Chapter 1037: Chapter 1036
"Seriously? He’s that impatient?" Serena scoffed as she uncapped her pen with a flourish and signed on the dotted line. She tossed the agreement to her bodyguard and strode towards the grand entrance of the estate.
"Sorry, Ms. Lott, the property now belongs to Mr. Cooper. You’re not permitted inside," the bodyguard blocked her path, his tone firm.
That stopped Serena in her tracks, irritation flaring within her. "What, so I can’t even live here anymore?"
"That’s correct."
"And my stuff?"
"Here’s your ID card," the bodyguard handed over an ID card. "Other than this, everything inside was purchased by Mr. Cooper and has nothing to do with you."
Serena’s heart sank. Was this their way of kicking her out with nothing?
"I still have a cell phone in there," she said, trying to push past.
Suddenly, a wall of bodyguards, at least a dozen strong, emerged and barred her way.
"I’m sorry, but except for your ID card, you can’t take anything else," the lead bodyguard said, his face as expressionless as a statue.
"That phone inside was the only thing my dad left me! Are you really going to claim that too? Isn’t that like stealing?" Serena was fuming now, but the line of impassive faces before her made it clear they didn’t see her as the lady of the house anymore.
Just yesterday, she was the belle of the ball, and now she had hit rock bottom. The swift change of fortune was overwhelming.
"That phone means a lot to me." She pleaded at the doorstep, trying to reason with them, but the bodyguards might as well have been robots for all the responses she got, just standing there, emotionless, guarding the entrance.
Finally, realizing she was getting nowhere, Serena’s last hope was to call Martin.
What she never expected was to find that Martin had blocked her number!
In disbelief, she dialed again and again, the reality slowly dawning on her with each rejected call. She stood there, stunned, as the truth hit her like a cold slap in the face.
After Rosemary had saved Diana, Martin intercepted her.
"Rosemary, I really can’t thank you enough. I know it sounds cliché, but I truly mean it from the bottom of my heart. Thank you, really! I owe you big time!"
Rosemary nodded and made to leave.
"I’ve broken things off with Serena. Once my mother and sister wake up, they’ll see the news of the annulment."
Hearing Martin’s words, Rosemary lifted her gaze slightly and said, "Congratulations on escaping the abyss."
Martin gave a wry smile. "I was naive before. The Collins family, with so many of you, couldn’t warm her heart in eighteen years, and I thought I could."
"You’re no longer on my blacklist. If you ever need anything, just call me." With that, Rosemary walked away, leaving Martin in her wake.
Martin hadn’t expected such a response from her. He was touched and, at the same time, realized how blind he had been. Rosemary was so exceptional, and yet he had foolishly believed Serena to be the innocent and pitiable one.
Watching Rosemary’s retreating figure, Martin couldn’t help but chase after her. "Wait up."
Rosemary stopped and turned to look at him.
"There’s one more thing I forgot to tell you." Martin looked into her eyes, earnestly saying, "You need to be careful these days. There’s a mysterious figure who’s after you."
Rosemary was aware of this person; Martin had mentioned him before.
"I used to worry about Serena’s safety, so I was blackmailed and threatened by that person. I was keeping that mysterious figure appeased until you told me the truth about my mother’s fall and the car accidents. He gave me a deadline of midnight tomorrow to take action. He wants to hear the bad news about you, and if I don’t comply, he’s threatened to come after my family."
Rosemary hadn’t expected this.
"I was hoping he could come up with a final antidote to relieve Serena from her suffering, so I had to pretend to obey him. But now, I no longer care about Serena. That mystery man can’t threaten me with that anymore. I’ll ensure my family’s safety myself. You take care."
Rosemary nodded. "Thanks for the heads up."
Jack, waiting outside the hospital, saw Rosemary stride out with a commanding presence and hurriedly opened the car door for her.
"Did you get the phone?"
"No." Rosemary’s voice was calm as she got into the car.
Jack didn’t close the door but asked in confusion, "Why not? Wouldn’t Martin hand it over?"
"With the way Martin is, he’ll deliver it sooner or later without me asking. There’s no rush."
Earlier, Rosemary had deliberately told him that he was no longer on the blacklist, hinting that he could contact her anytime once he got hold of that phone.
Memories of the past flooded her mind until a servant knocked on her door, snapping her out of her reverie.
"Ms. Rose, there’s a call from Mrs. Amelia. Would you like to take it? It’s Amelia’s birthday today, and your parents went to her house at half-past one this afternoon. But it’s eight now, and Amelia said she hasn’t seen them, she called to check on them."
They hadn’t arrived?
Rosemary opened the door, and the servant guided her to the phone extension on that floor.
Another servant handed the phone to Rosemary, who spoke in a calm voice, "Amelia, happy birthday."
"Hey, is that Rose? Thanks for the wishes. I’m just wondering if your parents got held up and couldn’t make it to my birthday party? I tried calling their cell, no answer, and no replies to my messages either. I’m getting a bit anxious."
Amelia explained, "They’ve always been punctual for my birthday in the past. Even if they couldn’t make it, they would let me know in advance. It’s not like them to be unreachable like this."
Amelia and Louisa had been best friends for years, and the birthday party Amelia had been planning was set to run from 2 PM to 10 PM. She had told Louisa that any time would do, but now it was already 8 PM and there was still no sign of her. Amelia was holding off on the cake cutting until they arrived...
"I heard from my parents that they left the house at 1:30 PM," Rosemary responded.
"Louisa texted me around 1:30 too, saying they were on their way. But when I hadn’t heard from them by 3 PM, I texted and got no reply. I tried calling at 4, and neither of them picked up. I haven’t been able to reach them since... So you’re saying they’re not at home?" Amelia couldn’t help but worry.
"That’s right."
"What if something happened... Don’t freak me out. I know the Collins family has been having a rough time lately..."
"Don’t worry, Odelia, I’ll give them a call. If they don’t answer, I’ll have someone look for them."
"Okay... give me a call back later with an update, will you?"
"Will do."
After hanging up, Rosemary pulled out her cell and dialed Louisa’s number.
To her surprise, the call connected after a few moments!
A voice tinged with amusement came through, "Finally noticed your parents are missing?"
"Serena?" Rosemary was irked, "Where have you taken my parents?"
No need to guess, Kenneth was with her too.
"It’s been too long since we had a heart-to-heart, sis. I’ll send you a location, come alone," Serena’s voice came with a smile that carried a stern warning, "I don’t want to see anyone else there."
It was Amos, the head of the bodyguard team that usually escorted Kenneth and Louisa.
Amos’s cries were full of unbearable pain and despair.
Only extreme "torture" could force such sounds from someone with Amos’s tolerance for pain...
Serena’s cold laughter filled the earpiece, "This is what happens when you call for help!"
A picture came through, showing Amos with a gaping wound in his stomach, his intestines pulled out...
The scene was gruesome, blood was everywhere...
Beyond the stomach wound, his body was covered in slashes...