Chapter 1406: Chapter 1406

Chapter 1406:

Lost in his contemplations, Lucius momentarily forgot about Harlee.

His eyes narrowed with cunning, and he commanded in a chilling tone, “Stop right there!”

A barely noticeable smile flickered at the corner of Nathaniel’s lips as he paused. He turned and fixed Lucius with a deep look, perfectly portraying a pitiful demeanor.

Lucius suppressed the disgust in his heart, his eyebrows raised, his tone urgent.

“You mentioned not needing to wait until death to speak with Nicola. Do you know something about her whereabouts?”

Nathaniel could barely contain his delight at the question. His plan was working. The bait was taken, and now Rhys could search for Harlee without any worries.

Nathaniel had strategized well before coming here—provoking Lucius before leading him to inquire about Nicola—buying more time for Rhys to locate Harlee.

Even though they hadn’t seen each other in decades, Nathaniel could still manipulate Lucius with ease. After all, Nicola had left Lucius first, a slight victory in Nathaniel’s mind.

Nathaniel said, “Well… Where should I start? Forget it. It’s been too long. There’s nothing left to discuss. I trust your feelings for Nicola. You wouldn’t do anything to hurt her granddaughter.”

He shook his head, making no move to sit.

“Since Harlee isn’t here, there’s no reason for me to stay.”

Lucius watched Nathaniel intently. He knew it. Nathaniel was never one to open up easily. Was Nathaniel using the pretext of searching for Harlee as a means to just show off his knowledge about Nicola?

L𝓐tєѕτ chʜɑρτєrs ιn g𝒶l𝑛ovєl𝑠.ⲕоm

Lucius consoled himself that it was well-known how deeply he cared for Harlee. He shouldn’t have been suspected of pulling strings behind the scenes so soon.

With this thought, Lucius regained his composure, his voice growing even colder.

“Sit down. Do you think you can just wander in and out like this is some kind of coffee shop?”

Not even Patrick had expected that a battle on the verge of erupting could be so effortlessly resolved with just a few words from Nathaniel. A flicker of shock crossed his eyes.

Unbeknownst to Patrick, Lucius’ intelligence was both a gift and a curse. It often caused him to overthink and be deceived by his conclusions. A simple hint from Nathaniel was all it took to manipulate Lucius effectively. It was a foolproof method, guaranteed to work every time since this hint was connected to Nicola.

Eventually, Nathaniel and Lucius sat down peacefully, tacitly dismissing the people around them.

Patrick, recalling Rhys’ earlier advice, was tempted to linger and catch some of the old tales.

“Mr. Green…”

Nathaniel looked at Patrick and gestured for him to leave.

Nathaniel’s presence was commanding, a force one couldn’t easily ignore. Despite his curiosity, Patrick felt too intimidated to stay and listen.

In the reception room, Nathaniel and Lucius seemed calm, but inwardly, they were seething with hostility, each wishing they could throttle the other.

Meanwhile, Rhys, who had sneaked into the Swain family estate with Nathaniel distracting Lucius, explored various places and eventually discovered the entrance to an underground chamber near the rockery in the backyard.

Rhys triggered the mechanism, and the door clicked open. Inside, it was so dark that he couldn’t see his own hand.

Rhys refrained from using his phone’s light. Instead, he moved through the darkness with caution and patience. After a while, his surroundings began to brighten. The first thing he noticed was the rooms, styled like ancient structures.

Deeper inside, the lighting improved significantly due to glass windows that allowed sunlight to stream in from above, illuminating the space and giving it the feel of a portal to another era—a world immersed in the atmosphere of ancient times.

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