The Hidden Empress Stripping Her Secrets After Divorce novel Chapter 423

The panic only grew worse.

Her first thought had been her grandfather. He had returned to the old estate today and wasn't at the chateau. She grabbed her phone again, pulling up his caretaker's number. She was just about to hit dial when—

A knock echoed at her door.

"Evelyn, are you awake?" The butler's voice carried a rare edge of urgency.

Evelyn sat up. "Yes."

The butler pushed the door open, holding a tablet. He walked straight to the edge of the bed and handed it to her.

"The security team sent this over. Take a look."

Evelyn took the device.

It displayed the chateau's surveillance feed from earlier that night. The screen showed Sebastian Thorne's car pulling out of the main gates and driving down the tree-lined avenue.

Everything looked completely normal.

But the butler swiped the screen, switching to a different camera angle. In the distance, two unmarked black vans were silently tailing Sebastian's vehicle.

"They started following Mr. Thorne the second he left the estate," the butler explained. "Maintaining a perfect distance. They probably assumed our surveillance perimeter didn't stretch this far."

He paused, adding, "But back in his prime, the old master dealt with countless assassination attempts. Every inch within a ten-mile radius of this estate is heavily monitored."

Evelyn's grip on the tablet tightened.

She zoomed in, catching the faint outlines of the men inside the vans.

"Southeast Asian," the butler noted. "Known mercenaries."

Evelyn stared at the two vans trailing Sebastian's car. They looked like venomous snakes slithering through the dark.

The suffocating panic.

It hadn't been about her grandfather.

It was him.

Her fingers curled tight, her knuckles turning white. She thought of the sudden anxiety, the relentless restlessness, the heavy, breathless feeling in her chest.

A sudden realization hit her.

A psychic connection?

She looked down at her flat stomach.

She was carrying his child.

Maybe the baby had been trying to tell her that its father was in danger.

Evelyn closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them again, the panic was completely gone, replaced by icy resolve.

She dialed Sebastian's number.

No answer.

She dialed again.

Still no answer.

She lowered her phone and looked up at the butler.

"Get the team ready. We're going after them."

The butler nodded and turned to make the arrangements.

Evelyn stood up, walked into her closet, and swapped her pajamas for a trench coat. She pulled her hair back in front of the mirror, her hands terrifyingly steady.

The butler had mobilized instantly. A dozen heavily armed operatives and two tactical vehicles were already idling at the front doors.

Evelyn went downstairs and got into the car.

As they sped out of the chateau gates, she cast one last glance toward the direction the black vans had vanished into.

The fear was completely gone.

—

"The butler said you were being followed by some highly trained mercenaries. I figured they were making a move on you."

"I called you, but you didn't answer. I thought the worst," she continued smoothly. "I tracked your location and realized you took this route."

Sebastian opened his mouth, but the words died in his throat. It felt like a massive lump had formed, and his eyes burned with unshed emotion.