Holden was heading toward his study when Gideon rushed over, looking flustered. "Mr. Jacobs, something's happened."

Holden stopped, his face darkening. "What's all this noise? I told you to take the person to the secret room. Why are you here?"

Gideon, visibly shaken, replied, "Mr. Jacobs, someone tampered with the bookshelf in the study. Someone might have discovered our secret."

Holden's expression changed dramatically. He snarled, "What did you say?"

Gideon, nervous, continued, "Mr. Jacobs, someone entered the study. I've already stationed guards at the door. Our people will capture them as soon as they emerge. There's no escape."

Holden's expression eased slightly. Sheldon had been attacked yesterday, and now someone had broken into his study. No outsiders had recently entered Dungo Village, making it clear the Jacobs family was targeted. He couldn't figure out where things had gone wrong, but this wasn't the time for reflection. He would find out who dared to break into his secret room. Whoever it was, they wouldn't leave Dungo Village alive. If his secrets got out, everything would be over.

By the time Holden and Gideon reached the study entrance, the Jacobs family guards had assembled, each armed with various weapons. Holden's face was grim. Entering the study, he approached the bookshelf and immediately saw the switch book had been moved. Rage surged within him.

He turned to Gideon. "Has there been any outsider in Dungo Village recently?"

Gideon thought of Yvette but dismissed the idea. She was just a young lady; there was no way she could have broken into Mr. Jacobs's secret room. Any woman seeing what was inside would be terrified.

Gideon shook his head. "Mr. Jacobs, there haven't been any strangers in Dungo Village recently, except for the woman Sheldon brought back. But she's very quiet, rarely leaves her quarters, and mostly stays in her courtyard."

Holden couldn't believe someone capable of finding the secret room and harming Sheldon could be a mere woman. He gritted his teeth, waving Gideon over. "Prepare the torches. As soon as the intruders emerge, I want everyone who dared to enter the secret room burned to ashes."

Gideon nodded. "Don't worry, Mr. Jacobs. I'll handle it. There's no way they'll escape." He skillfully led a group of guards from the courtyard.

Under the sparse moonlight, the entire Jacobs residence soon lit up brightly. Holden's guards stood ready outside the study's courtyard. Holden stood silently in the center of the yard, his gaze fixed intently on the study door.

In the secret room, Winnie, now healed, trembled as she followed Yvette, Jeremiah, and Charles. At the entrance, Yvette looked inside, her brows knitting at the sight of the barely alive people crammed into large jars. A fierce, icy aura radiated from her.

Charles stepped forward. "Yvette, these people are living in unimaginable misery. Let's put an end to it for them."

Winnie, looking at the people in the jars, thought of herself. A look of sorrow and anger crossed her face. "Miss, they would rather die than live like this," she muttered bitterly.

"Mr. Jameson is right. Death is a mercy for them," Yvette agreed, nodding. Jeremiah stood beside her, taking her hand.

Charles immediately took out a time-activated bomb. One bomb was enough to level the secret room. The noise would alert Holden, but that was perfect. After all the innocent lives he'd taken, Holden's end couldn't come soon enough.

He carefully placed the bomb, closed the door, and returned to Yvette and Jeremiah. "Yvette, Jeremiah, in half an hour, the bomb will go off," he said seriously.

Yvette nodded, her expression impassive. "Let's go."

They left as they had arrived: a group of three, now four. Passing through the tunnel, Charles was about to open the door when Yvette and Jeremiah stopped him. "Hold it. Someone's there."

Winnie, rescued but shivering, huddled close, glancing nervously between them. Yvette's lips curved slightly. "Feel like a fight?"

Jeremiah nodded. "Want to make it a contest?"

Yvette tilted her head. "Sure." She raised her brows casually. "The Jacobs family guards are all outside."

Jeremiah chuckled lightly. "Plenty of them, too."

Charles felt his eye twitch. Only Yvette and Jeremiah would bet on a situation like this. Anything could happen around them. Judging by their words, the guards outside had already discovered them. Those poor souls outside had no idea what they were in for. If Yvette was personally involved… Holden's fate would be worse than death.

Winnie stood frozen. Meanwhile, Holden had been waiting for over half an hour, his patience wearing thin. Anxiety gnawed at him, especially about the poisonous insects. He'd secured a seven-million offer for them; if anything went wrong, it would all be lost.

Finally, the bookshelf door opened. Holden watched the people stepping out, his gaze sharp and venomous. Gideon narrowed his eyes as he saw Yvette. He pointed a trembling finger. "Mr. Jacobs, she's the woman Sheldon brought back a couple of days ago!"

Holden glared at Yvette with fury. "Who the hell are you?"

Yvette spared him a glance, her gaze icy and empty. Her aura made Holden instinctively take a step back. He grew enraged. "Who are you people, and why have you broken into the Jacobs residence? Leave that woman behind. She's a maid of the Jacobs family!"

Winnie cowered behind Charles. Jeremiah stepped forward, his eyes flashing. As Holden looked closer at Jeremiah, he froze. He recognized him—the general who had once stayed overnight in Dungo Village.

Panic seized Holden. If the authorities found out what he'd done, everything would be ruined. He gritted his teeth. "Since you know what's in the study, you're leaving your lives behind."