Chapter 496: "The Kerr mother and son

“What?!”

The Donovan family was stunned again. Once they processed it, they all turned to look at Arabella Donovan in unison.

“Why is she absorbing their luck? Is she planning to do something terrible?”

“I just told you, Guinevere Rhodes is one of the heroines from the two books related to Serena.”

The other was Cassandra Lynch, who had long since been convicted and moved to a more secure facility.

As for Guinevere Rhodes, because the incident with the Lockhart Family happened later, her case was still going through legal proceedings. She hadn’t been convicted yet and was only being held in temporary custody, making her situation slightly better than Cassandra Lynch’s.

As a heroine, she theoretically had a bit of a “protagonist’s halo” when it came to Arabella Donovan.

After discovering its warnings through Summer Vance were completely useless, that all the other subplots had collapsed to the point that even it—the mother of the script—couldn’t recognize them, and that its original plan had been seriously delayed, the World Consciousness probably finally realized that Arabella Donovan, this unplanned anomaly, was the real “black sheep.” If it didn’t deal with her first, it would probably never be able to force the plot back on track.

With that in mind, its motive for taking Guinevere Rhodes at this particular time was easy to guess.

After listening to Caspian Rhodes’ analysis, the expressions of everyone in the Donovan family changed.

“Her target is Serena?!”

“What are we going to do? It can make someone vanish into thin air. Could it make Serena vanish too?” Mrs. Donovan gripped Arabella Donovan’s hand tightly, afraid that if she let go, her daughter would disappear before her very eyes.

Seeing this, Arabella Donovan quickly reassured her, “Mom, don’t panic. If it could really make me disappear, it wouldn’t have just controlled Summer Vance to threaten me before, and it wouldn’t be taking Guinevere Rhodes away now to try and harm me through her. I’m guessing that although it can hide in the shadows and manipulate people’s minds, it’s also bound by certain restrictions and can’t act against me directly. That’s why it has to resort to such a roundabout method.”

“Serena’s right. Things aren’t that dire yet. We can’t lose our heads.”

Mrs. Donovan shot her husband a glare. “How are things not that dire? According to Serena, that ‘thing’ can’t attack her directly, but it can use others to do it, like that Guinevere Rhodes. What if—what if it sends her right to Serena? It would be impossible to guard against!”

As soon as Mrs. Donovan said this, the room fell silent once more.

When they processed her words, everyone’s expression changed. Even Arabella Donovan frowned, stroking her chin thoughtfully.

“Your mother has a point.” Dennis Donovan’s face darkened as he said in a cold voice, “I’ve already spoken with Cole and asked him to arrange for more people to protect you. Until Guinevere Rhodes is caught, we all need to be on high alert. We absolutely cannot let any dangerous or suspicious individuals get near Serena.”

“That’s not necessary, is it, Grand-uncle? Mr. Cole has already sent enough people to protect me. If more people come, we might not have any room left.”

Dennis Donovan might indulge her in other matters, but not this one. He scowled and said sternly, “Nonsense! How can you push away protection at a time like this? Besides, the people I’m requesting from him this time are different from before.”

“How are they different?”

“The ones who came to protect you before were mostly skilled martial artists. The ones coming this time are mainly technical personnel. Tech people have sharp minds; maybe they can figure out a way to deal with the problem of Guinevere Rhodes appearing and disappearing like a ghost.”

The moment Dennis Donovan finished speaking, his phone rang.

Dennis Donovan took a few minutes to finish the call, his expression inscrutable.

“Grand-uncle, what is it? Did something happen?”

“They agreed. Not only did they agree, but when people from other departments heard about this, they also said they’d send people over to help. It might get very lively here for the next few days.”

Arabella Donovan: “…” ‘Geez. I feel like a monkey in a zoo right now, with everyone wanting to come and gawk.’

Everyone: Pfft…

But in any case, the arrival of these people also demonstrated how much importance the higher-ups placed on Arabella Donovan.

In the days that followed, although these professionals couldn’t figure anything out by studying Arabella Donovan, there was good news from Aurora Donovan’s side.

The virus, which The Providence had arranged to wipe out the main characters and plunge the world into an apocalypse, had finally been defeated. With the cooperation of that reporter, Miss Griffin, and the joint efforts of top experts from all over in the lab, they had found an effective way to inhibit its spread and a method to cure it.

The success of Aurora Donovan and her team’s research meant that The Providence’s plan to drag the entire world down with it through an apocalypse scenario had completely failed.

This turmoil, which could have affected countless people, was over before it even began, allowing Arabella Donovan to finally let go of the worry that had been weighing on her mind.

However, as far as she was concerned, Aurora Donovan’s success would most likely provoke the Providence’s Consciousness, which was already on the verge of fury.

Worried that Guinevere Rhodes’ quest for revenge would endanger her family, Arabella Donovan wanted to send them away, but they had anticipated her intentions and refused to leave her side under any circumstances.

Another peaceful week passed. On this day, just as Mrs. Donovan was about to personally bake Arabella Donovan her favorite dessert—small cakes—a sudden knock came from the door.

Everyone in the house tensed up instantly, their eyes instinctively darting toward the front door.

“Who would be here at this hour?”

They didn’t have many acquaintances in Brynn. Arabella Donovan’s maternal uncle and Dennis Donovan’s side had already been briefed, so they shouldn’t be visiting anytime soon.

But besides them, who else would come at a time like this?

“I’ll go see.” Mr. Donovan pondered for a moment, put down the tea leaves in his hand, and walked toward the door.

Though the others didn’t follow him, they all stood up and instinctively moved to Arabella Donovan’s side, their guards up.

Perhaps growing impatient from the wait, before Mr. Donovan could even look through the peephole, a familiar voice called out from outside: “Miss Donovan, are you home?”

Arabella Donovan froze for a second upon hearing the voice. “It’s Ms. Kerr.”

“The one from Aethel Jade Jewelry?”

“Yes, she brought Mr. and Mrs. Lewis here once before.”

At Arabella Donovan’s reminder, they all remembered.

“I never told them about what’s been happening here.”

The Kerr mother and son were just cannon fodder in Cassandra Lynch’s book, mentioned only in passing to serve as background characters and a source of resources. They were the type to be targeted without their knowledge.

Hearing this, Mrs. Donovan breathed a sigh of relief, but then hesitated. “So, should we let them in?”

Arabella Donovan furrowed her brows and said nothing.

The next second, her phone rang. The caller ID showed Ms. Kerr.

Arabella Donovan answered the phone, and Ms. Kerr’s voice came from both outside the door and through the receiver simultaneously: “Miss Donovan, are you home? We have something we need to see you about.”

“I am. Miss Kerr, please wait a moment. I’ll have someone open the door for you.”

After saying that, Arabella Donovan hung up. The others in the room also let out a sigh of relief, and Mr. Donovan even reached out to open the door.

But Arabella Donovan suddenly thought of something, and her expression changed. “No, wait…”