Leopold and Matthew had just finished loading the Abernathy family into the van, including Cormac, when the stench inside hit them like a wave, almost driving them back out the door. But seeing Vivienne and the others frozen by the bedside, Leopold steeled himself and stepped inside.
The woman on the bed was a shadow of her former self, her hair tangled and matted like weeds upon the pillow. Her face was streaked with dirt, and it looked like the Abernathys hadn't bothered to clean her in ages. If it weren't for the faint rise and fall of her chest, Leopold might have mistaken her for a corpse.
Wait a minute!
Those features...
How come she looked a bit like Percival?
Realizing this, Leopold's pupils dilated, his finger pointing shakily at the woman on the bed.
Then he glanced at Percival, whose stony face was unreadable, and noticed the air around him growing colder and heavier. Leopold took a step back, feeling as if his throat had been seized. He couldn't manage to utter a complete sentence.
Finally, it was Vivienne who broke the silence. "Mr. Wolf, let's get her out of here first."
She was genuinely shocked. They had only come to fetch a witness back to Rivenwood, and here they were, stumbling upon the very person Percival had spent years searching for.
Mr. Wolf's aunt, the Ellington heiress-Holly Ellington!
"Gavin Abernathy!"
occasional flash of headlights that flickered before Vivienne's eyes. Percival, with lips pressed together and eyes as cold as ice, stared
to crawl
trust me, I will heal your aunt." Percival's
the hatred bubbling up inside him
out of respect for her status as the Ellington heiress, she would be placed in an unknown hospital with professional care to at least keep her alive. But the reality was starkly different! In this remote village, there were
covers, even he couldn't
understood where that foul stench lingering around the Abernathy
blanket was Holly's withered body, wounds
moment, Percival felt a
his sanity reminded him that those people were still useful. But the agony he felt for Holly and the hatred for the Abernathys set his
head deeper into Vivienne's stomach, his
her eyes. "Mr. Wolf, the dead do not deserve our hatred." Matthew glanced up through the rear-view mirror
couldn't recall the last time he had
lineage was
just hand their life
rang then, and he glanced at the caller ID
"Hand it over."
the phone
cool yet tinged with anger, came through, "Young
the Abernathy family done now?" Vivienne didn't need to guess; she knew Gavin must have stirred up
graves. They've taken the ashes and are threatening that if we don't hand over the
phone tightened as she inhaled deeply. "How is
T1I1m3P0m4pVejGm/umpFZCVBNc+aJcj2q5eo+iEc/6Y88/Ur2mr008PBu1AYCOzczFkp5oGU4XLYpQk1O8LoFGRSXg10hi3T7rEviYPzDxpYzKTRPLKYVCFZ5CpNrOxs+yBel5pCyzdLdreFwf78dgaAfA6k4YwVCJ9ktJiOAIgCMMuAnfEZ7Uaj7Gi2JmI9XsGhM2KBXxm2FaZw6AlENda4lbWty670m9qGoxydgjob0x6yGgOVsTgg7rs99iSQQ4TCN68WuL7538vI0NthPTdMwd6+ClnrK91+Qfkz3tXhmmp0opGIcoKEu5axEWvL8320pKg6e7Wnnt3Smmn7eyRP0zIQWMDDdZVAp+KrrsN29eduK4mmFJlMvU/h72QnqyaKT+WGHTxjyuvBnD22zuCaH4vW6LcvOP6yow0OsHqfyT4+iPwS9jhMrT4C9Apg15IsUgFIiVcw9NFnBqlRnOTTGkVHlYEhCpskYoss/KYQJVJWiurcFDPn8aT+vYxKRAF/qHzGxioW68HL2uH+THrV0XiKUg5kqbrLTjmvKNtHIHvJFSlS9FKjoQNogOwKNiNHLchM1/oWzTEOKalNmgyCU2OpnMak0cAbEiAjm65n4pnW/qzUscOVb+/jqLjjfgeS/h83doM+w0ViWsAUNRL1G4Oe9LS6lE1vFrFO1/X0glm5VrdvdvtL8rSFZVhl960Ov9rxXNiyuBwt/TrZkoIo7Hbf9InHEEIR3rOTgA3SbLq5gANhxLNYxJnUvUFzbXoRi7lSPEy3mj7KH260t9zWbzkTsG2M0WKj9Ti2JwLloMxgCqFRK3svFXolpAczcdqczcxVYOZrlPRc16Ty7JcMSp7vhVorN1dFyiEHR8W2XEa3XOIFezQUgxaYZWjLn9m62ip8c/VbMsXYTKLih859gdWZj4GkvgC9Fe4Io2HjK+0SJaIv5V67qWxVr74cIvn5OGNx00eFwGu2sgBJGuvxwpHNk7GousXcEZW9FkptiOLLa064Mit/gBWgDG9EnloEBAOPmCo9FpUAKFJH6s+x27N2Oq2+F16kA8Oallx3ZNYqERjsv5JyL0KSj04ojY3tDPCSIjNSzgj3UB5nw4o1GeajtuSdIH5a4A6cjp/TnyeS4MmgluvwACNolxcwBymgfeyK1atra2Yf4PshGJszfa3gw1JeEKjqsySP62gtGrDz46D3uJTcUoO3LH6k/WFQH3DdXWTpzCmXWv0f2iQVQxUngEPc2FmsuzN6oqno4zn76G3xrSKeJZPzFZp2Eb2h7j3xvUbZTRUZpRH5rMU1ouXDmGw5iPOePO57F9/eQiJ9F9IhEPrCvWobZzenBBXZqMPzeILbSrZE9EANXfMs2QfWRhUy8tsKwLqsJLgw354066I/PoWvQU8KajNAIm7yxyhfk3fAaPO+05/iR6InTyWk4hGro92Qi436+HVOagG3oxpkaa/1kU94Q7DWHQYfU1I+JhVuFWzCcFL8W4LQCOT4OWPGiSeSy8hUQzqNZ+QY4uR3pKYW9AgvN3qjLOsUz2ot8ea7L124DrNowLJCTmn0uwAz9KWPtNvRYDyzymIZsAI1rwTo1CYTE59VJQXF8qXUiGPe+IHWMAK40veY7RnqqLT+jqSuqw9lkAzwd/MapDPXByIO+XsVhNq6MnBSn+zq8cOmdZp+jnNBd8xCK7zGMJ9tOsbKKCngoGIFgZK0pg8uVt5CUAS/aPrn3uTGxsVjqEIhkYsU+mYpkGvkgGQeRh5une+jQyeN5p3T10aZ8BiM2U5UX4gf3T8UzOR+Nnz4ElLBvlTnzjvTxihHNq3mRoYu7gb6lvkuo/PhPLqm6jrWf8qoKkiv/bxcltXUTTergsI5wXiwwBqp5AVRM6Mcad5hePGEly2ESLoNulD+UbyceN//YD2aidy4s0xUXmF9OJURcBsTQqO6dZtM0Q2qHWZxEs5iTEnlbQr9AGug3h1OLIvL/DO2L/+kDy1i8GsWV3YcO04mjjWh79802k3D1oK0Jqr2T1k4sQOw2chE0zOFcIrwM/64F+MvFdDPcUlm5vUkJPjhpxHn9tdvZXpj0Nl11lPK1Ic9D55vXtRmnprcZZ66I1taYwyTqynA3QApPFcIjC2CbO4UC8I14Reu828Gey2MaEDDYpvEE6+FZ76+hHiGyPvh8kmQlfFdrzWVL6lWhLkNxZ0nJPoswGd0Xp/Sh42UrkifFOgMwtIW1d8GZChNuHEBm/P64WZAzBJKKZGG8s3Lp49SMthd+toG3AdHTEMZM8wHgR0BDDXTWXEm86Zvhtt0gWBZ5dwBDacfXoVSsIfHVFh/4DCf6oA7VC25E+xrLvB0z8kJxjP5SOWAxlADUTqTYaS+jqEgAt1DiwFtnozyZTd1H6GRB3mAnfx9Z746WFcB+Vv+MILWJCUVzx3/VsfPfMEWpl8Rv6pkvy0TkUky/ag8uMVljNu3jKnhrQyfkXHpl68DhwbhZJojKBzeBL/D3D8Nx7atZRSzPaupXCD0ZAXz2Nc1BxtvdctoRE/AIyhRq32RaHZrh69EPeJdMpLo3EEtOdHez16fPPamIjySfthOBvLZwx0bxPVVuyaT/fJxZHdApkqqBRdKxaFpHwC+BcdnW0t8Bd5LBq/cQ7Cxq2OujcllluUXE/O1Bmq/Ee3xtxcsAIyFiy51++S319MAvNL/KIj5wpR2wwt5Lh2zbM6hioKpaZPJ8ek2x04kX7kJ+kXzexFypdUFi7Cn+QnHujgketgti+gL/dLAn3oaBYgZBPX701GbdZtGWQdyTc0WLPaj4PDiYtdtpqKJsY+oS9hDiYTfjQCsuJvLJnEzZgZumucPPZ7EYa83cNyDRbKWPnxyEOd9Tjzn8PmY85csqsI+dtQzYo1nHH0D7QinZD/9uLxIHL+/P37AM1PBV/ZyR3HxCRIMZWhMOeN3oVQ+6lFZlDbsF2S9X/Wmgh/5RW1yEpyYxSlF1tWPLxj/oNztg8RhkbQl5/pijOyNYuImWIp0QjuAr7LIkdhJD4kI33U9n3+9HEmHO7lB4t+5cDGQsfsjmVY9XW2OOtJ6WQborGCwHnQrAKHW3VE/Gl8gPFhEShVQ8FQ++XE+RlikagES5rcDPKimqAR0GnRtrk0/ucxy6eMX4FwofFSIAuleExyenLF/DLIxup2WpROPLMD2sU8+zrk2E2ohSIPYHPDbnqZWOtnaxblV3bVU1lVtNYd7rMzfUENOEhNdul3MOb8WQHeZHXASGK2ojJ0ks/si6bAELtpS1oRdJMpx7KdRpaNWPpCrYvzQMNQFdrw06FjqaVnG2gbzPp09RbS/8zgg76XYY7mmS/MazXiIcQFAn8/NozlnTyacNfi0WfDM8QhkauYNJuMUNnoaQVR63dV51fRFhLM6vW7JOMjBhTwWXv2VhwMAW8/sJ55f/bRcqMm8+4vWAeSVwN9iSYU4XAnPevfqhjlfHaRwtvvsh8p3uRpr9V9/qT//KTurjP0i5iuRZYrOcOnaydo8zrmv0tsIErSd25u2PqXd1WhP7MRP8bwjizYsAgXnDRwzIH3XeMsxlqHSLySfFUvG8gPndjpOg2TIOL5QuTQkhUuE60j52MHfGNt9sWYP3w9s3iWV1qjuDB+Qa3QNZnLurKaVK/J+ssfzZ+wztNfR5xyGfMCWCJb9kfqtC88GMZoLGaO6MGH4y5D7Gjx0XuLulDxMeNMoGTId7eFdxMDYbGB59tCb8rZkzINAWlVlOSIaBFDtrDYazsV8y8rWccBJSQIPdILTaPNZt0Mzjogddih2D0CONI3QJWlkrCkxwPcerTQQvizFYe/6LehIgUjNYsE77NUwqHg6KertLFFlhDjZnv3nfBcwAcFqa2DQwEEkoHXHy4g0abtKODrVQmC++6jd53JdMcNTa+AB5NgyFYDsD9Xm5l+iSGq5eZSodaP+sT8yvM9AAzJKWuDUaaHDIVoLiPxYNFRhfO7fbasWIsSRblihzWRfjoXuNeS9njPBBQTnLpRdBR3vVOlmbmY/KSD6fsP7HRT+1+SGRct//Y21LGHKeSms0ZsTxFFBV+mfB38X4Bs6KMavL5zZY79iKNuJQktE52LGWo10aQ+31Cc+XcVf3d/BLC/5LKxo67PO0anE/ktChLRKEg5SyQ3F3Q523KocOFe3jONlpkDoySOHobNe0kJ73KgCZtH1cz1WgDmT755hlb3xvr0n6WI/SSQJqFvCmwsoxm/EC/9ub8et+cnpsS9t5OdBfFmICbCjbDI3kHEkEN4BF14tsjJ26eygJI=
The Novel will be updated daily. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!