“Uncle Oliver,”
“From now on, if I’m not home, remember this: anyone whoes <b>back </b>after ten at night gets their allowance cut in half.”
“No way! Please, Uncle Oliver, don’t do this!”
“Uncle Oliver, you can’t be so heartless!”
The dining room erupted with dramatic howls and groans.
How were they supposed to survive with half their spending money? What kind of parent was this ruthless these days?
“Uncle Oliver…” Colton looked at him with big, pleading eyes.
Oliver barely nced up, his cold, steady gaze shutting down any argument before it could start. Whatever Colton wanted to say died in his throat. <!--
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Dinner wrapped up soon after.
Colton rallied everyone for a round of video games.
Meanwhile, Oliver stood by the window, tea in hand, his eyes sharp and distant as he stared out into the night.
*Johns, step it up. I want every inchbed. Don’t let anyone die on ournd. And make sure she
doesn’t walk out of those woods without a scratch, either.”
If that little tigress wanted to rip into them, he figured he’d lend her a hand.
Patricia was ying a risky game. He was content to sit back and watch how it yed out.
“I’ll handle it,” Johns replied, ready to leave.
Oliver paused. “Which leg did the Martin girl break again?”
Johns thought for a second. “Pretty sure… both of them.”
“Good.”
The question hung in the air, with no follow–up. Johns’s mind raced. Was the boss actually telling him to break that girl’s legs too?
Didn’t matter. Orders were orders.
Nine o’clock.
The search and rescue team finally found Ruby.
They carried her down the mountain on a stretcher and rushed her straight to the hospital.
In the hallway, Tina’s eyes were red and swollen from crying.
Wendy and the others hadn’t slept in more than a day, too nervous to even yawn in front of the Martin
13:31
family, terrified of setting them off.
Eventually, the doctor came out with an update–both of Ruby’s legs were broken.
She was in surgery.
Tina’s first instinct was to me Patricia.
“Was it her? Did Patricia do this?” <fnac15> Th?s chapter is updated by find(?)ovel</fnac15>
Emerson nced at the group of young people nearby and snapped, “Watch your mouth.”
Wendy and her friends were so rattled they didn’t even dare to look up.
Emerson approached them with that gentle, too–smooth smile. “Wendy, you all look exhausted. Go home and get some rest.”
“Thank you, Uncle,” Wendy said quickly, happy to escape. After Tina’s outburst, she wanted nothing more than to plug her ears and forget it ever happened.
In the elevator, someone yawned and whispered, “Who else could it be? It’s obviously Patricia. But seriously, don’t get involved in the Martin family’s mess.”
The drama in that family could fill a thousand romance novels and still never end.
“Uncle Oliver, weren’t you supposed to leave after midnight? Why are you heading out so early?<i>” </i>
Colton came downstairs for some water and saw Johns already piling Oliver’s suitcases in the living
room.
“Change of ns. I’m leaving ahead of schedule.”
“I thought you had a private jet. Couldn’t get a flight path?”
“Yeah.” Oliver was as concise as ever. He shot Johns a look, and Johns immediately slipped away.
Colton knew that look meant Oliver had something to say in private, so he stepped up. “Uncle Oliver, did you need me to do something?”
“I want you to go to the hospital and pay a visit to the Martin family. Show them a little… warmth.” Oliver put a special emphasis on “warmth,” making it clear what he really meant.
Colton blinked, catching on. “You want me to warn them, don’t you?”
Oliver stood in the living room, thumb absently rubbing his knuckles. “What else? You think I actually want you tofort them? Something happens on Padind and they make this much noise, and we’re just supposed to y dead?”
Colton had almost never heard his uncle speak so bluntly.
Oliver always looked unbothered, no matter what. But tonight, that line-“y dead“-made it obvious he was running out of patience.
Colton didn’t dare hesitate. “I’m on it.”