Chapter 297

Who else could have the influence and power to manipulate everything?

Tiffany smiled and asked Richard, “Did you send your men to follow my car earlier?” Before leaving school, she’d felt as if someone were tailing her. The ever-present feeling of danger never disappeared. However, whenever she turned around and searched carefully, she couldn’t find anyone.

At the site of Ged Moody’s accident, in addition to the strong smell of blood, there was an extremely faint fragrance in the air. It was the unique scent of the special begonia flower that grew exclusively in the mountains behind Royal Bay. At that moment, she concluded that Richard’s men had stopped where Ged met his demise. They must have stayed there for quite a while; otherwise, the scent wouldn’t have lingered.

Tiffany took a deep breath and said slowly, “You sent people to tail me and those assassins. You are also interested in that legendary item, aren’t you?”

Hearing this, Richard frowned deeper. He wanted to stand up several times but didn’t. He watched Tiffany intently. His deep, dark eyes were as cold as ice, brimming with chilliness. Yet, a trace of shock and bewilderment could be discerned on his extraordinarily handsome face. “You’re blaming me?”

Blaming him? For what? Should she blame him for planting someone to tail her, but at every critical moment, that person simply hid in the dark and watched idly without doing anything? Should she blame him for showing no hesitation or pity despite knowing the tragic outcome? Should she blame him for acting as if nothing happened afterward, laughing and chatting with her as usual? Tiffany gave a bitter laugh. She had no right to blame anyone. Richard Hampton didn’t owe her anything. He didn’t owe anyone anything. Even if she were to die in front of him, he had every right not to save her.

She only blamed herself. If she had been a little stronger, she could have protected her friend, and he wouldn’t have died. If she had been a little stronger, she wouldn’t need to come here seeking answers like a weakling.

At the thought of that face covered by a white sheet, Tiffany closed her eyes and placed the pink diamond bracelet on the table. “Let’s leave it at that,” she said.

As the luxurious and beautiful bracelet sparkled brilliantly under the light, she turned and left.

Sidney Pauley, sitting nearby and trying to make himself invisible, was baffled by what he witnessed.

Chapter 297

Thereafter, he sprang up and ran after Tiffany. “Hey, young lady! Is there some sort of misunderstanding? Things are not what you think…” he shouted after her.

Tiffany left the villa swiftly without looking back. Sidney still wanted to go after her, but he suddenly heard something. He turned around and saw that Richard had gotten up from the sofa and was making his way outside. However, barely a few steps later, the tall, lanky figure toppled over. On closer inspection, the back of his black shirt was completely soaked with blood…

Sidney was so panic-stricken he didn’t know what to do. “Why are you pushing yourself so hard? Didn’t I tell you not to move? Are you tired of living?”

Richard’s face turned even paler. The veins on his forehead bulged as he struggled to get up. He muttered softly as he forced himself to pursue her, “I have to look for her…”

Sidney was so angry he lost his temper. He roared, “That will have to wait until you recover! If you don’t undergo treatment now, you will really die!” He then tapped a few acupoints at the back of Richard’s neck, rendering the almost berserk man unconscious instantly. He finally subdued Richard.

As Sidney held the unconscious man up, he yelled at the man beside him, “John Ross, are you stupid? Hurry up and help Mr. Hampton to the operating theater!”

John recovered himself and quickly helped support Richard on the other side. Yvonne Shaw also wanted to help, but just as she extended her hand, she saw Sidney’s icy gaze, full of furious intolerance. “You don’t want your claws anymore, do you? Don’t you know that Mr. Hampton hates women touching him most? Get out of the way!” Sidney’s words were merciless. Yvonne turned pale with embarrassment.

Despite sensing her discomfort, Sidney was not one to be gentle to the fairer sex. He continued, “Don’t you have any common sense? Do you still need me to teach you? You are a subordinate, so you should act like one. Stop having crooked thoughts all day long!”

After scolding Yvonne, Sidney shot her a look of revulsion before leaving with John and Richard. Yvonne stood where she was, her face burning with humiliation. The number of times she’d met Sidney could be counted on one hand, but every time he saw her, he mercilessly berated her to put her in her place. That was right; Yvonne was just one of Richard Hampton’s many subordinates.

Back then, after the Shaw family’s decline, she was only able to stay by Richard’s side and work for him because the Shaw family once rescued Richard’s mother. If there was anything special about her, it was that she was the only woman among all his subordinates. She had once been proud of her identity. She had thought that her singularity would make Richard fall for her bit by bit. However, Richard didn’t like having women near him. Even if he gave Yvonne a job, he didn’t let her stay by his side. He simply assigned her to missions outside. She didn’t even get to see him, much less accompany him.

This was already heartbreaking enough. She had given up before and she had been disappointed before. Nevertheless, Yvonne comforted herself that she still had a chance, as it was widely known that Richard had never been seen with any woman by his side. It wasn’t until the call from Mrs. Harper that she realized that in just half a year, the noble, arrogant man had actually turned into a gentle person.

Earlier that night, when Richard learned that the group of assassins had arrived in Lovell City, he didn’t hesitate to personally intercept the other party’s leader. In the end, he barely escaped with his life and returned with serious injuries. To think that he was willing to risk his life for another woman! Yvonne gritted her teeth.

As she thought of everything that had happened that night, she smiled again. The upturned lips carried a hint of madness. Richard was seriously injured; no one would pay any attention to her. This was her chance. Yvonne smirked and left Royal Bay immediately.

In the car, June Spencer was worried sick. As she mulled over what happened earlier, she couldn’t resist asking Jeremy Cooper, “Why do you think Miss Kelley came to Royal Bay in the middle of the night?”

In the back seat, Jeremy’s face was shrouded in darkness and his face couldn’t be seen clearly. Just when June had given up on getting an answer, she saw Jeremy raise his head to look at the slim figure at the gate. Then, he replied, “Probably to get an answer she doesn’t want to believe.”

June didn’t understand at first. A few seconds later, the realization suddenly hit her. “You mean, everything that happened tonight has something to do with Mr. Hampton?”

Jeremy didn’t answer. However, June already had some conjecture, as evidenced by the changes in her expression. At this moment, Tiffany got into the car. With an indifferent expression, she instructed calmly, “Let’s go.”

On the way, Tiffany suddenly remembered something and asked, “Have you printed out that list?” Previously, near Cedar Ridge Villa, June and Jeremy had captured one of the assassins and interrogated him. They learned that these men had come prepared and had a hit list. Tiffany’s name was on this list. According to the assassin, they had been ordered to locate the key to the treasure, so all the young girls who were about the same age as the lost princess of the Azure Sea Royal Family but had different identities were on the list.

Chapter 297

There were eleven targets in Lovell City. Tiffany and Melody were among them. Tiffany didn’t know how they had compiled that hit list. How did they ascertain that she had a different identity? It was funny when she thought about it.

June handed the piece of squarish folded paper to Tiffany. “The name list is here. Based on our investigation, these assassins have locked onto several places such as Lovell City, Traron City, and other cities. This meant that the assassins weren’t sure which one was their target.” After all, the young princess of the Azure Sea Royal Family had been missing for more than ten years. Locating her was easier said than done. What if the princess had died young? This kind of sweeping search only served to highlight one thing: they would rather kill several wrong people than let the right one slip through their fingers.