“Armond, they’re old. What are you trying to do?” Until now, I still could not figure out to what extent of cruelty Armond could tolerate.
“Nothing, really. I’m just free recently, and I was thinking of getting a meal with someone. Sienna, will you join me? Should I come and pick you up or are you going to drive?”
Tamping down the fury in my heart, it took me a while of silence before I uttered, “Send me the address.”
Once again, I heard him laughing. “Hahaha! Sienna, aren’t you an exceptionally nice girl? I really like that about you.”
My lips pursed as I ended the call. Then, I called Anthony.
It took a few rings before the call went through. “What’s the matter, Sienna?”
“Armond called me. It seems like he has found Sasha’s parents, and he has gotten Nora to come to K City. I don’t know what his aims are, but I’ve agreed to meet him. How are things on your side?”
Anthony inhaled sharply. “Brandon’s been in a foul mood ever since he found out about how his daughter has been treated. He’s hesitating. Something seems off about Abe. It’s as if he’s been drugged. When I saw him, he’s only half-conscious, so I couldn’t get anything from him.”
I frowned. Thinking of Hailey, I said, “Anthony, perhaps there’s someone who can help. Look for Hailey. Her father should have seen Armond in the past. As long as Hailey’s the one to talk to her father, things will be much easier.”
After a moment of contemplation, I added, “By the way, before meeting with Hailey, look for Fawn, Amy, and Jody Falker. They’re all victims among the children. Hailey can’t come to a decision. If you ask them to come with you, she might be able to make up her mind. Also, will you be able to come up with a plan to protect Hailey’s father? At the end of the day, he’s still involved with the organ trafficking incident. Once the investigation is done, I don’t think he’ll be able to say that he’s innocent in it.”
After a moment of silence, Anthony replied, “I’ll try my best. Armond should be looking for you for that box. Hold on to it. If you have to, then give him the box. The box is useless to us, so it’s best if you don’t get into a conflict with Armond.”
I understood why he said those words, so I hummed in agreement. After ending the call, I was about to leave the house.
When Holden saw me about to leave, he darted to my side. “Where are you going? Why aren’t you bringing me along? You can’t be dating another man behind my back, right?”
I nodded as I looked at him. “That’s right. I’m going to have a secret date with another man. Do you want to join me? It’ll be exciting.”
For reasons beyond me, he blushed. “No way, Sienna. Are you really that shameless to do something like this behind Anthony’s back?”
Rendered speechless for a moment, I then asked, “Are you coming with me? If you’re not, I’m going to leave now.”
Promptly, he nodded and entered the car before I did. When he turned back to look at me, there was a smug expression on his face. “How can you possibly leave me out of such a thrilling matter? Just the mere thought of it makes my heart race.”
Ignoring his excitement, I started the car. The address that Armond had sent to me was a villa in the suburbs.
Bringing Holden with me was part of the plan. If anything did happen, he would be useful.
When he realized we were heading toward the suburbs, Holden muttered, “Wait, why are you driving toward the suburbs? Shouldn’t we be going to a hotel?”
I pursed my lips for a moment before replying, “We’re going to a villa in the suburbs. Only fools go to the hotels.”
“Holy sh*t! Sienna, you’re one brave girl. Does Anthony know about this? When did you start doing this? Aren’t you afraid of contracting some disease? How many men are there? Are their figures as good as mine? Why didn’t you ask me to come along to such a fantastic gathering before today?”
Irritated by his rambles, I shot him a glare. “Shut up or get down from the car. Also, things aren’t what you think they are. Armond has invited me to a meeting in the suburbs. I’m a little worried, so I brought you along. Don’t be a coward later.”
He was taken aback by my words for a while. After a beat, his eyes widened comically before he gasped in disbelief. “Sienna, you set me up?”
I nodded honestly. “You can think of it that way if you want to. If you’re scared, you can leave the car right now. I won’t stop you.”
He gritted his teeth before hissing, “This has nothing to do with whether I’m scared or not. You clearly know I have no way to go back if I were to get down from the car now. Moreover, do I look scared? Armond’s nothing but a dumbass. Why should I be scared of him? I just don’t want to see him.”
I nodded again. “Well, then. Since you’re not afraid of him, be quiet and follow me there. Take it as if you’re protecting me, and I’ll owe you a favor. How about that?”
He scoffed, “How are you going to return me the favor? Tell me more. If I like it, I’ll even take Armond down, not to mention protecting you.”
My mouth hung open for a while before I managed to voice, “What do you want? I’ll try my best to fulfill it.”
He mulled over my words. “Why don’t you cook for me for a week? I don’t want pasta every day. I’ll definitely puke by the second day.”
His request was reasonable and simple, but it still stumped me. With a frown, I muttered, “Mr. Taylor, have I ever told you I can’t cook? Other than making pasta, I don’t know how to make anything else. Are you sure you want me to cook for you?”
He glowered at me. “If you don’t know how to cook, then learn. I don’t care. That’s my request, and nothing else will work.”
“Okay, then.” I had to agree first; whether or not my cooking would be edible was another matter.
When we finally reached the villa, I was transfixed. This villa is humongous. The villa in K City’s suburbs usually have specific limits for their size, but this house is evidently thrice the size of the normal villa. This isn’t a villa; this is a manor!
The Murphys are filthy rich. This villa is worth hundreds of millions. Are they planning to live in it? Do they plan to use it for something else?
After entering the compound, I had to drive a distance before I reached the villa itself. By then, there was someone waiting for us by the doorway. “The size of this villa is comparable to the Taylor residence. The Murphys are truly affluent if they can build such an enormous villa in a place like K City, where the population density is high.”
When I took a good look at the villa, I realized I had to agree with him. The place looked newly built, and it would be impossible for them to build a place like this legally; they must have bribed the authorities and pulled some strings.
After entering the living room, I noticed it was so empty I could even hear the echoes of our footsteps. We then followed the maid up into a room on the second floor. Right as we entered the room, we were greeted with the sight of a gigantic folding screen.
Facing the folding screen, the maid respectfully announced, “Sir, they’ve arrived.”
The person behind the screen hummed in response before muttering, “You can leave now.” Then, he said, “Ms. Stanhope, you’re quite punctual. It seems like I’m still important to you.”
I frowned but stayed silent. All I did was take in my surroundings. Sometimes, it was not a good thing when a house was too big, especially when the house was not lively. It would be like stepping into a haunted house.
It was eerie.
When Armond walked out from behind the folding screen, his gaze landed on Holden, and he frowned. “Mr. Taylor, you’re here too?”
Sounding exactly like a ruffian, Holden drawled, “Yes. I wanted to take a walk, and I ended up here. Mr. Murphy, your house is quite big. What’s it for? Keeping babes?”
It was easy for Holden to set someone ablaze with fury in seconds.
However, Armond only smiled. As he stared at me, he asked, “Ms. Stanhope, why don’t you take a seat while we chat? It’s been a long while since we had a good chat.”
Pressing my lips into a thin line, I then said, “Didn’t we agree to have a meal together? Where are the others? Were you just joking with me, or did you think that my time isn’t worth anything?”
“Of course not,” he responded before chuckling. “They’re all upstairs. I have some things I’d like to discuss with Ms. Stanhope, so I’m meeting you here.”
As he spoke, his gaze trailed toward Holden. “Mr. Taylor, if you don’t mind, could I have a word with Ms. Stanhope alone? I’ve prepared drinks and snacks upstairs. You can try out K City’s specialties there.”
Holden glanced at me, his thoughts obvious; he was asking what he should do next.
When I stared at Armond, I speculated that he must want to ask for the sandalwood box from me, so I said, “Mr. Taylor, please greet Nora and the others for me upstairs.”
Holden tensed for a brief second before nodding. Then, he left the room and headed upstairs.
At that moment, the two of us were the only ones left in the spacious room. After Armond sat down and crossed his legs, he lifted a brow at me. “Are you not going to sit for the talk?”
I was silent as I sat down on a chair and waited for him to speak.
As expected, he soon said in a low voice, “Anthony must be progressing well in A City.”
His abrupt topic made me sat transfixed for a moment. Then, I frowned. “You can be straightforward with me, Mr. Murphy.”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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