Chapter 161 The Calm Before the Copse
Ste nodded softly. “Mm. I wanna go home“:
She felt sick from the wine.
Abraham grabbed the coat draped over the back of a chair and wrapped it around her. “Alright. Let’s go home.”
That word–home–stabbed right into Abraham’s heart.
He lifted her in his arms.
Smuggled against his chest, Ste mumbled, “You lied, <b>Abraham</b>. You <b>said </b>it’d be fun…”
“What does Ste want to do?”
“Something fun. Something yummy.<b>” </b>
<b>But </b>there’d been neither<b>. </b>
Her misty, dazed eyes looked up at him. Abraham chuckled, “Your heart’s not still.”
That made Ste <b>even </b>more aggrieved. She squirmed in his <b>arms </b>in protest.
Outside, the <b>wind </b><b>was </b><b>strong </b>and cold.
But wrapped up <b>in </b>Abraham’s coat, Ste didn’t feel even a trace of it.
Abraham carried her into the car.
Up front, Abel nced in the rearview mirror. “Ms. Ste had too much to drink?”
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Abraham looked down at the flushed face in his arms. Recalling Eddie’s earlierments, his expression softened. “She’s grown up. Knows how to care now.”“”
Who’d <b>have </b>thought she couldn’t hold her liquor at all–just two sses and she was like this.
Abel <b>said</b>. “The Keene family’s been tearing <b>the </b>ce apart looking for you. They must’ve found out we’ve settled on a partner and panicked.”
<b>Abraham </b>gave a lowugh<b>. </b>“Good. Let them panic. The longer they stew, the more it’ll torment them.”
“They’re also still <b>trying </b>to figure out who owns Seats Cove.”
<b>Abraham </b>snorted. “<b>Guess </b><b>his </b>men are more <b>useless </b><b>than </b>I thought.”
It had <b>taken </b>them far longer than expected.
Rivermount’s so–called top family? Their people weren’t impressive after all.
Abraham nced down at Ste and gently adjusted the coat <b>around </b>her.
Abel hesitated, then added, “<b>Judson </b>hasn’t reached out to me yet–he <b>probably </b>still doesn’t know you’re the one behind it <b>all</b>.”
“He will soon, Abraham said.
The moment Judson contacted Abel, Abel would ry <b>Abraham’s </b>message directly.
And once <b>that </b>happened, the entire Keene family would spiral into <b>chaos</b>.
Chapter 161 The Calm Before the Copse
He had just ended his call with Louis when another one came in–from the hospital. Susan
“Ethan, <b>what </b>on earth is going on? Are you really nning to let L?llian die?!!
Ethan frowned. “<b>What </b>happened?”
“Your father sent ten men to guard Lillian’s hospital room. What does he think he’s doing?”
Susan was already near hysteria,
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Lillian’s <b>health </b>was worsening, <b>and </b>seeing how both families were treating her–her mental state was copsing too.
Susan’s voice trembled with anger. “Ethan, she can’t take that kind of stress right now. Please tell your father to pull his ment back. What’s he trying to do?!”
Lillian had fainted from sheer anger after seeing Judson’s men.
She was supposed to be discharged in two days,
All she’d been thinking about was moving into Seats Cove’s Verdant Vi, But instead of a warm wee, she got a
1 from Judson.
What was he trying to pull? The Keene family clearly didn’t want her around anymore–those men weren’t there for her safety.
They were guards. Batchmen.
Ethan’s head throbbed at the thought. “I’ll handle it.”
Susan’s tone grew more serious, “Ethan, I know your family doesn’t support you and Lillian anymore. But she’s sick. How’s she supposed to recover with this kind of pressure?”
Ethan rubbed his <b>aching </b>temples. “I <b>know</b>.”
Susan said, “Let’s just get her discharged. Is Verdant Vi ready? If it is. let her recover there.”
After everything the Keene family had done, she couldn’t stay in the hospital another day.
But the moment <b>Susan </b>mentioned Verdant Vi, Ethan’s face wentpletely stiff.
He said <b>quickly</b>, “Still <b>making </b>arrangements. Tell her <b>not </b>to worry about it.”
“Still arranging it? <b>What </b>does that mean? You <b>haven’t </b>secured it yet?”
That one line sent a spike of panic into Susan’s chest.
Ethan frowned. That’s enough. I’m hanging up.”
He couldn’t <b>give </b>her a real answer. Before she could dig deeper, he ended the call.
The car went silent.
After a beat, he said coldly, “Go to Verdant Vi
Jason, who was driving, hesitated. “But we just got word <b>that </b>the Luke heir is fishing out at Butterfly <b>Garden</b>.”
Tracking that <b>person </b>down had been <b>a </b>nightmare. Now that they finally <b>had </b>a lead–shouldn’t they go there first
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