Did he hear everything we said just now?
I felt awkward about it, but Anthony lightly beckoned for him to come over.
Soon, the boy trudged over in slippers and stood before us. The flicker in his eyes a moment ago was now concealed.
“What is your name?” asked Anthony.
The boy looked up at me, then answered, “My name is Shaun.”
“You could remember so clearly?” If I was not mistaken, children who were experiment subjects were taken away from their families at a very young age. They would not have such a clear memory of their original names.
Anthony scrutinized the boy closely. He did not say anything, but he gave off a very imposing vibe.
Unexpectedly, under Anthony’s gaze that could make a grown man cower in fear, the boy was unruffled and unaffected. He was as bold as ever, like how he had been at the orphanage. He nodded his head to show affirmation. “I remember everything clearly. I was just captured and held there a month ago.”
After hearing him say that, I came to a realization.
Nicolas’ experiment was to verify the flexibility of the genes in Anthony’s body. Naturally, he would have to select research subjects of different ages. This boy who called himself Shaun was just the right age, so he was abducted.
This explanation justified everything, but I couldn’t help but feel something didn’t add up somewhere.
It was just like he was purposely leading me to think in that direction so that my suspicions toward him would be abated.
However, I quickly denied my own doubts.
This boy standing before me was just a child. He was a poor soul who lost his family. Even staying alive was a challenge to him. How would he have the capacity for deception?
At that moment, I felt that I was too cynical. I had assumed that a child would behave in the same way as a scheming adult.
“Alright,” said Anthony. He didn’t seem to be suspicious of anything, he just nodded and excused Shaun. “It’s getting late, you should go get some rest.”
“Yes, sir.” Shaun bowed slightly in a respectful manner and turned to leave the living room.
Everything was silent once again. I noticed that Anthony’s gaze was pinned on Shaun’s retreating back. Evidently, he was just as suspicious of him as I was.
“What are you thinking?” I asked.
Hearing my voice, Anthony turned to face me. Out of nowhere, he said, “No matter how obedient or cultured he may sound, these are not reasons for him to stay and get close to Audrey.”
After saying that, he lifted the cup of hot tea to his lips. He then took his time savoring the tea and did not say anything else.
Since our thoughts were aligned, there was no need to say everything out loud. Seeing that Anthony was as concerned as I was, the uneasiness that I felt arising out of worry for my daughter’s safety was repressed.
The next day, Anthony woke up early in the morning. After having breakfast, he took Gregory and me to the villa in the western suburbs.
The normal accompanying staff was replaced by M Country mercenaries who were hired by John. After they changed into casual clothes, they were put under Millie’s command.
Joseph was already waiting at the entrance of the villa.
“Where is she?” Anthony asked coldly.
“In the master bedroom on the first floor. Ms. Hall kept begging for us to get a doctor…”
Anthony simply ignored what he said and went into the villa with long strides.
I expected a Hall property to be either luxurious yet low profile or high-class and extravagant. Upon entering, I immediately noticed the peculiar interior of the villa. Colorful graffiti covered the walls. There wasn’t much furniture in the living room, but there were many carefully placed items in various shapes. It seemed to be for practicing skating.
Tiffany always appeared before everyone in heels. Who would have known that she had such a hobby in private?
While curiously studying the house, we followed Anthony to the room where Tiffany was.
As soon as Joseph opened the door, we saw a man and a woman huddled together at one side of the bed.
Looking more closely, the woman was none other than the haughty Tiffany Hall. Perhaps due to lack of rest, her face was pale at the moment.
The man was seated on the bed, with the lower half of his body covered under the blanket. He did not make a move to get down from the bed even after seeing us.
Both their eyes were slightly red and swollen. It was quite obvious that they had cried before we came in.
“Anthony! What right do you have to chase away my personal doctor? Can you bear the responsibility if someone dies?” Tiffany started yelling at us the moment she saw us. “He is your brother-in-law! How could you be so heartless?”
Tilting his head slightly, Anthony glanced toward the bed indifferently. “So? Isn’t he still alive and well?”
“You…” Tiffany was so angered that she could not speak. She kept sputtering and was unable to form a coherent sentence. “I… You. You’re being unreasonable!”
Anthony was unfazed by the maniacal Tiffany. He walked to the side of the bed and stared down at the man. Even while standing at the door some distance away from them, Anthony’s formidable aura could still be felt.
Except for Tiffany, everything else in this villa was unusual. From the bizarre renovation to the baffling furniture, it was hard to tell whether the scruffy and bearded man was an artist or a reclusive shut-in.
If I wasn’t mistaken, when Tiffany mentioned “brother-in-law”, she was referring to the man on the bed.
From what I remember, Tiffany was not married. Moreover, based on her identity and status, it was hard to link her and the man together with the concept of love and marriage.
Tiffany seemed to be very afraid that Anthony would harm the man. As soon as he got close, Tiffany sat on the side of the bed and held the man in her arms tightly. Her eyes were alert and panicked. “Anthony, please don’t hurt him. I was the one behind everything. I will bear responsibility for all of it. Please consider the fact that I am your sister and hire someone to care for him. I have already caused him too much harm. I cannot drag him into my mess anymore.”
I thought the man was deaf. “T-Tiffany…” He suddenly called out in a fearful voice.
Hearing his voice, Tiffany turned to look at him. Her eyes immediately became watery, and tears were about to spill out at any moment.
Anthony was not bothered with their act of being star-crossed lovers. He coolly said, “Speak up now, my dear sister. Besides the obituary, what other good things did you have a hand in?”
There were no warnings or threats, but Anthony emphasized heavily on the words “good things”.
Perhaps she knew that this was the calm before the storm, or maybe she thought back to all the times she nearly died at Anthony’s hands – Tiffany was terrified. In a shaky voice, she said, “I-I was the one who suggested hypnosis to Dad. But I was forced to do so! Dad was too frightening. In these thirty years, he controlled everything I did. Which school I went to, the people I saw, how many assets I have under my name… Everything had to be according to his wishes. Only by doing so would I be considered a child of the Hall family and become an emotionless robot like he was!”
“But he didn’t stop there. He wanted to control not only everything we did but also how we think!”
She paused and turned to caress the man’s cheek. Her expression was suddenly full of sadness. “I chose Keith, but Dad ordered for people to break his legs. He threatened me that if I wanted Keith to stay alive, I have to go back and fulfill my duties as his obedient daughter. I could only compromise, but the seed of hatred was deeply planted in my heart. I swore I would escape from this hell hole one day!”
“Finally, you appeared, and Dad had a breakthrough in his genetic experiment. If you had brought back the children, I would have successfully completed my escape plan. As fate would have it, you were too headstrong. You were even tougher than Nathaniel and me. Hence, you would never bow down before Dad. I was about to give up on this plan until our headquarters was completely submerged in the ocean. The flame of hope in my heart was ignited once again. The explosion on the island dealt a great blow to the Hall family and gave me a chance. I proposed to Dad that we could hypnotize you so that the Hall family could have a perfect puppet. I, on the other hand, would be able to amass resources under your cover and wait for the best chance to leave.”
Hearing Tiffany’s confession, I couldn’t help but feel that her whole life had been tragic and pitiful. “Even so, you had six years to leave, but you dragged on until now. To put it simply, your greed has caused your own demise.”
“So what if I was greedy?” Tiffany raised her voice all of a sudden. “It was what I deserved! Do you think my ranking in the Forbes list meant anything? In reality, all those assets were monitored by the Hall family! Besides daily expenses, I didn’t even have the right to take a million for myself. Therefore, I could only turn my attention toward the company. I was about to leave, but all of a sudden you decided to freeze the company’s assets. I was left with no choice but to kidnap Gregory in exchange for sufficient money to elope with Keith. I swear to you Anthony. I had no intention of harming Gregory!”
While prattling on about her predicament, she clasped her hands together and kept begging for Anthony’s forgiveness. “Please let us go, Anthony. I promise you. We will never appear before you ever again…” Tiffany was betting on Anthony’s mercy. She did not appear to be the slightest remorseful at putting her own nephew at risk.
If we had not tagged along and followed Anthony here, Gregory and I would never know that this woman, who kept preaching that we were all family, would betray us all in a heartbeat for her own gain.
“You are truly the good daughter of Nicolas Hall,” I said with gritted teeth. My hands would have balled up into fists if I hadn’t been holding Gregory’s shoulders. “If Anthony had not seen through your plan, Gregory would have been kidnapped by you. Did you ever consider the trauma you could cause to a six-year-old child if that were to happen?”
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.
Leave a Reply