Twisted Ties of Love
Chapter 422

That guy, Ryker, looked too much like him. Casey lightly touched the corner of his mouth, his fingers recoiled as if they had been burned.

He stared blankly at the photo, feeling a sting in his heart. It wasn't painful, but it was uncomfortable for him.

The Ryker in the photo was standing next to a woman, he pointed and asked, "Who's this?"

The matron answered, "That's Izabella, the one I talked about earlier."

Izabella in the photo looked thin, smiling at the camera, but her smile didn't reach her eyes, which were filled with loneliness. Casey gently rubbed her face in the photo with his thumb. That familiar feeling came back.

Casey stared at the photo then a wild thought suddenly popped into his head. The Izabella in the photo and the Izabella he knew were the same person.

People could change their appearance and voice, but not their eyes.

He stared directly into Izabella's eyes, it was as if they were looking at each other across an insurmountable gap in time and space.

Why did his heart hurt so deeply?

"How did she die?" Casey curiously asked.

The matron also felt uncomfortable when Izabella was mentioned, then her voice suddenly became hoarse, "She was burned to death, only 27 years old at the time."

Casey remembered Brett's words, instructing him to look up his ex-wife's name, he asked her again, "Do you know who her husband was?"

The matron didn't quite understand Casey's intention, first asking about Ryker, then Izabella, and now he was asking about Izabella's husband.

But she still answered him thoughtfully, "Brett, the president of the Windham Group."

When they got married in R City, it caused quite a stir, everyone said they were a perfect match.

Izabella often donated to orphanages so the matron was deeply impressed by her. She thought that Izabella had married the man she loved and would always be happy, but her smiles became less and less. Even on her 24th birthday, facing the children's blessings, her smile was a bit bitter.

Izabella sponsored many orphans, hospitals and schools, she helped many children go to school and receive treatment, but such a good person had to endure so much hardship, fate never favored her, and she left this world at the age of 27.

Thinking of that tragic event, the matron's eyes turned red.

When Casey heard the name "Brett", his breath paused, something flashed quickly through his mind, but it was too fast to catch.

Casey's gaze faltered slightly, but his expression remained unchanged.

Brett's ex-wife was named Izabella, and she was close to Ryker at the orphanage.

She was burned to death three years ago, only 27 years old at the time.

What was the connection between the deceased Izabella and the current Izabella? Other than a 50-60% resemblance and the same name, there was no connection to be found between them.

Their life trajectories were different, the people they met and the things they experienced were vastly different. The Izabella he knew was only 24 years old on her resume, she wasn't from the Salotti family, she was just an ordinary country girl, and she was never married, didn't know Ryker, and had no connection with Brett.

He always tried to numb himself, but for some reason, the look in Izabella's eyes when she looked at the corner of his mouth kept popping up in his mind. That look was full of affection, and she often stared at him blankly as if looking at someone else. She would sometimes touch his mouth and tell him to smile more.

Why should he smile more? Because he looked like Ryker when he smiled?

Casey didn't dare to think or ask too much.

Before he met Izabella, he always thought that he could accept and let go of things at will, solve problems when he encountered them, and wouldn't get stuck in a predicament. But now, just as Brett said, he was actually a coward, not even daring to take a step forward.

Casey took a photo from the album and asked for a favor, "Could you make a copy for me?"

The matron thought for a moment before replying, "You take it, you look like Ryker, it's fate."

Not only was he fated with Ryker, but also with Izabella. The matron didn't pay much attention to entertainment news, but many young people who helped out at the orphanage were fans of Casey, always discussing him in their free time.

At that time, they had been discussing Casey and Izabella the most, discussing how Casey defended Izabella on social media, and how well they matched each other.

Once, the matron walked by the lounge and heard the phrase "match made, match made" coming from inside. She thought someone had bumped into something, but when she opened the door, four or five young girls were holding their phones, their faces full of joy.

The matron looked at the man in front of her, although he looked like Ryker, he was not actually Ryker.

Ryker was not smart, his language skills were poor, and no matter how much he changed, the matron believed that he could never suddenly become a movie star.

"Thank you," Casey took out a bank card from his wallet, "This is my donation to the children, please keep it safe."

"Donations should go through the formal process."

Many artists did charity work, some were sincere, but some were just to increase their influence, to gain favor when negative events occurred, large donations could even quell many negative news. Some artists liked to make a big fuss about their charity work as if they couldn't wait to tell everyone how much money they spent and how many good deeds they did, a simple online search would bring up a lot.

That made it convenient for fans to defend them in the comments section.

This brought them to Kaley Cornett.

So, money was omnipotent, people couldn't control their own nature, but money could.

"No need for formalities, just keep it, the password is on the card," Casey put the card directly on the table, and then left that room with the photo.

On the way, he encountered several of his fans, after the initial excitement, seeing Casey again was not as out of control as before.

Casey put on his mask as he walked. When he got in the car, he shivered and his body was cold. Casey touched his face, it was cold, as if it was splashed with cold water, only then did he come back to his senses and looked out the car window, it was raining, no wonder he felt so cold.

Casey pulled out a photo from his pocket, staring at it intently. One moment, he'd look at Ryker who looked a lot like him, and then he'd look at the "Izabella" who resembled Izabella. For a moment, he couldn't tell them apart.

The rain started to pour, the weather was getting chilly, fall was leaving, and winter was approaching. The winters in R City were frigid, the kind of cold that seeped into their bones, making them cold inside and

out.

He remembered Izabella was always cold, so he'd need to stock up on warm stuff for the coming winter.

Driving his car, Casey had a lot on his mind. Somehow, it seemed to dull the pain in his heart as the windshield wipers swished back and forth.

Where should he go next after leaving the orphanage? He wanted to replace Izabella. He knew a shortcut that was close to where she was filming. The weather forecast showed it wasn't raining there and it should be warmer than the place he was at.

Raindrops were splattering on the roof of his car and the noise was deafening.

The mountain road was treacherous in that weather, not only was it raining heavily, but there was also fog. Despite the low visibility, Casey seemed oblivious to the danger and kept accelerating.

He was ignoring the outside conditions, just stepping on the gas and moving forward. The sound of wind and rain was in his ears, and when he drove a little faster, it sounded like distant cries to him.

Casey's hand was on the steering wheel, his gaze fixed on the road ahead. He felt a painful twinge in his chest so intense that his wrist and fingertips were frozen.

Suddenly, a high beam flashed over from around the corner. Casey instantly snapped back to reality, but it was too late. The tires slid sideways, and he crashed into the roadside.

Casey's head hit the car window, and he could feel the warm blood oozing from his forehead to his ears, causing goosebumps to rise on his skin.

Over at the "Blood Ties" set, the weather was also turning gloomy, and Izabella felt a jolt of unease.

The last time something bad happened, she had a similar premonition that something bad was going to happen.

After finishing a scene, Izabella sat in her chair to rest, while her makeup artist touched up her makeup. She sipped her water and checked her phone.

As expected, Kaley had started to make her move, hiring a bunch of netizens to circulate photos of Izabella and Brad dining alone. Additionally, she hired some people to comment, like, and share those posts, and in no time, it became a trending topic.

According to the photos taken by a passerby, Izabella and Brad were seen dining alone in a private room. Was it really just to discuss the script or was it something else?

[Are they really discussing the script? If so, why did he only invite Izabella and book a private room where no one could see inside?]

[If they were up to something sketchy, they wouldn't be so blatant about it. How could Izabella dare to get so close to Brad at this time?]

['Blood Ties' might not even air at this rate, with all the drama happening during its production.]

[I just checked and found out that 'Blood Ties' cost $420 million to produce. Can you even imagine? I heard even their catering is five-star.]

[Izabella must be in a tough spot right now. After all, Brad is suing Kristin Lasley, who's not only her coworker but also a main source of income for the company. With Brad clashing with Kristin because of her, Izabella must be having a hard time at work, facing trouble frequently. She needs to breach her contract to get out of that hell, but with her income in recent years, she certainly can't afford the hefty fine. That's why I guess she turned to Brad for financial help.]

[Is Brad financially supporting Izabella? There were rumors that she has a sponsor, could it be him?]

[Brad must be out of his mind, deciding to break his contract with Kristin for Izabella. Even though Kristin's work attitude sucks, her acting is mediocre, her work capacity is poor, she's not hardworking, she has a bad attitude, she is manipulative, and even her looks aren't as good as the supporting actors, but she's rich. I've heard the investors only invested in the project because of her. With two rich men backing her up, she can comfortably lie down and do nothing. No wonder she can casually use a stand-in on set.]

[What's wrong with Kristin using a stand-in? Do you know how hard she works? Do you know how many children in mountain villages she sponsors? She donated a million dollars last month.]

[I only said her acting is terrible. What does that have to do with her donations?]

[But she's a good person.]

[Would a good person let Ariana take Izabella's cat? Would a good person be two-faced in front of her coworkers?]

[I need to say something, I work on 'Blood Ties'. I need to clear up that the investors did not invest in the project because of Kristin, it was someone else. They even fought the other day.] This comment was quickly buried in the ensuing arguments.

[Kristin's character and acting are both bad, and her fans are even worse, encouraging minors to attack Izabella. They should be sent to juvenile detention and compensate for the damages they have delt.] The controversy online was unending, but one had to admit that Kristin's strategy was quite successful. It might not have completely shifted the public's focus, but it did divert a lot of attention away from her fans' actions.

During their breaks on set, the crew would either read their scripts or relax on their phones, so naturally, they saw the trending topics.

"Didn't see you and Mr. York at lunch today, turns out you guys went to have a meal alone, and you didn't even invite me." Garen approached Izabella, "Tell me the truth, where were you and Mr. York?" "We went to eat," Izabella replied curtly.

"I don't believe it, the food here is so good," Garen looked at Izabella and sighed, "I don't know if you're genuinely clueless or pretending to be, but there have been rumors about you and Mr. York online these past few days. We all know what kind of person you are and what your relationship with Mr. York is like, but the outside world doesn't. They could blow any little thing out of proportion. You should keep your distance from Mr. York for now, at least until this all blows over."