Not wanting to say much else, he grabbed Cathy’s hand. “Cathy, let’s go.”
“Go? Are you sure you can leave?”
The chill in Shirley’s emotionless voice was palpable.
Adam looked at Shirley, tightening his grip on Cathy’s hand, and continued toward the door.
Barely a few steps and Shirley’s voice drifted from behind once again.
“Adam, I brought her here so that you can be content with your lot. Don’t you even think about stepping out of the door.”
Upon hearing these words, Cathy instantly understood.
She was merely bait for Adam, who would come and look for her here, luring him into this trap.
Adam’s fists clenched as he suddenly turned around. When he saw Shirley smoking in a carefree demeanor, his face fell. “Shirley, you should’ve already read dad’s notebook. Why are you still acting like this?”
Shirley stepped toward Adam, her face insipid. “Adam, you’re already an adult. Are you so naive to think you could solve this matter, one that had been gnawing at my mind for all these years, just by doing that? Let me tell you. It’s not possible!”
She gritted her teeth as she spat out the last three words.
Adam could deeply sense Shirley’s heartlessness. He also knew there was nothing else that he needed to say. He only wanted to get Cathy away from here.
“If you just want to keep me here, I’ll stay. Let Cathy go,” Adam requested firmly.
However, Shirley would certainly not agree to that. “None of you are allowed to leave,” she said, her eyebrows raised.
After her cold words, she instructed the maid next to her before she went upstairs.
As Adam stared at Shirley’s figure decisively walking away, he could not help but frown.
Cathy, seeing Adam’s troubled expression, tried to ease his anxiety.
“Let’s just stay here then, treat this as a holiday. You’re her brother, so she shouldn’t do anything to you.”
Adam sighed softly after hearing that. He looked at Cathy; his eyes filled with regret while hers flickered with a smile.
“I’m sorry for dragging you into this. I’m the one she’s after.”
“I should be the one apologizing. If it wasn’t for me, you won’t even be in this mess,” Cathy apologized, then thanked him sincerely. “Adam, I’m very grateful for your concern. No one else has shown me such care besides my parents.”
Adam’s eyes glinted, feeling touched by her words.
While he knew Felipe had been executed, he never thought that he would get his chance this way.
However, a selfish notion lingered in his mind–the notion to grab the chance to care for her forever.
As Adam brought Cathy to the room that Shirley had arranged for them, he surveyed the surroundings. While it might seem easy to escape, Adam doubted that was the case.
Judging from Cathy’s words, Adam also finally understood the kind of person Carter was.
Cathy was unclear as to Carter’s and Shirley’s purpose for trapping Adam here.
However, Adam quickly dispelled Cathy’s uncertainty.
“They don’t want me to develop an anti-toxoid test reagent that cures the poison within Eveline’s body.” Adam could see through their plan. “Shirley developed a type of poison, which has been taking effect in Eveline’s body. She doesn’t want me to develop an anti-toxoid test reagent to combat this poison.”
“What? There’s still poison in Evie’s body?”
“That’s right.” Adam frowned in distress. “I truly don’t understand why on earth Shirley’s doing this.”
“Perhaps it’s not what she wants to do, but who she’s doing this for.”
Upon hearing Cathy’s words, Adam was stunned as realization hit him. “Could it be Carter? She’s doing this for Carter.”
“I think so.” Cathy was certain about this.
She suddenly thought she could see her old self in Shirley.
Back then, she would similarly do anything for Felipe without hesitation. She would do it for Felipe no matter what it was.
Back then, she had even hypnotized Kendrick for that man…
However, that day was already long gone.
Now, not only was that day long gone but so too was that person.
While she was lost in thought, she heard Adam’s phone ringing.
“It’s Kendrick,” Adam said, gesturing to Cathy to not make a sound.
Cathy nodded, then Adam picked up the phone. “Don’t worry. I assure you, I’ll develop the anti-toxoid test reagent to heal Eveline as soon as possible. I’ve been busy with my research recently, so don’t worry if you can’t contact me. I’ll call the moment there’s an update.”
Cathy could tell that Adam did not want Kendrick to know about his captivity. Her heart suddenly ached for this man who always prioritized the needs of others with little consideration for himself.
Meanwhile, Kendrick, oblivious to Adam’s and Cathy’s plight, had been mostly concerned about Fabian’s movements all this while.
Based on what he understood about the situation so far, Fabian would be reaching Glendale in two days.
When Niamh had learned this, her immediate concern was her precious daughter.
She knew the little princess truly wanted to see Fabian.
Fabian must have an extraordinary presence in the little princess’s pure heart.
However, she did not tell Lillian about the possibility of seeing Fabian again. She sent the children to school as usual, and on her way home, she got a call from Kendrick. He told her Fabian would be arriving at Glendale by plane in an hour.
Niamh drove straight to the Glendale Airport. About two hours later, Niamh had yet to see Fabian at the airport exit.
At this moment, a tall figure appeared out of nowhere at the entrance of the kindergarten Lillian and Jackson attended.
The man wore a black coat over his towering figure, emitting a cold and mature air of austerity.
He stepped forward, approaching the guardhouse by the entrance.
When the guard saw the man, he went up and asked, “Who are you looking for, sir?”
“I’m looking for a child named Lillian Waldburg from Sunflower Class B,” the man said calmly.
The guard thoughtfully regarded the man. “Sir, who are you to Lillian Waldburg?”
The man briefly froze, then answered, “I’m her family.”
“Family?” The guard was doubtful. Before he could ask further, the man handed him a photo.
It was a photo of him and Lillian.
When the guard saw this photo, he lowered his guard. “Wait here for a moment.”
“Okay.” The man nodded slightly. He saw the guard walking in, and soon after, a petite figure appeared.
The class teacher held Lillian’s hand as they slowly walked toward him.
Upon seeing that pure and adorable face again, the man’s eyes narrowed, subtly glinting.
As Lillian finally saw the man, her small legs slowly came to a halt.
When the class teacher saw that Lillian had stopped, she curiously looked at the man standing outside the gate. She then bent down and gently asked Lillian, “Lily, do you know that man? If you do, nod your head. If you don’t, you can shake your head to tell me.”
After the class teacher had spoken, Lillian neither shook nor nodded her head for more than ten seconds.
The class teacher found this to be a little peculiar. She knew that while Lillian could not speak, she could understand simple sentences.
She glanced at the man outside the gate and let go of Lillian’s hand before walking over.
“What’s your name, sir? You’d said that you’re Lillian’s family, but it seems that she doesn’t know you.” The class teacher voiced her concern.
“My last name is Johnson,” the man replied. He looked toward Lillian, who remained unmoving, and slowly took out a piece of candy from his pocket.
Lillian seemed to be roused by the candy. She blinked her vivid, clear, and large eyes, then put her small hand into her pocket and took out a similar-looking candy.
When the man outside the gate saw the piece of candy in that small hand, a smile appeared on his handsome face.
“Long time no see, Lily,” Fabian said in a soft voice as he reached out his hand to Lillian.
Lillian gazed into Fabian’s eyes, gleaming with a warm smile, before taking a few steps forward slowly.
As the class teacher watched this transpiring, she asked again, concerned, “Lily, do you actually know this man?”
Lily, no longer silent, nodded seriously.
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.