Love’s Change of Heart novel Chapter 370

Leanna barged into a few cardrooms and underground casinos in a row to search for Louis, but to no avail. Instead, she attracted unwanted attention from the people hanging out in the casino, who grew unamused at her behavior.

Noticing that she was there without a companion, they threw banters and teases at her.

"Hey gorgeous, why are you hanging out by yourself? Are you interested in gambling?"

"Why don't you save a little time and settle in? Are you trying to make comparisons?"

"Pretty lady, there's a difference between a casino and a man, y'know? You need to follow different rules in different casinos, but you can choose whichever man catches your attention. We promise that you won't be disappointed."

The men exchanged glances during the conversation and shared a knowing smile that had a deeper meaning than it showed.

At that moment, one of them mustered his courage and approached her. "How about starting with me? Hehe, I promise you won't regret it."

Before he could finish his words, someone grabbed his hair from behind and slammed his head violently against the wall.

A swear word escaped the man as he turned around, attempting to fight back his assailant. When he recognized the person in front of him, he involuntarily took a step back. "R-Ron? What brings you here?"

With an expressionless face, Ron stared at them. "Since when do I need to report my whereabouts to you?"

The onlooking men around changed their attitude within a split second of his arrival. Smiling obsequiously at him, the first man replied, "That's not what I mean. We're merely concerned about your well-being. It's been a while since we last saw you. How are you doing lately?"

Ron let the man's pleasantries slip and cut to the chase. "Have you noticed a man in his late teens around here?"

"There's no such a person. I swear. There aren't any new faces inside the casino the whole day other than the pretty lady over there."

The others joined the conversation to support his stance. "He's telling the truth, Ron. As you know, the people hanging around are regulars and we know their faces. It's hard to forget if a new face showed up here."

At that, Ron turned to Leanna and stated, "It seems like he has never been here."

Furrowing her brows, she allowed her eyes to roam around the men in front of her for a while before she urged, "Let's go."

Once she turned around to leave, Ron ordered the group, "Report to me as soon as you see him around here."

After that, he kicked the man, who was trying to make a move on Leanna a moment ago, and reminded, "Mind your own business and cut the nonsense."

"Yes, of course. There won't be a next time."

Withdrawing his gaze, Ron turned on his heel to leave.

At that moment, one of the men, who had been keeping silent the whole while, strode over to him. "Wait a minute, Ron. I've got something to tell you—I saw the jerk, Jethro, today. Are you perhaps looking for him?"

As his words reached the duo, they turned around to watch him.

Ron inquired, "Where did you see him?"

"Over the junction out there, all alone. At first, I only thought he seemed familiar. If it isn't because of… I won't even remember seeing him today."

Ron's expression grew more serious as he suddenly reached out his hands to grab the man by the collar. "Has Jethro been here lately?"

The man's face stiffened for a moment before he let out a strained chuckle. "No, he hasn't. I remember you asked us to report his whereabouts to you when we saw him here, but he's never here."

"Don't try my patience."

Noticing that Ron was on the edge of losing his temper, the man shuddered but spoke through clenched teeth nonetheless. "I'm telling the truth. I won't dare lie to you."

Before Ron could answer, the man, who got his head shoved into the wall, chimed in as blood trickled down his face, "You better come clean. Jethro isn't the best person you should hang out with. Don't ever expect to get any benefits from him."

"I'm not—"

Leanna then interrupted them casually, "How much did he give you? I'll give you double."

The man rolled his eyes in anticipation as he was tempted by the suggestion, but Ron's presence discouraged him from accepting. Thus, he whined, "Geez, pretty lady. It's not about money."

The next second, Ron's fist smashed into the wall behind the man as he ordered with a cold tone, "One last chance—money or life?"

The threat in his tone was obvious, so the man knew better than to continue covering up for Jethro. He swallowed out of nervousness before he began, "Alright, alright. He was here two days ago for a few rounds. He got lucky that night and won a lot. He gave me some of the money, asking me not to tell the others about his arrival. Ron, you must know that I was left with no other option but to accept it. Lately, my girlfriend is planning to leave me for another guy, so I'm in dire need of money to bring her back to me, and you know what happened next."

Ron released him and asked for further information with a serious tone, "Did he ever tell you about the location of his temporary shelter?"

"He didn't. He was alert the whole time I followed him, wary that someone might be hot on his tail."

"Where did you lose him?"

At this point, the man saw no point in leaving any information out, so he immediately added, "I followed him all the way to the abandoned and uncompleted building right out there. I was worried that he might notice me, so I didn't follow him inside. That place has nothing to shelter him and it's raining lately, so I doubt he lives there."

Ron ignored the man's remark. Instead, he took a few steps toward Leanna and suggested, "Wait for me in the car. I'm going to check it out."

She pondered for a moment before speaking, "I'm coming with you."

She worried that if Louis looked for Jethro in the building, there was zero possibility that he would follow Ron and leave the place.

Meanwhile, Ron didn't argue with her as he nodded. "All right."

The casino wasn't far from the abandoned building, and it only took a few minutes to arrive by car. However, there were alleys everywhere which cars couldn't go through. The duo didn't want to waste any time looking for another entrance, so they walked into the alleys and began their search of the abandoned building.

The closer their distance to the building, the more Leanna had a feeling that Louis was there.

When they arrived near the abandoned building, they noticed grass as tall as their waist growing, and stray animals that had built their dens around it. Besides, a putrid smell permeated the air.

The surroundings were quiet, and one could only hear the sound of the wind swaying the grass.

Ron then turned to Leanna. "Wait here. I'm heading inside."

She nodded lightly in response.

He took the initiative to go into the building while Leanna took her time to check out the structure of the abandoned building.

Her eyes first met the noticeably reinforced concrete, before they shifted to the wooden planks and other materials unused for the project. Moreover, there was standing water on the floor.

Judging by its appearance, she couldn't imagine it to be a suitable shelter for any person.

Even though Jethro was in hiding, he was still gracious when he paid the man in the casino. Thus, she doubted he would need to compromise with his choice and live in such a place.

At that moment, the wind brought the noise of a fight breaking out on the rooftop to her.

Leanna immediately raised her head in that direction and saw Louis' silhouette fleeing across the rooftop.

Feeling her heart flutter, she involuntarily opened her mouth to call out his name, but her concern about his well-being got the best of her. Therefore, she parted the grass in front of her and rushed forward.

As soon as she set foot at the entrance, a large wooden plaque crashed before her feet.

Leanna's heart dropped to her stomach and she was drenched in sweat as she stopped in her tracks. She raised her head the second time and found a person's upper body leaning out of the rooftop edge. The person was swinging his hands in the air, struggling to live due to his survival instinct.

If her guess was correct, the person was none other than Jethro.

However, there was a distance between where Leanna was and the rooftop. She couldn't hear any words, and could only pray that Ron would be able to stop them in time.

Slowly clenching her fists, she took a deep breath and continued with her journey.