The Indifferent Ex-Husband: Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate novel Chapter 599

"This is the designer's profile," Kent said.

Brandon snatched it up, flipping through it at lightning speed, his eyes scanning the text on the pages just as quickly.

When the name "Arlene" popped up, his brows furrowed instantly, and his hands swiftly flipped through a few more pages, but he found no mention of Sophia.

Watching Brandon's frown deepening, a mix of confusion and disappointment weaving across his handsome face, Kent noticed how Brandon's grip on the materials didn't wane, as he kept rifling through the pages, determined to dig out any trace of Sophia from the documents.

"Don had his suspicions about the designer's identity when he saw the design proposal this afternoon. He called me up to ask about the designer," Kent shared. "Then I reached out to President Poe, and he provided me with a brief on the designer."

"I had someone look into Arlene based on that info, and what you've got there is the most detailed report we've managed to pull together on her so far," Kent added.

Brandon's frown deepened, and he glanced at the papers in his hand.

According to the documents, apart from her age and college major, which were similar to Sophia's, there was nothing else that linked Arlene to her.

She was also from Zenitha, but she went abroad for high school and also attended university overseas.

Her family had a bit of a reputation back home, big house, big business – she seemed like a girl who grew up with a silver spoon in her mouth. But looking at her schooling, it didn't quite fit – she didn't even live with her family.

"She's got a twin sister named Audrey Bright, who, rumor has it, married into the Ferber family four years ago, tying the knot with Harvey Ferber," Kent mentioned.

Brandon's brows knitted together, and he looked at Kent.

"The Harvey Ferber from the Ferber Group," Kent confirmed. "The overseas media covered the wedding back in the day, but the news might have been hushed up since you can't find anything online anymore. The PI firm I hired said their inside scoop is that the bride was actually Arlene, but none of this has ever been confirmed. As of now, the Ferber family doesn't utter a peep about the marriage."

Brandon's frown tightened as he eyed the documents.

There wasn't a single photo of Arlene, which was odd – unless the background info had been tampered with.

"The detectives also said Arlene's photo records had been doctored, so they couldn't find any snaps of her," Kent continued. "But Arlene is definitely real, she studied architectural design in college. Harvey Ferber is looking for someone named Arlene."

Kent handed over another set of documents. "This is some info the PI firm dug up. Harvey Ferber has been scouring the globe for Arlene these past few years. Including his recent trip to Zion City and the West district on a cruise ship, supposedly for work, but really to find someone."

Brandon barely glanced at the papers before looking back at Kent. "So this Arlene is the one Harvey Ferber's after?"

His heart sank, that faint glimmer of hope snuffed out once again.

He didn't care who Harvey Ferber was searching for or what kind of drama he had with this Arlene chick. But if even Harvey Ferber was on the hunt for her, it pretty much confirmed she wasn't just some phantom – she had been around for real, which meant she couldn't be Sophia in disguise.

Seeing the light die in Brandon's eyes, Kent felt a pang of pity but still nodded. "According to President Poe's designer profile, she's the one Harvey Ferber's looking for."

"Here's another set of Arlene's records from President Poe, with a photo," Kent said, handing over more documents.

"Got the designer's number?" Brandon asked. "Toss it my way."

"No number for now, but she's got WhatsApp," Kent replied as he whipped out his phone, fired up WhatsApp, and slid the designer's contact info Brandon's way, as recommended by President Poe. "I shot her a friend request this afternoon, but she hasn't bitten yet. Looks like it's just a backup work number or something."

While they were chatting, Kent had already pushed the designer's WhatsApp contact to Brandon.

Brandon's gaze snapped back to the WhatsApp contact on his phone, a bit spaced out.

"Mr. Crawley?" Kent looked at him, puzzled.

Brandon didn't respond, just silently opened the WhatsApp contact, tapped "Add contact," typed in "This is Brandon" for the verification message, and hit "Send."

Sophia was just about ready to hit the hay after soaking her feet when her phone pinged with a WhatsApp notification.

The weather had taken a chilly turn today, and after a day out, she wasn't sure if she'd caught a cold or what, but she came back home feeling all foggy-headed with a scratchy throat.

She was just about to give her feet a warm soak to chase away the chill.

Her phone was resting on the couch nearby, and when it chimed, she casually shifted the book from her knees, grabbed the phone, and tapped open the new WhatsApp friend request.

Her eyes widened a bit when they landed on the words "This is Brandon."