Chapter 11: Voice Recorder

The first show was scheduled for the next day. Abigail took the dress to her room for final checks to prevent unforeseen circumstances. When she opened her door, she was startled to find Sean sitting there.

He had returned to his company two days earlier, so she assumed he wouldn’t be back so soon. His sudden appearance in her room rattled her already tense nerves.

“You seem surprised to see me,” he remarked casually, setting down her notebook.

Abigail used the notebook to doodle dress patterns, often finding inspiration at random moments. She hadn’t expected Sean to go through it, especially since he had previously shown little interest in her work. “I heard you went back to work. Of course, I’m surprised to see you in my room,” she replied, quickly improvising an excuse. Composing herself, she held up the dress, entered the room, and closed the door.

He glanced at the dress. “Is Luna having you check the dress instead of working on it herself?”

“She wants me to check the details. She’s exhausted after working on it all day,” she explained.

He then turned his attention to her notebook. “Nice patterns. Did Luna ask you to learn this as well?”

Abigail hung the dress on a hanger, feeling slightly offended by Sean’s comment. Her mind was already weary from a long day’s work, and she couldn’t understand why Sean would ask that. “Yes. What do you think? Do I have enough talent to be a designer?”

“Not bad,” he acknowledged. “Many people lack talent, but hard work can compensate.”

She grunted and changed the subject. “A stranger pricked me last time. Have you found out who did it?”

“We did. I’ll handle it,” Sean calmly assured her.

She involuntarily looked at him, a hint of subtle mockery in her eyes. However, he seemed oblivious. She looked away, pretending to be interested in the dress, but her thoughts were elsewhere. She muttered to herself, “He’s going to sweep it under the rug because it’s related to someone named ‘Palmer.’” Holding the dress, she found the situation both amusing and pathetic, and thought, If he refuses to tell me, I will ask Luna to investigate.

“After you’re done, make sure to get some rest. You’re working harder than any assistant,” he advised before leaving.

The door closed, and Abigail was still stunned. She had expected Sean to stay longer, but it was just a brief visit. She entered the bathroom and splashed cold water on her face. Looking in the mirror, she frowned. She appeared vacant and worn; even she was repulsed by her appearance.

After a shower and some adjustments to the dress, she sewed a few patches to perfect the details.

An urgent knock on her door roused her from her groggy state the following day. It wasn’t even seven o’clock yet, and she knew the show, if it were today, wouldn’t start so early.

Approaching the door, Abigail was about to inquire about the visitor’s identity when Luna whispered, “Open up. It’s me, Luna.”

Abigail quickly opened the door, greeted by a pale Luna, which instantly alarmed her. “What’s wrong? Did you stay up all night?”

“No, I got some sleep, but I found this in the couch cushions this morning. Someone must have hidden it while we weren’t looking.” Luna showed Abigail the voice recorder and squeezed into her room.

Abigail took the recorder and examined it closely. “Did you turn it off, or did it run out of battery?”

“I turned it off. I checked the model, and it saves its files to a cloud system. We need a passcode to access the files,” Luna whispered.

Abigail’s heart skipped a beat. She swiftly grabbed her phone to scan the voice recorder, which directed her to an online shopping page. After inspecting the recorder’s details, Abigail frowned.

“The recorder’s battery is rechargeable. It can work all day and last for a week.”

She turned on the recorder, which still had two-thirds of its battery life. “Judging by the power usage, Joan must have secretly placed it here when she joined the livestreaming team, specifically when she sat down and asked you questions.”

Over the past two days, they had discussed their secrets at length, and Joan had likely gained access to the voice recordings through the cloud storage.

“No wonder she wasn’t concerned when we mentioned altering our clothes. This must be her plan. She thinks she can win first prize by exposing us,” Luna said, grabbing her hair in frustration.

“It’s possible,” Abigail responded solemnly.