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!"
outside devoured any trace of light, leaving their car in the darkness, save for the occasional flash of headlights that flickered before Vivienne's eyes. Percival, with lips pressed together and eyes
to crawl
said, "Mr. Wolf, trust me, I will heal your aunt." Percival's grim expression softened slightly. He shifted, leaning his head against Vivienne's shoulder. "Vivienne, I do trust you.
hatred bubbling up inside him toward Gavin
placed in an unknown hospital with professional care to
covers, even he couldn't suppress the rising bile in
where that foul stench lingering around
blanket was Holly's withered body, wounds
moment, Percival felt a
useful. But the agony he felt for Holly and the hatred
Vivienne's stomach, his clenched eyes hiding
Vivienne swallowed hard, her hand gently caressing his hair as a chill flashed in her eyes. "Mr. Wolf, the dead do not
couldn't recall the last time he had
lineage was formidable,
cared about, they couldn't just hand
at the caller ID
"Hand it over."
the
voice, cool yet tinged with anger,
the Abernathy family done now?" Vivienne didn't need to guess; she knew Gavin must have stirred
the ashes and are threatening that if we don't hand over the secret recipe within three days, they'll
phone tightened as she inhaled deeply. "How is Kaitlyn holding
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