The Cherished Wife (Noelle and Charles)
Chapter 457

After a while, the door finally opened. Suzy peeked out, giving Cody a once-over before fully opening the door. She looked up at him with a timid expression and croaked, "Cody." Her voice was hoarse, and she appeared utterly exhausted. Cody shot Suzy a quick nod, a shadow of a smirk flickering in his eyes. "Don't worry. The coast is clear, and my car's parked out back. We'll slip away, and no one will be the wiser."

Suzy's tension melted away. "Thanks, Cody!"

"Don't mention it," Cody said, shrugging off his jacket and handing it to Annie. "Wrap up in this, Ms. Atherton. Let's leave now. I've thrown them off our trail for now, but who knows when they'll catch on?" "Okay, Suzy. Put on my bro's jacket, and we'll leave!"

The trio made their escape through the hotel's back door. Suzy was still on edge in the car, her eyes glued to the rear window, half-expecting to see someone following them.

Seeing Suzy's panic, Annie felt a pang of guilt and squeezed her shoulder. "Hey, Suzy, do you want my bro to drop you off at your place?"

"No way. I can't go back, Annie. Can I stay with you? My parents will definitely flip out on me!" Suzy's voice was thick with dread, the mere thought of her parents' interrogation terrifying her.

"Bro..." Annie turned to Cody, her eyes pleading Cody's brow creased in thought. "Ms. Atherton's not up for going home, then... let's head to my place." Cody's villa was his seldom-used sanctuary on the outskirts of town, a place he would retreat to when he needed a break. It was quiet, visited only by a housekeeper a couple of times a week to keep it in order.

Annie shot Cody a quick look and nodded. "Okay." She turned to Suzy with a gentle voice. "Suzy, you can't just run from this. There's got to be a way to fix things. My brother and I will take you to the villa to chilt for a few days, but you can't dodge your parents forever, you know?"

"I get it. Thanks so much, Annie." Suzy wrapped Annie in a tight hug, the sibling pair's kindness warming her. "Annie, if you ever need anything, just tell me. I mean it."

After settling Suzy into the villa, Cody and Annie had to head out to deal with other stuff. The car ride was quiet until Cody broke the silence. "This mess wasn't your fault, Annie."

"Brother!" Annie's eyes brimmed with tears. "No, I messed up. I was so focused on keeping Noelle safe that I totally forgot about Simon" Yes, Simon. "I never thought he would go after Suzy like that!"

Cody's gaze turned steely as he

gave Annie's hand a reassuring pat. "Even if you had your eyes glued on Suzy, some things were just bound to happen. You can't stop everything." He shook his head.

"Just steer clear of people like

Winter She's bad news. Laste

it

was you, and this time, it's Suzy. Who knows who'll be next?" Cody clearly was not a fan of Winter. The girl did not care about anybody, let alone her own sister. It would have been someone else if it had not been Suzy last night. Winter would stop at nothing to get her way, even if it meant crossing someone as dangerous as Simon.

"I know." Recent events had only solidified Annie's perception of Winter. "Oh, Brother, about Charles..." Annie glanced around. "Brother, we're not on the way home!"