?Chapter 861:


    Baldrick, emerging from the coffee room, also peered at Harlee worriedly.


    He had dispatched several of his people to scour the area beneath the cliff, but reports suggested that Rhys could have been carried off by the river.


    Sensing their concerned looks, Harlee didn’t raise her eyes from her phone.


    “Don’t worry about me. I’m okay.”


    Albin took a deep breath, his eyes pleading as he nced at Tonya. It seemed clear to him that Harlee was anything but okay.


    Normally chatty, Tonya found herself at a loss for words now. She understood Harlee was trying to reassure them by iming she was okay, even though she was likely more devastated by Rhys’ incident than anyone else.


    Baldrick pocketed his phone, took in Tonya and Albin’s troubled faces and Harlee’s stoic demeanor, and then sat down as if nothing had happened.


    Baldrick spoke up, steering the conversation elsewhere.


    “Bettie knew you’d be here today, so she insisted on going grocery shopping herself. She’s in the kitchen now, cooking for you.”


    Albin, who had just been kicked out by Bettie Robinson, his mother, excitedly raised his hand.


    “My mom said she’s preparing dishes that Harlee and Tonya will love!” Harlee stowed her phone and looked up.


    “I’m going to see her.”


    Tonya’s eyes lit up, and a small smile crossed her face.


    Baldrick always knew how to manage these situations well.


    Your new favorite stories are at gα?ησν????s


    Tonya eximed, “Harlee, wait for me! I’ming to the kitchen too.”


    Hearing this, Harlee quickened her steps.


    “No, you’ll just end uppeting with me to be the taste-tester…” They departed one after another, leaving Baldrick and Albin to watch them leave.


    Once Harlee and Tonya were in the kitchen, Albin leaned in to whisper to Baldrick, “Dad, is Harlee really alright?”


    Baldrick pulled on Albin’s ear.


    “Kids like you shouldn’t ask so many questions! And never bring up Rhys’ incident in front of Harlee again, got it?”


    Albin rolled his eyes.


    At twenty, he hardly considered himself a kid. If he was still a child, then surely there were no adults around.


    Despite his internalints, he nodded.


    “Understood.”


    Meanwhile, in a secure facility, cell 404, Hale sat brooding, his gaze fixed on the false news Aldrich had intentionally spread. It was a report of the joyous wedding of Harlee and Rhys, just as promised.


    Aldrich casually stood outside the ss window, munching on chips. This degree of resentment from Hale wasn’t sufficient.


    He needed Hale to descend into madness, which would enable him to advance to the next phase.


    Aldrich pped his hands and changed the channel, where the praise for the loving couple, Harlee and Rhys, became even more vivid and intense.


    .


    .


    .