Chapter 605:

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Clarence was silent. He knew his brother’s stubbornness; once Garrett made up his mind, nothing could change it.

“Fine,” Clarence said at last. “I’ll make the preparations. That night, the entire Langley estate will be surrounded. A net of our own.”

With the decision made, a calm settled over Garrett. He looked back at his phone screen. The call with Amelia had ended, but her profile picture remained.

“Just a little longer, baby,” he whispered. “Soon, this will all be over.”

On the West Coast, after ending her own call, Nina received a text message containing a bank account number and a transaction time. She stared at it for a long moment, then deleted it.

She walked over to Amelia, who was reading a book on childcare, and asked casually, “Amelia, since you’ve been here, have you told anyone else this address? Any of your friends?”

She needed to confirm that the information was exclusive. That was what made it so valuable.

Over the next two days, Nina’s behavior grew more erratic. She was frequently absent, claiming she had “family matters to attend to,” and would be gone for hours at a time. More than once, Amelia caught her on the phone in a corner, her expression tense and fearful.

𝘙om𝘢n𝖼𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽аs𝗌𝗂oո о𝗇 gа𝗅nо𝘃elѕ.𝖼𝗼𝗆

One afternoon, Amelia woke early from a nap and stepped out of her bedroom. Hearing the front door open, she assumed Nina had returned and walked over. “Nina?”

At the sight of her, Nina flinched, a flicker of guilt crossing her face. “Miss Amelia, is something wrong?”

“Why were you gone so long today?” Normally, an hour and a half was all she needed to buy groceries. She was efficient and never dragged her feet, yet lately she spent more and more time outside the house.

“I’m sorry. There was traffic on the way, and the produce at the supermarket wasn’t very fresh, so I changed tonight’s menu on the spot…”

They were transparent excuses, easy to see through. Trusting Nina, however, Amelia chose not to overthink it. “I see. Did you buy extra supplies? If you did, try not to head out again for the next few days.”

It worried her, Nina running errands so frequently.

“Ah, but…” Nina had matters of her own to attend to. She had to go out these days.

“What is it?” Amelia trusted her, but she was observant. “Has something happened lately? If you’re in trouble, you can tell me. Don’t hesitate to ask for help.”

Nina hesitated, then pressed her lips together and shook her head. “I’m fine.”

“Truly?”

She nodded firmly, and Amelia relaxed. “All right. You can get on with your work.”

Nina carried her bulging bags toward the kitchen. Amelia watched her slender figure disappear through the doorway, sighed softly, and returned to the living room.

That afternoon, feeling restless, she called her friend Shanna Price. She said nothing about Nina, only chatted about recent movies and celebrity gossip, trying to distract herself.

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