Beyond the Divorce

I understood Lauren was worried about embarrassing Jared.

"No worries. After all, you're the eldest. Some things are hard for Ivanna to say. You're the big sister of the family, and it's only natural to speak to him about it," I told Lauren. "Alright, I'll see how it goes."

We walked out together, and at the elevator, we saw Adelaide. She noticed me coming out and quickly put on her standard smile. "Ms. Chloe, are you also done for the day?" I nodded, and Lauren's eyes shifted to Adelaide. She asked casually, "Is she new here?"

"Mhmm," I responded without introducing them.

We reached the underground garage and got into our respective cars. I headed straight to the club Theo chose.

The location of this club made it convenient for me to return to Pleca Park. I didn't rush to get out of the car. Instead, I called Atlas, and he answered promptly.

"Honey!"

"Are you going with Jared later?" I asked directly. "I noticed that the place I'm going to is closer to Pleca Park, so let's just head back there after we're done."

"Jared's location should be in that area, too, so I'll keep you updated," he replied. "I also have a quick meeting to attend."

"Alright, you go ahead."

I hung up the phone and quickly got out of the car.

It was no surprise that Ivanna said he had not woken up yet. It seemed like Atlas's schedule took precedence.

When I entered the private room, Theo and the others were already there. There were seven people, with only two girls.

They all seemed delighted to see me. They stood up, greeting, "Ms. Chloe, you're here."

"Why are you all so early?" I walked over and sat in the middle of them.

Theo laughed and said, "We're all eager to see you. These are the ones I mentioned, all with decent jobs. We thought it would be good to have a proper chat, so we've been looking forward to it." "Why isn't Ivanna here?" The only female classmate asked, pulling me aside.

Her name was Edith, and she got along well with Ivanna during our school days. She was not at the last gathering.

"She had something going on today, so she couldn't make it and was quite anxious!" I explained, then asked her, "Edith, why didn't I see you last time?"

"I was on a business trip and just

returned a few days ago. Theo arranged this, so I can't miss it. If it was Michelle, I could forgo it. They also said that no one would've gone if it weren't because you were attending last time."

Edith smiled.

I chuckled. "It seems everyone has given up on Michelle!"

It prompted a round of complaints from them.

Theo then looked at me and got to the point. "Chloe, I have bad news about Beatrice."

I became serious. "What do you mean, bad news?"

"She...might be in a mental institution?" Theo hesitated to say.

"What?" This news shocked me. "A mental institution?"

The others were also somewhat surprised.

"This is the latest information I've gotten. It seems the Chandler family has covered up the information tightly. I found this out when I visited them again. I had to go through a lot of trouble for this," Theo said.

"How could this happen?" I found it hard to believe. "Beatrice is such an outgoing and cheerful girl. How could she end up there?"

The others nodded in agreement, and Edith asked Theo, "Are you sure about this?"

"It should be accurate, but I haven't

had a chance to confirm where

she's being held. I ask

and learned of a well-known

psychiatric hospital in the county below Gerby. I'm guessing that's where she'll be."

"Who gave you this information?" I asked urgently.Content from NôvelDr(a)ma.Org.

"I went to Gerby this week on purpose and went to the Chandler family again. Their attitude was as nasty as before."

Theo, recalling the situation, appeared to be frightened.