Chapter 1650 - 1596: Unveiling His True Face (Part 2)

"Thank you." Marcus Quinn lowered his voice to express his thanks.

Leah Squire could more or less guess what he was going to talk about; she’d heard Yeats Howard mention it in passing, so she’d called Lana Shaw over. Now it was actually Lana who was completely in the dark, so nervous she was on edge. She looked at Leah and asked, "Sister-in-law, what’s going on?"

Today was her grand engagement day with Caspian Yarn, yet at this moment she had slipped away from him to see her cousin and cousin’s wife alone. A chill crept across Lana’s heart.

Leah patted her hand, calming her a little, then turned to Marcus with a smile and said, "Mr. Quinn, please speak. We certainly won’t drag you or anyone connected to you into this matter."

Only then did Marcus open his mouth and say, "On June 23rd this year, I rescued a woman who had been imprisoned for a year in a remote farmhouse on the outskirts of Fountain City. She comes from the Seacoast branch of the Chase Family and is the former fiancée—the one rumored to have eloped with someone—of the Yarn Family’s young master."

As soon as Marcus finished speaking, Lana shot to her feet. Her face suddenly went deathly pale as she asked, "You mean...? That’s impossible. Could it be that the young lady met with misfortune after eloping with someone?"

Marcus’s gaze turned slightly cold as he looked at this Miss from a collateral branch of the Shaw Family. Seeing her wrapped in a gorgeous sakura-pink engagement gown, makeup flawless, every piece of jewelry on her gleaming with luster—a pampered socialite, through and through—he couldn’t help but think of the first time he saw A-Tan. She’d been skin and bones, on the verge of death, like a half-dead little kitten. He said coolly, "A-Tan is the only daughter of the Chase Family. Her father adored her like the apple of his eye and never remarried because of her. Two years ago, A-Tan returned home after graduating from Oxford University, full of hope for the future, only to be suddenly kidnapped and held captive for a year.

Her father lost his beloved daughter and died of a heart attack six months later. When I found A-Tan, the vicious woman guarding her beat her regularly. She was gravely ill and barely clinging to life; if it had gone on for one or two more months, she absolutely wouldn’t have survived. When you think about it, A-Tan suffered this calamity simply because she wasn’t born into a prestigious family in the Imperial City. I’ve come only to tell you what I know. Whether you believe it or not is up to you."

Marcus hadn’t said many words, but with each sentence Lana’s face grew a shade paler, until at last she collapsed back onto the sofa, her whole body shuddering uncontrollably. This was an accusation—a fatal accusation—charging that the Yarn Family, just to climb higher socially, had imprisoned a young girl for a full year, destroyed the Chase Family, and even taken a life on their conscience!

Leah had long suspected that something was wrong with Caspian Yarn, but hearing Marcus recount it in that calm, icily detached tone still made her heart tremble. A whole year of imprisonment—any normal person, even if they didn’t die, would be driven insane. The Yarn Family were nothing but animals.

Anger flashed in Leah’s peach-blossom eyes as she turned to Marcus to thank him: "Thank you, Mr. Quinn, for telling us these inside details. Your act of righteousness saved two innocent women. Over the past six months I’ve also had people trying to locate Miss Chase, but I hadn’t expected you to have rescued her first. Fortunately Miss Chase has survived this ordeal. If it’s convenient, I’d like to meet her and offer some small measure of the Shaw Family’s apology."

If it were anyone else, Leah would definitely need to verify everything. But given Marcus’s identity—he could practically be considered half a son of the Howard Family—there was no way he would fabricate something like this to toy with them; he must truly have saved that young Miss of the Chase Family.

No wonder they hadn’t been able to find anything in half a year—it turned out she was actually in Fountain City. With someone like Marcus, who had served for years in the Military District, at her side, trying to track her down would have been like searching for a needle in a haystack.

"Madam, there’s no need to stand on ceremony. A-Tan and I will be getting married sometime soon and leaving the Imperial City. She’s introverted and timid by nature, so we won’t disturb you, Madam." Marcus declined tactfully. "Now that I’ve said what I came to say, I’ll take my leave."

"I’ll see you out." Richard Shaw saw that Lana’s face was already streaked with tears, her beauty ruined, and it was no longer appropriate for him to stay. He nodded toward Leah, then escorted Marcus out.

The two tall men walked out of the VIP lounge, Richard Shaw in front and Marcus behind. The people waiting outside were all slightly stunned when they saw the scene. Who was this man, that he could command such respect—actually having Vice Admiral Shaw personally see him out?

"I heard from Uncle Howard that back when you were in the Military District, your performance was exceptionally outstanding. If you’d stayed, your rank would be quite high by now. Do you have any plans to return to the Military District?" Because of Lana’s situation, Richard felt a flicker of gratitude toward Marcus. If Marcus hadn’t come to lay out the inside story, once Lana really married Caspian Yarn, not only would she be ruined, even if the Shaw Family cut ties with such in-laws they’d still be left with a huge mess.

"Thank you, Commander. From the day I was discharged, I never planned on going back." Marcus said lightly. He’d given everything in the first half of his life to the country; in the years left to him, he wanted only to stay by the side of the woman he loved.