Chapter 132: Why Is There Suddenly No Sound?
Chapter 132: Chapter 132: Why Is There Suddenly No Sound?
Everyone in the room wore a different expression, but their terrified gazes were all fixed on Dennis Donovan. They looked so serious, you’d think they were about to administer first aid at any moment.
Completely oblivious, Arabella Donovan was marveling to herself.
’A pampered young lady, not even twenty years old, was kicked out of her home by her own family. She had no one to rely on and nowhere to go, and this was during that tumultuous, war-torn era. An ordinary person probably wouldn’t have survived. But this Miss Preston managed to pull through with sheer resilience. She quickly got back on her feet, building a career while searching for someone...’
It just goes to show that people who are drawn to each other often have something in common. Dennis Donovan and Miss Preston, as deeply as they cared for their relationships, never let it get in the way of their careers. People like them can make a name for themselves and live well anywhere, relying on nothing but their own two hands.
The difference was that Dennis Donovan was orphaned at a young age. Although the first half of his life was harder, at least he didn’t have close family holding him back as he climbed the ladder. Miss Preston was far more unfortunate.
After failing to force her into a marriage, they threw her out of the house, swearing to cut all ties and never see her again as long as they lived.
But once Miss Preston had built a successful career all on her own, these same parents, siblings, and relatives all came flocking back to her door, one after another, as if there had never been any bad blood between them.
Weighed down by the demands of filial piety, Miss Preston had no choice but to take her parents back in.
Later, at the instigation of Miss Preston’s eldest brother and his wife, her elderly parents, on their deathbeds, made her a deal: they would stop pressuring her to marry if she agreed to formally adopt one of her brother’s sons and raise him as her own.
They called it giving her someone to rely on in her old age.
But anyone with eyes could see that no one would give away a perfectly healthy son for adoption for no good reason. Miss Preston’s brother and his family were clearly just after her fortune.
But with no other choice, Miss Preston ultimately agreed. It was only an adoption in name, however; the boy continued to live with his biological parents.
For a time, Miss Preston was able to keep her relatives’ greedy ambitions in check. But as she grew older, they became more and more audacious.
The nephew—her "adopted son" in name only—grew particularly brazen, openly acting as if he were her sole heir. After she retired, he even conspired with her caregiver and several of his own siblings to place Miss Preston under... house arrest.
CLANG—
Hearing the noise, Arabella Donovan instinctively glanced toward Dennis Donovan. "Grand-uncle, don’t you like these pastries?"
"...That’s right. I don’t care for sweets. Can’t eat anything too sugary."
"Then let’s have someone bring over some savory snacks."
"No, don’t. I’m fine. I can hold on a little longer," Dennis Donovan said, his words practically ground out between his teeth. The tone made Arabella feel a little awkward.
’Your tone of voice doesn’t exactly scream "I’m fine"!’
Mr. Donovan wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, trying to defuse the strangely tense atmosphere in the room. "The meal is ready. Let’s eat first. We can talk about everything else later."
The group moved en masse to the dining room. Dennis Donovan was desperate to know more about his beloved’s situation, but he was afraid of disturbing Arabella. For her part, she didn’t continue mulling over the topic, so he had no choice but to patiently make small talk about this and that with Mr. Donovan.
Fortunately for him, Arabella was also pondering how to rescue Miss Preston from her dire predicament. The moment she sat down, she started musing again.
’No wonder the original story said Miss Preston was plagued by illness and her final years were bleak. That adopted son of hers is a complete monster! He put her under house arrest to get her inheritance, and once he achieved his goal, he packed her off to a dilapidated building in the middle of nowhere and just abandoned her.’
’Miss Preston was already getting on in years, and they had abused her for a while because she put up a stubborn resistance. It wasn’t long before she fell ill. But those bastards wouldn’t even let her see a doctor. They just stood by and watched as Miss Preston wasted away and died.’
Veins bulged on the back of Dennis Donovan’s hand, and he nearly snapped his chopsticks in two. But having learned his lesson from the past two incidents, he made no sound that would draw Arabella’s attention.
But the rest of the Donovan Family at the table knew exactly what kind of monstrous, surging rage lay hidden beneath his calm exterior.
’This might have been a conflict deliberately engineered by the author. Audrey Quillan and the others used a fake wooden hairpin and the pretense of being Miss Preston’s descendants to get close to Grand-uncle. But later in the story, by some twist of fate, Audrey’s scumbag boyfriend accidentally found out about the real Miss Preston from one of his shady friends—who happened to be a junior member of a lesser branch of the Preston Family.’
At that point, their plan had reached its most critical stage. How could they possibly allow the real Miss Preston to show up and ruin everything?
Thus, they didn’t tell Dennis Donovan. They even helped conceal the truth.
Audrey Quillan had struggled with the decision. Unfortunately, at the time, she had yet to see her scumbag boyfriend’s true colors. In the end, forced to choose between her kind employer, who had always treated her well, and the man she loved, she chose her boyfriend and remained silent.
Miss Preston was already gravely ill by then, and with no one coming to her rescue, it wasn’t long before all signs of life faded and she departed from this world for good.
Compared to this, all the other things Audrey Quillan had done paled in comparison.
And so, later on, after she learned of Butler Donovan’s and his scumbag son’s true intentions and saw the pair’s real faces, this was the one thing Audrey Quillan regretted most.
But unfortunately, not every mistake in this world can be forgiven. Life and death became an uncrossable chasm for Dennis Donovan. This near-miss, the closest they had ever come to reuniting, was destined to become the two lovers’ eternal regret.
Hearing this, Dennis Donovan whipped his head around to stare at Audrey Quillan, who was standing not far behind him. His eyes glinted with a cold light.
When he learned of her connection to the butler, he had remained calm. When he learned she was using a fake hairpin to impersonate his beloved’s descendant, he had still remained calm. But now, discovering that she had known all along that the person he had been searching for was alive—and living a miserable existence—yet had hidden it from him for her own selfish gain... Dennis Donovan could no longer remain calm.
The thought of his beloved lying gravely ill, helpless and on the brink of death, perhaps hoping to see him just one last time, only to close her eyes in regret and leave this world forever—it made Dennis Donovan want to flay these people alive!
Audrey Quillan didn’t notice the murderous intent in Dennis Donovan’s eyes, but she suddenly felt a bone-chilling cold creep up her spine, making her shiver uncontrollably.
’Thankfully, Miss Preston should have only just fallen ill, so it’s probably not too serious yet. As long as Grand-uncle finds her quickly and helps nurse her back to health, she can definitely live for several more years.’
At these words, not only Dennis Donovan, but everyone else in the Donovan Family breathed a collective sigh of relief.
Thank goodness, she could still be saved. Otherwise, they were genuinely afraid a certain someone would fly into a rage and go on a bloody rampage.
The oppressive aura coming from that certain someone just now had been so intense it made them want to shiver, drop to the floor, and yell, "Have mercy, my lord!"
The most important thing now was to find out Miss Preston’s whereabouts and rescue her as quickly as possible.
’Miss Preston is currently in...’
Everyone in the room held their breath.
’In a remote mountain village in the neighboring city of Crovia!’
Arabella, who had been chewing on her chopsticks, paused and looked around as if she sensed something.
’Huh? Why’d it suddenly get so quiet?’