She took out her computer, which hadn’t been touched in ages, from the cabinet. Back then, Heather had purposely looked for someone well-versed in PC building to make this computer for her. Ever since she brought it back from overseas, the computer had always been locked away in the cabinet. Today, it finally saw daylight again.
She switched the computer on. Heather had previously been overly reliant on Leo to the point that her own skills had rusted by now. Although she wasn’t a hacker, she was still very informed about computers. In particular, she was skilled at obtaining information that she wanted from them. With that, Heather entered the useful bits of information that she had wrung from the kidnappers into the computer, believing that she’d be able to find some clues from it.
“The outlaws.” Heather kept repeating those words. “Are they from Bradfort City, or did they come from somewhere else?”
There had to be a complicated connection tying everything together. Heather forced herself to think calmly, but her heart was already accelerating with nervousness. After all, she had never met such kidnappers before; they didn’t bring up any demands and only focused on humiliation. Not only that, they didn’t allow Heather to contact anyone else.
Stranger still was Myra’s disappearance, for Tony should have known about it instantly. Heather’s mind was filled with questions when it came to Tony’s current whereabouts. At last, she came to a conclusion.
“There must be a spy around Myra.”
At that moment, Heather recalled the new maid who had started working at Myra’s house. That woman was way too suspicious. As she pondered over this piece of information, Heather thought of a breakthrough—she would use her computer to draw a picture of that woman’s face. Heather’s fundamentals when it came to drawing was solid. Even though the woman’s face was already blurry in her mind. she would still do her best to recreate the woman’s likeness.
Soon, Heather had a draft on her screen. She looked at the picture on her computer, but there was a nagging feeling that something wasn’t quite right. Why was this woman’s face getting more and more hazy? This shouldn’t have happened. After all, she had a strong memory.
“What’s the problem here?” Heather asked in agony. The woman’s voice still rang out clearly in her mind, so why couldn’t she remember the woman’s face?
“Something must be up, right?” Heather began to mutter to herself. She was forcing herself to figure it out, for she didn’t have much time. The sooner she figured out what she was missing, the sooner she could rescue Myra from the hellhole she was in. But once again, the sense that she was being watched came over her again. Heather kept feeling that she was under surveillance, and the feeling left her uneasy.
How could things have developed in such an awful direction? Heather immediately tossed her stylus aside, furious at this fruitless investigation. Initially, she thought that she would’ve been able to find some kind of breakthrough. If it wasn’t for the kidnappers, Heather would have immediately charged over to Myra’s home this instant. Then, she’d be able to find out how that woman looked.
Meanwhile, Myra was deeply asleep. One of the young men there spoke to the ringleader. “This woman is pregnant. If we keep injecting her with sedatives, she’s going to have a miscarriage.” The young man had a polite and put-together look to him, and he wore a white coat over his clothes. In other words, he looked to have once been a doctor. However, no one knew how he had ended up getting entangled with this bunch of crooks.
The ringleader immediately slapped the young man’s face, and the loud smack startled the others to no end.
“Is she Tony’s wife or yours? Why would you care if someone else’s wife miscarries her kid?” the ringleader answered furiously, putting more emphasis on his words when he brought up Tony’s name.
“Boss, you should know very well how powerful Tony is in Bradfort City. If we end up maiming his wife permanently while toying with her, I’m worried that our lives will be unpleasant in the future,” the young man said as he broke things down logically for the ringleader despite the blood trickling from his mouth due to the earlier slap.
“You p*ssy, when have our lives been great? I don’t care about having one extra enemy.” The ringleader had lost all sense of reason. He looked insane, and it made the young man shiver beside him. After that, he didn’t dare to make another peep.
The ringleader eyed Myra while she was locked up in the glass room. She looked pitiful.
“Hmph!” He gave a cold scoff and muttered, “If you have to blame something, blame the fact that you’re Tony’s wife.”
From the looks of things, the ringleader had some personal grudge against Tony. Then, his eyes moved to Myra’s slightly swollen belly. When it occurred to him that Tony’s spawn was inside it, he wished for nothing more than to destroy it.
If it wasn’t for the fact that he still had to abide by his superiors’ orders, the ringleader would have definitely tortured Myra without hesitation. After all, she was someone that Tony treasured above anyone else. Causing Myra pain would be even more of a rush than causing Tony pain, but the ringleader forced himself to tamp down his hatred. After all, now was not the time for revenge.
Meanwhile, Myra drifted in and out of consciousness. The young man hadn’t dared to overly sedate her because of her pregnancy, so Myra could vaguely make out their conversation. She was currently paralyzed in her daze, unable to move at all. Although she tried to shake herself awake from her half-conscious state, her efforts were futile.
Right now, all she hoped for was for Tony to find her soon. Myra believed that Tony would definitely save her. To her, Tony was someone who was capable of anything, and she firmly believed that he wouldn’t let anything happen to her.
Concurrently, someone knocked on Heather’s door even though she had locked herself in. Her train of thought derailed, she called out to the unwanted guest irately. “Go away.”
The butler was left hapless outside her door, and he wondered if he made Heather displeased because he had told Robert something he shouldn’t have. Still, he was a responsible man; Robert had called for Heather to come downstairs to eat, so he needed to relay that message to her.
“Miss Heather, the Old Master has requested for you to have your meal,” the butler said, pressing himself against the door.
Heather was in no mood to eat, so she answered irritably, “I don’t want to eat. No one is supposed to disturb me.” Her tone was very unfriendly, and the butler already assumed that she was still throwing a fit over last night’s events. He had known how to cajole Heather ever since she was a young girl, so the butler employed a kindly tone in an attempt to coax her.
“Please don’t bother me, okay?” Heather said, her tone still unfriendly. She was now in the middle of a critical task, so she could not afford to be distracted at all. Anyone would have been frantic by now, and their tone would be extremely scathing due to their bad mood. As a result, the butler left angrily.
Nonetheless, he still had some boundaries he wouldn’t cross. He must not let Robert know about this interaction, for Robert was not in good health. If he were to find out that Heather had said such things, he would certainly be furious again. When the butler came back to the dining room, he whispered into Robert’s ear and said, “Miss Heather is feeling unwell. She has no appetite for dinner.”
The other Langstons were all seated by the dining table. Although Robert knew that this was Heather’s way of worming out of dinner, he couldn’t possibly lose his temper right there. Hence, he nodded at the butler. “Send some food to her room later.”
Robert understood Heather’s personality. She was a stubborn person, and she was someone who wouldn’t budge her stance even when faced with another person’s strong personality. To be fair, he had indeed crossed the line earlier with his words in the study. Still, Heather had never been this rude by going off her personality. In the end, Robert thought that he should personally go up to Heather’s room later after dinner.
Meanwhile, Heather wiped the sweat off her forehead. She still hadn’t found any clues, and she wished for nothing more than to smash the computer into pieces right now. The violent emotions she felt had intensified recently; although she previously wanted to change her thoughts, she felt like letting them burst the more she tried to repress them.
“There’s definitely something up with that woman.” Heather was sure of this, but unfortunately, the woman’s features were not drawn accurately. She had kept searching all this while, but she still couldn’t find out the woman’s true identity.
“A university student who’s working part-time too.” Heather thought of Everly. Everly was currently studying at the best university in Bradfort City, so perhaps she would know of a woman like this.
Having thought of a possible breakthrough, Heather opened the door and rushed off in search of Everly. The latter should be downstairs eating dinner at this hour, and Heather had no idea what Robert would think if she just ran downstairs like this because of her earlier altercation with him.
Still, time was of the essence right now, and Heather could not let this matter wait anymore. She hesitated for a moment before charging downstairs to Everly.
It was rare to see Heather like this. Her face was wan and haggard, and she was still dressed in her pajamas—even her hair was a tousled mess. Heather was typically well-groomed and put together each time she made an appearance, so her disheveled look greatly startled the Langstons.
Robert was prepared to give Heather a lecture when he saw her, but then he saw the latter simply dragging Everly away under everyone’s surprised gazes.
“I need Everly’s help with something,” Heather said as she pulled Everly upstairs.
Blake couldn’t get enough of this sight, and he proceeded to make light of the situation. “Heather has been acting less like herself nowadays.”
Robert eyed Blake, for he didn’t like people who spoke out of turn. Still, Blake couldn’t let such a good opportunity like this go.
“Looks like Heather has been staying at home for too long. It’s indeed a waste of her talents. Why don’t we let Heather work at the Langston Group again?” Blake said while grinning before he changed the topic. “However, her position has been given to Everly already. If she returns to work with us, what position should she take up instead?”
Robert looked at Blake angrily. He truly couldn’t stand Blake’s deliberate attempt to fan the flames, so he just said, “I’m finished with my meal.” Then, he put his cutlery aside and gave his parting words. “Enjoy your dinner.”
The Langstons, who had initially been watching the show, immediately put on solemn expressions. After all, they didn’t dare to let any signs of lightheartedness show on their faces again.
Blake had offended Robert again, and Robert was growing less fond of him by the day. He even contemplated whether he should pull Blake from his position. In fact, Robert already had that thought in mind ever since the Moriarty Family came to Bradfort City. After all, Blake’s skills were not enough to face them.
And now, Heather and Blake were being antagonistic toward each other. Robert had no idea how he should manage the situation; Blake would not accept Heather, and it was clearly impossible to get Heather to help Blake at the Langston Group. When he went upstairs with the butler helping to support his weight, Robert asked him, “Have I really gotten old?”
“You are certainly not old. Your body is still well and healthy,” the butler consoled him.
“Don’t say things that will make me happy. Look at my grandchildren; they don’t listen to me. I truly have gotten old, and I can’t manage them anymore,” Robert lamented. If Heather hadn’t still been a filial granddaughter, Robert had no idea how chaotic the Langston Family would be.
“Old Master, the children will make their own path. You don’t have to worry yourself too much. This too shall pass.” The butler was more optimistic, and he was confident in the Langstons’ future.
“What on earth is Heather doing in her room?” Robert had been filled with curiosity when it came to Heather’s lack of manners earlier. He remembered that the butler had gone up to her room earlier, so the butler should probably know a thing or two.
“She probably has something on her mind.” The butler didn’t know how to answer that, for Heather was rarely this rude. The butler felt that things weren’t this simple, but he didn’t want Robert to worry himself over this either.
“Well then, never mind; I can’t keep her in line. I have an awful headache. Help me back to my room.” Robert didn’t want to keep worrying about this matter anymore. As such, he would leave Blake and Heather to their own devices.
