The Heiress’ Return: Six Brothers at Her Beck and Call (Wynter Quinnell) novel Chapter 1939

Matthias and Asher walked toward a yard located off to the side.

As they walked through the doorway, Asher informed him, "Master wants you to go in alone."

So, Matthias walked inside with great trepidation. Just as he entered, Asher closed the large entrance doors.

There was a man in his 40s sitting on a chair in the yard—Luther Graves.

Matthias knelt down. "My apologies, Master."

Luther looked in his direction. "A simple apology means nothing. You were in charge of the most important part of the plan. Tell me—how should I punish you?"

Matthias replied quietly, "I deserve whatever punishment you see fit, even if you were to kill me, Master."

Luther laughed coldly. "What do I gain from killing you? Do I drag your corpse to The Absolute? This entire plan was secretly formulated by The Absolute in the first place.

"I originally assumed that you would be able to complete this step of the plan with your capabilities. I hadn't expected an issue from your end."

Matthias gritted his teeth. "Freddy must have betrayed us. It's because the Havenians listened to his words back then that they abandoned their suspicions toward the mainlanders."

Luther turned his head. "Freddy's actions have nothing to do with you. A failure is a failure, and it's cowardly to make excuses for it.

"Take a break for now. When the time comes, I'll assign you a new mission. Remember—if anything goes wrong again, you may as well stay in Cascadia forever."

Matthias nodded heavily. "Yes, Master."

…

Meanwhile, Wynter and company had returned to Havenia's streets. She made her way back to one of the shops based on memory—the shop where she had helped a young lady and apprehended Blayne.

Wynter knocked on the shuttered door and called out, "We've already succeeded in persuading the Havenians to stand down, mister. The operation has been called off."

After hearing her voice from inside, Conrad quickly opened the door. "I was just saying that your voice sounded rather familiar, young lady."

Wynter smiled. "I was planning to drop by, anyway. There's still an eyesore of a blond in your shop, after all."

Conrad waved dismissively. "I'm in no rush to deal with him. Come in for some tea first. I haven't thanked all of you properly yet."

Wynter nodded. "Sure. I'll join you for some tea, then."

She looked at Dalton and asked, "How about you find something to eat with Wolf?"

Dalton glanced at Wolf. "Wolf's not hungry, so he can do without food for now."

With that, he followed her up the stairs.

Wolf tilted his head in confusion. "I…"

They all took a seat for themselves upstairs.

After Conrad finished making tea, he handed a cup to each of them. "Please try it and let me know how you find the taste."

Wynter picked up her teacup and took a sip. Her eyes lit up, and she asked, "Is this Earl Grey?"

Conrad smiled and replied, "Yes. I went to great pains to buy this Earl Grey from the mainland."

Wynter nodded lightly. "It's certainly quite good. Although I don't really drink tea, I still have some understanding of it."

There was a trace of longing in Conrad's eyes as he commented, "It's a pity that I haven't returned to the mainland for a long time."

Wynter arched an eyebrow. "No wonder you were so protective of that young lady from the mainland. Are you also a mainlander?"

Conrad nodded. "Yes. I felt a sense of kinship with the young lady, so I wanted to protect her. After all, it's been decades since I left the mainland."

He continued, "Oh, right. I still haven't asked for your name."

"Wynter Quinnell," replied Wynter.

Conrad stiffened. "Wynter Quinnell? Where in Cascadia do you live?"

"Kingbourne," Wynter replied, noticing his reaction. "What's wrong, mister?"

Conrad asked again in a low voice, "The Quinnell family from Kingbourne?"

Wynter nodded lightly. "I didn't expect you to know of my family."

Upon hearing this, Conrad stood up and bowed deeply. "Well met, Ms. Quinnell, eldest daughter of the Quinnell family."

Seeing this, Wynter frowned lightly. "How are you so sure I'm the eldest Quinnell daughter?"

Conrad met her gaze. "There's only one Quinnell family in Kingbourne, and I'm a member of the Havenian Chamber of Commerce, sent here by Gordon Quinnell.

"Mr. Quinnell Senior once mentioned that one of the Quinnell family's descendants would seek us out in Havenia in the future, so we've been waiting ever since."

Wynter's eyes narrowed slightly. "You're a member of the Chamber of Commerce?"

She honestly hadn't expected to indirectly encounter a member of the chamber.

Conrad nodded solemnly. "My name is Conrad Durand, and I worked under Gordon Quinnell. Although I recognized you just now, I still need to confirm one thing. Mr. Quinnell Senior told us that when his descendant came to us, they would need to show us a certain item…"

Wynter understood immediately and reached into her pocket for the gold-eyed goldfish. "The gold-eyed goldfish, right?"

Tears welled up in Conrad's eyes. "Yes! The gold-eyed goldfish… After so many years of waiting, the time has finally come.

"I heard about what happened with the Quinnell family before. The Cascadian Chamber of Commerce being completely divided into two disappointed us as well. I didn't expect that I'd actually get to see the gold-eyed goldfish now."

Wynter looked up at him. "There were indeed some unexpected incidents, but they've now been resolved. The Cascadian Chamber of Commerce has now been fully absorbed back into the Quinnell family."

Conrad looked at her. "Were you the one who personally resolved the issues, Ms. Quinnell?"

Wynter nodded lightly. "Naturally. There were some who wanted to divide the Chamber of Commerce or even join hands with foreign countries, which would go against Grandpa Gordon's last wish."

Conrad turned slightly to the side. "Please wait a moment, Ms. Quinnell. I'll summon all the old members from the Chamber of Commerce!"

He then stood up and walked outside.

Wynter hummed in acknowledgement, then looked at Dalton. "What do you think?"

Dalton met her gaze. "His words should be genuine, but they're just not really in line with the Chamber of Commerce's style. For these old members from the Chamber of Commerce to now be shopkeepers on the street…"

Wynter narrowed her eyes slightly. "Unexpected changes occurred that drove all the original members to this place. I'm very curious about one thing, though. Mr. Chamberlain told me that none of the previous Chamber of Commerce members are around anymore…"

Dalton chuckled. "Just because they're not around doesn't mean they're no longer alive. It's possible that when the changes occurred within the Chamber of Commerce, foreigners took the helm and demoted all the previous outstanding members. However, Mr. Chamberlain could have been unaware of this."

Wynter nodded. "I'll ask him about it later. It may well be the case."

Wolf, who was sitting next to them, downed cup after cup of tea.

Wynter gave him a look and admonished, "Although it's good tea, don't be greedy about it, Wolf."

Wolf muttered, "But it's boring sitting here, so all I can do is drink tea."

Wynter pointed to the back. "If you find it boring, you can go play with the blondie back there. Just make sure he's still breathing."

Wolf's eyes widened. "If you're serious, I'll actually go over there, Boss."

Wynter nodded. "Go on, but keep him alive. He's still useful to us."

So, Wolf eagerly ran over to Blayne.

Wynter gazed at all of them. "Okay. Everyone must be present when I snatch the Chamber of Commerce out of foreign hands."

They all replied in unison, "Thank you very much, Ms. Quinnell. If we old farts can help you with anything, please feel free to ask. We'll do it, even if it means risking our lives."

Wynter waved a dismissive hand. "There's no need to go that far. We'll be getting the Chamber of Commerce back with brains, not brawn. Who currently owns the chamber?"

Conrad replied, "As far as I know, it's currently in the hands of a middle-aged foreigner named Charis Boso. The Chamber of Commerce has been constantly under his control, and he's been delivering benefits to foreign countries."

Wynter nodded lightly. "Charis Boso… I understand."

Conrad continued, "However, this man is difficult to deal with. He has a low profile but is in contact with many political figures within Havenia. He'll also get those people to help him with shady businesses."

Wynter's eyebrows rose slightly. "Shady? Do you mean illegal businesses?"

Conrad nodded vigorously. "Yes. Havenia's location is geographically advantageous, so there are also many foreign investors eyeing it. He uses this to conduct many shady businesses, but nobody knows exactly what he's involved in."

After hearing this, Wynter couldn't help but wonder if Charis was involved in the organ trafficking and gambling operations from before. He could even be involved in other operations, too.

She stood up. "Understood. It's getting late, so we'll be heading back first. As for the Chamber of Commerce, just leave it to me and continue doing business as usual. Once the plan is completed, I'll let you watch me get the chamber back into my hands."

Conrad nodded. "Alright, Ms. Quinnell."

Wynter shouted toward the back of the shop, "We're leaving, Wolf."

Wolf came running at the sound of her voice. "Coming, Boss."

After saying her farewells to Conrad and the others, she left with Dalton and Wolf.

As they walked out of the shop, she looked at Dalton. "Have you heard of Charis Boso?"

Dalton shook his head lightly. "Not every piece of information about every person makes it into my ears, with the exception of one Wynter Quinnell."

Wynter's eyes gleamed with laughter. "I noticed that after coming to Havenia, you no longer speak as reservedly as before."

Dalton looked away. "It depends on who I'm speaking to. My indifference is for others to see."

At that moment, a thought suddenly occurred to Wynter. "I'm going to make a phone call."

Dalton nodded. "Okay."

Wynter made a long-distance call, tapping out the numbers from memory. It only took a few rings before someone picked up on the other end.

They spoke up first, exclaiming, "Oh! Considering you haven't contacted me for so long, I thought you'd forgotten me, my dear Ms. Quinnell."

Wynter replied coldly, "I've been too busy. Help me look into someone, Lancelot. Charis Boso, currently based in Havenia."

Just as Wynter was about to hang up, she heard Lancelot add, "Do you only think of me when you need me, my dear Ms. Quinnell? You can also call for a casual chat sometimes."

She narrowed her eyes slightly and said shortly, "Long-distance calls are expensive. I have no money."

Lancelot smiled and replied, "That's not a good enough reason, my dear Ms. Quinnell. Your wealth can rival that of a country's."

Wynter said calmly, "Who would complain about being too rich? This Charis person is of use to me, so send me the information on him as soon as possible."

Lancelot lowered his voice. "I've heard of him. He's from Emstia, but very little is known about him. Few have actually seen him in person, because everyone describes his appearance differently."

Wynter's gaze darkened. "He seems to be a difficult one."

Since everyone described his appearance differently, even if Charis were to meet them face-to-face, they wouldn't figure out that it was him.

"Do your best," she said quietly. "I'm leaving it to you, Lancelot."

Lancelot replied solemnly, "Understood, Ms. Quinnell. I promise I'll complete this task."