Chapter 274: Where Are You Taking Me?

Edward Yates immediately zoomed in on the location. The screen showed two men walking on the pier, carrying some things. Night was beginning to fall, so it was hard to see what they were holding.

Asher Keating had already reacted. He hurried over to take a closer look. After a long moment, he said, somewhat uncertainly, “Mercenaries?”

The two men’s clothes were no different from an ordinary person’s, but their gait and cautious movements displayed habits unique to military personnel.

Sean Yates was a fan of this kind of stuff and had even studied it before, so he quickly spotted how they differed from the people around them.

The two of them boarded a civilian fishing boat. It wasn’t very big, but a larger vessel was blocking the view, obstructing the surveillance camera. Shawn Grant immediately made a call.

Now that they had a general location, they needed to hurry over. Judging by the circumstances of Morgan Sterling’s escape, the other side definitely had weapons of mass destruction. They had to be prepared.

Asher Keating took out his phone and dialed a number. “Arrange for a team. Wait for me at the Westside Pier.”

The person on the other end replied with an affirmative, and Asher Keating headed to the Westside Pier with Shawn Grant and Sean Yates.

「Westside Pier.」

The two men who had just come aboard distributed the things they’d bought. Morgan Sterling took a bag of bread and a bottle of water and entered Leah Sinclair’s cabin. Leah, who had been trying to struggle free of her bonds, glared at him coldly when he came in.

Morgan Sterling smiled as he tore open the packaging. He removed the gag from Leah Sinclair’s mouth and held a piece of bread to her lips. “Leah, eat something. This is all we have for now, but soon, once we get out of here, I can get you anything you want to eat.”

Leah pursed her lips and recoiled slightly, clearly not wanting to eat his food. “Where are you taking me?”

“You’re so smart, why don’t you take a guess?” Morgan Sterling wasn’t annoyed. He started eating the bread himself, sat down in a chair, and watched her with a faint smile.

“You’re planning to use the cover of darkness to take the boat out into international waters?” Leah kept her eyes fixed on him.

Morgan Sterling’s lips curved slightly. He put down what he was holding and crouched in front of Leah. He grabbed her chin, his thumb brushing lightly across her lips as a flicker of desire crossed his eyes. “Leah, I really… really want you.”

As he spoke, he leaned in. Leah recoiled in terror, but Morgan Sterling tightened his grip on her chin, preventing her from dodging. His lips pressed against hers. The moment they touched, Leah snapped. She bit down hard and struggled frantically, bending her leg to drive her knee viciously into Morgan Sterling’s groin.

“Ugh…”

Morgan Sterling let out a muffled grunt and quickly backed away. Leah’s legs were tied, so she couldn’t put much force into the blow, but that part of a man was indeed fragile. Morgan Sterling still felt a sharp pang of pain.

He took a ragged breath and sat back down in the chair, his eyes turning menacing. “Leah, do you really think you can escape this time?”

“Morgan Sterling, I really want to know, why are you so fixated on me?”

Leah backed up until she hit the cabin wall. She truly couldn’t understand. Morgan Sterling had already escaped. He could have just run on his own, so what was the point of insisting on capturing her?

Morgan Sterling recovered, chuckled, and raised an eyebrow. “I like you. Isn’t that obvious?”

Leah stared at him speechlessly. “You think I’d believe you? Besides, you’re also part of the Sterling Family. Nominally, you’re my cousin. Are you sick in the head?”

“Heh, why not? I told you I liked you from the very first time I saw you, but you never believed me. As for being a Sterling… hahaha, Leah, do you really think I feel any sense of moral shame about that? Besides… I’m not a Sterling.” Morgan Sterling shrugged and lit a cigarette, his expression obscured by the smoke.

“What?”

Leah stared at him, stunned, her voice trembling slightly. “You’re… not a Sterling?”

“That’s right. But that’s not important. I’ll tell you everything slowly in the future. So don’t worry. Even if you’re with me, even if you bear my children, you won’t have to feel any shame.”

Morgan Sterling crouched in front of Leah again, reaching out to stroke her face with a sinister smile. “I think a child you bear for me, Leah, would be especially cute and beautiful. Just like you.”

Leah couldn’t process it at all. After a long time, she finally spoke. “What was the deal with you and Phoebe Peyton?”

Morgan Sterling chuckled. “Didn’t you all already guess? If I’m not mistaken, Phoebe Peyton has probably been taken back by the Peyton Family by now.”

“She wasn’t part of the Keatings. By working with her, you couldn’t get any information on them. You helped her for two reasons: first, to break up me and Third Master Keating, and second, to get her to marry him. Plus, she was your pawn. As long as she married Third Master Keating, given your relationship, you could have her help you from within the Keating Group in the future.”

A playful look appeared on Morgan Sterling’s face. “As expected, Leah is so much smarter than all those other women.”

“So you were involved in everything. Madeline Sterling’s schemes, Tiana Vaughn’s, Phoebe Peyton’s… Morgan Sterling!”

Leah suddenly became agitated. “My grandmother’s death… were you involved in that too?!”

“No, no, no, Leah.”

Morgan Sterling shook his head, smiling slightly. “Regarding your grandmother, I won’t deny that I knew about it, but I absolutely was not involved. I can swear on that.”

Leah stared intently at Morgan Sterling, who met her gaze calmly. “After you found out Madeline Sterling was responsible for your grandmother’s death, both Third Master Keating and your Grant Family reinvestigated everything. If I had been involved, do you think you wouldn’t have found anything?”

Morgan Sterling wasn’t lying about this, nor did he have any need to. He truly hadn’t been involved. He just knew about it when Madeline Sterling sent people to Stonecreek at the time.

“Besides, Leah, your grandmother was an old woman. I’m not so depraved as to do something to an elderly person.”

“Hah! Then what about Thomas Sterling and Jacqueline Vaughn? Dare you say that one’s death and the other’s insanity have nothing to do with you? Even if they weren’t your birth parents, they raised you for so many years! Morgan Sterling, you’re so heartless!”

Hearing those two names, the expression on Morgan Sterling’s face changed slightly. He sneered. “Raised me for so many years? Hah. A man who never once praised me in his entire life, and a woman who, at her age, only knew how to be jealous and petty. Were they even worthy?”

“That’s no excuse for you to kill Thomas Sterling and drive Jacqueline Vaughn mad.”

“Leah, don’t mention those two in front of me. It dirties your mouth and my ears. Understand?”

Morgan Sterling cut Leah off. Seeing the utter disgust on his face, Leah decided not to mention them again. ‘This is not the time to provoke Morgan Sterling; it would do me no good.’

The two fell silent. After a while, Leah spoke up. “Where exactly are you taking me? You’re a fugitive. You should know that taking me with you makes me a burden.”

Morgan Sterling raised an eyebrow. “No, I don’t think you’re a burden. On the contrary, with you in my hands, both Asher Keating and your Grant Family will have to be cautious. You’re my lifeline, Leah.”