Victoria Garcia left Arnold Johnson's house without any lingering attachments.
In the huge villa, he was the only one left, an empty shell. He stood on the balcony, watching Victoria get in the car, then watched it slowly drive away in the snow, leaving behind a road with no end in sight.
His phone rang, and Arnold picked it up to answer the call.
There was a man's voice on the other end of the line.
"Director Johnson, everything has been taken care of."
"Mm-hmm." Arnold replied in a low voice.
"I've arranged people to watch every place, replaced the relevant people in prison with our trusted associates, and those who mistreated Josephine will receive their due punishment." Keith Lee spoke to Arnold on the phone, being careful not to misspeak a single word.
"After 24 hours, proceed as planned."
"Understood." Keith replied, hesitating for a moment before asking, "Is the backup plan still necessary now?"
"No need." Arnold answered and then hung up the phone.
He only prepared one road for her to take.
His gaze swept out the window at the flurry of snow, and suddenly a short-haired, delicate, and cold face appeared in the snowy darkness.
Arnold's gaze lingered there, as if he was afraid of losing something important.
The white snowflakes and Arnold's solitary dark silhouette, motionless, formed a stark contrast in the snowy night of the Metropolis.
On the second day, the snow persisted, and the roads outside the window were clogged with traffic.
Victoria had not slept well the previous night, plagued by nightmares.
She had class today, but Victoria had already taken a leave from her International Management professor.
At the breakfast shop downstairs, she ordered a bowl of wontons. Her picky stomach quickly reacted, and after just one bite, she couldn't eat any more. The more she loved something, the pickier she became.
Rather than eating any more, she would leave it untouched.
As she left the breakfast shop, she checked her watch. It was 9:25 AM. She put on the hood of her down jacket and decided to walk for 30 minutes.
Underneath her loose black down jacket was a dark gray knitted half skirt, and she wore simple white sneakers. Black, white, and gray were the constant colors of her wardrobe.
Arnold in the car followed her at a certain distance, watching her step deep into the snow, her steps disordered, lacking a child's playfulness but filled with an adult's melancholy.
"Director Johnson, it's snowing heavily today. Do you need me to postpone your 10 o'clock meeting?" Keith asked over the phone.
Arnold's gaze kept following Victoria's figure up ahead.
"No need." Arnold said and then hung up the phone.
Arnold drove the car slowly, following her stealthily for a while, before turning east at a crossroads.
Victoria, turning her fourth corner, found herself in front of a club called "Reading."
After she entered and gave the name of her appointment, the receptionist handed her a dark gold card, which allowed her to enter the private room.
Glancing at the time, Victoria saw that there were still 30 minutes before her 10:30 appointment, so instead of going straight to the private room, she entered the Open Library to the side...