The Divorced Billionaire Heiress
Chapter 2197

Chapter 2197 Never Coming Back

Nicole stood on the edge of the cliff with an ashen face and watched as the murky yellowish water slapped against the shore down below. The canyon was frighteningly deep with mountains towering on both sides.

She gritted her teeth as she thought about the man falling into the river and disappearing in an instant.

Clayton was so cruel for not saying goodbye to her.

Grant watched from a distance and was ready to take her away at any time.

Nicole looked so pitiful.

He was really afraid that his sister would jump off in a moment of delirium.

Fortunately, she did not.

The sky gradually turned dark.

Eric wanted to leave, but he was still worried about Nicole.

Grant glanced at Eric and said calmly, "Don't worry, Mr. Ferguson. My sister will be fine."

Eric nodded before he walked away.

Grant walked over and looked at the scene in front of him, feeling heartbroken.

"Lil N, I don't know how to comfort you. It may be a good thing that we haven't found Clayton yet. Maybe he'll come back by himself in a few days?"

When Nicole heard this, her tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.

"Brother, he's never coming back... I've been looking for him for two days. He's really dead..."

It was painful for her to admit that Clayton was dead.

Nicole had been in denial and was expecting a miracle, but the miracle did not happen.

Grant's heart ached for her, and he patted her on the shoulder.

"I know. But you still have a long future ahead. Dad stayed up all night because of you, and you still have Chatty. Even if Clayton doesn't come back, you should love her twice as much on his behalf and take good care of her. You can't let Clayton know that no one is there to pamper his precious daughter."

Nicole stood there. Her voice choked up and was almost too sad to speak.

"Brother, every second I stand here, I'm holding myself back from jumping off. But how can I convince myself and tell Chatty that Clayton won't be coming back again?"

Grant knew that Nicole was devastated. He sighed, took a deep breath, and let her cry her heart out so that she could let go of her bottled-up emotions without any worries.

She could only release all her pain here.

Time passed by the minute.

Grant carried Nicole, who fainted from crying, back to the hotel.

Nicole never showed up again during the subsequent search and rescue missions.

That was because everyone knew that Clayton could not be found.

Even if he was found, he would not look the same as before.

Nicole would rather not see that scene.

Perhaps it was for the best that there was no conclusion.

Stanton Corporation and Ferguson Corporation were the two companies that donated the most money and supplies for this earthquake.

It was on the hot topics for a while.

However, both companies tacitly declined the interview.

For a time, everyone praised the two companies on the internet.

Nicole's and Eric's past was inevitably brought up again.

However, their fans were reasonable this time.

They knew that love could not be forced.

There was no point feeling entangled.

Not long after, the death toll from the earthquake changed from 21 to 22 dead.

This change in numbers caught everyone's attention.

That was because along with the new death toll, gossip spread that the 22nd death was Nicole's husband, Clayton Sloan.

This caused an uproar on the internet.

[It's not true! It must be a rumor. Let's wait for them to dispel this rumor!]

[How could you be so wicked in spreading such news? Stanton Corporation will sue you until you go bankrupt!]

[It must be a rumor. I just saw them being all lovey-dovey a few days ago!]

[But there were many witnesses at the time of the earthquake. I heard that Goddess Nicole fainted several times while searching for Mr. Sloan.]

[Is this true? What a pity!]

[Mr. Sloan didn't come out to clarify this for so long... Could it be real...?]

Grant did not expect the netizens to be so enthusiastic about discussing his family's affairs.

The gossip did not die down but intensified.

Grant could not make a statement because they would not admit that the 22nd death was Clayton.

Otherwise, that would be adding salt to Nicole's wounds.

However, he could not allow this to fester.

Grant thought about it for a while, then took his phone and called the PR department and Kai.

The public relations department quickly contacted the platform. The platform began to limit the traffic and withdraw the hot topic.

Kai also diverted the netizens' attention with gossip from Falcon Entertainment's popular actor.

Soon, the news of the actor's marriage spread. There were even photos of him and his wife returning to the apartment together.

The actor always maintained a bachelor persona.

Now that he was exposed, the netizens did not let this go.

Thus, news about Clayton stopped after a while.

Kai saw that the hot topic was finally back to normal and sighed.

Dominic called Kai and was puzzled.

"Shouldn't you weigh the consequences if you want to divert the attention? Can't we just replace some menial gossip and blow it up? Why do we have to sacrifice so much? It took so much effort to make him popular. He's on track to become a A-lister..."

"Shut up! Don't annoy me. No one is more important than my sister!"

Kai hung up the phone while he cursed.

Dominic was speechless.

Nicole followed them back.

Floyd was concerned about leaving Chatty alone with Nicole, so he asked them to move back to the mansion.

During this period of time, most of the Stanton family did not return to their separate residences and lived in the mansion. Even Julie, who was always out, stayed in the mansion every day to chat with Nicole in hopes of diverting her attention.

Nicole looked normal, but everyone could vaguely sense Nicole zoning out from time to time.

That silence seemed to be a sign that life was withering from her.

No one mentioned Clayton's funeral because they still did not replace his body.

They were also afraid that Nicole would not be able to take it.

If accepting the news of Clayton's death made Nicole feel that life was meaningless, they would rather keep this sliver of hope for Nicole.

They just looked forward to the day when Nicole could let go of Clayton on her own initiative.

Chatty had been asking about her dad for several days because she did not see him. Thus, Grant thought of sending Chatty to school with Levi. Although Chatty was not used to it at first, Levi took good care of his younger sister.

Chatty's little follower, Fischer, also went to the same school.

Nicole stayed at home for a few days and was ready to go to work again.

Floyd saw her carrying a bag and leaving, so he quickly said, "You should take a few more days off. Your brother is overseeing the company anyway!" Nicole smiled and said indifferently, "I need to replace something to do. Otherwise, I'll start to overthink. Dad, did you hear any sounds at night?"

Floyd was puzzled. "What sound? I didn't hear anything."

Nicole hesitated for a few seconds and stopped asking.

"I could hear some noise at night and thought that some people were arguing outside. Forget it... Maybe I misheard it."

After she finished speaking, she left the house.

Floyd had a bad feeling about it.

Although Floyd slept less as he aged, he slept soundly and only woke up earlier than usual.

Moreover, the sound insulation of the mansion was great, so there should not be any noise.

Floyd watched worriedly as Nicole left.

He wanted to stop her, but Nicole was right. Rather than letting her mind go wild at home, it was better to go out and work.

His heart clenched. He then turned around and went to Kai's room.