore home.

However, she hadn't paid much attention to those details before.

Bryce took her hand, "I'm sorry, with everything going on with Audrey's situation at the company and dealing with the Perlman family's insurance claims with the car manufacturer, I might have neglected you a bit, haven't I?"

"Not at all," Whitney said, forcing a smile, then suddenly asked, "By the way, Bryce. When you were dealing with Faith's case at the station, did you happen to hear anything about the progress on Tiana's disappearance?"

Bryce visibly paused, turning to look at her with a gaze that suddenly sharpened. "Their cases aren't being handled by the same police station," he replied, probing, "Whitney, why are you suddenly asking about Ms. Melford?"

"I worry about her every day. It's just that you were the one handling the report, so I felt awkward asking you all the time."

Bryce looked apologetic, "I'm sorry, I've indeed been swamped. Here, let me call the chief right now, as I haven't followed up on the progress myself. It might be better if you spoke to him directly."

Whitney watched him, seeing nothing but calm in his eyes, which made her doubt even more.

If Tiana's disappearance was related to him, surely there would be some tell.

But Audrey's last message had been a bombshell.

It had to be a crucial piece of information.

Bryce dialed the phone, and soon, the chief's voice came through, "Mr. Lutz, good to hear from you. What can I do for you?"

"My wife was inquiring about Ms. Melford's disappearance. How is the investigation coming along? I handed it over to you guys after reporting it, but I haven't checked in on the progress. What's the situation?"

The chief hesitated before responding, "Claire, well, we're stretched thin here, but we did find a brick factory near the beach. After a thorough search, we found a footprint that might belong to a woman. We're currently comparing it to Ms. Melford's shoe size. If it's a match, our theory is she might have accidentally fallen into the sea while trekking... But it's just a theory at this point..."

Hearing this, Whitney was puzzled.

They found Tiana's footprint?

Impossible. Ludwik said Tiana never went to that brick factory.

Was it police incompetence, or... Whitney suddenly directed a suspicious glance at Bryce.

Or was it as Ludwik said, that Bryce had instructed the chief not to investigate Tiana's disappearance?

Maybe this investigation result was fake, just something to placate her.

In that moment, Bryce before her seemed less and less real.

She remembered Ludwik telling her about the injury inflicted by someone Bryce had sent.

"Whitney... What are you thinking about? Did you hear what the chief said?" Bryce gently shook her, his voice soft with concern, "If you need me to press the chief for more, just say the word."