Back in her room, Charlene pulled open a drawer only to find that the marriage certificate she kept there was gone.


    She distinctly remembered putting it back after Jasmine had looked at it a few days ago.


    Could Jasmine havee by in thest couple of days and taken it again?


    Charlene pressed her lips together and picked up her phone, about to call Jasmine, when a text from Thorne Henderson came through.


    [A major project in Golnd has run into some trouble. I''m on my way to the airport now. I won''t be able to make it to finalize things today. Sorry.]


    A frown deepened on her face, her expression darkened by the second. Losing herposure, she texted him back: [I can understand that you''re busy with work, but how many times has this been?!]


    She didn''t get an immediate reply. Whether Thorne was busy or already on the ne, she didn''t know, but a long while passed with no response.


    When Charlene arrived at the office, Stewart Ferguson saw her but didn''t seem as surprised as he usually was.


    He leaned in and whispered, "He flew to Golnd today because of that innovative drug project, right? So, you two still didn''t get it done?"


    Charlene was taken aback. "How did you know?"


    "Just saw the news. It''s all over the inte."


    Thorne''s text had only mentioned a major project, not which one. Hearing what Stewart said, she went online and saw that the problem was indeed serious. It was no wonder Thorne had rushed to Golnd.


    Stewart mused, "With him gone, he probably won''t be back for at least a week or two. You two aren''t going to end up not getting divorced this month again, are you?"


    Honestly, he never expected


    Charlene and Thorne''s divorce to be soplicated. He had thought that since they were both so determined, and the initial negotiations had gone so smoothly, the final step would be simple. Yet, one thing after another kept cropping up, preventing them from finalizing it.


    Charlene remained silent. While she could understand that Thorne had an emergency, she was still in a terrible mood.


    With other matters to attend to, she left the office without another word.


    Watching her teave, Stewart


    suddenly recalled some rumors circting online. They imed that the crisis with the Golnd project was actually a setup orchestrated by Thorne and other investors. They might look like they were on the back foot, but in reality, everything was under their control. Their goal was to clean house and force out their rivals.


    Of course, he had no connections in Golnd, so he had no way of knowing if the rumors were true.


    News of the Golnd project''s crisis spread so widely that the Hawkins and Spencer families were well aware of it. Vesta Hawkins also knew that Thorne had boarded a flight to Golnd early that morning.


    She fell silent upon receiving the news.


    Rhoda couldn''t help but mutter, "Today was supposed to be the day they finalized their divorce. How could it be such a coincidence?"


    Indeed. How could it be so coincidental?


    Leah Spencer, however, chimed in, "This is a huge project. Thorne probably just found out. It''s not like he deliberately manufactured a reason to go abroad just to avoid divorcing Charlene Mom, think you''re overthinking it."


    No one else responded. They all hoped that was the case. But they had no way of knowing if Thorne and Charlene had even made an appointment at the courthouse today, now that the mandatory cooling-off period had ended.