The Heiress’ Return: Six Brothers at Her Beck and Call (Wynter Quinnell) novel Chapter 2002

Hildred stiffened. "It's not good to burn your bridges. You should always leave yourself some options."

"That saying does not fit the current situation," Wynter said serenely. "Those who engage in inhumane behavior do not deserve mercy."

Hildred was speechless. He could only watch helplessly, his heart aching, as the goods were transported away.

This shipment of goods would have turned a very high profit. Simply transporting a few shipments had been enough to make him a lot of money.

Wynter lowered her gaze. "How many times have you delivered shipments such as these?"

Hildred replied sulkily, "This is the third time. This shipment was the biggest…"

Wynter arched an eyebrow. If this was the third shipment, it meant that some cultural relics had already been shipped overseas twice before this.

She moved her leg off of Hildred and instructed, "Take him away. Watch him closely and ensure he doesn't escape."

"Yes, ma'am."

Two men approached, picked Hildred up, and led him away.

Wynter then looked at Dalton and said, "We've taken care of things here, so it's time to pay Riley a visit. She's probably the only one who can figure out where Aidan is now."

Dalton nodded lightly, looking relaxed. "Okay. The car is ready, so we can just head directly to the cafe."

Wynter lifted her gaze. "You guys should come with me. Riley has already surmised that I'm not just some medium, so let's meet her together."

After they got into the car, they headed straight for the cafe.

…

Meanwhile, as Aidan was waiting for his new passport to be delivered, he made two forms of preparation.

The first one was that he had hidden the notebook, so that if anything unexpected happened to him, that notebook would still be able to point toward the mastermind pulling the strings behind the scenes.

As he considered this, the sound of the doorbell interrupted his thoughts.

The person on the other side of the door said mildly, "I've already arrived at the address you mentioned, Aidan. I'm delivering the passport to you in person. How about that? Have I shown enough sincerity?"

Upon hearing this, Aidan looked out the window to see an old man standing downstairs, with someone standing next to him.

He looked away and replied, "Let's skip the pleasantries, Mr. Duane. Just put the passport in the bucket out front and leave."

Carven smiled. "Aren't you even going to meet me?"

He then looked around, observing the surroundings. When he spotted a figure standing at a window in the upper right corner of the building, he covered his phone before issuing a few instructions to the person next to him. The said person walked straight toward the spot Carven indicated.

Carven then played for time. "You've done so much for me, Aidan, so I simply have to see you off. Don't worry. I'll leave as soon as I meet you. Once you have the passport, you can leave on a plane."

Aidan frowned upon hearing this, feeling that something wasn't right. When he turned to look outside, he noticed that Carven was smiling in his direction.

By the time he tried to move to another spot, someone had already appeared behind him.

"Mr. Duane has invited you to meet with him, Mr. Patsy," the man said in a low voice, staring fixedly at him.

The moment Aidan even thought of trying to escape, he would be restrained immediately.

He frowned. "Mr. Duane is still so astonishing."

Then, he moved, walking downstairs and looking directly at Carven, the Customs Enforcement Division's director-general.

"You've never wanted to meet me so badly before, Mr. Duane," Aidan said slowly.

Carven smiled. "In the past, I was too busy with work to have the time to meet you. When I heard you were leaving, I specifically came to see you off to show my appreciation for all the years you've worked under me."

Carven was the one behind everything Aidan had done over the years. Otherwise, given his capabilities, he wouldn't have been able to rise to his position of the Customs Enforcement Division's director so quickly.

Aidan was very unsettled in the face of Carven's smile, which seemed to hold a hint of menace. "You're too kind, Mr. Duane. Please feel free to speak your mind."

Seeing this, Carven's smile faded, and he declared, "I can give you the passport, and I've already booked a flight ticket for you. However, my condition is that you hand over that notebook."

Instead of getting angry, Aidan smiled. "Do you take me for a fool, Mr. Duane? There's no way I'm leaving alive if I hand you the notebook."

Carven patted him on the shoulder. "You have no choice. Either give me the notebook and leave Havenia safely, or rest peacefully in Havenia forever."

Aidan was unafraid. "Do your worst. Believe me when I say that if something untoward were to happen to me, the notebook's contents will appear all over Havenia the following day.

"The moment those contents are seen by someone who knows what they're looking at, you'll also be in a precarious position, Mr.Duane."

Carven narrowed his eyes slightly. "Are you threatening me? The grass over the grave of the last person to do so is already over one foot high."

Aidan met his gaze squarely. "I'm simply countering your threat toward me."

Carven couldn't be bothered to exchange any more unnecessary words. "Just state your terms. What will it take for you to hand over the notebook?"

Aidan held out a hand. "The passport and the plane ticket, please."

"How about I hand over the passport at the same time you hand over the notebook?" Carven asked coldly.

Aidan sneered. "Like I'd still be able to leave if I handed over the notebook to you."

He paused, then continued, "Aren't you just afraid that I'll be arrested and taken away, upon which the notebook's contents will be leaked, or that I'll reveal your involvement in this? That's why you want to eliminate any loose ends by quietly killing me off, which would easily resolve everything.

"The notebook is the only uncontrollable variable in the equation, so you dare not kill me right now."

Carven closed his eyes and waved in Aidan's direction. The man with him instantly understood the gesture. He started punching and kicking Aidan, causing him to scream in pain.

After five minutes of this, Carven shouted for the man to stop.

He had reached the limit of his patience. "Have you thought things through? Choose—hand over the notebook or be buried here."

Aidan was lying on the floor, breathing heavily. "I dare you to kill me."

Carven sighed. "Tie him up and toss him in the car. Use your methods to get him to talk."

"Understood, Mr. Duane."

The man picked up a length of rope, tied Aidan up securely, and placed him in the car's trunk. He even stuffed a towel in Aidan's mouth.

…

Meanwhile, Wynter had already arrived at the cafe. This time, Riley was sitting facing the entrance.

When she saw Dalton behind Wynter, she visibly froze. She asked, "Isn't that the person who came to consult you on geomancy before? Why is he with you?"

Wynter's gaze was half-lidded. "He's my fiance. We were putting on an act last time."

Riley looked Dalton up and down. "Your fiance? He's certainly good-looking… He's a good fit for you, Ms. Quinnell."

Wynter smiled faintly. "Many have said the same. By the way, I sought you out to inform you that Aidan has secretly left the Patsy residence. His current whereabouts are unknown."

"He ran away?" Riley asked in slight disbelief. "Why did he suddenly run away? Then, what about my father's revenge—"

Riley sighed. "Ms. Quinnell, can you find the mastermind backing Aidan?"

"I can. Just wait for my good news," Wynter replied, her voice low but firm.

She then sent a text message to the people Reese had dispatched. "Send ten people to the Patsy residence. Have them head directly into the study—there's a hidden room behind the bookshelf. The switch to reveal the hidden room is the ancient tome on the last shelf.

"Transport out all the cultural relics in the hidden room, then check the safe to see if there's a notebook inside. The password is 082957."

She received a reply not long after sending the message. "Understood, Ms. Quinnell."

By the time she was done with this, Dalton and Wolf had come back downstairs with an item in hand. When she took a closer look, she realized that it was the notebook she'd seen in the safe that day.

Wolf held up the notebook. "I found this under the bed just now, Boss."

Wynter's eyes lit up. "I was focused on looking for Aidan just now. I didn't think the notebook would really be here."

Wolf giggled proudly. "Does that mean I should be rewarded?"

Wynter stroked his head. "Yes. As a reward, Mr. Leprechaun will transfer some money to your bank account."

Upon hearing this, Wolf immediately held out the slip with his bank account number to Dalton. "If you'd please, Mr. Leprechaun."

Dalton smiled faintly, took out his phone, and transferred 8,888 dollars to Wolf's bank account.

Wynter walked toward Riley with the notebook in hand. "We were short on time before. This notebook contains your father's handwriting, so see if you can find any clues from it."

Riley took the notebook from her and went through it page by page.

Most of its contents were on how to determine the cultural relics' authenticity. Despite flipping back and forth through the notebook, she couldn't find anything out of place.

She frowned. "I don't see anything special about its contents. My father does indeed have a habit of taking notes, but all he's written about is how to appraise cultural relics, alongside some records."

Wynter's expression was relaxed. "Okay, then. May I take this notebook with me for some time? It's a memento from your father, after all."

Riley nodded gently. "Go ahead. It doesn't serve any purpose in my hands, but it definitely will in yours."

So, Wynter took the notebook from her. She didn't discover anything special about its contents, but it might prove to be of use at some point in the future.

She said calmly, "I'll do my best. Your father's accident and Aidan's disappearance might be tied to this notebook."

Riley exhaled. "Perhaps. However, Aidan has not disappeared, and we have no clue who's pulling the strings behind him."

Wynter looked at her. "Let's get you home first. Aidan won't be showing up again for a while, so you can stay home with peace of mind."

Riley hummed in acknowledgement. Once they all got into the car, Vincenzo drove them back the way they'd come.

Along the way, Wynter closed her eyes and meditated.

Reese had already told her the address of tonight's dinner banquet, but before attending, she wanted to make Hildred talk. Someone who worked by Aidan's side must surely know quite a number of his secrets.

Based on her calculations, the shipment of cultural relics that they'd intercepted at the port before should have already been safely returned to the mainland. However, many cultural relics had already been lost overseas. It would take quite a lot of effort to get them back.

The journey wasn't long, and the car soon stopped at the security booth outside the Patsy residence. After getting out of the car, Riley walked straight inside.

Vincenzo immediately started the car again and drove the rest of them toward the place Hildred was being detained.

Wynter gazed at the notebook in her hands. "I just get the feeling that there's more to this notebook, but I've found nothing despite looking through it over and over again. There's no hidden lining to it, either."

No matter how she looked at it, it was just an ordinary notebook.