Chapter 612: Chapter 612: Unknown Fear
And all his tenderness was probably given to Ann Vaughn alone.
Upon hearing this, Ann Vaughn was startled, not because of Bella Hawthorne’s words, but because of her inadvertent change in demeanor, which was completely different from before, and it made Ann’s heart ache slightly.
Right now, Bella Hawthorne seemed to have... suddenly matured overnight, like she had jumped out of a warm crystal ball.
As Ann Vaughn was in a daze, Bella Hawthorne suddenly nudged her lightly with her elbow, "Sis, look."
"Hmm?" Ann Vaughn looked at her in confusion, then followed her gaze to the front not far away.
She saw that tall and upright figure had unknowingly appeared at the distant corner, one hand in his pocket, his gaze serenely fixed on them.
Until the elevator door closed, cutting off Ann Vaughn’s view.
Suddenly, her heartbeat was like a pounding drum, incredibly fast.
He did nothing, didn’t say a word, yet just standing there made her feel an urge to abandon everything and run to him.
Ann Vaughn wasn’t normally someone who was easily moved, but she suddenly thought... how many times had he been standing behind her, watching her leave?
She couldn’t quite suppress her feelings.
"My brother really is something, worrying that you, Sis, might get lost on such a short walk?" Bella Hawthorne teased.
Ann Vaughn managed to hold her smile, rubbed her chin, and said, "I think your brother is probably worried I’ll lose you."
"How could that be?" Seeing her ears blush, Bella Hawthorne smiled slightly and didn’t tease her further.
...
Considering Bella Hawthorne’s current health situation wasn’t suitable for staying at the family home, Ann Vaughn and Cyrus Hawthorne were similarly uneasy about her living alone in an apartment.
But thinking that Bella might refuse to stay at No. 8, using the concern of inconveniencing them as an excuse.
Thus, before Bella could open her mouth, Ann Vaughn used the reason of helping her recuperate to assure her to stay at No. 8.
After Bella entered the villa, Ann Vaughn turned on her heels and walked toward the car Dragon drove, knocking on the car window.
"What’s up?" Dragon had a cigarette in his mouth, a hint of exhaustion on his stern face.
"The person who was following our car just now, are they the same group from last time at White Queen Town?" Ann Vaughn asked directly, without beating around the bush.
On the way back, Mark Joyce drove their car, while Dragon followed them from behind, and disappeared for about ten minutes midway.
Ann Vaughn guessed he must have gone to deal with the people in that suspicious vehicle.
But since Bella Hawthorne was also in the car, to avoid causing her panic and unease, Ann Vaughn said nothing.
Dragon was slightly surprised by her keen perception, removed the cigarette from his mouth, and said nonchalantly, "While it’s the same group, they’re all just pawns, insignificant."
"Who sent them?"
"Fake identities, untraceable."
That’s really troubling...
Ann Vaughn pursed her red lips and recalled Eli Sheridan’s previous words, a guess forming in her mind.
Could the people following her possibly be the same group responsible for Cynthia Sheridan’s mishap?
But she couldn’t figure out what common link she and Cynthia had that would make these people target her?
This question lingered, even after Ann Vaughn came out from her shower, without any clue.
From the corner of her eye, she noticed a card placed on the bedside table. Ann Vaughn picked it up and found it had a cute cartoon drawing.
She had left in a hurry last night and only had time to leave Kenny a note saying she was going out of town for a bit, without explaining the specific reason.
However, Little Dumpling’s ability to imagine things clearly mirrored hers, as his anger could be felt through the drawing.
The content was basically a fierce-looking big gray wolf dragging a lamb out of the sheepfold, with the owner of the sheepfold squatting on the ground pitifully crying.
...Wait a minute.
Could her little darling be describing Cyrus Hawthorne, herself, and him?
Ann Vaughn lay back on the bed with the card, feeling amused and helpless, as she reached for her phone beside her, took a photo of the card, and sent it to Cyrus Hawthorne.
Just as she was about to press the send key, Ann Vaughn’s smile froze, with a sudden chill rising uncontrollably up her spine.
A presence appeared abruptly, like a hidden beast lurking in a dark cave, staring at its prey, causing Ann Vaughn’s blood to freeze all over in an instant, unable to move.
What was going on...
Ann Vaughn looked around in terror, there was a stranger in the room!??
She forcefully suppressed the fear in her heart and turned sharply towards the window!
The gaze seemed to come from there!
But when Ann Vaughn looked over, she was shocked to find no one there.
"Beep—"
The alarm system in the whole villa was suddenly triggered for some unknown reason, emitting a piercing and sharp sound, as if tearing through the dark canopy.
The uncanny gaze vanished without a trace, as if it had never existed.
Ann Vaughn quickly walked to the window and looked outside, only seeing the deep night and the garden downstairs meticulously tended by the gardener every day.
This window was purely for ventilation and decoration, unlike the floor-to-ceiling windows connecting to the terrace.
If someone had been standing outside the window just now watching Ann Vaughn’s every move, it would be fundamentally impossible!
Yet, Ann Vaughn distinctly felt someone was standing outside that window watching her...
At this moment, there was a hurried knock on the master bedroom door, and Uncle Dexter’s concerned voice came, "Young Madam, are you alright? Something seems to have intruded into the villa."
"I’m fine." Ann Vaughn wiped the cold sweat off her cheek with the back of her hand, got up, and opened the door, "Did you find out who broke in?"
Uncle Dexter shook his head, "That thing was too fast, unlike a person, possibly some sort of animal. We found something like this in the garden downstairs."
Ann Vaughn looked at the item in Uncle Dexter’s hand; it was a black bow tie.
This kind of bow tie isn’t necessarily human-used; some people might put such bow ties on their pets to increase their cuteness.
To be safe, upon consulting Ann Vaughn’s opinion, Uncle Dexter had the Shadow Guard members meticulously search the master bedroom.
Confirming no animals or people were hiding in the room, they left at ease.
Ann Vaughn didn’t immediately return to her room; she thought Kenny and Bella Hawthorne must have been woken up as well, so she went to check their rooms separately.
To her surprise, she saw Little Dumpling’s chubby little hands flying over the keyboard, with the screen occasionally showing monitoring interfaces of the villa inside and out, at other times turning into various setting parameter interfaces.
It was dizzying to watch.