Forbidden Passion
Chapter 488 Missed

Phoebe spun around in Theodore's arms, her hand reaching up to touch his chiseled face. Her eyes traced a path from his forehead to his brows, then down to his eyes, sliding along the bridge of his nose, and finally landing on his thin lips. She got on her tiptoes and planted a kiss on his lips.

Theodore's eyes widened, and his grip on Phoebe's waist tightened, a hint of excitement creeping in.

Breaking the silence, he suggested, "Babe, let's head back to the bedroom."

Phoebe just wanted a kiss, but things escalated quickly. When he scooped her up, she snapped back to reality. "I haven't taken my meds yet." "Not tonight," said Theodore.

He leaned down and kissed her, silencing all her protests. In that moment, he wasn't taking no for an answer.

After a night of passion, Phoebe couldn't get out of bed the next morning. She slept until the afternoon, only to be woken up by her phone ringing. Phoebe glanced at the caller ID, and her sleepy brain cleared up a bit.

She wrapped herself in the blanket and sat up, answering the call. Donovan's cold voice came through. "Phoebe, where are you?"

Phoebe shivered at Donovan's tone. She looked around and said, "I'm at the Imperial Apartment. What's up?"

"I'll come get you right now." Donovan hung up before she could respond.

Phoebe sat there, staring at her phone. Donovan rarely called her, and even more rarely spoke to her like that.

She thought, 'Is something wrong?'

Phoebe got out of bed, took a shower, and then walked into the walk-in closet wrapped in a bathrobe. The dress she planned to wear tonight was hanging there. She had to admit, Nathaniel's craftsmanship was top-notch. The dress was stunning.

Tonight, she'd wear that dress and stand beside Theodore, receiving everyone's blessings. From today on, they wouldn't be secretly married anymore.

They'd truly belong to each other, both in private and in public. Theodore would represent her, and she would represent Theodore.

Phoebe gently stroked the pink dress, feeling a rush of excitement. She really wished time would speed up.

After changing, she saw several missed calls on her phone, all from Donovan. A sense of unease crept in.

The last time Donovan called her this much was when something went down in Starfall City.

She frowned and called him back. Donovan's tone was sharp. "I called you several times. Why didn't you answer? I'm in the underground garage. Get down here, quick." "Donovan, what's going on?" Phoebe grabbed her bag and headed for the door.

Donovan didn't explain. "Just get down here, quick."

Before Phoebe could say anything, Donovan hung up again. She put on her shoes and went out, waiting for the elevator.

At the same time, Theodore was standing in front of the elevator with a bouquet of lilies. He and Phoebe pressed the elevator button almost at the same time.

The elevator started moving. Phoebe clutched her bag strap, her unease growing stronger. When the elevator arrived, she stepped in and pressed the button for the basement level.

As the elevator descended, she watched the numbers go down, wondering what was so urgent that Donovan needed to see her.

She glanced at the time and thought, 'Taylor's banquet starts at seven. It's four now. I should have enough time to come back and change into my dress, right?'

The elevator kept going down. When it hit the first floor, Phoebe felt a weird vibe. She glanced at the elevator doors, and Theodore, standing outside, seemed to feel it too.

He looked up at the doors. For a split second, they locked eyes through the doors. But then, the elevator ignored the first-floor stop and kept descending.

When the doors finally opened, Phoebe stepped out and immediately spotted Donovan's car parked nearby. She walked over slowly, opened the passenger door, and got in. Donovan started the car without a word and drove out of the underground garage.

The car was warm, making Phoebe feel a bit drowsy. She asked, "Donovan, what's so urgent that you needed to find me?" Donovan, gripping the steering wheel, glanced at her and noticed the hickey on her neck. He frowned. "I'll tell you later." Phoebe pursed her lips, watching the car leave the garage and merge onto the main road. Her unease grew stronger. Despite her growing unease, the presence of her brother beside her made her doubts feel unfounded.

When the elevator returned to the first floor, Theodore walked in, catching a lingering scent in the air.

He thought, 'Phoebe should still be in bed, right?'

He had let Phoebe sleep until after nine in the morning. She wouldn't get up until five or six in the afternoon. Thinking about how he was going to announce to the world tonight that Phoebe was his wife, he felt particularly satisfied. Theodore walked out of the elevator with the flowers and returned to the apartment. At the entrance, he changed his shoes and saw Phoebe's slippers neatly placed on the carpet.

He furrowed his brow and glanced towards the living room. "Phoebe, are you awake?" he called out.

The living room was empty. Theodore could even hear his own echo, but there was no response from Phoebe. He walked in with the flowers.

Ollie was lying on the cat tree, lazily stretching its limbs. When it saw Theodore, it jumped down and followed him to the master bedroom.

Theodore pushed open the master bedroom door. The bed was messy, but there was no sign of Phoebe. He checked the bathroom and the walk-in closet.

The dress was still hanging there, and the bathrobe was next to it. He touched it, and it still retained Phoebe's body heat, indicating she had just changed out of it. He quickly took out his phone to call Phoebe.

The phone rang, and Phoebe took out her phone. Seeing the caller ID, she was about to answer when Donovan snatched the phone from her.

Phoebe tried to grab her phone back, but Donovan turned it off and put it in the door's storage compartment on his side. Phoebe was puzzled. "Donovan, what are you doing?" she asked. "Phoebe, do you know how our dad died?" Donovan turned to question Phoebe, his eyes bloodshot and filled with hatred.

Phoebe froze. "Didn't Mom say Dad died in a shipwreck?"

"No, he was murdered." Donovan took a deep breath. "I know you won't believe anything without evidence, and I don't want to say much now."

Phoebe's heart kept sinking. She had a feeling that whatever Donovan was about to tell her, it was something she didn't want to hear.

All these years, she had always believed that Harper died in a shipwreck. But now Donovan was telling her that Harper was murdered.

Why so suddenly?

The car continued forward. In winter, it got dark particularly early in Kedora. The streetlights on both sides of the road lit up one by one, as beautiful as the Milky Way.

However, they were not in the mood to appreciate this rare beauty. The car finally stopped in front of a very old apartment building, where they used to live.

Donovan unbuckled his seatbelt, his voice indifferent. "Get out of the car. There's something upstairs you need to see."