The two argued for a few more exchanges before the bickering next door abruptly stopped.
"BANG!"
A forceful door slam echoed, followed by a string of hurried, receding footsteps. It must have been Jared Carter leaving in a huff.
A few seconds later, the wooden door of the restroom was pushed open again, and another set of relatively steady footsteps sounded. Complete silence then returned to the men’s restroom.
Wendy Lynch let out a long, heavy breath. She felt completely drained; cold sweat had broken out on her forehead at some point. She had finally figured out the ins and outs of the whole situation. Two corporate parasites had a falling out over profits, and in the end, Kyler Lowell silenced Jared Carter permanently to settle things once and for all.
Now that she knew the killer and the motive, Wendy didn’t want to stay in this reeking public restroom for another second.
She reached out to press the flush button, but the moment her fingertips touched the cold metal, a violent shiver ran through her body. It was as if an electric spark had flashed across her mind.
"Wait!"
Wendy’s train of thought came to a screeching halt. She remembered the new future email she had received early this morning.
"The scenery at Mount Galen is absolutely beautiful!
"Kyler Lowell asked for my contact info. Could he be interested in me?"
In the new email, Jared hadn’t gone missing! Instead, Kyler had suddenly asked for her contact information.
Why?
She had clearly decided to stand by and do nothing. Logically, even if Kyler was the killer, he shouldn’t have approached her. She had done absolutely nothing. She had simply decided to wash her hands of the matter and hadn’t even brought the GPS tracker.
But... why had the timeline still been altered?
By all accounts, the two men’s negotiations had completely broken down. With the end of the year fast approaching, time was running out. This team-building trip was the perfect opportunity to strike. In the normal timeline, Kyler would make Jared disappear without a trace.
What exactly had happened to make him change his mind?
"Wait..."
In a flash, countless thoughts raced through Wendy’s mind.
"A variable!"
Only the introduction of a variable could cause a massive shift in the timeline. It took only a second for Wendy to realize that she—the recipient of future emails—was the biggest variable in the timeline!
If buying a GPS tracker would make her a police suspect, then her other actions would definitely become variables too. Even though she had decided to stay out of it, knowing the future meant she could no longer live exactly according to the original timeline.
A complete chain of cause and effect exploded in her mind!
Because she had decided to no longer interfere, she had suffered a sleepless night, leaving her exhausted. Because she was exhausted, she had chugged an entire bottle of iced latte this morning to wake up. Because of the iced latte, her stomach was upset, causing cramps. Because of the cramps, she ended up in this public restroom at this exact time! Because she was here, she had overheard all of Kyler and Jared’s secrets!
And thinking the two men had left, exhausted and drained, she had pressed the flush valve! The sound of the flush would definitely catch the attention of Kyler, who had just stepped out! He would immediately realize that while they were arguing, there had been someone in the women’s restroom cubicle the whole time! Someone who might have heard all their secrets!
So...
So that was why he hadn’t made a move against Jared during today’s team-building event as originally planned! Because he wasn’t sure if that person had heard anything, he aborted the plan!
That was why, in the new future email, he had proactively sought her out for her contact information!
It wasn’t some bullshit friendly gesture or romantic pursuit!
It was a probe! He was trying to confirm exactly how much she had heard!
Wendy’s finger stopped abruptly, less than a centimeter from the flush button. In an instant, she felt her back drenched in cold sweat. She had almost exposed herself!
She slowly pulled her finger back. She had to remain absolutely quiet right now, or she would likely draw his attention. Fighting back the nauseating stench of the restroom and the churning fear in her heart, Wendy waited silently in the cramped cubicle.
She didn’t dare take any risks. If Kyler set his sights on her, she would be in massive trouble.
"Wait! I have to wait!"
A full five minutes passed. Only when her legs began to go numb did she dare to carefully push open a crack in the cubicle door with her fingertips. There was no one outside. After confirming there was no movement from the men’s restroom either, Wendy quickly slipped out.
Not far away, wisps of cooking smoke were already rising from the barbecue area. Shirley Lowell was gathered with several female colleagues, animatedly discussing something.
Subconsciously, Wendy’s gaze drifted past the crowd toward the direction of another barbecue grill. There, she saw Kyler Lowell and Jared Carter. The two men were sitting together. Kyler still wore his signature affable smile as he skillfully flipped the skewers on the grill, while Jared acted as if nothing had happened, eating his skewers while looking down at his phone.
If she hadn’t heard their argument with her own ears, no one could have imagined that a life-and-death storm was brewing between these two men.
Seeing the skewers in their hands, Wendy’s heart finally settled back into her chest. It was obvious that Kyler and Jared had been back for a while. She hadn’t pressed the flush valve immediately, so she hadn’t alerted Kyler. The future timeline wouldn’t diverge because of her anymore. She had successfully extracted herself from this vortex.
However, this feeling of relief lasted less than three seconds. Wendy immediately thought of a terrifying scenario.
Since... Kyler hadn’t discovered her.
Then...
Would everything continue to unfold according to the original timeline?
Kyler would follow his original plan. Today. During this very team-building trip. He would make Jared disappear from this world entirely!
What should she do?
A fierce internal struggle waged within her.
Profiteering using company resources was indeed illegal. However, while Jared’s actions were despicable—and he arguably brought this upon himself—at the end of the day, it was merely an economic crime. No matter how you looked at it, he didn’t deserve to die! For Kyler to resort to such vicious measures just for the sake of his future prospects—it was far too ruthless!
Could she really just stand by and watch a human life vanish before her eyes?
The nightmare about Mirror Lake surfaced in her mind once again. That sense of powerlessness, the suffocating fear of being bound—it made it almost impossible to breathe.
Just as she was consumed by anxiety and battling her own conscience, her fingertips accidentally brushed against a hard object on her chest.
It was the DJI action camera!
"That’s right! The camera!"
Wendy’s eyes abruptly lit up! Just in case, when she left the house today, some inexplicable urge had prompted her to wear this action camera! Earlier in the restroom, she hadn’t paid it any mind at all.
Did that mean the entire conversation between Kyler and Jared had been recorded?!