Chapter 75
Tina’s heart ached as she gently urged, “Sweetheart, you’re the only one chosen from the whole school. You can do this just like Quinlyn, the girl with no education. Just give it another try.
Tears streamed down Harriet’s face like a broken string of pearls. “I can’t! I really can’t do it, Mom! Please don’t push me!
“Who’s pushing you?” Maurice snapped, sounding impatient. “You can’t stand losing to Quinlyn, so you have to outdo her in everything. But look at you now–you can’t even help Mr. Sullivan with something small! You’re worse off than some random nobody!”
As a businessman who had invested heavily in Harriet, he certainly wanted a return and definitely didn’t want Quinlyn stealing the spotlight.
But seeing the way Quinlyn was treated by experts and Curtis made him jealous, and he was frustrated that Harriet couldn’t seem to win over Warren.
“Stop moping around and crying. Instead of wasting your time, dry your tears and go help out. You might even catch the experts‘ eyes.” Maurice said with a dismissive wave.
Warren overheard and chuckled. “Mr. Anderson, I don’t know whether to call you foolish or overly confident. How can you still think your daughter is some genius?” He shook his head, pointing directly at Harriet. “It was definitely not Harriet who saved me back at the banquet.”
“What banquet?‘ Maurice thought to himself and then asked, “Didn’t Harriet save you when she pulled you back from getting hit by a car on the side of the road?”
That was the version he had heard.
Warren paused, then burst into laughter. “I can’t believe it! Turns out I was fooled by your wife and child:”
He couldn’t believe they kept it from him for so long. Quinlyn was right; I’m such an idiot. She didn’t even lay into me that hard, he thought.
“Mr. Sullivan, surely this is a misunderstanding” Maurice finally started to pick up on the awkwardness, anxiously rubbing
his hands.
“There’s no misunderstanding, Maurice. You’ve raised a good daughter and married a good wife,” Warren’s laughter faded abruptly, and his expression turned as sharp as a knife, his eyes cold behind his glasses. He pointed at the three of them and warned, “But since you dare lie to me, be prepared to pay the price.”
With that, he spun on his heel and walked away.
“Mr. Sullivan!” Maurice rushed forward, desperate to explain. “I really don’t know what happened. If I had. I would’ve had my daughter apologize to you. She’s just a kid. She doesn’t understand. Please don’t hold it against her.”
He thought Warren would be easy to negotiate with, but he never considered that a huge company like DigitalKey Group wouldn’t be made up of simple people.
Right now, Warren was turning cold, looking at the obsequious Maurice with a smirk. “Want to apologize? Fine. Let Harriet take an anti–magnetic device into the mountains. She just needs to stay there for an hour.”
Maurice froze, his mind racing to remember how pale Bennett and Ivan looked when they came back. He instinctively turned to look at his daughter on the ground.
Harriet was terrified, shaking her head and backing away. “No! I don’t want to go! Daddy, I’m scared! I don’t want to go! Mommy, help me!”
Tina, clinging to her daughter’s leg, felt torn. “That place is too dangerous! Harriet is just a child!”
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Chapter 75
Warren scoffed, a hint of venom in his voice “You weren’t so worried when you were lying, wo younes correctly, your son is still in there; are you really not going to go find him
At his words, Maurice and Tina exchanged worried glances, but their feet were noted of de per they muted he aren’t professional rescue teams; we’d only complicate things. Besides, with soy people arved it’s eye
don’t take the risk”
The truth was, since Stanley moved to the Anderson Manor and stopped coming home, their hearts had
Especially after Stanley refused to lend them money on multiple occasions when the company fwond harboring resentment.
It was the first time Warren truly recognized the duo’s selfishness. Even scolding them felt like too much effum in for shoogly turned away.
Before long, a whole box of materials had been assembled into dozens of anti–magnetic devices, which fran and Bennett’s teams quickly divided up among themselves.
“Why don’t you guys wait here? We’ll head into the mountains first and check the situation, Ivan suggested, grinning a he
wanted to outdo Bennett.
But Bennett didn’t take the bait at all. He casually strapped on his anti–magnetic device and glanced over at Qty who was focused on organizing. “Since Quinlyn said it’s safe, it’s definitely safe.”
Ivan thought, “Seriously? She’s raised at the 901 Military Base! What’s with that look?!
Tension crackled between the two teams as they moved faster and faster. Quinlyn raised her head to offer a few words of caution, but before she could finish, they charged ahead without a moment’s hesitation, dressed in casual doches entered the mountains.
With the equipment in hand, things went much smoother this time. In under an hour, they successfully rescued group of unconscious students from deep in the forest..
“The further we go, the fewer conscious people there are. At this rate, it’s going to get even more dangerous, Bennett came back out and noted the darkening sky, his expression still serious.
Curtis had a grave look on his face as he sighed quietly. “We have enough manpower, but our resources are limited. They done their best.
Bennett glanced over at the group of professors and experts working hard, realizing that they couldn’t demand more than what they were capable of. After a quick drink of water, they packed their emergency supplies and prepared to venture deeper.
“Wait a minute.” Quinlyn’s voice called out. Holding a freshly assembled anti–magnetic device, she walked over to them and declared, “I’m going with you.”
Both Curtis and Bennett froze for a moment before shaking their heads in unison. “No way. It’s too dangerous
But Quinlyn was determined. “My brother’s still in there.”
She had been waiting for Stanley to come out, but time had passed and not only was Stanley missing, but she hadn’t seen Larry either. The sky was darkening, and she couldn’t wait any longer.
Curtis frowned, locking eyes with her for a long moment. He wanted to use his authority to keep her back, but in the end he
relented.
“Fine. I get it. You’re going no matter what.” He sighed, his face reflecting a bit of helplessness. “You can go, but wait for Ivan to come back and take you with him”
He just didn’t feel right about sending her in without someone from the 901 team.
10:05 Wed, 19 Mar
Chapter 75
“Mr. Ramirez…” Quinlyn said. She wanted to explain that both the 901 team and the criminal investigation unit had leearly been working all day, their energy and stamina stretched thin. Anyone else going in with her wouldn’t be much help. honestly, she’d be better off alone.
But she knew Curtis wouldn’t back down on this
As they were in the tension of silence, several off–road vehicles rolled in at the foot of the mountain. These vehicles ignored the military checkpoints, making their way through without a hitch before finally stopping at the side of the road. The person leading the group who stepped out was none other than Antonio.
