Free Web NovelChapter 277: Chapter 280: The Inevitable Has Happened
An idea was brewing in Charlotte Shaw’s mind.
For the past two days, she had been wandering around the villa with nothing to do. She went from the bathroom to the kitchen, and after finishing that circuit, she would go wander into Willow Quincy’s room.
She paced back and forth in the area where Willow Quincy was working.
The soft patter of her footsteps constantly echoed in his ears, making it impossible for him to concentrate on his work.
Helpless, he had no choice but to take Charlotte Shaw’s hand and coax her gently. "Sonia, you’ve been pacing around my room for two days. Is there something you want to tell me?"
"Tsk..." Charlotte Shaw frowned in annoyance and pulled her hand out of Willow Quincy’s grasp.
"No."
Willow Quincy patiently asked again, "Then is there something you want?"
Charlotte Shaw clasped her hands behind her back. Her expression was cold, and she refused to even look at him. "That’s not it either."
Willow Quincy: "Then are you in a bad mood? Do you want to curse at me to blow off some steam?"
"..." Charlotte Shaw gave him a blank look. "What good would cursing at you do?"
Willow Quincy chuckled. "Then hit me. Surely hitting me would help you let off some steam?"
Charlotte Shaw: "I’d be afraid of dirtying my hands."
Willow Quincy: "Then I’ll do it. You can watch me hit myself, Sonia. Maybe that will help you blow off some steam."
"..." Charlotte Shaw shot him another look, not bothering to waste her breath on this nonsense.
"So boring..." She kicked Willow Quincy’s leg and stormed out of the room, thoroughly displeased.
"BUZZ—"
"BUZZ—"
But just as she reached the doorway, Willow Quincy’s phone suddenly started to buzz.
"Hm?" She stopped in her tracks, turning to look at Willow Quincy behind his desk. "Who’s calling you? I want to hear!"
Willow Quincy picked up the phone he had set aside and glanced down at the screen.
The screen displayed an unfamiliar number. The format was different from a personal one—it was clearly the official number of a company or institution.
Willow Quincy stared at the number, a strange sense of foreboding creeping into his heart.
"Answer it already," Charlotte Shaw urged from the doorway. "They’re going to hang up if you don’t pick up."
"..." For once, Willow Quincy ignored her.
"Someone!" he yelled toward the door.
The bodyguard on duty by the staircase heard the call and came running at once.
"Mr. Quincy."
Willow Quincy: "Take Sonia back to her room. No one is to let her out without my permission."
The bodyguard respectfully replied, "Yes, sir," then seized Charlotte Shaw’s arm and forcibly dragged her out of the room.
"...Huh?" Charlotte Shaw was completely stunned. Before she could even react, the bodyguard had thrown her back into her own room.
"BAM!"
The door slammed shut right in front of her. She had been locked up for no apparent reason.
Meanwhile, Willow Quincy finally answered the phone.
"Hello?"
"Hello, is this Mr. Willow Quincy?"
The woman on the other end of the line spoke in a very formal, standard dialect.
"Speaking," Willow Quincy answered cautiously. "May I ask who this is?"
The woman replied, "My name is Lane, and I’m the Deputy Captain of the Aethelburg Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division. I’m calling because there are a few matters I’d like to verify with you."
"...Go ahead, Captain Lane." Willow Quincy’s expression subtly darkened.
There was a hint of a smile in Captain Lane’s voice. "It’s a bit complicated and not really convenient to discuss over the phone. Would it be possible for you to make a trip back to Aethelburg?"
"I’m afraid that’s not possible," Willow Quincy refused without hesitation, using the same old excuse.
"Captain Lane, I’m only just recovering from a serious injury, and my doctor has specifically instructed me not to overexert myself. Veridia is a long way from Aethelburg, and my body simply can’t handle such a long car ride."
"Anything you need to verify can be done over the phone. I will be sure to answer everything truthfully."
"...Is that so." Captain Lane paused to think. Instead of taking him up on his offer, she said with a chuckle, "Well, since it’s inconvenient for you, Mr. Quincy, I suppose our team from the Criminal Investigation Division will just have to make a trip out to Veridia."
"This matter is too important to be handled hastily over the phone. We really must discuss it in person. What do you say, Mr. Quincy?"
"...You have a point, Captain Lane." Willow Quincy’s tone remained polite, but his face was now cold as frost.
Captain Lane: "Which hospital in Veridia are you in, Mr. Quincy? Give me the address, and we can get ready to leave right away."
Willow Quincy: "Pleasant Heart Private Hospital in Veridia. When you get here, just give my name to the receptionist, and a nurse will bring you to my room."
"Alright," Captain Lane agreed readily. "We’ll leave it at that. We can discuss everything else when we meet."
Willow Quincy: "Alright."
Captain Lane hung up first.
"...What’s meant to happen will happen." Willow Quincy set down his phone, a self-deprecating sneer on his lips. "I thought, even if I couldn’t take you away, I’d at least have a little more time with you. Who knew they’d track me down so fast..."
"Really... It’s as if the heavens themselves are punishing me."
...
An hour later, Willow Quincy finally let Charlotte Shaw out.
Willow Quincy had finished packing and was about to head downstairs.
"Where are you going?" Charlotte Shaw demanded from the living room, staring at his retreating back.
Willow Quincy paused and turned around with a smile. "Our visas are about ready. I’m taking some people with me to go pick them up."
"..." The news was so dreadful that Charlotte Shaw was struck speechless.
His gaze softened as he looked at her. "Sonia, once I have the visas, we can leave this place. We’ll go somewhere you like, so you can live the life you want."
"...In your dreams." Charlotte Shaw shot him a scathing look, then took two steps back, hooked the edge of the door with her foot, and slammed it shut.
With a loud BANG, Charlotte Shaw vanished from sight.
Willow Quincy stared dazedly at the spot where she had been standing, only turning to go downstairs when his assistant prompted him.
The car was already waiting at the front gate. As soon as Willow Quincy stepped outside, he got right in.
"How long is the drive to Veridia from here?" he asked.
The driver answered, "Without traffic, it should take about four hours."
The assistant added, "Don’t worry, Mr. Quincy. I’ve already taken care of everything with the hospital."
"Mm," Willow Quincy replied, leaning back against the seat and closing his eyes wearily. "It’s almost a six-hour drive from Aethelburg to Veridia. That should be more than enough time, but we still need to be as quick as we can. We can’t risk those cops figuring anything out."
"Yes, sir!" the driver replied.
「Meanwhile, at the Quincy family residence in Aethelburg.」
A group of police officers suddenly appeared in the courtyard. "Excuse me, is Mr. Finn Quincy home?"
The housekeeper, who was in the middle of sweeping snow, was so intimidated by the officers’ presence that she was momentarily too startled to speak.
The lead officer asked again patiently, "Hello, is Mr. Finn Quincy home?"
"Who is it?" Cecilia Quincy called out, walking out of the living room with a foul look on her face.
