Caleb muttered to the young male assistant as they walked ahead, “Professor Reese’s guest is seriously weird. A bit scary, too. They’re still upstairs talking
The assistant smirked. “Come on, Professor Reese only mingles with the top names in academia. It’s no wonder you can’t follow their technical lingo.”
“True enough. They looked so capable, but also sort of eccentric–just what you’d expect from a research hotshot.”
Ablett walked beside Blanche, the crisp sleeve of his white shirt brushing gently against her dress. He leaned in and whispered, “Would you like to take my arm?”
She nodded. Blanche noticed Ablett’s gaze flick toward the entrance, his Adam’s apple shifting as he spoke. Realizing Gaylord and Wilhelmina were waiting outside, she slipped her hand into the crook of his arm.
Their skin touched through the soft fabric, a barely–there friction.
Side by side, they left the villa, greeting Gaylord and Wilhelmina waiting in the car before sliding into the sleek black sedan.
A procession of dark cars pulled away from the gated neighborhood, several of them carrying armed, highly trained security officers.
Inside the villa, the assembled bodyguards could only watch, not daring to make a
move.
On the second–floor balcony, Eddy’s dark eyes were fathomless.
“Sir, it’s the McCarthy family,” the head of security reported. “They’ve got one of the biggest reputations in Capitol City.”
“Isn’t Madam supposed to be with Professor Reese?”
“How could this be…”
Eddy recalled the black car flying a national flag, the faint chime of a phone from inside, Laney sitting just beyond his reach.
He remembered crossing paths with Ablett in the government building, searching desperately as flames raged–and Ablett, a senior government official, would never have risked his career in such chaos unless…
Back then, Laney was still inside the building.
Then came the cell signal traced to the military airfield: at that moment, Laney was
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on Ablett’s Jet!
It was him.
That sanctimonious hypocrite!
While Eddy was at his lowest, Ablett had whisked away his wife.
He thought of all the narrow misses, the times he passed so close to Laney but lost her again.
Fury and humiliation surged through him, his mind replaying Ablett’s cold, impassive face.
“Sir, what do we do now?” a voice asked behind him.
Fernando’s mocking tone broke the silence. “I’d advise you not to bother Laney.”
“This is Capitol City, not your little fiefdom in Novandria.”
“That’s the McCarthy family you’re up against!”
“They won’t let you anywhere near their future daughter–in–law!”
Eddy’s eyes darkened with violent rage, danger radiating off him in palpable waves.
Blanche and Ablett’s retreating figures haunted his mind, memories shattering and reforming in endless torment.
His chest heaved, blood welling up in his mouth, pain tearing through his heart.
No one else could have his wife.
Laney was his, and his alone.
Two hours later, their convoy reached Silverbrook, home of the Lopez family.
The Lopez estate sprawled along the coastline, with a shimmering beach out front. and lush gardens behind.
To welcome the McCarthy family, the Lopez family had arranged a bonfire feast.
The Lopez household waited eagerly, their eyes scanning the crowd until they finally spotted Ablett- their long–absent, accomplished grandson. What s them most was that this time, Ablett had brought his fiancée.
rised
Feeling drained, Blanche wandered alone along the sand, watching Ablett surrounded by relatives, basking in the attention.
From the direction of the mansion, a small dog suddenly bolted out toward her, tail
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wagging, barking with cheerful excitement.
Blanche knelt, stroking its soft, snowy curls. She remembered the dog she once owned as a child–how it had passed away soon after her mother.
As soon as her hand fell away, the little dog spun around and scampered back toward the house, glancing over its shoulder every few steps as if inviting her to follow.
Without thinking, Blanche trailed after it.
Inside the Lopez mansion, she lost sight of the pup.
Suddenly, a branch snapped behind her. Blanche turned–and saw a face she knew all too well.
He stepped toward her, a look of anguish on his face she’d never seen before. Grabbing her hand, voice raw with pain, he choked out, “Laney, I finally found you.”
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Chapter 212
