Broken Oath: I Left, He Regretted-Chapter 173: Memories with Naomi Sawyer

Timothy Xavier sprinted up the staircase in his leather shoes, his chest filled with air heated by his rapid breathing, his ears echoing with nothing but his heavy panting and frantic heartbeat.

When he glimpsed that profile in the women’s clothing section, he thought he was mistaken.

But in the next second, as that figure turned and entered the elevator, Timothy was certain—it was Naomi!

Timothy almost roared as he rushed out, his footsteps uncontrollably fast.

But he was still a step too late.

The elevator doors closed, and the numbers began to drop.

Without thinking, he spun around and dashed towards the staircase.

But when he stumbled out to the entrance of the mall, the elevator she had just entered was already going back up.

He was late again!

Timothy stood frozen in place, his fingertips trembling slightly, shaking his head in disbelief.

He couldn’t be wrong, that was Naomi, it had to be Naomi!

They were so in love, he had given his all to her, why would she create the illusion of her own death?

Where had she been all this time? Why did she leave him?

Countless questions flooded in like a tide, leaving Timothy’s mind in chaos.

But the next second, he suddenly thought, as long as he looked at the surveillance from the women’s clothing section and the elevator just now, he could confirm her face, confirm if it was her, and even trace her whereabouts!

Timothy turned and strode toward the mall’s surveillance room, each step heavy and almost impatient.

But on his way to the surveillance room, Ethan Xavier blocked his path.

"Yo, isn’t this my brother?"

Ethan’s usual sarcastic tone stopped him in his tracks, preventing him from leaving as he casually chatted: "What are you up to? Catching a thief?"

Timothy gritted his teeth and said, "Get lost!"

He grabbed Ethan’s collar and shoved him aside. Ethan staggered, but luckily Katherine Sheldon hurried over to support him.

"Ethan, are you okay?"

She looked concerned, then turned to Timothy and said, "Timothy, I know you’re still upset about being dismissed last time and blame Ethan. But remember, you’re brothers. You shouldn’t just hit him like this."

Timothy seemed to see right through Katherine and looked coldly past her, determined to leave.

But Ethan blocked him again, "Timothy, you hit me and just want to leave? Apologize!"

"Ethan, have you lost your mind?"

Timothy cursed angrily, his mind preoccupied with finding Naomi through the surveillance room.

He shouted sternly, "You’d better get out of my way immediately, or it won’t just be a shove next time!"

Just then, Douglas Xavier’s authoritative voice cut through the tension.

"What? Are you planning to commit murder?"

Douglas was approaching with several executives.

Timothy remembered that Douglas had recently completed the acquisition of this mall and was probably here for an inspection.

He said coldly, "I’m busy, I don’t have time to argue with you."

But Douglas replied, "Timothy, try taking one more step! Don’t think that holding shares of the Xavier Group means you can do whatever you want! I’m the chairman now, and if you want to keep your position, don’t anger me!"

Timothy forced himself to stop, clenching his fists tightly.

Indeed, Douglas had enough power to remove him from the Xavier Group.

Even with shares, he was at most a ’Wealthy Prince.’

Leaving the Xavier Group meant losing access to its core operations, let alone ousting Douglas and Ethan.

Timothy understood the wisdom of adapting to circumstances.

Except when it came to Zoe Ellison, he was willing to go to any length.

But for now, reason made him halt.

He looked coldly at his father and asked, "What do you want?"

"Apologize to your brother!"

Douglas rebuked him mercilessly: "It’s your shrew mother who raised you to be useless! I’m still alive, and already you’re treating your brother like this. When I die, won’t you just turn to fratricide?"

Timothy suppressed his anger and said, "Fine, I’ll apologize, is that enough?"

Douglas sternly asked, "Is that your apology attitude?"

At that moment, Ethan’s phone lit up, and he glanced at the message, gesturing to his mother.

Katherine then came forward and gently took Douglas’s arm, saying, "Douglas, let it go! Timothy has probably been shaken recently and is struggling to cope. Ethan won’t blame him. After all, brothers are like limbs, no argument will go as far as you suggested."

Katherine’s soothing words calmed Douglas down significantly, but he still spat out coldly, "Incompetent fool, always putting Xavier in the spotlight. A president airing his personal life online, what a disgrace!"

After speaking, he left with Katherine.

Ethan shot Timothy a gloating look and followed after his parents.

Typically, Timothy would not simply endure Douglas’s scolding, but today, he knew there were more important matters at hand.

So, he rushed towards the surveillance room.

At this moment in the mall’s surveillance room, a technician was typing out some code on the computer.

Timothy burst in, commanding, "Get me the surveillance footage from Elevator 3 twenty minutes ago immediately!"

Startled, the technician replied, "President Xavier, what bad timing. The mall’s surveillance was suddenly hacked today, and all footage is gone."

"What?"

Timothy suddenly remembered Zoe saying she saw Naomi at her mother’s hospital and insisted on showing him the footage.

Back then, the rehab hospital had used the same excuse, saying the surveillance was hacked.

Now, at this mall, it’s the same excuse again!

He finally believed that Zoe wasn’t lying to her, Naomi Sawyer was indeed alive!

But, why was this happening?

Who was helping her?

Or was it that Naomi simply didn’t want to see him?

Countless questions swirled in his mind, and Timothy Xavier dashed out, driving home at top speed.

Completely leaving Zoe Ellison, who was still trying on dresses, behind.

...

At that time, Serena Sawyer was still at the Xavier Family home, sarcastically sneering at Sophia Kendall.

Although Serena knew that Timothy was organizing this wedding just to provoke Zoe and Julian Sinclair, Zoe was nothing more than a titular Mrs. Xavier.

But even so, Zoe still obtained what she had dreamed of having but never got.

Serena was still feeling unbalanced about it.

Therefore, she started lashing out at Sophia Kendall.

"You old hag, no wonder someone stole your husband! With such tricks, you’re not even as good as a mistress." Serena sneered strangely as she continued, "What about being a mistress? As long as you have tricks and schemes, haven’t I been comfortably staying here at the Xavier Family? In my opinion, Katherine Sheldon is just better than you. She’s better looking than you, has a better personality, and her methods surpass yours by miles!"

Unhappy herself, she stabbed Sophia Kendall’s heart with every word.

Sophia Kendall was shaking with anger but held back, not daring to retort.

Just then, Timothy Xavier stormed into the house. In the second before, Serena was proudly flaunting her tricks, and the next, Timothy directly dragged her up.

Serena was yanked by Timothy’s sudden strength, stumbling, and shivering with shock, her voice trembling, "T-Timothy? What... what’s wrong with you? Did... did I do something wrong?"

The pride from mocking Sophia still lingered in her eyes, but the sudden change left her in a panic.

Timothy clutched her wrist tightly, his knuckles turning white from the pressure, pulling her harshly in front of him.

His chest heaved violently, his eyes bloodier than during negotiations, as he stared at Serena, each word spat out with gritted teeth, "Are you sure Naomi is dead?"

With a "boom", Serena felt her mind explode, her heart nearly leaping out of her throat.

How could this be? How could Timothy suddenly ask this? Had he discovered something?

She suppressed the storm in her heart, forcing herself to feign confusion and grievance, her voice lightly trembling, "Timothy, what are you saying? My sister... she’s been gone a long time. Back then, my mom and I personally took her to the funeral home, how could there be a mistake?"

"Liar!"

Timothy bellowed angrily, the air around him terrifyingly low.

His forehead throbbed with excitement, the grip on Serena’s wrist tightened further, as though he would crush her bones.

"I saw Naomi today! I saw her with my own eyes! In the mall, I saw her profile, saw her enter the elevator, it couldn’t be wrong!"

His emotions were completely out of control, the shock, joy, confusion, and anger surging within his chest nearly engulfed him.

Serena recoiled at his shout, desperately hiding her inner panic, fearing Timothy might notice anything amiss.

Of course, she knew Naomi was alive, she’d always known!

But when she told Naomi the truth back then, that woman clearly hated Timothy to death, and tried desperately to escape the mental hospital. Supposedly, she’d be hiding thoroughly, why would she appear in front of Timothy so easily?

In a flash, she realized.

Timothy only knew she might be alive, but hadn’t caught any solid evidence, or even found Naomi’s tracks. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be questioning her now but holding her accountable!

Understanding this, Serena finally felt relieved.

Her eyes suddenly reddened, appearing tremendously wronged, choked with sobs, "Timothy, how can you say that... Do you really want to dig out my sister’s ashes and confirm it firsthand before you’ll believe?"

She sniffled, her shoulders trembling slightly, her voice full of heartache, "You simply miss her too much, thinking day and night so that you mistook someone else for her. The dead can’t come back to life, I know how deep your feelings for her are, but you can’t wrong me and insult me like this! She was my own sister from the same father, I relied on her since childhood, my mom even cherished her like her own daughter. How could we harm her? How would we joke about her death?"

Serena spoke every word, positioning everything around "sisterly affection," deliberately bringing up the past harmonious façade she had crafted in front of Timothy.

Indeed, Naomi once saw them, mother and daughter, as family, often praising her maturity and Faye Warren’s kindness in front of Timothy.

Back in the day, Faye Warren treated Naomi as her own, merely because she knew Peter Sawyer had no prominent background and wanted to ascend into a family far beyond the Sawyer Family’s rank.

Faye was very well aware that social climbing would be tormenting, so she wouldn’t send her own daughter, letting Serena live freely, doing what she wished.

Whereas Naomi, she was "carefully groomed" by Faye into a socialite.

Back when Peter Sawyer abandoned Zoe’s mother, Naomi was too young to remember anything; as she grew sensible, she saw Faye as her birth mother.

During her college years, Faye found a wealthy family, intending to marry Naomi to a forty-year-old man who had recently lost his wife.

Unexpectedly, before she could say anything, Naomi told them she was in love, with someone who loved her deeply. The man’s family was the prestigious Xavier Family in Veridia.

After that, everything spun beyond Faye’s control.

Until Naomi had been in a mental hospital for three years, Faye and Serena finally showed their true colors, telling her what Timothy had done to her.

Since then, Naomi learned how terribly Timothy had deceived her! Timothy wasn’t helping her recover but was a form of "soft confinement," a near-perverse possession.

Timothy stared at Serena’s tear-stricken face, recalling the gentle tone with which Naomi used to speak of this mother-daughter duo, his inner doubts gradually wavering.

Naomi had said more than once that Serena and Faye were her closest people.

Timothy slowly released his grip, as Serena stumbled back two steps, clutching her wrist, quietly weeping.

Yet Timothy seemed lost, his gaze falling blankly into the void, muttering, "Maybe... maybe I really saw wrong? No, impossible..."

He suddenly turned to Serena again, a touch of insistence lingering in his eyes, "Are you sure, the body you saw, the face was truly Naomi’s?"

Serena’s tone was unequivocal, "I am sure! Absolutely! That day my mom and I retrieved your sister’s body, we nearly cried ourselves into a faint. Timothy, you must have missed her too much, mistaking someone who resembled her for her." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Timothy didn’t press further, taking out his phone.

His fingers trembled slightly as they swiped across the screen.

At the moment he dialed his assistant’s number, his voice had regained some of its cold hardness, "Activate all resources immediately, from now on, conduct a full search in Veridia across all corners, malls, communities, hospitals, stations. Even if it means digging three feet deep, find Naomi Sawyer for me!"

Serena listened jitterily, feeling as if an invisible hand gripped her heart tightly.

If Timothy truly found Naomi, her lies would collapse on their own.

What’s more, Naomi already knew her and her mother’s true faces.

Once she returned to Timothy’s side, wouldn’t that signal her demise?