At this very moment, even a brief second of tranquility was more than Ramona could bear.
She had been rattled to her core by the surveillance footage, tears streaming down her face as she screamed, “This is it! I’ve said all I can say! Please, please let me go! I haven’t even started anything! It wasn’t me who messed with your mom; it was all the Grimshaws. I was cornered. I was truly forced!”
Vivienne settled back on the couch, her gaze drifting lightly over Ramona. It was unclear whether she believed her or not. She crossed her legs and said nothing.
Percival had been silent since the beginning, his eyes only on Vivienne, not deviating in the slightest, playing the role of the devoted husband to perfection. Ramona’s eyes flickered swiftly.
It seemed like a flash of resentment passed through them.
But it was so quick no one saw.
“Ma’am.” Anna stood by her, Ramona’s tireless voice echoing in her ears.
She turned a deaf ear, simply waiting for Vivienne’s command.
It was hard to tell how much time had passed before Vivienne finally spoke indifferently, “Let her go.”
The evening wind sliced across Ramona’s face like a blade.
She sped along the freeway, scenes from the night's confrontation with Vivienne racing through her mind.
Her heart burned with fury!
If it weren’t for the mission, if her meridians hadn’t been altered, preventing her from using force!
She would've twisted Vivienne’s head off herself!
Ramona’s eyes were dark with malice, focused on the road ahead, completely oblivious to the black car tailing her closely.
In an unseen corner, two figures vanished swiftly into the darkness.
After passing the Rivenwood toll booth, they headed straight for the suburbs!
When Matthew's message came through, Vivienne had just finished her nightly routine and was ready for bed. His message read, [Donald is on it; the target is moving towards Capital Edge Estates, still in transit.]
Vivienne replied, [Keep on her tail; we need to know who’s behind Ramona.]
With a few terse messages sent, Vivienne turned off her phone.
...
The next day.
As Vivienne opened her eyes, Percival was already gone from her side.
She checked her phone, and a message from Matthew popped up immediately, [At seven sharp this morning, we lost contact with Donald, suspect danger!]
"What happened?"
Without hesitation, Vivienne got out of bed and called Matthew.
His voice was a bit rushed but composed, "I was in contact with Donald last night, but this morning, there’s been no response to calls or texts. We've heard from the people watching Ramona’s place that she's back from the suburbs, but there's still no word from Donald..."
Vivienne ordered, “Alert everyone, find Donald—dead or alive!”
She hung up quickly, then dialed Draven, "Issue the Order of Nine Mystics Society, search every nook of Rivenwood, including the suburbs. We must find Donald."
She couldn’t afford to delay.
Quickly dressed, Vivienne grabbed her gear and headed out.
Just as she stepped out of the apartment, her phone vibrated. She checked it swiftly, not Matthew, not Draven.
But the text that came was chilling enough, [Next time, I won’t go easy on you!]
After the threatening words was a picture of Donald tied to a post, strapped with the latest model of a time bomb—instead of gunpowder, the glass vials were filled with an unknown green liquid.
The sender even had the audacity to include the address of the mansion.
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