Lisanne pointed her finger in the direction of the door as she spoke resolutely.

Winnie didn't immediately leave as she stared at her friend intently.

Seeing that blood was still dripping from Winnie's palm, Xavier promptly removed his tie and wrapped it around her injury to stop the bleeding.

"Let's leave first. Your injury needs to be treated in the hospital," he informed her before pushing her out of the room by her shoulders instead of waiting for her to reply.

Once they were out of the building, he swept her up into his arms.

Winnie was shocked as she reflexively wrapped her arms around his neck. "What are you doing? My hand is the one that's injured, not my legs."

"I know." Upon lowering his head to look at her, Xavier spoke authoritatively while appearing slightly angry. "Can't I carry you because I feel like it? Also, were you aware of what you were doing earlier? Do you not want your hands anymore? You should've let her stab me. If I die, then it means I lose. Do you know, even though you're the one who's physically hurt, the pain I feel in my heart is greater than yours?"

Glancing at her hand, she replied, "It's just a minor injury. Although, I didn't expect Lisanne had that kind of relationship with Christopher. Her grief is understandable, but now I don't know how I can comfort her."

"I think you should leave her be for the time being. We're a married couple, so it's possible her anger and hatred toward me might extend to you. You should wait until she calms down a bit before speaking to her again. For now, let's head to the hospital."

As Xavier spoke, he had already brought Winnie to the car. Then, he put her into the vehicle before heading toward the driver's seat.

When she saw him ready to take a u-turn to the hospital, she rapidly stopped him. "No need to go there. The bleeding has already stopped, and the wound's not deep. We can treat this back in our room." However, he disagreed with her suggestion. "Why should we do that when there's a hospital we can go to? Do you think we can take care of it more professionally than a doctor?"

Still, she insisted, "I can handle a minor injury. Besides, we're in a hurry right now!"

"What for?" Xavier couldn't help but turn his head back and glance at Winnie. "What are you planning to do?"

"Relax. Just focus on driving," she promptly reminded him in response to his action.

Frowning, he questioned, "Then answer my question. What do you want to do? Why are you in a hurry?"

"To return to our country! We need to go back now. It's very likely Lisanne has already switched to the earliest flight she can get. So, I want to return to our home country as quickly as possible too. It's best if I pay a personal visit to the Marsh residence."

"No!" Xavier denied her request without hesitation. "You can't return to the country yet. What if Harold has already arrived in Chanaea and is looking for you everywhere? We're in the light while he's in the dark. As the saying goes, it's easier to defend against a direct attack than to avoid an ambush. He's a cruel and ruthless man. If we aren't careful, we may accidentally step into his trap. You should stay here for now. Give me some time to track down Harold's whereabouts. Once I succeed, you can come back. At the very least, we need to know where he's going and understand what he's planning. As for Lisanne, just give her family members a call and briefly explain the situation to them. When I return, I'll keep an eye on her whereabouts, too."

Furrowing her eyebrows, Winnie replied, "I understand what you're saying, but no one knows when Harold will arrive. We don't even know if he's dead or alive. If you keep failing to replace out where he is, does this mean I'll have to stay here indefinitely until you do? That's not realistic. Besides, I'm not the type of person to flee or hide from problems. I still have things I need to do, and it's inconvenient to keep staying here."

"But-"

"No buts! Save your breath. Even if you force me to give in to your demand today, I'll still buy a plane ticket back to Chanaea tomorrow. So, there's no point to this argument."

That rendered him speechless because he knew she would definitely do something like that.

"Fine." However, Xavier wasn't going to yield completely. "I won't dissuade you, but you must follow me to the hospital. I made my concession. Now it's your turn." "You... Fine, we'll each make a concession."

"Mhm." He didn't turn his head around this time. Instead, he glanced at her through the rearview mirror. "That's more like it. You should listen to me once in a while." After they left the hospital, they went to the manor again because Winnie wanted to bid the Speiser couple goodbye.

The elderly couple knew Winnie wasn't someone who could stand doing nothing, so they didn't ask her to stay. They only reminded her to visit them more often.

As they were in a hurry, Winnie didn't stay in the manor for too long. Skipping dinner, Xavier and she returned to their condominium.

They didn't have a lot of luggage, so it didn't take long for them to pack their things and head to the airport.

It wasn't until they were inside the airport's lounge that Winnie realized she and Xavier had grabbed the wrong phone. That was because their phones' appearances were identical.

If she hadn't noticed the phone buzzing in her bag, she wouldn't have realized the mistake. When she pulled the device out, she saw it had just received a message from Nate.

Without delay, she handed the phone to Xavier. "Nate's looking for you. He said he's gotten off the plane already. He's returning to the country today, too?"

Xavier was opening a water bottle for Winnie, so he didn't grab the phone. "Ah, yeah, he told me about it yesterday. He took a flight that was earlier in the day."

"I see. Look, he sent another photo to you."

"What photo?" Xavier still hadn't accepted his phone because he was taking out a straw for Winnie. He thought it would be easier for her to drink water with a straw since her hand was injured. She nodded. "I can't see it. The phone needs to be unlocked first."

"Then do it. You can use your fingerprint to unlock it."

His answer confounded Winnie, but when she gave it a try, she discovered her fingerprint could, indeed, unlock his phone.

It surprised her slightly. "When did you register my fingerprint on your phone? Why don't I know about it?"

After inserting the straw into the water bottle, Xavier put it close to her mouth. "That's because you were asleep."

"What prompted you to register my fingerprint on your phone?"

"I was worried you may be unable to unlock my phone during an emergency in the future. The password's your birthday."

"You sure know how to plan ahead. Not bad. In that case, give me my phone. I'll register your fingerprint into the phone's system."

"Sure." Xavier speedily pulled out Winnie's phone. He had been waiting for her to say that.

After unlocking her phone, she let him register his fingerprint on her phone by himself. Meanwhile, she opened the photo Nate sent to Xavier.

"He sent you a couple of photos. I think these were taken at the airport earlier. I can't see anyone's face in the first one, only their back. The second one is clearer. Huh, it's your Uncle Stuart. Hasn't he been lying low in his house recently? Why is he at the airport?"

"Is that so? Did Nate say anything else?"

"No. Wait, he just sent another photo. This is..." When Winnie saw the third photo, she instantly frowned.

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