Chapter 422: This Sea is a Bit Creepy

Chapter 422: Chapter 422: This Sea is a Bit Creepy

"You have that much free time at work?" This was something Renee Jennings hadn’t expected.

"Yeah," Diana Jennings said helplessly. "That’s why I always feel so uneasy at work."

"It’s okay, Sis," Renee Jennings said comfortingly. "Don’t overthink it. Just go with the flow."

Diana Jennings nodded. "Okay, I know. Let me massage your temples for a bit and see if it helps you fall asleep."

Renee Jennings couldn’t refuse her and said with a smile, "Thanks, Sis. It’s so nice to have a sister!"

"It’s great having a little sister, too." Diana Jennings’s eyes curved into a smile as her fingers gently massaged Renee’s temples.

The massage really worked. Before she knew it, Renee Jennings had drifted off to sleep.

Hearing Renee’s even, deep breaths, a smile touched Diana Jennings’s eyes. She covered her with a light blanket and carefully left the room.

In the early morning, a faint ray of sunlight slipped through a gap in the curtains, casting a slender beam across the marble floor.

The phone on the nightstand blared, waking the soundly sleeping person.

Renee Jennings groggily opened her eyes. After looking around, she finally located the source of the sound.

She stared at the phone, her mind still fuzzy with sleep.

It took her a few seconds to realize it was the burner phone Henry Stark had given her when he dropped her off last night.

Most of Renee Jennings’s sleepiness vanished in an instant. She grabbed the phone from the nightstand. Seeing the caller ID, she cleared her throat before answering.

"My dear Stella, good morning," the man’s voice came through, laced with a smile.

Renee Jennings pursed her lips and softly spoke his name, "Brother Shawn."

"Did you sleep well last night?"

"No, not at all," Renee Jennings said in a low voice. "I couldn’t sleep a wink. If this keeps up, I’m really going to die..."

"Stella, don’t be afraid. Brother Shawn is here to help you," the man said in a gentle voice. "This afternoon, how about I take you to the beach to watch the sunset? I promise, it will definitely ease your pain."

"No. To be more precise, I can make your pain disappear completely. Stella, do you trust Brother Shawn?"

"I..." Renee Jennings’s voice choked with a sob. "Brother Shawn, I trust you. You’re the only one who can help me, the only one who’s willing to help me."

"Silly girl," Sean Quinn coaxed. "Then from now on, will you listen to me?"

"Okay," Renee Jennings said. "I’ll do whatever you say."

The man seemed very satisfied and chuckled. "Stella, you’re so adorable. How could your mother bear to hurt someone as adorable as you? She’s so cruel."

He was intentionally bringing up a painful subject.

Renee Jennings frowned, forcing a sorrowful tone. "How could she be so cruel? I’m her daughter..."

"Stella, don’t be sad over someone who doesn’t love you," Sean Quinn’s tone grew even more gentle. "Come find Brother Shawn. From now on, Brother Shawn will love you very, very much."

"Okay, I’ll definitely come find you."

"Then will you do as Brother Shawn says, Stella?"

"Okay."

"Now, get excused from your classes. Then, put on something red and leave the school. Go to... there’s a phone there. Put your own phone away and only use the one I left for you, understand?"

"I understand."

"Good. Go on, then."

After hanging up, Renee Jennings immediately sent a message about it to the group chat and dialed Henry Stark’s number.

"Should I go to the place he mentioned now?" Renee Jennings asked.

Henry Stark said, "I’ll come pick you up."

Renee Jennings quickly washed up. In the walk-in closet, she found a plain red T-shirt to change into and also grabbed a white baseball cap.

"Renee, are you heading out?" Glenn Zane was cleaning on the first floor. "Do you want to have some breakfast before you go? Bella bought some bread yesterday to have for breakfast today."

"What kind of bread did she buy?" Renee Jennings asked.

Glenn Zane quickly put down her cleaning rag, ran to the kitchen, and took a few boxes of cake out of the refrigerator. She also brought over a bag of artisan bread that didn’t need to be refrigerated.

"Renee, see which one you’d like?"

"Why did she buy so much?"

"Bella said they were on sale, so she bought extra for breakfast."

"I’ll take a few then." Renee Jennings grabbed four rolls of artisan bread and four bottles of milk.

She ate the bread rolls while waiting for them at the villa’s entrance.

When Henry Stark and Sawyer arrived, she had just finished her milk.

"Have you guys eaten breakfast?" Renee Jennings asked as she got into the car, offering the artisan bread. "I brought some bread in case you’re hungry."

Sawyer had also prepared breakfast for her—steamed buns and Soy milk.

Renee Jennings said with a grin, "I can still eat a little more."

The three of them soon arrived at the location Sean Quinn had specified.

The car parked across the street from ValuMart.

The location was about three kilometers from Stella’s university.

Wearing a mask, Renee Jennings got out of the car. Following Sean Quinn’s instructions, she retrieved the phone he had stashed in a locker at the supermarket.

Along with a cheap smartphone, there was two hundred in cash.

Renee Jennings had just turned on the phone when a call came in.

She answered. "Hello?"

"Stella," Sean Quinn said. "You’re a little late."

Renee Jennings said, "Was I too slow? I’m sorry, I should have walked faster."

"You walked here?"

"Yeah."

"It’s alright," Sean Quinn said softly. "Brother Shawn isn’t blaming you. Did you put your own phone away?"

"I did. Was I a good girl?"

"Very good."

"So, what should I do now?"

Standing under a tree, Sean Quinn said with an unreadable smile, "Why don’t you go to the beach first and wait for Brother Shawn? The address is in the notepad app. The two hundred is for cab fare."

His tone seemed teasing. "Don’t walk there this time. Get in the cab, take a picture, and send it to me using that app with the black flower icon."

"I get it," Renee Jennings mumbled in response.

"Go on." Sean Quinn hung up and headed toward an academic building.

Zachary Conway and Kyle Morgan, dressed like cheerful college students, had blended into the campus and were keeping an eye on him.

"He wants me to take a cab to The Sea of Lycoris," Renee Jennings said as she got back in the car.

The Sea of Lycoris was in the outskirts of Zenvia. Most people considered the area to be a bit ominous; drownings were frequent, so even though the water was clear, almost no one ever went there for recreation.

Henry Stark frowned. "Have Sawyer find a taxi and take a picture to send him."

"Roger that!" Sawyer immediately replied. Taking Sean Quinn’s phone from Renee Jennings’s hand, he flagged down a taxi and—SNAP! SNAP!—took several pictures.

"Got ’em," Sawyer said, getting back into the rear seat. "Which one should we send him?"

"Okay." Renee Jennings took the phone, selected a photo, and opened the app with the black flower icon.

It must have been set up in advance, because a chat window opened as soon as she launched the app.

She sent one of the photos.

Sean Quinn replied quickly: [Good girl, Stella. Send Brother Shawn a video when you get to the beach, okay?]

[Okay.]

"So, should we head over to The Sea of Lycoris now?" Sawyer asked.

Henry Stark said calmly, "Let’s go to the supermarket first and buy something to eat. We can have lunch when we get there."

"Okay!"

"Go on and pick some things out."

Renee Jennings and Sawyer walked into the supermarket arm in arm.