When Xavier saw the car speeding toward them, he reflexively tried to pull Winnie behind him.

Due to the venom's aftereffect, however, his reaction speed was no longer as fast as it used to be.

In the past, his body would always react faster than his brain when it came to protecting her.

That wasn't the case any longer. His movements couldn't catch up with his brain anymore.

Occasionally during the middle of the night, Xavier would worry that one day, even his mind would slow down too.

As those thoughts crossed his mind, Winnie had already rapidly pulled him backward.

That act of hers made him feel ashamed. It also intensified his desire to replace Yulissa and the cure for his condition as soon as possible.

Xavier desperately wanted to return to tip-top shape quickly for the sake of his loved one.

After all, he couldn't hide behind his wife's back and be protected by her forever.

Meanwhile, Winnie didn't notice Xavier's emotions at all because her focus was set wholly on the incoming car.

After the vehicle stopped, the car window was promptly lowered before a familiar face appeared in front of her.

It was Greta. Mason was the driver.

Winnie furrowed her eyebrows slightly and wanted to speak up, but she was interrupted by Greta's apology.

A concerned expression was set on Greta's face. "Neither of you got hit, right? I'm so sorry, Ms. Garland. This car's brake isn't in good condition, and the horn's not working well. You two were also walking too fast, so much so that I almost crashed into you two. Thankfully, Mason moved quickly and stepped on the brakes even when there was still a huge distance between us and you two."

"We're fine, luckily." Winnie frowned after listening to Greta's explanation. "However, as great as your driving skill is, you shouldn't be showing it off like this. It's time for you two to buy a new car!" "Definitely!" Greta chuckled. "Now that the people you wanted to save have been rescued, this means we've successfully completed the first mission you gave us, Ms. Garland. Since we've already received the remaining payment, it's only a matter of time before we buy a new car."

"Mhm." Just as Winnie was about to ask them why they suddenly showed up and if it was because they had news to share, Xavier, who was standing behind her, spoke first.

Turning to her, he asked, "First mission? Isn't rescuing Granny the only mission? What else did you ask them to do? You never mentioned this before."

Winnie's mouth dropped open. While she agreed that neither of them should hide or lie about anything to the other, she couldn't fulfill that promise when it came to the mission Wilhem gave her.

She wasn't authorized to disclose the mission to others without permission because it wasn't just a random, common matter.

Even if Xavier knew nothing about it, he still wasn't completely safe at their current location.

Should he learn the truth, he would be in grave danger. The more he knew, the more perilous his situation would become.

That was why Winnie betrayed her conscience and chose to lie. "I thought you were able to guess it by yourself. There's another reason we're here, and that's to replace Yulissa. With their additional help, our search will go much more smoothly, don't you think?"

The reason she provided was sound and valid, so Xavier had no reason to suspect it was an excuse and believed her wholeheartedly.

He also explained, "I'm sorry. I wasn't intentionally suspecting you earlier. I was just worried that you were making yet another dangerous decision by yourself behind my back."

With a smile, Winnie assured, "There's no way I'd do that."

"Mhm. That's great."

It was then Greta realized she might've accidentally spilled the beans and exposed Winnie in front of Xavier.

After all, the mission they received wasn't to replace Yulissa.

Thus, she believed she should do something at that moment to redeem her image in her boss' mind, like changing the topic.

When Greta's train of thought ended there, she suddenly cleared her throat. "Oh yeah, Ms. Garland. Seeing that you were in such a hurry earlier, do you two have something urgent that you need to attend to? Do you need our help with it?"

Glancing at Greta, Winnie answered, "Your words reminded me that we still need to go to the hospital. This is my keycard. You two should head inside first and wait for me there."

"Okay!" With a bright smile, Greta grabbed the keycard. "We'll go and park our car first. See you in a bit!"

"Yeah," Winnie replied before holding Xavier's hand again and continuing their journey toward the hospital.

However, after they took a few steps forward, Winnie suddenly glanced back.

Greta's eyes met with Winnie's in that instant because the former's line of sight still hadn't moved away from the latter.

A very serious expression was visible on Winnie's face when she looked at Greta. Silently, Winnie gestured for Greta to zip her mouth.

Greta subconsciously nodded and waited for Winnie to vanish from her sight completely before letting out a sigh of relief.

Then she turned to Mason. "Oh my god. You know, I'm pretty tough compared to a normal woman, but I didn't expect to be stunned by a look from her. She's really incredible!"

Mason frowned. "You're talking a bit too much today. No, actually, you always become quite chatty when it comes to Ms. Garland. You aren't planning to befriend her, are you? We're mercenaries, Greta. The only thing we care about is money, not people. Once we accept a mission from our employer, we will have to execute it, even if it means we have to kill her."

"I know that!" Her eyebrows furrowed intensely. "I just think she's different from our previous employers."

As she spoke, she stretched her hand and pushed up the sun visor inside the car.

Mason promptly shot a glance at her. "What are you doing? Does the sunlight not bother you?"

"Nope!" Greta narrowed her eyes. "I like the sun. I hope it can illuminate this entire dark, dirty place!"

Before Xavier and Winnie arrived at the ward, they could already see the bodyguard guarding the room at a distance.

When the bodyguard saw them, he immediately trotted toward them.

He halted his movements two steps away from the couple and informed sternly, "I'm sorry, Mr. Fairchild, Mrs. Fairchild. I couldn't complete the task I was given. Additionally, because of my mistake, Mdm. Sumner was injured. Please punish me! I don't mind if you both want to scold or hit me!"

Winnie furrowed her eyebrows slightly. Just from a glance, she could see the scratch marks on both sides of the bodyguard's face. Scabs had already formed on those wounds. It was pretty obvious that those marks were caused by fingernails.

Truth be told, she did want to reprimand the bodyguard, but she was an understanding person.

There was no way a muscular young man couldn't keep an elderly under control. However, if one were to do that, the elderly would undoubtedly suffer some form of injury. If a man like that improperly exerted his strength, then the elderly in question might even get killed.

The bodyguard must've been unwilling to restrict Jacinta by force, which then allowed her to escape and accidentally fall down the stairs.

When Winnie thought about that, she took in a deep breath and asked, "How did you get the scratches on your face?"

"Eh?" The bodyguard was dumbstruck for a moment because he didn't expect that to be the first thing out of her mouth.

The scratches were caused by Jacinta, but he believed he mustn't complain about the old woman in front of Winnie, so he lied, "I accidentally them when I ran and brushed against the wall. These are all just minor scrapes. It's not anything serious."

Of course, Winnie knew he was lying, but the fact that he didn't shift the blame made a good impression on her. He's a loyal man.

However, she still felt compelled to reprimand him. "I'll deduct your bonus since you were unable to complete the very important mission we entrusted you with. Be more careful next time, all right? If something like this happens again, you should know how to handle it."

"I'll bear that in mind, Mrs. Fairchild! Thank you!" the bodyguard replied.

"Mhm." Winnie then noticed Xavier had been staring at her from the corner of her eye.

Turning to him, she asked, "What's the matter? Does it upset you that I was lecturing your people?"

"Why would I be upset?" His eyes were filled with affection. I feel like she's constantly emitting an alluring charm that's just so d*mn attractive to me.

Xavier chose not to reveal his actual thoughts and furrowed his eyebrows. "You shouldn't be making distinctions like that. I already belong to you, so why wouldn't my people and assets be yours too?" "Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that. Ignore what I said, then."

He smiled quietly before turning to the bodyguard. "What did the doctor say?"

"Her fibula was fractured, and she has a mild concussion. Her leg has already been put in a cast and hung up," the bodyguard answered. There were also some scrapes on the old woman's arm and face, but those were minor injuries. It would take only a few days before they healed.

Jacinta was an elderly woman, so getting a fracture wasn't some minor issue. That was why the doctor suggested she rest on the bed and not leave it for the time being. However, that would mean she couldn't return to her home country until she recovered.

"Then she'll have to recuperate here first," Xavier uttered after listening to the bodyguard's report. "You'll be in charge of Mdm. Sumner's safety from now on. Protect her well. If an accident like this happens again, you're fired."

"I understand! I'll definitely protect Mdm. Sumner well!" the bodyguard promised.

While Winnie didn't express any opinion about Jacinta's injury, she was quite infuriated.

Xavier could tell she was unhappy, so he patted her head and spoke gently to her as though he was coaxing a child. "She should be fine as long as it's not an internal injury. I bet she can leave the bed after a week."

She massaged between her brows and let out a long sigh. "There's nothing else we can do about it by this point. Let's go in and visit her."

As they stepped into the room, Jacinta began shouting before the two of them could even make a sound. "Why are you here again? Didn't I tell you not to come in here willy-nilly? I don't want to see you at all! I want you to go back to whoever hired you!"

Winnie immediately frowned when she heard that.

It was obvious Jacinta thought she and Xavier were bodyguards.

Winnie's impression of Jacinta was that she was a kindly old woman, yet the words the latter was saying now sounded pretty mean.

"Xavier and I are here to visit you, Granny. Are you doing well?" The instant Winnie's voice traveled into the old woman's ears, Jacinta turned around and stared in the direction of the entrance. When she saw Winnie, her eyes immediately reddened.

Winnie thought Jacinta was feeling aggrieved, so she speedily strode toward the bed, squatted down next to it, and asked worryingly, "Are you feeling pain somewhere, Granny? Let me know if you are. I'll call the doctor!"

However, Jacinta pushed the younger woman's hand aside. "Get away from me! Don't touch me. I didn't expect you to lie or fail to fulfill your promise to me, Winnie. However, that's nothing compared to the fact that you used drugs to knock me out! I can't believe you did that to me and then handed me over to a stranger!"

The more she spoke, the more emotional she became, so much so that her eyes began filling with tears.

"When you were a child, your father didn't love you, and your mother died an early death. Not only that, you became mentally disabled. I was the one who raised you to adulthood. How could you do this to me? Just because I have my own thoughts and am unwilling to listen to you, you drugged me and demanded I do what you want. What happens when you don't like listening to me talk anymore? When you resent me for being noisy, annoying, and disobedient? Will you poison me then?"

"That's not what I'm trying to do, Granny. I didn't drug you because you weren't listening to me. I only did so because this place isn't safe."

"I don't care if it's safe! If this place truly isn't safe, then how do other people survive here? Do you know what I thought the moment I fell down the stairs? I thought maybe I should've just died then and there! That way, my dearest granddaughter wouldn't need to bother drugging me!"

Winnie felt awful as she watched Jacinta cry.

She kneeled before Jacinta's bed as her eyes reddened. "I'm sorry, Granny. I know I shouldn't have drugged you. It's my fault. I was wrong. It doesn't make me feel good for breaking your heart. You're free to scold me and hit me however you like!"

"Hit you? Why would I do that? Do you think I won't feel terrible if I hit you?" After wiping her tears away, Jacinta turned her back to Winnie.

Winnie took in a deep breath. "Then I'll hit myself."

Just as she raised her hand, Xavier stopped her. "Don't hurt yourself, Winnie."

He couldn't bear her harming herself.

Even though Winnie was a prideful woman who had never bowed her head to anyone before, she was doing exactly that in front of Jacinta at the moment. She was kneeling on the ground and humbly asking for Jacinta's forgiveness.

Xavier couldn't help but wonder if someone like Jacinta deserved it.

In truth, he even suspected that Jacinta might've intentionally injured herself. There must be a reason she's trying so hard to stay here. I must get to the bottom of this!

He successfully stopped Winnie from hitting herself while Jacinta made it clear she forbid Winnie from doing so as well.

Despite that, she was still angry at Winnie and refused to talk to her.

Thus, Winnie let Xavier leave the room first.

After Xavier was outside of the room, he contacted someone in his home country.

He still believed Zyon wouldn't make a claim like that for no reason before dying. In fact, there was a part of him that thought it could very well be true. Otherwise, Jacinta, someone who had never used a gun before, wouldn't have gotten so agitated that she shot at Zyon.

Thus, Xavier relayed another order through a text message: Look into Zyon's background again. For example, replace out if it's possible that the hospital he was born in mistook him for someone else or if my aunt committed adultery with someone.

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