In the absence of Ashton, I assumed all responsibilities for the household. I had to sound undeterred and stay composed to earn the bodyguards’ respect,
Their chief walked towards me and reported, “Madam, this person intruded the villa a moment ago. We detected his intrusion and caught him in time. We’ll lock him up in the basement after this.”
“Well done.” I nodded as a gesture of recognition. It’d be better to leave the interrogation to Ashton’s henchmen since they were better versed in this area.
Once they’d gotten the green light, they trudged him towards the basement. “Scarlett!” That person shouted my name out loud.
Wait a minute. Isn’t that Marcus?
“Hold on!” I immediately stopped them. “Bring that man over.”
I’d been watching the whole episode from upstairs, and all I could see was heads jostling among each other. After the man was under control, I never got to see his face since the guards pressed it down on the floor like a pancake. But this voice, Marcus’ voice, was simply too familiar.
In view of my safety, the bodyguards kept a distance between him and me. One of them tugged his chin upwards and turned his head towards me.
No way! Marcus?
I was affirmative that this man with a scruffy jawline and miserable eyes was Marcus. But was that really him?
“Release him.” I commanded. Marcus would hurt anyone but me.
The bodyguards looked at each other and hesitated. None of them released their grasp as they weren’t ready to face Ashton’s wrath if anything were to happen to me.
“Let go of him! He is my friend! If anything happened, I’ll answer for it.”
They finally gave in and retreated to the door.
I then went down the stairs to meet him. “If you want to see me, you could’ve just told me straight. There’s no need to sneak in in the middle of the night.”
“Oh, you think that I didn’t?” Marcus looked at me coldly. “It is almost a mission impossible to be able to meet Mrs. Fuller nowadays.” My words got stuck in my throat. I then turned to one of the bodyguards and lifted my brow, signing for him to spill the truth, and his silence eventually gave it away. Well, why would Marcus lie?
Ashton must’ve been worried that someone out there may cause me harm and ordered to bar all male visitors from entering the villa.
I didn’t have a lot of male friends, and Emery could walk in anytime. I wouldn’t have noticed this new protocol.
“I’m sorry.” I apologized to Marcus and had him take a seat. “Where have you been for the past two months? You just vanished.”
“M Country.” His eyes were solemn.
“Is the White Corporation planning to expand its business overseas?” With what Marcus was capable of, it wasn’t surprising that he could augment the family business to greater heights.
He only shook his head and stared blankly at the ground. His mind was wandering elsewhere. “Camelia and the baby have gone missing.”
“What? How’s that possible? I thought she was constantly by your side?” I shot out a string of questions to confirm that I didn’t mishear anything.
That silly girl would never ditch Marcus for anything.
Between Marcus’ tightly knitted eyebrows, I saw the excruciating torment he was enduring.
It was the first time he reacted in that manner. I was worried about Camelia, but seeing Marcus’ heart wringing and was concerned about her wellbeing, I couldn’t help but feel happy for her. If Camelia could see what was happening now, she’d die with no regrets.
After an extended discontinuance, Marcus spoke again. “About a year ago, the GW Group sent someone to White Corporation, hoping to engage in equity financing. In return, they would help us penetrate the overseas market, and we could utilize their AI technology unconditionally. I wanted to win Ashton so badly back then and said yes to their proposal instantly. When I went deeper into the details, only did I become aware of GW Group’s malign intentions. I had to give them 51% of White Corporation’s shares in exchange for their AI technology. In other words, they would gain absolute control over the company. That’s basically selling the company out, no? I had a change of heart there and then, and we parted on bad terms. Later on, Camelia and my boy were gone. The airline’s record showed that they were last on a flight to M Country.”
