The car behind fired a few shots at them and ceased firing, seemingly not planning to continue with the pursuit. Winnie and the others inside the vehicle could finally relax a little because of that.Upon lowering her guard, she shifted her focus from the scenes outside the window to the happenings inside the car.She noticed that Jacinta wasnât doing well after scanning the interior of the car.âGranny, Granny, are you all right?â Winnie called out to Jacinta gently. âAre you feeling distress because of what happened just now?âJacinta appeared to be in a daze, as she did not respond even after a few seconds.Winnie couldnât help but frown at that sight.However, just as she was about to reach out and caress Jacinta, the latter suddenly sat upright with an exaggerated movement. Jacinta seemed to be acting slightly unusual.She bored her eyes into Xavier, pointed at his nose, and shouted, âItâs you! You killed Zyon! Youâre the murderer!âXavier had been absorbed in his own thoughts, but when Jacinta began scolding him, he immediately furrowed his brows in response.He had wanted to tell her that she fired the shot first, but he suppressed his resentment and grievances when he thought of Winnie because he didnât want Winnie to be caught in a tight spot between having to side with him or Jacinta.He simply grunted in agreement and uttered in a relatively tender voice, âThatâs right, Granny. I eliminated Zyon. This has nothing to do with you, so you donât have to feel burdened. Weâll be safe soon. Once we return to Avenport, you can forget everything that happened here and lead a normal life as before.âXavier maintained a well-mannered attitude when he comforted Jacinta. He also expressed Winnieâs thoughts in the final part of his speech. Even Winnie did not expect him to be so considerate.The only reason that prompted him to be so thoughtful was that he treated the people who were significant to Winnie the way he would treat her.Winnie understood his rationale, so she remained silent and grasped his hand because she knew that a tacit response meant more than a million words at instances like that.Xavier knew her intention. He was glad that she could understand his gesture through his simple few sentences, and he enjoyed the mutual affection they had for one another.When he looked at her, he could not help but curl his lips into a contented smile.Regardless of how filthy, chaotic, and dangerous the place was, to be able to sense the other partyâs appreciation and sentiment as they held each otherâs gaze was already considered a blessing to them.Unfortunately, Jacinta was not a fan of watching their intimate interaction. She hated Xavier and utterly loathed his guts.Jacinta was aware that she had been unreasonable when she had pointed at Xavier and accused him of being a murderer.At that moment, she did not mind behaving unreasonably again. She yanked Winnieâs arm away from him and ensured Winnie was entirely focused on her.Throughout the journey, whenever Winnie showed the inclination to chat with Xavier, Jacinta would immediately find an excuse to attract Winnieâs attention.Jacinta did not try to hide her deliberate interruptions, so everyone in the car could grasp her intention, not to mention Xavier and Winnie.Winnie had no choice but to endure for two reasons: First, she suspected that Jacinta was emotionally unstable after the latter shot someone to death. Second, she did not feel it was appropriate for her to reason with Jacinta in front of everyone else in the vehicle, as that would cause the latter to feel embarrassed.Winnie could only rein in her temper throughout the ride.Ultimately, she decided to shut her eyes and get some rest to avoid looking at anyone.Jacinta stopped stirring a ruckus as long as Winnie did not pay Xavier any attention.Suddenly, pin-drop silence filled the air in the car.The absence of sound lasted until their vehicle was forced to come to a halt.Mason, who was driving the car, slammed his foot against the brake pedal at once. âMs. Garland, someone is blocking the road ahead. All of you get down. The rest of you prepare yourselves.ââUnderstood!â Masonâs subordinates replied simultaneously.Winnie had opened her eyes the moment Mason hit the brakes. She craned her neck a little to peek ahead. When she did that, the car blocking the road in front of them suddenly honked.The next moment, a man wearing a face mask and baseball cap poked his head out of the car window.Winnie narrowed her eyes and swiftly recognized that person.âDonât worry. Heâs one of us,â she announced to everyone inside the car, then whispered something next to Xavierâs ear.Xavier knitted his brows after listening to her, but he still opened the car door for her chivalrously.Seeing that Winnie and Xavier were about to get out of the car together, Jacinta quickly grabbed Winnieâs arm and uttered anxiously, âWhere are you going, Winnie?âWinnie hurriedly consoled her, âIâm going down to take a look. Itâll be fine. That person is one of us. Iâll be right back. There wonât be any danger.ââOkay.â Only then did Jacinta let go of Winnieâs arm.
âBe careful, then.âWinnie nodded. âI will.âWith that, she hopped out of the car with Xavier trailing closely behind her.However, instead of moving forward, he stood beside the car and waited for her while helping her keep an eye on the surroundings.Winnie strode toward the car in front of her.Before she even reached the vehicle, the door to the passenger seat was pushed open by someone inside the car, hinting at her to be their guest.Quickly, she got into the car.âCaptain Bennett, what are you doing here at this hour? Isnât it risky for you to do this?â Winnie asked Christopher, who was sitting in the driverâs seat.Even though he was wearing a face mask at that moment, she could still sense the faint hint of a smile dancing in his eyes.âIt is a little inconvenient for me. Thatâs why Iâm dressed like this. Although Zyon was not a significant figure, Harold will not let you all off the hook so easily after you killed so many of their members. Iâm here to escort you all. All of you must leave Lightspring at once.ââYes, youâre absolutely right. We should indeed leave this place after pulling off the rescue mission, but Rachel is very sick. We need to send her to a hospital now. Otherwise, Iâm not sure how long she can survive.ââAll right,â Christopher assented. âIâll bring you all to the hospital now. You two follow my car while those mercenaries you hired should go on their separate way so as to not attract attention with our large numbers. I received news about Zyonâs fate earlier. Thank you for helping me to eliminate this huge trouble. Otherwise, the years of hard work by the organization would have gone down the drain.ââIâm glad that your effort is not wasted.â At the mention of Zyon, Winnie recalled Jacintaâs frightened appearance earlier. She frowned slightly and changed the topic of their conversation. âIâll go and call them over. You should move your car. Youâve really scared us just now.âChristopher chuckled.
âDo you get scared so easily? I doubt that.âWinnie grinned at him in silence and got out of the car.Rachel was swiftly transferred to Christopherâs car. After Winnie informed Mason of a few important matters, she got into Christopherâs car too.Christopher drove the car at high speed the entire way.
Before long, they arrived in a different city, and the vehicle eventually stopped in front of a hospital.The hospital seemed to be relatively huge, but the larger the hospital they visited, the more worried Winnie felt. âIsnât this hospital too conspicuous? Will Haroldâs men track us down here?â Christopher replied confidently, âThey wonât. This is General Kaneâs territory. This place is different from the shambolic Lightspring. Harold wouldnât dare to pursue you all the way here.ââOkay. I can rest assured if you say that,â Winnie said while supporting Rachel. âYou should hurry up and leave. We can handle the rest.âChristopher grunted. Then he pondered briefly before saying to Xavier, âKeep her safe.âXavier was momentarily stunned. With a frown, he said, âI know that without needing you to remind me.âThat should have marked the end of the conversation, but Jacinta suddenly leaned forward and suggested, âCaptain Bennett, can you stay here to protect Winnie? This place is too dangerous. I can only feel at ease if youâre here to keep her safe.âXavier was rendered speechless, and his expression darkened at once.A frown marred Winnieâs forehead as well as she said, âGranny, what are you saying? I donât need Captain Bennettâs protection. Besides, he has other important matters to attend to. Iâll go back with all of you right after I bring Rachel to see the doctor.âWith that, Winnie gestured to Xavier for him to handle Rachel while she went to help Jacinta get out of the car.After that, all of them entered the hospital. Rachelâs condition was severe, so she was admitted straight to the intensive care unit.Winnieâs head ached because of the turns of events. Under such circumstances, Rachel would not be fit to be transferred out or travel long distances. The only thing they could do at that moment was to remain in the local hospital for Rachel to receive medical treatment.They had no choice but to wait for her condition to improve and for her to be transferred back to the regular ward before they could arrange for Rachel to return to the country.Seeing that Winnie was worried about Rachel, Xavier could not help but step forward to comfort her, âShe will get better. Worse come to worst, weâll stay here for a few more days and send Granny back to the country first.ââYeah. There isnât a better way for now.â
Winnie pinched the space between her brows. âActually, Iâm also a little concerned about Grannyâs condition. Sheâs been acting weird on our way here.ââIndeed.â Xavier had noticed Jacintaâs unusual behavior too.Something about her felt off the moment she suddenly fired a shot at Zyon. Judging by her demeanor at that time, I think her killing intent was not motivated by anger or hatred. It seemed more likely to me that she was trying to shut Zyon up. After all, dead men tell no tale. Does that meanâ¦Xavier ruminated briefly before asking Winnie, âWhat do you think of the things Zyon mentioned before his death?ââWhat thing?â Winnie looked up at him. âAre you referring to Zyon claiming himself to be Grannyâs grandson?â She furrowed her brows. âThatâs impossible. Iâve checked his chest, but there wasnât any birthmark as described by Granny.ââThen could it be that Granny remembered wrongly?
After all, this is a matter from so many years ago. Besides, based on the current situation, it seems that Granny can be very emotional under certain circumstances, so there could be a possibility for her to misremember an important matter or be confused.ââNo wayâ¦â The frown on Winnieâs face deepened.
âIs there still any doubt about Zyon being your Uncle Stuartâs trueborn son?ââIf you put it that wayâ¦â
Xavier paused for a few seconds. âIndeed, there isnât any doubt. Zyon is definitely my Uncle Stuartâs biological son.ââOkay. Now is not the time to discuss this issue. Since weâre at a hospital, I should just let a doctor examine Grannyâs condition and prescribe her some anxiolytics.âXavier found a hotel nearby the hospital.Winnie and Jacinta stayed in the same room, while Xavier occupied a separate room by himself.At night, after taking her medicine, Jacinta went to lie on the bed.Winnie waited for Jacinta to fall asleep before going to the next room to find Xavier because she had to discuss matters related to their return to the country with him.Unexpectedly, the electricity supply in the room was disrupted halfway through their conversation.Xavier opened the window and looked out. He realized theirs was not the only room affected by the blackout. Apparently, the whole hotel and the buildings opposite the hotel experienced a power failure. The only facility that remained lit was the nearby hospital.Winnie immediately called the front desk to enquire about the situation.Only then was she informed that power outage was very common in that area, and if they needed illumination, they could light the candles available in each room.The receptionist was telling the truth because right after Winnie entered the room, she noticed candles and lighters placed in every prominent corner of the room.She had been under the assumption that the candles were to set the mood inside the room. Little did she expect they were allocated for lighting purposes.After hanging up the call, she took out her phone to switch on the torchlight function of her device.However, her phone was damaged during the day when the car exploded. The device could still be used for communication purposes, but the flashlight function was impaired.At that sight, Xavier placed a hand on her shoulder and said, âSit here. Let me handle it.âSoon, all the candles inside the room were lit, and the room was bright again.Meanwhile, Jacinta, inside the room next door, had also lighted the candles.She had drifted off after taking her medicine, but her nightmare had haunted her slumber.She dreamed of Zyon, covered in blood, seeking her out to claim her life. She ran for her life, but no matter how hard she tried to escape, she could not move an inch forward as she continued to run in place.By the time she woke up with a jolt, her body was drenched in sweat.The pitch-black surroundings following the blackout instilled fear in her heart, prompting her to get off the bed and stumbled in the dark to illuminate the candles.Staring at the flickering candlelight, she involuntarily took a walk down the memory lane.Back then, Jacinta was still living in a small mountain village very far away from Avenport.She was young and at the peak of her beauty. Her appearance was the most outstanding among all the women from that region, causing her to garner a widespread reputation among the communities.Her admirers and suitors constantly flocked to her house to ask for her hand in marriage. Initially, there was a boy she fancied, but her materialistic parents disdained him because he was poor.Jacintaâs parents knew her beauty was an asset, so they were determined to marry her to a wealthy family.Coincidentally, a private plane crashed in the mountainous area at that time.To the members of the Sumner family then, owning a private plane was equivalent to sitting on top of vast amounts of fortune.The person who piloted the private aircraft was none other than Rufus.Back then, he was still a young, handsome man. He was dressed in expensive clothes and wearing extravagant accessories.Jacintaâs parents knew he came from an affluent family at first glance, so they brought him home and took great care of him. In the end, they even forced Rufus to marry Jacinta.However, Rufus refused. He confessed he already had a family back home and told Jacintaâs parents he would be willing to compensate them with a large amount of money.Her father and mother were tempted to accept the offer, but they had grander ambitions. They considered how loaded Rufus must be to offer them the handsome amount of cash. If Jacinta became his wife and had his children, the Sumner family could live a comfortable life for generations in the future.As such, Jacintaâs parents used an underhanded method to drug Rufus and let him sleep with their daughter.After that, Jacinta became pregnant and gave birth to a healthy baby boy ten months later.