Chapter 915
+25 BONUS
“According to the surveillance footage, Sharon and Wendy were most likely smuggled out inside a garbage truck …” Julliard’s assistant reported.
Julliard’s face drained of color.
He had been too confident.
He had believed this hospital was firmly under his control and safe. He hadn’t expected Jamie to resort to such vile, underhanded tactics.
Forcing himself to stay calm, Julliard asked, “Have you sent people after them?”
The assistant lowered his voice. “Yes, men have already been dispatched. But… the situation may not be promising. If the enemy could come up with such a method to abduct them, their counter–surveillance skills must also be formidable.”
Julliard struggled upright. “Prepare the car. I’ll go with you to search.”
Seeing how pale he looked, the assistant hesitated, then suggested, “Sir, you should focus on recovery. If your wound worsens and you collapse, rescuing Sharon will only become harder.”
After a pause, he added, “Should we inform Mr. Biggs? If Simon learns Sharon is missing, he will certainly send reinforcements.”
Julliard’s rejection was instinctive. “No. They must not know.” (1
After all, it was because of his own selfish motives that Sharon remained in this hospital. And now, because of his negligence, she had vanished.
This was his territory, his city. If he still had to borrow Carter’s men, what would that make him? Pathetic.
Incompetent.
Closing his eyes, he drew in a long, steadying breath.
“Send out everyone we have. Sharon hasn’t been gone long–they can’t have gotten far. And issue orders: this must be kept secret. Not a word is to leak out.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll see to it immediately.”
As his assistant left, Julliard sat in silence, for the first time truly regretting that he had let himself be injured so badly, just to win Sharon’s trust. 1
Now, when she needed him most, he had the will but not the strength.
Leistre, the Ferrero Estate
Thomas had been in Zachemaine for several months without showing his face.
Many within the Ferrero family assumed their patriarch had met yet another untimely end. Seizing the chance,
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Chapter 915
they launched into vicious infighting, each faction eager to claim the head seat.
His timely return alone had quelled the turmoil.
+25 BONUS
But those who thought him dead had already played their hidden cards, forcing him to contend with trouble he hadn’t foreseen. If not for their impatience during his absence, their schemes might one day have dealt him a far greater blow.
In a way, the disaster had become a blessing. From this day forward, as long as he lived, none in the family would dare to stir unrest again.
Thomas leaned back in his chair, eyes closed, quietly planning the time of his return.
He still had loose ends to tie up here, and gifts to prepare for Sharon, Wendy, Theo, and Matty.
By next week, he could go back.
In his room, a violin piece played softly–one Sharon had performed herself.
For weeks now, he had relied on her music to fall asleep. It worked surprisingly well.
Since staying by her side, his insomnia had eased. He no longer lay awake through the night as he once had.
Leaning against the chair, he drifted into slumber.
He didn’t know how much time had passed when he jolted awake.
The music had stopped at some unknown point. From the speaker came only a faint crackle of static. The sound was strangely eerie.
The room lay silent and hollow, filled with a faint, oppressive chill.
A peculiar unease stirred in his chest.
He had dreamed–a nightmare.
Since adulthood, he had never dreamed such things. Even demons despised him; nightmares had no place in his sleep.
And yet this time, he had dreamed of one thing: Sharon was in danger.
