bChapter /bb246 /b

    The bodyguard ced the food in front of Brian and said, “You should eat something firstb./bb” /b

    Brian stared daggers at him.

    The bodyguard nced again at the two men eating outside and continued, “Mr. Mason, you’re a smart kid. Surely you understand the stakes here. bYou /bknow exactly what kind of men those two are. If they act rashly in the heat of the moment, even if I wanted to retaliate, it would be toote to save byou/bb. /b

    He reached out and gave Brian a patronizing pat on the shoulder. “But our resources in the vi are limited. We can’t protect you everywhere, so for bnow/bb, /bMr. Mason, you’ll have to make do with staying here.”

    Brian gritted his teeth in silent frustration.

    With that, the bodyguard left.

    Brian watched as the bodyguard closed the door behind him. Gritting his teeth, he painfully pulled himself up from the floor and limped to bthe /bwindow. With cautious fingers, he gently drew back the curtain, outside, heavy snow was already beginning to fall.

    The bodyguard was right, it really was snowing outside. Brian looked up, his gaze drifting past the vi’s walls to the dense woods stretching far binto /bthe distance.

    Brian thought to himself, ‘When they brought me up here, I was blindfolded and restrained in the back seat. I have no sense of the route. If I recklessly btry /bto escape nowb, /bthere’s no way I’d make it down the mountain.

    ‘Not to mention, those two men are still out there.‘

    Brian listened to the two men cursing and grumbling outside. After a moment’s hesitation, he obediently finished his meal, thinking, ‘Guess I’d bbetter /bbjust /bdo as I’m told for now.‘

    After finishing his meal, Brian began exploring the small room. He wondered what the purpose of building this vi was. This space felt more like ba /bstorage room, filled with all sorts of odds and ends.

    With nothing better to do, Brian wandered around the room, poking through whatever he could find. His curiosity led him to force open a locked cabb, /band while rummaging through a pile of old junk inside, he stumbled upon a worn–out box. Inside, he spotted the badge.

    Back then, he just thought it was fun and, on a whim, impulsively slipped it into his pocket. To his surprise, when the housekeeper did theundryb, /bbshe /bassumed it was his and, after drying the clothes, put it right back into his pocket.

    Sebastian took the badge from Maxine’s hand, furrowing his brow slightly as he looked at her. “It does look familiar,” he said thoughtfully, “though I can’t quite ce where I’ve seen it. I’ll have someone look iinto /iit.”

    Maxine nodded. “That works.”

    Maxine had originally nned to ask Cleo for help, but recalling the dramatic wailing she’d heard during theirst phone call, she thought, ‘Well, since someone’s volunteered, might as well go with that.‘

    It was gettingte. Sebastian checked the location Charles had sent him on his phone, then looked down at Maxine and said, “Since Cleo’s away bthese /bdays, why don’t you stay bat /bour ce ifor /inow? I’ll bring you back once she’s home.”

    Maxine shook her head. “No need. I’m perfectly fine bliving /bon my own.”

    Maxine could practically hear Sebastian’s scheming from her wheelchair, but no matter what, she wasn’t about bto /bbgive /bbin/b.

    Brian looked up at Maxine with puppy–dog eyes. “But Mom… I wanna stay bwith /bbyou/bb.” /b

    Maxine curved her lips in a slight smile, looked at him, and said, “I don’t need you to keep mepany. I can btake /bbcare /bbof /bbmyself/bb. /bbYou /bbshould /bbgo /bbhome /bnowb, /byou have school tomorrow.”

    b08:33 /bbMon/b, b30 /bbJun /bTO

    bBrian’s /bwhole face fell at her words, the light in his eyes dimming. “But..”

    b“/bbNo /bbutsb,/bb” /bMaxine cut him off. “Be a good boy and go home with your dad.”

    Sebastian knew he couldn’t change her mind, so he had no choice but to take her home. When it was time to leave, they lingered at the doorway, beth reluctant to part.

    Sebastian looked at her intently. “If anything happens while you’re home, call me right away. I’lle over immediately.”