The Wife He Dumped, The Queen She Returned As novel Chapter 181

Hearing his frantic, trembling tone, Mrs. Shaw immediately knew he was thinking of his daughter.

"Her name is Chloe Reed. She's a friend of Quentin's."

"Chloe... Reed?"

Mrs. Shaw called out softly, "Alaric, how have you been lately?"

The line went silent for a long time before he finally managed to calm down.

"I'm sorry. Thank you."

After hanging up the phone, Mrs. Shaw let out a long sigh, a layer of inescapable sorrow settling in her eyes.

She looked at Chloe and explained softly, "Master Sylvain's daughter... if she were still alive, she would be about your age."

Chloe was slightly taken aback, surprise flickering in her eyes. "Did something happen to his daughter?"

Mrs. Shaw lowered her gaze. "When Elara was five, she returned to the country with her family and was abducted by human traffickers."

"Later, when the police raided their hideout, they discovered it wasn't an ordinary trafficking ring. It was a hub for drug cartels and organ harvesting..."

Although they never found her body, everyone knew the chances of that little girl surviving were virtually zero.

The only daughter of a powerful family, adored and pampered by all, had met such a horrific end at such a tender age.

And Quentin, who was only seven or eight at the time, grew quieter and colder from that day forward.

He never spoke of it, but Mrs. Shaw knew better than anyone that he lived in a constant state of guilt.

He blamed himself for failing to protect his little sister, Elara.

Chloe listened quietly, her chest tightening as if an invisible hand were crushing her heart. A suffocating wave of despair washed over her.

By the time she snapped out of it, a single tear had already slipped out without warning, splashing coldly against the back of her hand.

Mrs. Shaw patted her hand gently, her voice soothing.

"It's alright, it's all in the past. Chloe, I heard you and Quentin are heading abroad for work soon. Master Sylvain is over there as well. Perhaps you two will get the chance to meet."

Chloe wiped away the stray tear and murmured, "Okay."

By early evening, Quentin had just called to report that Penelope Rowan had been taken into police custody, when a violent pounding suddenly echoed from the front gates of the Shaw Manor.

"Too scared to come out, huh?! You think the Rowan family is easy to push around?! I'm going to burn every last one of you alive today!"

Before the threat even settled, several shadowy figures scrambled over the estate walls, hurling dark objects ruthlessly into the courtyard.

Chloe instinctively pulled Mrs. Shaw back.

Just as the intruders were about to drop into the yard, a group of security personnel materialized from the shadows. Moving with ruthless efficiency, they grabbed the trespassers and dragged them off the walls.

The sickening thuds of bodies hitting the ground were followed by agonized wails.

An indeterminate amount of time passed before a dead silence abruptly fell over the outside world.

A second later, a low, glacial voice cut through the twilight, ringing out with absolute clarity.

"Chloe, open the door. I'm here to take you home."

It was Preston.

Chloe froze.

He spoke again. "Having your fun is one thing, but what, are you planning on spending the night at another man's house?"