Hera was panting heavily as she stood still to catch her breath. She looked at Xavier, who was waiting for her ahead. For a moment, she wondered if he was truly mentally disabled. She glanced around and waved at him after seeing they were alone. “Xavier, if you have something to say, just say it.’ Xavier’s eyes flickered, but he quickly reverted to his foolish demeanor and made a face at Hera. “You can’t catch me! So, the stuff is mine now.”
He began rummaging through her bag. Hera frowned, unsure whether he was just pretending. Seeing him dump everything onto the ground, Hera took a deep breath and sprinted toward him.
Seeing this, Xavier immediately gathered the items off the ground and ran again.
At this point, Hera’s patience was wearing thin. She felt foolish chasing him all over the Killian residence. But her phone and other valuables were in that bag, and she couldn’t afford to lose them.
Suddenly, she noticed some pebbles lining a flowerbed. She stopped and picked up a few. She weighed them in her hand and was about to resume the chase when she realized Xavier had vanished from sight.
However, Hera spotted her phone lying on the grass near a bend ahead. When she walked over to pick it up, noticing a packet of tissues lying around another corner.
Following the trail of items Xavier had left behind, Hera eventually reached the back of a secluded courtyard, but there was still no sign of Xavier. However, she did find her bag lying under a locust tree.
She approached and picked it up, checking inside. The gold needle kit Bernard gave her was still there, along with everything else she picked up along the way.
Just as she was about to leave, she noticed that the soil where her bag had been placed looked disturbed, as if something had been buried there. Hera’s curiosity was piqued. She crouched down and found a black pill lying on the surface. She picked up a dry twig and gently stirred the soil, uncovering more pills.
She picked one up, rubbed it between her fingers, and then sniffed it. She immediately frowned. Wasn’t this the same toxic drug that Camille produced while impersonating her?
Most of these pills had been disposed of by the police, but who knew if Camille had secretly distributed them? The news had widely reported the dangers of Camille’s drug, warning people not to consume it, so there shouldn’t be anyone using it.
If the drug wasn’t being used, it would simply be destroyed. Burying it under a tree seemed odd.
Hera stood up and surveyed the
area, realizing that this was once et
Aurora’s courtyard, though Hera wasn’t sure if it still belonged to her.
Did Xavier go to such great lengths to bring her here for this?
Just as she was taking photos with her phone, she heard movement behind her. Marriott and the security guard had arrived.
“Mr. Cecily… Ms. Youngworth, we
finally found you,” Marriott
instinctively called Hera by her old name but quickly corrected herself. Then, noticing that Xavier was nowhere to be seen, she asked, “Where’s Mr. Xavier?”
Hera turned. “I’m not sure where he ran off to.”
“Oh dear, he’s run off again. I’ll look for him. I’m sorry for the trouble,” Marriott apologized.
“It’s fine,” Hera shook her head and then glanced in the direction of the courtyard. “Who lives here now?”
“Roman lives here now,” Marriott explained.
Hera narrowed her eyes. Why did Xavier bring her here? Was he just messing with her?
“Ms. Youngworth, Mr. Rhett is waiting for you,” the security guard reminded her.
Hera swallowed her suspicion and
boarded the guest car to head to Rhett’s place. On the way, she sent the photos she had just taken to Aurora.
Finally, they arrived at Rhett’s place.