"Clark, I beg you, pretend you didn’t hear anything!" Jack pleaded, his hands clasped together in prayer. "Whatever you want to know, ask our boss later when the ti is right. Just don’t say it ca from now! Or I’m done for!"
Clark didn’t want to put him in a tough spot, so he simply said, "Whatever you tell , I swear it stays with . I won’t breathe a word to Rose."
"Clark, so things even Roo doesn’t know. Spare , play dumb, I beg you!"
If the boss found out he blabbed again, he’d surely be transferred to the triangular zone, and then he wouldn’t be able to protect the boss all the ti!
With all these weaklings around, he had to be the one to protect the boss personally at critical tis.
Just then, Rosemary appeared. "What are you guys talking about?"
Seeing Jack clasping his hands and begging for sothing, Rosemary was puzzled. "What are you begging Clark for?"
"The boss is here..." Jack felt dood and quickly made up an excuse. "Well, Clark wanted to set up with soone, this beautiful lady."
He flashed a picture he had taken earlier. "I was just begging Clark for her contact info."
Rosemary was a bit speechless. In a ti like this, he was still thinking about such things. She coldly said, "Get lost."
"Yes, yes." Jack breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that the boss didn’t suspect anything.
"The comparison results are in. The blood traces in the living room and the yard match that of Mr. and Mrs. Earwood."
The mont Rosemary stopped talking, Clark’s attention shifted. "You an Carol’s parents got hurt?"
"Yes," Rosemary explained. "A villager ntioned that a few months ago, around two or three in the morning, a group of people went to Carol’s house. Despite the rain, they were walking around in the yard. They were probably looking for Carol, accidentally startled her parents, and they got injured in the ensuing argunt."
Rosemary paused, then continued her analysis. "The villager said that for four or five days after the group appeared, the Earwoods’ door never opened. Judging by the blood traces, the incident happened in the living room and then moved to the yard. So, I guess, during those days, the injured Mr. and Mrs. Earwood might have been taken away by that group. We don’t know where they went and what they did."
Based on the villager’s statent, Mr. and Mrs. Earwood returned only after four or five days, and soon after, they went out to look for Carol.
So, their disappearance that night is the key to solving this mystery.
"Did the powder get tested?" Clark asked, his mood heavy.
Rosemary had just ntioned that one of the ingredients in the powder was Aetherbloom, which was extrely toxic.
"Besides Aetherbloom, there are sixteen other herbs. Each one is toxic."
"What about when they’re combined?"
"The toxicity increases," Rosemary said casually. "One of the lab rats just died. It took the poison and died instantly."
There wasn’t even ti to save it.
Clark’s heart clenched. "You’re saying Carol might have taken this poison? She’s been missing for a year. Was she forced to take this lethal poison and then dumped? So, all these powers couldn’t find her... because she’s no longer in this world?"
Thinking about this, Clark felt a pain in his chest that nearly suffocated him.
"Not necessarily," Rosemary analyzed. "What if she used this poison on soone else?"
"What do you an?" Clark didn’t understand.
"Considering how many people are looking for her, this poison might be her self-defense chanism. To keep it hidden, she put it in a vitamin C bottle. That bottle looks old, and she must have used it for a long ti."
"Boss, according to your theory, Mrs. Clark would have to poison a ton of people with this."
Rosemary gave him a look, and Jack imdiately shut up.
"Carol is physically weak. It’s possible that this poison might really be for her self-defense."
Aside from drugging, did she have any other ans of protecting herself?
She was so frail, there couldn’t be.
"Not necessarily." Rosemary overturned his assumption again. "Didn’t those four guys inside say Carol was a traitor? If Carol was one of them, then her skills could conceivably be on par with theirs."
That didn’t seem to align with her being "as weak as a kitten."
Whether she had skills or not—and how good those skills were—would need further investigation.
"No, it can’t be." Clark recalled his previous interactions with Carol, and there was no indication that she was a skilled individual. She was probably afraid of even cockroaches.
"We can only continue to investigate." Rosemary checked the ti. "Clark, it’s getting late, it’s almost eleven. Let’s head ho."
It was late; their parents would be worried.
"Mom and Dad have already called a few tis. I don’t know if they called you."
Clark checked his phone. Not a single call.
"Worrying about it now won’t help. Let’s go."
Seeing his sister had been busy all day, Clark didn’t want to trouble her any more. He nodded and drove her ho.
On the way, Clark heard a rumbling sound from his sister’s stomach.
He realized sothing. "Rose, are you hungry? Did you have dinner?"
"I had," Rosemary lied.
Her stomach rumbled again. Clark glanced at her. "Still lying to ? Did you skip als today to catch those guys?"
"I had lunch."
"So you skipped dinner." Clark felt guilty. "You silly girl, I’ll be worried. You have to take care of your health first."
"I’m not hungry."
Just as Rosemary finished speaking, her stomach rumbled in protest again.
Clark felt both distressed and amused. "What do you want to eat? I’m also hungry. Shall we grab so late-night snacks on the way ho?"
"Okay." Rosemary thought montarily and blurted out, "Let’s get so pastries."
It was so late. Better avoid anything spicy.
There were other things to take care of later, so it wouldn’t be good if she upset her stomach.
"Alright, I know a place that makes amazing pastries. They specialize in late-night snacks. We can buy a bunch to take ho."
"Okay."
Reflections Villa
Serena checked the ti. It was already half-past eleven. Why hadn’t Clark returned yet?
There was no sign of him downstairs. She sat at her vanity, waiting impatiently. She was eager to know where Clark and Rosemary had gone. Why were they taking so long?
It wasn’t until she heard the sound of a sports car outside the villa that she looked out the window. Sure enough, it was Clark’s car!
Clark was finally back!
Hmph. That Rosemary, monopolizing Clark until so late—was she afraid that if they returned earlier, Clark would have ti to accompany her?
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