Chapter 804 Catherineâs Family
Branden glanced at his phone. It was already 6 PM, and there was no sign of any message on his personal phone.
He didnât want to wait any longer and decided to head to the school directly. Half an hour later, Branden arrived at Catherineâs school in his car.
âMr. Duncan, should I drive in?â Paxton asked.
âNo need.â Branden opened the car door, got out, and asked Paxton to stop the car on the side of the road. He walked into the school alone.
As he reached the bottom of the laboratory building, he coincidentally encountered Marshall coming out. Branden greeted him, considering Marshall was Catherineâs mentor.
âLooking for Catherine?â Marshall smiled kindly.
Branden nodded, and Marshall gestured to him. âCome on, Iâll take you in. When I left the lab, her lights were still on. She should be inside.â
Marshall knew Catherine always left her phone in a drawer when she was in the lab. Unless she checked her phone, it was not easy for others to find her.
Marshall admired Catherineâs dedication to her work. He believed such qualities were essential for someone in research.
Guided by Marshall, Branden entered the building. As they passed the security office, Marshall waved at the security personnel when they were about to stand up. âNo need to bother. This is Catherineâs family. Iâll take him up.â
With Marshallâs guarantee, the security didnât approach, letting them in.
âCatherineâs family,â Branden thought and accepted the new title calmly, and his expression suggested he was quite satisfied.
âSheâs inside. You can knock and enter on your own. I wonât bother,â Marshall said and turned away, leaving Branden at the door.
The young ones had their dates, and old folks like him also wanted to go back to have a meal with their families. He didnât want to delay here.
After respectfully seeing off Marshall, Branden knocked on the lab door.
âKnock, knock, knock!â
The sound of knocking brought Catherineâs attention back. She looked at the clock on the wall, realizing dinner time had passed without her noticing.
Assuming it was Marshall inviting her for dinner, she was about to decline when she opened the door and found Branden. âWhy are you here?â she asked.
Seeing her expression somewhat odd, Branden thought it was because of his abrupt intrusion. He quickly explained, âItâs almost dinner time, and since I didnât hear from you, I thought of coming to the entrance of the lab building to check. It just happened that I ran into Professor Hartley. Being treated as your family, I was allowed in.
âUh-huh,â Catherine replied indifferently, her face calm, not revealing her emotions.
Seeing her like this was rare for Branden, and he couldnât help but worry. âWhatâs wrong? Upset?â
âNothing. Just thinking about some data.â Catherine gave a simple response and pulled Branden away. 11 Come on, letâs go eat. Iâm a bit hungry.â
Branden, hearing that she was hungry, led her toward the school gate without further delay.
They came to the oatmeal shop Catherine had chosen last time. While she checked her phone, Branden had already placed their orders, following Catherineâs taste.
When the dishes arrived, Branden noticed Catherine wasnât eating much. He tasted the dishes, and it wasnât an issue with the food.
âYou eat so little. Feeling unwell?â asked Branden.
Despite saying she was hungry earlier, she only took a couple of bites.
Catherine shook her head, and Brandenâs concerned look left her unsure how to respond. In her mind, Zobberâs findings kept replaying.
[Catherine, I found something. Itâs indeed related to Mr. Duncan. Strange. How does Mr. Duncan know them?]
Catherine didnât disclose the reason to Zobber. After taking the documents, she instructed Zobber to keep this matter confidential for now.
âKathyâ¦â The gentle voice of the man brought Catherineâs drifting thoughts back.
After coming to her senses, she picked up her fork and quickly started eating. Nothing. Just thinking. Now, letâs eat!â
Branden had been watching Catherineâs every move. Although she was eating a decent amount now, and her expression was normal, he couldnât shake the feeling that something was off. It was as if something was about to happen.
After Catherine finished the bowl of oatmeal Branden had filled for her, she put down her utensils. âIâm done eating.â
Seeing her not in the best condition, Branden felt a bit distressed. âIs the experiment not going well?â
Knowing how sharp Brandenâs eyes were, Catherine came up with an excuse to avoid detection. âNot really. Iâm just a bit tired.â
When he saw her droopy eyelids and exhausted look, Brandenâs heart ached as if someone had stabbed it with a needle.
Originally planning for an evening date, he now only wanted to take her home and let her rest.
âShall we go back and rest?â he asked.
âYeah,â Catherine replied and stood up quickly.
Thinking she was genuinely tired, Branden hastened his movements to take her back.
In a suburban residence in Loxton, Ronin felt completely at ease in the unfamiliar environment.
He had lost count of how many times he had been moved in the past few days. These people seemed to have a lot of strongholds. No wonder their tracks were hard to trace.
For Ronin, however, it didnât bother him much. Though the masked man kept him confined, he didnât mistreat Ronin and even granted Ronin a certain level of freedom within the room. As long as he stayed inside, he wouldnât be harmed that was what the masked man had told him.
When the door opened, Ronin put down the game controller and turned to look. To alleviate his boredom, the masked man had arranged a gaming console for him. It didnât have internet access, but playing some single-player games was still possible.
Seeing the masked man, Ronin seemed excited. He dropped the game controller and rushed toward the masked man. âHey, youâre here! Did you bring me anything good? Any tasty treats?â
The masked man was consistently puzzled by Roninâs reactions. Roninâs behavior didnât match that of a person held captive. He seemed to be on vacation, incredibly relaxed. For those who had once tormented and even kidnapped him, he also behaved very friendly.
âRonin, I advise you to behave and not play any tricks!â The masked man gritted his teeth.
Ronin, looking puzzled, stared at him. â What tricks? Havenât I been obedient? Itâs not my fault. You guys havenât told me to do anything or provided tools. How can you blame me? Itâs too unfair.â
âDo you really want to act?â The masked manâs voice was full of doubt. Clearly, he did not believe Ronin.
Ronin extended his hand. âThen provide the tools. As long as you ask, Iâll do it.â
With hesitation, the masked man decided to get the tools for Ronin. He swore that if he caught Ronin doing anything suspicious, he would kill Ronin.