She stood frozen in place, unmoving, until her phone rang. Seeing Yancy Shaw’s name on the screen, she finally let out a sigh of relief.

She answered the call. Yancy Shaw’s slightly breathless voice came through, "Baby, I’m at your door."

"Hm?" Lauren Shaw paused for a moment.

She hurried to open the door. Yancy Shaw was standing there, still dressed in the same black trench coat he’d worn that morning, his clothes underneath unchanged. The hallway lights spilled over him, casting a gentle glow on his handsome, refined features. It was a simple outfit, yet on him, it was enough to make Lauren Shaw’s heart flutter.

Lauren Shaw stared at him in a daze. All the restlessness and anxiety that had plagued her vanished, replaced by perfect calm.

A small smile crept up on her lips. "Why did you come over?"

He looked tired, but when he met Lauren Shaw’s eyes, there was an undeniable excitement in his gaze.

"I was worried about you, so I came over."

Just those simple words made Lauren Shaw’s heart skip with joy. He’d braved wind and rain, rushing here out of sheer concern for her. To be loved like this—it was simple, yet incomparable.

Her heart softened. She took his hand. "Come in."

Once the door was closed, Lauren Shaw threw herself into his arms, breathing in his scent as if it could soothe her soul.

Yancy Shaw hugged her tightly, his chin rubbing gently atop her head. "Were you scared today?"

Lauren Shaw buried her face in his chest and nodded. "I never thought it would be Eva Snow."

To see her fall from the building with her own eyes—the shock was too much to accept all at once. Just moments before, they had been quarreling, and in the blink of an eye, she was gone.

"Don’t dwell on it. This isn’t something you need to torment yourself over. Eva Snow’s death isn’t your fault." Yancy Shaw’s reassuring words washed over her, sweeping away the shadows in her heart.

Holding his waist, Lauren Shaw murmured, "Husband, I want to hold you like this for the rest of my life. I don’t ever want to be apart from you."

"Then we’ll never be apart," Yancy Shaw replied, hugging her so tightly he seemed to want to merge her into his very bones, so they’d never have to separate.

Held in his embrace, Lauren Shaw fell into a deep sleep. As long as he was by her side, she felt nothing could harm her—not even if the sky itself fell.

—

Early the next morning,

the police came knocking, asking about Eva Snow’s fall.

After telling them everything, Lauren Shaw saw the officers off and happened to run into Mo Qinglin next door.

He lived right beside her.

Mo Qinglin spotted Yancy Shaw and offered a sly smile. "Third Young Master Shen, we meet again."

Yancy Shaw only gave him a cool glance before shutting the door in his face.

From inside, Lauren Shaw asked, "Who was that?"

"Housekeeping."

Mo Qinglin (under his breath): You’re the housekeeper! Your whole family’s housekeepers!

Lauren Shaw raised an eyebrow. Since when did housekeeping know who the third Young Master Shen was?

Claire Xu arrived looking for Lauren Shaw. When she opened the door and saw Yancy Shaw inside, she was briefly surprised. "Dr. Shen, you’re here too?"

Yancy Shaw nodded. "Ms. Xu."

"Oh please, no need for such formality—just call me Claire Xu. We’re all friends here, right, Shengsheng?"

She shot meaningful glances at Lauren Shaw, as if to say: Yancy Shaw really moved fast! He had come straight over last night—probably because he was worried Lauren Shaw had been traumatized.

In truth, witnessing someone fall to their death was enough to give anyone nightmares. From Lauren Shaw’s state last night, Claire Xu had wanted to stay and keep her company, but Lauren Shaw insisted it wasn’t necessary, so Claire Xu had gone back to her own room.

Now, seeing Lauren Shaw’s improved state, Claire Xu thought to herself: love really does heal all wounds.

From the hallway came the sound of sobbing and wailing—heart-wrenching cries that made one’s chest tighten.

"My Yueyue… How could you think such thoughts? You were perfectly fine, and now you’re… gone!"

Fang Lin’s voice echoed through the corridor. Everyone had been staying in this hotel for the trip to East China, and last night’s banquet was held here as well.

The Snow family had rushed over last night. After weeping in the hospital, Fang Lin had returned to pack up Eva Snow’s things—her grief was overwhelming.

Claire Xu opened the door to find the Snow family gathered in the hallway.

Yvonne Sung stood with his head bowed, completely silent.

Fang Lin glared at him with hatred, fists clenched, striking him in her anguish. "It’s all your fault! You heartless bastard! I entrusted my daughter to you, and this is how you treated her? Tell me—did you kill her?"

"Enough," came Xue Qiang’s voice, trying to protect Yvonne Sung. "Yuche didn’t do anything. The police said he was in the banquet hall the whole time."

Fang Lin, inconsolable, nearly fainted from crying. She pointed at Yvonne Sung, her words laced with venom. "Don’t think I don’t know what you’ve been up to behind our backs. You wanted Yueyue gone, just so you could be with that woman!"

Yvonne Sung met her gaze without flinching, voice firm. "I didn’t harm Eva Snow."

Then Mandy Snow spoke up, "Second brother, second sister-in-law, if you must blame someone, blame me. I failed to look after Eva Snow."

Xue Qiang sighed heavily. "Enough, what’s done is done. The dead can’t return. Let’s talk about this at home. Don’t put on a show for outsiders."

Lauren Shaw watched as they walked away, and behind her, she heard applause.

"Impressive. This really is quite the melodrama."

Mo Qinglin’s voice dripped with mockery and amusement, as if someone’s death meant nothing to him.

Lauren Shaw shot him a cool glance and turned to re-enter her room, but he called after her.

"Don’t you think there’s something suspicious about this case, Miss Li?"

"What’s it got to do with me?" Lauren Shaw did find it odd, but it had nothing to do with her. The truth, to her, was irrelevant.

"You’re right. Eva Snow was pretty insufferable—maybe she crossed the wrong person. If she was murdered, maybe she deserved it."

Hearing Mo Qinglin put it that way, Lauren Shaw felt a wave of nausea. "Are you suggesting Eva Snow didn’t kill herself—that someone murdered her?"

Mo Qinglin shrugged. "I doubt anyone in the Snow family really cares about the truth."

Judging by the reactions of Xue Qiang and Mandy Snow, it was obvious they didn’t want to dig deeper. Of the whole family, Fang Lin seemed to be the only one who truly loved Eva Snow.

"Whatever the truth is, it has nothing to do with us. If you know something, maybe tell the Snow family—or the police investigating."

Yancy Shaw’s eyes were cold as he pulled Lauren Shaw into his arms, staking his claim.

"Didn’t we say we’d have lunch with Uncle? He just called."

"I nearly forgot!" Lauren Shaw said, hurrying inside to call Owen Shaw.

Mo Qinglin couldn’t resist teasing, "Third Young Master Shen, you really dote on your wife—rushing over at the first sign of trouble."

Yancy Shaw shot him a cold look and sneered, "I do what I want. Mind your own business."

With that, he shut the door with a resounding bang.