With a frown marring his forehead, Xavier took the phone and placed it beside his ear.Before he could speak a word, Nateâs angry voice rang out. âXavier, you and that b*tch Winnie must pay for harming Yulissa! I wonât let Yulissa die in vain. I shall make sure you and that b*tch pay for what you did to her!â
His warning was so low that it was practically a growl.âNate!â Xavier clenched his jaw and warned, âMind your words. Otherwise, donât blame me for taking action.ââHa!â Nate sneered. âWe used to be close to each other as cousins. Back then, you treated me badly to get Yulissa. Now, you and that b*tch caused Yulissaâs death. Are you going to teach me a lesson for that b*tchâs sake? You loved Yulissa dearly, but you arenât as loyal as me. No wonder Uncle Benjamin prefers me over you. You suck, Xavier Fairchild!âIt was common knowledge in the Fairchild family that Benjamin and Xavier werenât close to each other despite being father and son.However, no one would say that out loud, for Benjamin and Xavier hated hearing people discussing this matter in public.It was, in fact, a taboo in the Fairchild family. Xavierâs face would turn dark whenever the topic was mentioned.As expected, rage ran red through Xavierâs brain after he heard Nateâs taunting words.His eyes turned red as he snarled dangerously, âSend me your location. Iâll go find you now!âNate didnât know Yulissa had injected a large dosage of a drug into Xavierâs body, causing the latter to lose a part of his memory.He was in a foul mood, so he wanted to make Xavier and Winnie suffer worse than him.He taunted, âWhy? Whatâs wrong, my dear cousin? Did my words hit a sore spot? Is that why youâre angry?ââYour address!â
Xavier roared. He couldnât control his emotions as he was under the influence of the drug.âDr.
Houghton!â Louisâ anxiety grew when he realized Xavierâs emotions were growing unstable. He immediately asked for Josiahâs help. âFind a way to stop him! We canât let this go on.âJosiah knew how serious the problem was. âCalm him down. Keep an eye on him while I get the sedative,â he ordered.âOkay!â Louis nodded and spun on his heels to offer some advice to Xavier. âMr. Xavier, please calm down. Iâve made an appointment with Mr. Nate. Itâs late, so it isnât convenient for you to make your way over right now,â he uttered.He then pleaded with Nate, âMr. Nate, Mr. Xavier didnât get to rest well these days, so heâs emotionally unstable. Can you please stop provoking him on purpose?âAlas, all Louis got was an icy snort in response.Ignoring Louis, Nate continued provoking Xavier. âIâve sent the location to your phone. Xavier, Iâll be waiting for you. Youâll be a coward if you donât show up!âXavier gritted his teeth and growled, âIf you escape, youâre the coward!âTossing the phone away, Xavier whipped out his mobile phone and clicked into the location Nate had sent him.He took one look at the address and grabbed his car keys, ready to leave.Obviously, he wasnât in a stable condition judging from his reddened eyes. Hence, there was no way Louis would let him leave.Despite his efforts to stop Xavier from leaving, Louis was shorter than the former. Xavier gave him a shove, and he staggered backward unsteadily and nearly toppled to the ground.Louis exclaimed, âMr. Xavier, you canât leave in this condition. Itâs dangerous! Dr. Houghton, are you ready?âAs Xavier wasnât about to listen to his advice, Louis flung his arms around Xavierâs waist so the man couldnât move an inch.âWhat are you doing? Let go of me!â Xavier seethed as an intimidating aura surrounded him. His eyes were bloodshot as he declared, âIf you donât let me go, donât blame me for hurting you!ââYou canât leave now!â Louis refused to let go even though Xavier was clutching his throat. âDr. Houghton!âJosiah had prepared the sedative. Despite hearing Louisâ screams earlier, he didnât respond as he was afraid Xavier would realize what he was about to do.The sedative was ready, and Josiah was prepared to inject it into Xavierâs body.However, it was as though Xavier had eyes on the back of his head.Even though Josiah did his best to be very careful, Xavier discovered his plan before he could take action.Xavierâs eyes turned scarily redder when he spotted the syringe in Josiahâs hand.He met Josiahâs gaze for a few seconds. Even though it was over in a flash, Josiah felt that Xavier looked like a beast instead of a human.Xavier quickly grabbed the syringe from Josiah and stabbed it into the latterâs neck.Everything happened too swiftly and quietly. Xavier didnât even make a sound when he did that.After dealing with Josiah, he turned around and kicked Louis out of his way.Louisâ head crashed into the corner of the coffee table and bled on impact. Feeling dizzy, he couldnât even get to his feet.Even though Josiah pulled the syringe out of his neck almost immediately, a tiny amount of the sedative was already in his bloodstream.Realizing Louisâ head was bleeding, he threw the syringe aside and ran toward the man.As he checked Louisâ wound, he asked, âAre you hurt elsewhere? Can you move your lower body?ââYes,â came Louisâ weak answer. âDr. Houghton, donât worry about me. Hurry, go after Mr.
Xavier.âJosiah massaged his temples and shook his head violently. He felt slightly groggy.âNo. We canât even defend ourselves now. Iâm afraid Iâll faint even before I make it out of the door. Nate should be in Avenport, so we can call Winnie and ask for her help to stop them.âJosiah felt his vision blurring, and he could barely stand on his feet anymore.Slowly, he slid to the ground. âThis is his phone. He left his phone behind!â he blurted out in surprise.âMr. Nate sent the address to his phone. I believe Mr. Xavier went there to look for him.ââThatâs great!â The sedative was already taking effect, so Josiah felt his eyelids drooping. âIâll send the address to Winnie now.âAlas, Josiah passed out before he could send the text.Louis could only take the phone from him and call Winnie.Winnie had just finished chatting with Jacinta, and her phone was beside her when the call arrived. She had put her phone on silent mode, but both she and Jacinta saw Xavierâs name flashing on the screen.Jacinta scowled in displeasure when she saw the name.âItâs late. Why is he calling at this hour to disrupt your rest? Donât answer it.
Text him and say youâre going to sleep, then switch off your phone!â she ordered.Winnie wasnât sure if she should laugh or cry at that. âWhat if itâs urgent?ââWhy would he come to you for something urgent?
Heâs the CEO of Fairchild Corporation, so he can deal with it himself. He can get himself out of anything!ââFine, then.â Winnie gave a resigned nod. âThat makes sense.âI made Granny upset today, so I need to appease her now.âIâll do as you say.â Winnie rejected the call and sent a text to Xavierâs phone.Before she could receive any reply, Jacinta took her phone away.âAll right. You can switch off your phone now. Look at the time. You think you can stay up late as youâre still young, but your body will deteriorate quickly. Hurry and go take a shower,â Jacinta urged.She was talking when Xavierâs call arrived again.As it was on silent mode, Winnie was picking up the cushion that had dropped to the floor and didnât notice it.Jacinta didnât want her to answer Xavierâs call, so she switched off the phone.Almost an hour later, Winnie finally stepped out of the shower.There was no missed call notification as her phone was switched off, but a flurry of texts from Xavier arrived.Winnie immediately read the messages. Just after a glance, she peeled off the mask on her face.She called the number back, and it was Louis who picked up her call. âMrs. Fairchild, bad news. You should leave and stop Mr. Xavier now. Iâve sent you the address.ââOkay!â Though her phone was switched off earlier, Louis had explained everything through texts.There wasnât time to change, so Winnie put on a thin shirt and strode out of her room.In her haste, she made a noise and belatedly realized Jacinta was at home. She wasnât alone now.Fortunately, Jacintaâs room was dark. It seemed that she was already asleep.Winnie tiptoed out of her house and got into her car.What she hadnât realized, though, was that a figure was standing in Jacintaâs room upstairs, watching her every move.The address Xavier received from Nate was a mansion located on the outskirts of the city.It was late, and traffic was relatively smooth, so it would only take around an hour for Winnie to arrive at the destination.Xavier had departed from Baykeep over an hour ago, and it would take him around two hours to reach Nateâs mansion.Winnie calculated briefly and discovered she would arrive at around the same time as Xavier if she were to leave now.In fact, Xavier might even arrive earlier than her. He was probably taking the highway, but she had to abide by the cityâs speed limit.An hour and fifteen minutes later, Winnieâs car rolled to a stop before Nateâs mansion. She was the first to arrive.She drove into the driveway and noticed his mansion was brightly lit.Xavierâs phone wasnât with him, so she couldnât confirm if he was already inside.Left with no choice, Winnie had to knock on the door.She knocked for a long time before Nate came to answer the door.He was surprised to see Winnie standing outside his mansion.âWhy? Is Xavier too cowardly to come here and sent a woman in his stead?â he mocked.Without hesitation, he flipped a pocket knife open and brandished it at Winnie.The sharp knife glinted menacingly under the light as Nate swiftly pressed it to Winnieâs cheek.âAre you afraid, Winnie?âHe brushed the knife across Winnieâs face slowly.Winnieâs eyes narrowed a fraction, but she remained unfazed. She showed no signs of being afraid.Nate hated to see her this calm. It was as if she couldnât care less about him.âDo you think I donât have the guts to cut you?â he demanded.Winnieâs face was devoid of expression. She shot Nate a look as dangerous as the knife in his hand.âIâm here for Xavier, but it seems he hasnât arrived yet.
Even if he isnât here, itâs the same if I can talk to you.âHaving said that, Winnie suddenly flashed a smile.Known for her gorgeous looks, Winnie remained stunningly beautiful when she laughed merrily, grinned icily, or even sneered mockingly.Nate wanted to disregard her smile, but he failed to ignore it no matter how hard he tried.Her smile was too annoying. Nate felt as though she was ridiculing and looking down on him!âWinnie!â he growled. âWhy are you smiling? Do you seriously think Iâm at my witsâ
end?âWinnieâs smile didnât waver.Without warning, she reached out and grabbed Nateâs pocket knife.The next second, the sharp end of the knife was pressed to Nateâs cheek.âIâm laughing at you.
You shot countless fighting scenes in action movies, but you canât even hold a knife properly,â Winnie commented.Increasing her force, she pressed the knife down on Nateâs cheek.âYou should hold a knife at this angle when youâre threatening someone with it. Even if you donât move, the victim will get hurt when he or she moves. Yes, youâre doing the exact thing I just said.âWhile she was talking, Nate moved slightly. As a result, the knife cut his skin. Blood trickled out of the tiny wound on his cheek instantaneously.That wasnât what Winnie intended to do.If possible, she didnât want to cause a fuss or create trouble.âI can understand that you want to avenge her, but Iâm upset that you got the wrong person and caused trouble for me. I need to talk to you about Yulissa. How much do you know about her death? Is there any misunderstanding?âNate glared at her. âYouâre holding me at knifepoint and intending to disfigure me, but you want me to talk to you in peace? How innocent of you, Winnie. Are you really a fool?âWinnieâs lips curled. âYou donât have to provoke me. Itâs just a pocket knife. Are you scared? Let me know if you want me to throw it away.ââAll right. Throw the knife away. My face is expensive, and you canât afford to destroy it!âRight after Nate said that, two powerful beams of light shone on his face, blinding him. At once, he shut his eyes.Winnie turned over her shoulder and noticed a car speeding toward them.