Chapter 208
“Because… I spied on her in the shower,” Tuff admitted, his handsome face flushing red with embarrassment.
Daniel and Giovanna both choked. ‘No way. Did he actually peek at her in the shower?’ they both thought.
“I just wanted to check out the mark on her back…” Tuff mumbled.
Daniel just assumed he meant a birthmark, something to prove if Paloma was really Kayla.
What Daniel didn’t realize was that Tuff had actually been looking for the golden six-pointed star tattooed behind Paloma’s shoulder, the symbol of the Kington Gang’s female authority.
“Let me make this clear, she is Kayla. Don’t go sneaking peeks at her in the shower again, unless you want the Kington Gang to come after you,” Daniel warned.
Tuff glanced at his friend, opening his mouth as if to say something, but stopped himself.
‘Man, what the hell is this?!’ he cursed inside.
Landon’s sect had slaughtered Kayla’s adoptive parents and fellow disciples. She’d gone on to join the Kington Gang, and now they had Landon in their grasp; it was all one tangled, chaotic mess.
Just then, one of Tuff’s men brought someone in.
“Aaron?” Daniel called out in surprise.
The three of them all jumped to their feet, staring at Aaron, who was covered in wounds.
“Mr. Prescott…” Aaron tried to lift his hand, but instead, blood gushed from his mouth.
Tuff rushed over to him. “Take it easy. You’re safe now. Is Landon alive? If he is, blink once.”
Daniel and Giovanna both watched Aaron nervously.
Then, Aaron blinked and a collective breath was released. Landon was alive.
‘He’s alive! That’s all that matters,’ they thought, almost simultaneously.
“Alright,” Tuff said softly. “Just rest now. We’ll talk when you’re stronger.”
Daniel wanted to ask more, but since Aaron had already passed out, he had to drop it for now.
As his men took Aaron away to get treatment, Tuff asked, “Where did you find him?”
“Near the Zuckerberg family’s house,” one of the men replied.
“What?” Daniel exclaimed.
If Amelia saw Aaron coming back alone, all battered and bruised, she would totally freak out.
“Don’t worry, Mr. Zuckerberg. We got him out of there before Ms. Edwards could see him. Ms. Zuckerberg already told everyone in the family not to say a word to her,” the man assured him.
“Good…” Daniel let out a heavy sigh of relief and patted his chest, still shaken by what could have happened.
He had been through plenty of close calls in his life, but never once had he actually shown how scared he was until now.
Giovanna nodded in agreement. “Looks like the Kington Gang let Aaron go on purpose.”
“The fastest flight from Dreicean to here takes at least five hours. That means Aaron was sent back a while ago,” Daniel said, his expression pissed. "The Kington Gang is sending us a message.”
Even with the tension at its peak, the Kington Gang still hadn’t brought Landon out.
There could be something deeper going on that they just couldn’t see.
Tuff said, “Just hang tight. We’ll know everything once Aaron comes to.”
“You sure can keep your cool,” Giovanna said, rolling her eyes.
Tuff’s face turned serious. “Didn’t you see Aaron was nearly dead? The Kington Gang sent him back; they’re just waiting for us to walk right into their trap!”
Right now, the smartest move was to drag things out.
The longer they stalled, the more the Kington Gang wouldn’t know what they were up to.
As long as Landon was still alive, there was no need to rush.
“Alright, we’ll wait!” Now that Giovanna had gotten the answer she wanted, she was the first to leave.
Daniel waited for a while, but when Aaron still didn’t wake up, he finally left as well!
Tuff let out a sigh and made his way to the secret ward at Project Azureveil’s headquarters to check on Aaron. “Stop pretending. Just tell me what’s really going on!”
“Mr. Prescott, Mr. Landon doesn’t just have amnesia; he’s about to get engaged,” Aaron said, his eyes red.
Tuff was utterly shocked. That was the last thing he ever expected.
“Weren’t they keeping him at the Kyle Estate?” Tuff asked.
“At first, yeah. It was torture for Mr. Kingsley watching Mrs. Kingsley being controlled by Mr. Kyle. Every day, he tried to find a way to escape and take her home with him.
“Mr. Kyle did everything he could to beat him down and keep him from running away. Then, just a few days ago, a woman showed up and took Mr. Landon away from the estate,” Aaron explained.
Tuff asked, “A woman? Could it be his ex-lover? That can’t be right; Landon never even dated anyone before Amelia…”
“I have no idea. They didn’t take me with them. Instead, they shipped me back here and locked me up somewhere else. Today, they roughed me up and made me watch some video from overseas,” Aaron replied.
Tuff raised an eyebrow. “What was in the video?”
Aaron hesitated before saying, “It showed Mr. Landon kneeling down, proposing to that woman.”
Tuff’s mind was a total mess. ‘Landon, what the hell are you doing?’
He felt that even if Landon had lost his memory, he should at least have control over his heart.
His wife and kid were still waiting for him to come home.
“Sir, Mrs. Kingsley can’t know about this,” Aaron said.
“Understood. Sketch out what that woman looks like for me; I’ll track Landon down myself,” Tuff replied.
“Got it.” Aaron nodded.
In no time, Tuff called in a professional sketch artist, and with Aaron’s description, they ended up with a portrait of a delicate, pretty woman.
“Is that her?” Tuff blurted out.
Meanwhile, at the Zuckerberg family’s estate, Amelia had slept like a rock. When she finally woke up, it was pitch black outside.
The house was dead silent downstairs. If she hadn’t checked the time, she would’ve thought everyone had gone to bed hours ago.
Her stomach suddenly let out a loud gurgle.
‘Ugh, I’m starving,’ she thought.
Ever since she got pregnant, her morning sickness had been really severe. On top of that, living at the Kyle Estate had left her feeling so down that she hardly ate anything.
But now that Amelia was back with the Zuckerberg family, she finally felt normal again.
She could actually eat properly and make sure both she and the baby got the nutrition they needed.
“Amelia, you’re awake? Dinner is ready; come eat while it’s hot!” Edith called out.
Maisie was already sitting at the table. Feeling a bit embarrassed, Amelia said, “Were you all waiting for me? Why didn’t you wake me up?”
“It’s okay; we’re not really hungry. Besides, Daniel isn’t back yet,” Maisie said, a little awkwardly.
Now that Maisie had to treat someone she used to dislike as a little sister and even care for her, it felt incredibly hard.
Amelia looked at the table piled high with delicious food, and her stomach betrayed her again with a loud gurgle.
“Let’s just start eating. No need to wait,” Maisie said.
“Has Daniel been gone for a while?” Amelia asked.
“Don’t worry about it. We’re in Lunova,” Maisie said, motioning for the servant to serve Amelia a bowl of mushroom soup.
Amelia thought she could control her appetite, but the moment she took her first sip, she just couldn’t stop herself.
She might be elegant most of the time, but right now she was eating like she hadn’t seen food in days. Maisie and Edith cracked up. “Easy there! No one’s stealing your dinner.”
“Seriously, you two have no idea how bad my morning sickness has been. I’m basically starving all the time!” Amelia said.
“No wonder you’re all belly and not putting on any weight anywhere else,” Maisie said, eyeing her slender frame. She quietly put more food on Amelia’s plate.
Amelia grinned happily. “Thanks, Big Sis.”
“Ahem!” Maisie cleared her throat, a little embarrassed. “Jonas says you’ve been worrying too much. If this keeps up, it’ll be bad for the baby. Now that you’re home, just take it easy and stay here with us.”
“Okay!” Amelia nodded.
She hadn’t felt this satisfied in a while. If only Landon were here, it would’ve made everything perfect.
Just then, Daniel burst through the door with some amazing news. “Amelia, Aaron is back! He says Landon is still alive!”
A loud clatter rang out as Amelia’s spoon slipped from her hand. Her heart raced, and her eyes welled up with tears. “Really? Where is he?”