One man who appeared to be of mixed Syrena-British descent sat on a sofa, fiddling with a computer, his handso face marred by frustration.
"How’s it going?"
Sitting beside him, another man of similar age with yellow skin, black hair, and black eyes, indistinguishable from the Syrena people, asked. As he spoke, a murderous glint flashed in his eyes, incongruous with his mild outward appearance.
"Can’t find anything. Nothing at all. It must be Noah Reyes who destroyed all the evidence," the man of mixed Syrena-British descent said, annoyed and resentful.
"Can’t find Adele Horne or Jimmy Horne? I heard Adele Horne is the Horne Family’s young miss, and Jimmy Horne is the son of Adele Horne and Noah Reyes—his only flesh and blood. This is common knowledge among everyone in the organization. How could they possibly not be found?" The black-haired man raised an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced.
"Uncle Twenty-Four, if you don’t believe , look it up yourself." The man of mixed descent was Daniel Reyes, Noah Reyes’ half-brother from the sa father. Daniel’s mother was British, and he was only a month younger than Noah. Ambitious and always wanting to compete for the leadership position, this man sought to break the Reyes Family’s rule of hereditary succession. He was also one of the main planners behind this coup.
The man addressed as ’Uncle Twenty-Four’ was Max Reyes, one of Noah Reyes’ uncles and also a collateral relative. His mother had been one of Noah Reyes’ grandfather’s mistresses.
Although these people were blood relatives, kinship was as thin as paper to them when it ca to the leadership position. Much like the imperial families of yore, fathers, sons, brothers, and nephews were all willing to fight to the death for the throne. They all shared one commonality: they couldn’t endure the Reyes Family rule that leadership was inherited and not based on ability. Most were competent but had no chance at the highest position within the Order of the Fiery Fla. Resentnt and anger had long festered in their hearts, driving them to take risks and unite in rebellion, even if it ant becoming enemies with the entire Order.
In secret, they had also cultivated their own factions. Individually, their power was insignificant, but united, they beca a considerable force, especially since they had captured the forr family head’s wife—Noah Reyes’ biological mother.
Noah Reyes hadn’t spent much ti with his mother, but he was very filial to her.
With Noah’s mother as a hostage, they believed Noah Reyes wouldn’t dare make any rash moves. As long as they could force Noah Reyes to negotiate with them, they saw a chance for victory.
When they learned that Noah Reyes had a beloved woman and an illegitimate son in Syrena, they all felt mocked by him, but simultaneously saw another opportunity. If they could capture the woman nad Adele Horne and Noah Reyes’ flesh and blood, Jimmy Horne, and use them as hostages, they believed Noah Reyes would surely capitulate. To save his mother, wife, and son, he would have to abdicate.
Of course, once Noah Reyes abdicated, only death awaited him.
They would absolutely not allow Noah Reyes to live.
If Noah Reyes refused to negotiate, they would resort to force to eliminate him.
Max Reyes didn’t believe it. He sat down at the computer himself to search for information on Adele Horne and Jimmy Horne, but the results all showed ’no such person found.’
Impossible! Max Reyes’s face was filled with doubt. It was an irrefutable fact; how could there be no records?
"Noah Reyes must have protected them and sealed off all information. What do we do now? Go directly to T City to abduct them? The Horne Family is a local power there; we can’t afford to provoke them in T City," Daniel Reyes said, his hatred for Noah Reyes intensifying with each word. When Noah decided to protect soone, he always managed to make it airtight.
When the others heard that no information on Adele Horne and Jimmy Horne could be found, they all gathered around, clamoring as they discussed their next move.
They were unwilling to abandon the idea of abducting and murdering Adele Horne and Jimmy Horne. Especially concerning Jimmy Horne, they all harbored a deep-seated desire to eliminate him swiftly.
After so discussion, they decided to secretly send people to infiltrate T City, attempting to breach Noah Reyes’ protective asures and find Jimmy Horne and Adele Horne.
As for the Horne Family, they thought, that mother and son probably aren’t living there anymore. Since Noah Reyes made arrangents, he certainly wouldn’t let them return to the Horne Family ho. Besides, the Horne Family is prominent in T City, almost considered the foremost noble family. With mbers in the military and central governnt holding significant power, we daren’t rashly attack their ho.
Therefore, they could only gather information covertly, hoping fortune would favor them, allowing them to find Adele Horne and her son, kidnap them, and kill them, thus eliminating future threats.
Jimmy Horne didn’t know that at such a young age, having just reconnected with his daddy, he was already embroiled in the Order of the Fiery Fla’s power struggle. At this mont, he had beco the primary target for those vying for power.
He was still in the hospital with Camila Ruiz, keeping Mrs. Ruiz company.
Saying he was keeping Mrs. Ruiz company wasn’t as accurate as saying he was arguing with Camila Ruiz.
Because both were young, their argunt wasn’t loud, so the doctors and nurses paid them no mind.
Madam Ruiz had long known these two little ones were always at odds. She simply sat on the sofa in the family lounge outside the ward, chuckling as she watched TV.
Hansen Ruiz and Rachel Bailey had gone to handle the discharge procedures.
Mrs. Ruiz had been in the hospital for nearly a month and was terrified of staying any longer. She was eager to be discharged, and the doctors had agreed.
Matthew Ruiz was in the ward, helping his wife pack.
"Jimmy Horne, if you call ’Stinky Camila’ again, I’m not talking to you anymore!" Camila Ruiz often got angry because Jimmy Horne kept calling her ’Stinky Camila.’
Her pretty, resilient little face flushed red from bickering with Jimmy, rosy like an apple. Her large, beautiful eyes were extraordinarily captivating; even in anger, they sparkled enchantingly. She wasn’t as stunning as Florence Ford, but she was very cute. Her soft hair was styled into two pigtails, each adorned with a bow. She wore a silver-white dress. Her fair skin was adorably tender, and she had a mouthful of perfectly white, neat teeth. This overall appearance endeared her to adults wherever she went.
Jimmy Horne stuck his tongue out at her.
Camila Ruiz, furious, imdiately swung her hand at his handso little face.
Jimmy tilted his head, dodging her "Iron Sand Palm," then grinned triumphantly and started to walk out.
Camila instinctively chased after him.
Noticing the two children running out, Mrs. Ruiz quickly stood up and left the lounge, intending to call them back. However, at the doorway, she saw they had stopped in the corridor.
Camila Ruiz had accidentally tripped and fallen, and Jimmy Horne was helping her up.
"If you can’t catch , why bother chasing?" Jimmy complained like a worldly-wise child, but his small hands carefully checked if Camila was hurt.
Camila pushed him away. "It’s all your fault!" she snapped, then huffed and turned to walk back.
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