Turning the corner, Julie suddenly crashed into Kieran, her heart instantly settling at his familiar presence. She inhaled the comforting scent that clung to him, hugging him tightly.
"It's okay now," he assured her, wrapping her in his comforting embrace.
Julien furrowed brows in concern, "Did you finish the task? Why are you so scared?"
"Fi... finished," Julie panted, "I ran into... the man who kidnapped me last time... he's in this building."
"The one who took you to the island?" Julien asked.
Julie nodded. Every time she encountered that man, she felt like a mouse cornered by a cat, terrified of being devoured alive.
"The phone that man left behind last time didn't have any useful information," Kieran reported.
"Let's go. I want to see the face of the man who dared to kidnap you!" Julien’s tone was icy.
Julie admired Julien greatly, but that man truly struck fear into her heart. She had barely escaped alive from their last encounter.
While Julie and Julien were talking, Kenton's phone suddenly rang.
Flavia peeked at the email that had arrived and tugged on Julien's sleeve, "Our guest has arrived. We're going to meet him. We'll be back soon!"
"Who's so important?" Julien asked casually. Curiosity sparked in Julie as well. Who could be so important that Flavia and Kenton had to personally meet them?
Flavia explained, "You've probably heard of him."
Kenton added, "Interestingly, you have a closer connection to him, Hayden."
"Connection? What do you mean?" This was the second time Hayden had spoken that evening.
Kenton continued, "Miles. Back when Miles was still your nominal father, he had quite a few dealings with this family."
"Fitzgerald?" Julien blurted out.
Flavia nodded, "Yes, the Fitzgeralds."
"The Fitzgerald family has a lot of history with Miles. But with his death, their grudges seem to have faded," Kenton explained. "But today we’re meeting Simon, the next in line to inherit the Fitzgerald estate. I think you may have heard of him."
Julien was taken aback. The person they had been searching for so long was acquainted with his own sister. But then, "How are you connected to Simon of Fitzgerald?" After all, aristocratic family members are usually mysterious.
Flavia smirked and gestured to her husband, "You forgot? Kenton's mother is Maylis Ilgauskas Jenkins from the noble Ilgauskas family!"
Maylis had given up her noble title for a man, only to give birth to Kenton. Later, Kenton, probably inheriting his mother's reckless nature for love, gave up his noble status for Flavia. In the end, Kenton's grandfather, Bruno Ilgauskas, decided to pass on the title to Kenton's eldest son, Nathan.
Of course, Julien knew this, but she did not think about it at that time, so she ignored the news. Now that Flavia knew Simon from the Fitzgerald family, she naturally wanted to meet Simon before leaving. After all, the purpose of attending this party today is to come for Simon!
"I’ll come with you," Julien told Flavia and Kenton.
Given that Julien and Hayden had saved Nate and Cherry's lives, Kenton wouldn’t refuse Julien's request. Julie and Kieran were also invited to come along.
She said, "I've been looking into Simon, and I think there's a lot going on here."
**
In room 2403, Kleist stood by his young master, watching the USB in the black box in his master's hand. After a few minutes of silence, he reminded, "Sir, Mr. Jenkins will be here soon."
The man then put the U disk away, and then sat on the sofa, took the computer on his lap, casually browsing the stock chart on the Web page.
The rhythmic knock on the door interrupted them.
At the door, Kleist's gaze fell first not on Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins, but...
"Patriot?" Kleist's English wasn't perfect, but he pronounced this word flawlessly.
Julie was speechless.
Kleist, Simon, room 2403.
At that moment, Julie seemed to finally understand something...
Kieran gazed down at Julie in his arms. Julie looked up at him, gripping his sleeve.
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