Chapter 645: Chapter 645: Ruthless Bastard
Warren Vance’s departing footsteps came to a halt, his dark red eyes glancing towards the man, making him shiver internally before speaking, "Quinn Bishop, who’s easier to keep, cats, dogs, or me?"
"Master, you hold great power, possess noble status, and are enormously wealthy. Who could possibly keep you?" Quinn Bishop complimented swiftly.
But right after flattering him, he realized that his master’s eyes had darkened even more and he didn’t look happy, so he cautiously changed his tone, "Of course, you are the easiest to keep; whoever keeps you won’t have any worries for the rest of their life."
Warren Vance’s expression immediately shifted from gloomy to bright, and he left without asking anything further.
Quinn Bishop: "..." Could it be that the Princess said she wanted to keep cats and dogs, and the Master got jealous?
It’s over.
Whenever our master meets Her Highness the Princess, he becomes... strange.
Ann Vaughn wasn’t aware of Warren Vance acting strange. After searching around and not finding her phone or bag, she noticed that the door was locked from the outside, and she felt completely out of sorts.
Is that guy playing his usual game of imprisoning her when he can’t win an argument??
...
Cloudmere Manor.
Little Dumpling, dressed all in white, sat on the corridor in front of the courtyard, short legs crossed, hugging his little phone, constantly checking the flight information of Ann Vaughn.
Before boarding, Ann Vaughn had told Kenny that she would call him immediately to report her safety as soon as she arrived at Vaughn Clinic, but so much time had passed since the flight landed, yet his little phone remained silent.
Little Dumpling’s expression turned serious as he brought up the panoramic surveillance footage of the airport, quickly searching for Ann Vaughn’s figure.
Just around five o’clock, he saw Ann Vaughn dragging her suitcase out from the airport entrance and getting into a taxi.
But looking at the road monitored from the taxi, it wasn’t headed towards Vaughn Clinic, and surprisingly, the final destination was the sparsely populated suburbs!
Mommy is in trouble!
Ignoring Sherry’s incoming call, Kenny activated the GPS locator in Ann Vaughn’s necklace and found out where she is now.
Then he sent the coordinates to squad number 8 of The Shadow Guard and instructed them to go find her immediately.
After doing all this, Kenny swiftly stood up from the corridor, put on his shoes, and went out into the snow to find Old Master Hawthorne.
Old Master Hawthorne was building a chubby snowman for Kenny and, seeing him running over, his face crinkled with delight.
"Slow down so you don’t fall. Come see the little snowman Grandpa made for you, isn’t it like—"
Before he could finish, Kenny’s anxious little voice interrupted, "Grandpa, something’s wrong, Mommy disappeared in the suburbs!"
What!?
The smile on Old Master Hawthorne’s face immediately vanished.
...
The sun set at an angle outside the window as the sky began to darken.
The intricately patterned and heavy curtains tightly blocked the light in the dining room, making it dim and quiet.
No lights were on, only a long candle on the table covered with a dark red tablecloth flickering softly.
Ann Vaughn sat at the other end of the dining table, her slender fingers tightly gripping the knife and fork, sensing an indescribable eeriness and horror in the air.
She glanced distantly at Warren Vance dining elegantly across from her, her mouth twitching.
...So much time had passed, yet this guy’s peculiar dining habits remained unchanged.
"Quinn Bishop." Warren Vance spoke without lifting his head, summoning Quinn Bishop, his voice calm as he said, "Take the chef who cooked tonight away."
Quinn Bishop bowed respectfully in response, "Yes, Master."
"Take away," those three words acted as a dreadful switch, awakening some terrifying memories in Ann Vaughn’s mind that she wished to forget.
Once at a Gothasen Royal Family ceremony, there had been a maid who accidentally dirtied her dress hem. Warren Vance, too, had blandly said, take away.
The dress hem could be cleaned without issue; Ann Vaughn didn’t think much of it at the time, assuming Warren Vance was simply punishing her by sending her away from the ceremony.
Until Ann Vaughn saw that maid again outside on the streets of Gothasen.
Her legs were broken, her eyes gouged out, her entire body was miserable.
That was when Ann Vaughn couldn’t help but wonder about the maid and attendants who had, in her presence, made mistakes and were "taken away" on Warren Vance’s light and indifferent command.
Did they meet the same end as that maid...
Every time she thought about it, Ann Vaughn would feel a chill run all over her body, fear rising from within.
"Wait!" Seeing Quinn Bishop about to leave, Ann Vaughn hurriedly spoke to stop him, her brows furrowed as she looked at Warren Vance, "If you don’t like what the chef cooked, don’t eat it. Why punish people so casually?"
Quinn Bishop’s expression changed to shock. He had known the Princess was bold, but he never expected she’d be courageous enough to question the Master’s decision!
The Master punishes whoever he wants, what reason does he need?
There was no surprise on Warren Vance’s enchanting face; it seemed almost smiling, "You don’t like it, and that is reason enough."
"I..." Ann Vaughn’s heart chilled, her red lips pressed tightly together. After a moment, she reluctantly said, "It’s not that I don’t like it, it’s just too dark here, and I have no appetite."
"Quinn Bishop, take away."
"...I’ll eat!" Count him ruthless!
Ann Vaughn gritted her teeth in frustration and resignedly began to eat the spaghetti in front of her, too weary to even lift her head.
Quinn Bishop, seeing this, looked for approval from the now pleased Warren Vance, "Master, what about that person..."
"Keep them for now."
"...Yes." Quinn Bishop’s pupils constricted slightly, and he left the dining room with his head down.
Ann Vaughn quickly finished the food on her plate and then looked up at Warren Vance who was leisurely resting his chin, watching her.
"I finished eating. You said you’d let me go after dinner."
"Hmm." Warren Vance chuckled lightly, "I only said I’d consider it, never that I definitely would."
"...You actually lied to me?!" Ann Vaughn’s slender fingers clenched, her glass cup cracked with a resounding "crack."
Seeing the ring on her right hand’s fourth finger, Warren Vance squinted, twisting his wrist so Sweetie wound around his fingertip, "So you like rings."
Ann Vaughn bowed her head to glance at the diamond ring on her hand, a sudden sense of foreboding rose within her.
"Since you like it," Warren Vance lowered his finger under Sweetie’s hold, bringing Sweetie into the dining room, "I can turn Sweetie into a ring and gift it to you."
Ann Vaughn: !!!
"If you don’t want to drink snake soup, don’t let it come near me!" Watching Sweetie slithering between the silverware, Ann Vaughn’s heart trembled.
Damn this demon!
But Warren Vance didn’t speak, and Sweetie indeed began crawling its way toward Ann Vaughn.
Its tongue flickered crimson, its eyes like beans appeared to be infused with an excited and agile intelligence.
This was the moment Ann Vaughn should have quickly jumped away from it, yet her entire body felt paralyzed, except the color receding from her little face, she could not move.
She caught sight of the cold glint in Warren Vance’s dark red eyes and suddenly understood.
He wanted her to take off the ring on her hand!
No way!
The moment this thought arose, Ann Vaughn resisted the overwhelming fear in her heart, grabbing the plate in front of her and blocking Sweetie who had lunged at her!