Little did Owen Sterling know that the promise he’d just made to Alice York would turn to empty words in the very next instant.
"Is it... Grandma and Grandpa? Did sothing happen to them?"
Judging from Owen Sterling’s expression, it wasn’t hard to guess it was about her grandparents. Still, Alice York clung to a sliver of hope. ’Maybe it’s sothing else...’
That hope was shattered when she saw Owen Sterling nod and tell her, "A few people suddenly broke in to take them away. The four n I left to guard them were no match. The intruders ca fully prepared. Now, my n are severely injured."
A buzzing filled Alice York’s head.
Sothing seed to be trembling. Owen Sterling looked down and saw it was Alice’s hand, the one with the IV drip. He took it in his, only to be startled by how ice-cold it was.
He didn’t dare to squeeze, afraid the IV needle would backflow, so he could only bring her hand to his lips and gently breathe on it. "Alice, don’t worry. I’ll go to Rhovan right now. I’ll investigate this, and I’ll definitely find them. They’ll be okay!"
With vacant eyes, Alice York pulled her hand back. "Could it be the Old Master’s n?"
"I’m not sure. It would almost be better if it were my grandfather’s n. At least then we could be sure your grandparents’ lives aren’t in imdiate danger. After all, he’s just using them to threaten you. What I’m afraid of is that it’s not his n."
That was Owen Sterling’s greatest fear.
If it was so malicious third party, her grandparents’ odds of survival would be slim.
A watery mist filled Alice’s vacant eyes. As Owen Sterling stood up to leave, she grabbed his arm. "Owen, I’m going with you."
Her voice was so hoarse it was nearly inaudible.
Owen Sterling shook his head, his heart aching for her. "You haven’t recovered yet. You need to rest..."
"How can I rest? Those are my grandparents! The grandparents who took care of since I was born! I lived with them for eight whole years!"
As the last word left her lips, a tear spilled from her eye, landing on the cotton quilt and quickly spreading into a dark spot.
Owen Sterling made his decision in an instant. "Alright. I’ll take you with ."
He bent down to place her shoes for her, then picked up her phone. He waited as Alice pulled the IV needle from the back of her hand before helping her out of bed.
"Alice, I can leave Arden whenever I want, but I’m afraid you... If Third Uncle is willing to lend a hand this ti, we can definitely leave without any trouble."
Alice York took Owen’s words to heart. "I’ll go find Third Uncle right now," she said.
Owen Sterling was well aware of his own limitations. He had the will to help her escape, but he feared he lacked the power.
As much as he hated the idea of Wyatt Sterling getting involved again, he knew that right now, only Wyatt had that kind of power. And in that mont, he despised his own weakness.
’Soon. That day will co soon.’
「anwhile.」
Felix Hawthorne also received a phone call. It was from Chase Jennings, calling from Rhovan.
"We’ll continue this later. I need to take a call."
Felix Hawthorne gave Wyatt Sterling a slight smile before turning away to answer the call.
The wind on the hospital rooftop was stronger than on the ground. Wyatt Sterling lit a cigarette, took only a few drags before putting it out. He didn’t light another, simply holding the extinguished cigarette between his fingers as he quietly watched Felix Hawthorne’s back.
"Young Master, I’ve found a trail for the two of them, but..." Over the phone, Chase Jennings’s voice dropped. "Soone beat to it."
Felix Hawthorne’s expression turned frigid. "After all that trouble to find them, and now you’re telling soone beat you to it?"
Chase Jennings: "It was my failure."
Having been by Felix Hawthorne’s side for so many years, Chase Jennings had been honed into his sharpest blade. He had never been incompetent, let alone failed a mission, not even once.
This was the first ti.
Felix Hawthorne was, naturally, furious. "Useless."
Chase Jennings didn’t dare make a sound.
"Explain exactly what happened. Be clear." Felix Hawthorne took off his glasses, revealing an irrepressible hostility in his eyes.
Chase Jennings quickly explained, "I spent a long ti tracing their routes and had just found the elderly couple’s new residence. But by the ti I arrived, the house was empty. There were four n lying outside—the guards left by the people who moved the couple there."
"Who moved them there?"
"Owen Sterling."
"Him?" Felix Hawthorne narrowed his long eyes. "And have you found out who took them?"
"Young Master..." Chase’s tone grew solemn. "When I was questioning Owen Sterling’s n, they said that when the intruders broke in and took the couple, they said sothing."
The fingers Felix was running along the edge of his glasses froze.
"What was it?"
Chase continued, "They said, ’We should have made you shut your mouths for good all those years ago.’"
An outsider wouldn’t have understood the aning of that sentence, and Owen Sterling’s n had no idea what it ant either.
But Chase Jennings had a faint idea.
Back when the elderly couple adopted Alice York, the perpetrators had intended to go after them, but for so unknown reason, things changed.
"Young Master, I suspect it’s the sa people who stole the Second Miss all those years ago. They’ve resurfaced. They know the Second Miss’s identity is about to be exposed, so they took the elderly couple as a preemptive asure. They’re definitely planning sothing."
’Those people from all those years ago...’
The veins on the hand Felix Hawthorne was holding his phone with bulged instantly, and his breathing grew ragged. "Keep investigating, but don’t alert them."
Chase Jennings replied, "Yes, sir."
After ending the call, Felix Hawthorne’s expression was as dark as it could possibly be. He swiped through his screen, found Finn Hawthorne’s number, and dialed.
It rang twice before the other end picked up imdiately. "Bro, what’s up?"
Felix Hawthorne asked, "Are you at the hospital yet?"
The sound of a car door closing ca from Finn Hawthorne’s end. "Bro, perfect timing. I just got to the hospital. I’m heading up right now. By the way, how’s Alice York? Is she doing okay today? Did she ask about ?"
The barrage of questions revealed just how desperate Finn Hawthorne was to see Alice York.
He was originally supposed to co to the hospital with his brother.
The delay was because he’d spent all that ti picking out clothes and doing his hair. He’d even spent ages choosing his shoes. In Finn Hawthorne’s own words, he didn’t even get this dressed up for a grand ball.
"Finn, don’t co up yet. Listen to ."
Felix Hawthorne’s tone was heavy, with a hint of a command.
Finn Hawthorne, who had only taken a few steps from his car, slowly ca to a halt. The carefree look on his face vanished. "What is it, bro? Did sothing happen?"
Felix turned around and noticed that Wyatt Sterling had left the rooftop at so point. No longer needing to be careful, he said, "Don’t co up. Go ho and spend ti with Vera. She was just brought back, so go talk with her for a while."
The other end of the line went silent.
Felix Hawthorne could already imagine how furious and resentful his younger brother must look at that mont.
But instead of the expected roar of anger, there was only a calm question. "Why did you suddenly go back on your word? Bro, you’ve never, ever broken a promise to . You promised last night."
The wind on the rooftop stung his eyes. Felix Hawthorne squeezed them shut for a mont before putting his glasses back on. "If you don’t want anything to happen to Alice York, then do as I say. Go ho and stay with Vera."
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