Ch. 951..960

Chapter 951

"He's my type." Rebecca was straightforward in her reply. "If he's still single, could you please do me a favor?"

Genevieve was surprised. "But you only met him once. Is this love at first sight?"

Rebecca nodded.

Genevieve whipped her phone out, about to share Steven's contact with her cousin, but then she remembered something. "As I said earlier, he's older than my husband by a few years, meaning he's older than you by more than a decade. I'm sure you also know about Renee and Landon. Uncle Phineus disapproved of their marriage, and the father and daughter are still on bad terms as a result." Although Herbert was very open and flexible about who his grandchildren dated and fell in love with, given the Zeigler family's status and background, not anyone could marry his granddaughter just like that. Hence, with Steven being a lot older than Rebecca and his background so plain that it was almost next to nothing, Genevieve reckoned that Felix would disagree.

"He may be older than me by ten years or so, but that's not a problem." Rebecca, however, was not bothered at all. "Besides, my father is a reasonable man.”

In the end, Rebecca achieved what she wanted as Genevieve sent her Steven's contact.

Meanwhile, Genevieve glanced at her phone and noticed that it was almost time. Thus, appearing as if she was retrieving a hairband from her bag, she used the opportunity to remove something else, hide it by her waist, and cover it up with her clothes.

"I need to use the restroom. Do you want to come?"

Rebecca waved her hand and turned Genevieve down.

Slipping out of the room, Genevieve headed toward the restroom according to the directions on the signboard. Out of a sudden, darkness descended.

Though she knew the power would be cut off, Genevieve was still startled by the sudden event. She remained still for a moment to quickly calm herself down before removing a ring from her pocket when she failed to hear any footsteps around her.

The ring had been coated with fluorescent paint, so the faint glow it emitted lit up the surroundings slightly.

With her breath held, Genevieve quickly located the target room. She swiftly twisted the doorknob and drew the gun she had hidden on her waist.

Opposite her was a bed, where someone was seemingly sleeping on it.

As she wielded the gun, Genevieve's hands were trembling intensely. However, she steeled her resolve as soon as she thought of her daughter. She then pointed the gun at the head of the lady sleeping on the bed. Closing her eyes, she fired a shot before hurriedly throwing the weapon away and leaving the room. Through the glow emitted by the ring, she paced quickly toward a restroom not far away. Just as she entered and closed the door to the restroom, footsteps sounded just outside.

Meanwhile, Genevieve was shaking badly at the thought of what had happened just now. Her anxiety almost had her falling to her knees. However, she bit her lower lip and used the pain to pull herself back to her senses. After entering a cubicle, she swiftly removed the ring and her disposable gloves before flushing them away.

A moment later, a shriek suddenly came from the outside.

The shriek had Genevieve biting herself even harder so the pain she felt could keep her together. Based on her instinct, she slowly walked in the direction of the door. As soon as her hands touched the wall, she tilted her head back before swinging it forward to ram it against the wall.

The next thing Genevieve knew after she woke up was that her forehead was throbbing. She also noticed Rebecca was sitting beside her.

"Did I hit my head and knock myself unconscious?"

Upon seeing her regain consciousness, Rebecca hurriedly poured a glass of water and delivered it to Genevieve. "Yes. When the employees opened the restroom door, they found you lying on the ground, out cold. How did you manage to knock yourself out?"

"The lights went out suddenly when I wanted to leave the restroom. Then this shriek startled me so badly that I slipped and hit my forehead on something. It hurts pretty bad..."

"Don't. We only just applied some medicine on your head." Rebecca stopped Genevieve from touching her injury.

Meanwhile, Genevieve accepted the glass of water and took a few sips. "What happened? Why did the power go out all of a sudden?"

"I think there was a short circuit." Rebecca lowered her voice and whispered, "However, in that mere two minutes when there was a blackout, Nigel Hompton's wife was murdered."

"What?" Genevieve looked toward Rebecca with a shocked expression. Her hand that was holding the cup of water was also trembling slightly.

Just as Rebecca was about to say more, the door opened, and Evan's aunt entered with two bodyguards in black suits following her.

One of the bodyguards approached Genevieve with a gloomy expression. "Ms. Rachford, we need to speak with you. Alone."

Chapter 952

Before Genevieve could speak, Rebecca had wrapped her arms around her. "You can do it right here. I'm her cousin."

The two bodyguards were shocked by her words, and so, too, was Evan's aunt.

The Zeigler family's grandchildren all kept a low profile in their daily lives. However, they were all in Baykeep, and the children of the rich and influential families were all from the same circle. Hence, the bodyguards recognized Rebecca.

Despite that, they were confused by Rebecca's claims about her being Genevieve's cousin.

Seeing how Rebecca was protecting Genevieve, and because Rebecca was Felix's daughter, the bodyguards could not forcefully take Genevieve away with them.

"Ms. Rachford, did you see anyone on your way to the restroom?"

After all, from the surveillance footage, they saw Genevieve walking out of the room and heading toward the restroom a few seconds before the blackout.

However, when the power supply cut off, the surveillance cameras went out as well, right when she was still in the hallway.

Meanwhile, the stinging pain on her forehead had Genevieve trying to rub her head. However, she was quickly stopped by Rebecca. Upon hearing the bodyguards' question, she replied, "No, I didn't see anyone. I was already at the entrance of the toilet when the power went out. I finished everything in the dark, and I was not afraid at all. At least, not until a shriek rang out."

"You didn't even hear any footsteps?" The bodyguards were unconvinced, for one had to pass by Charice's room to enter the restroom.

Genevieve gave it a thought and replied, "I can't remember."

At the same time, the bodyguards' cold and unflinching gaze locked on Genevieve.

"What's the meaning of this? You think she's the murderer?" Rebecca found it absurdly hilarious. "The murderer must be familiar with the layout around here to be able to commit the murder so quickly. Today, however, is our first time visiting this place."

Rebecca then lifted Genevieve's hands and showed them to the bodyguards. "You're a bodyguard, so you should know that the hands of a person that uses a gun all the time have calluses all over. But do you see any on her hands?"

Genevieve's hands were silky smooth and fair. There was not even a single callus on her hands.

At the same time, another man entered the room and showed his phone to the bodyguards. "I just got my hands on the surveillance footage of the hallway near the restroom."

From the footage, Genevieve was seen walking toward the restroom, and power was cut off when she was almost at the restroom entrance.

Though everything was just as Genevieve said, it was still possible that she could have doubled back to murder Charice.

However, the bodyguards quickly discarded this idea. This was because Genevieve's hands had no calluses, which meant that she had never used a gun before. Besides, the gun had been fired at close range to Charice, which meant the blood would stain Genevieve's clothes if she had been the culprit.

Even if she changed into a new set of clothes, there would still be the smell of blood on her, which the bodyguards did not detect right now.

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience caused." After learning everything they needed to know, the bodyguards left.

In the meantime, Rebecca, who could feel Genevieve trembling, comforted her, "Mrs. Hompton's murder is not a minor accident, so, naturally, they needed to investigate thoroughly. It's fine now." The duo then changed into a new set of clothes and left the beauty salon.

Despite the beauty salon and the bodyguards' best efforts to cover it up, word about the murder of Nigel's wife spread quickly on social media.

When Rebecca and Genevieve returned to the Zeigler residence, Herbert had already seen it on the news.

After learning that Genevieve was interrogated and deemed a suspect by the bodyguards, the old man was furious. Fortunately, he quickly regained his cool after learning that the bodyguards did not harm Genevieve as they merely asked her some questions. Otherwise, he would never let them off for bullying his granddaughter.

Herbert quickly had his private doctor deal with the injury on Genevieve's forehead. After the wound was treated, Genevieve returned to her room after telling them she was tired and needed rest. The moment she entered her room, her phone rang again.

Genevieve glanced at her phone, and after seeing the caller, she pursed her lips. After shutting her door, she accepted the call.

A man's voice laughed before praising, "To be able to kill Mrs. Hompton in two minutes during your first visit to that beauty salon? Whoa. You're really amazing, Genevieve!"

Genevieve bit her lower lip hard, suppressing her urge to curse. "I've already done what you wanted me to do. You'd better keep your promise."

"Don't worry, Genevieve. I'm a person that always plays by the rules." Harry laughed.

After that, he put the phone closer to his lips and asked softly, "How did it feel to kill someone for the first time? Welcome to hell, Genevieve."

Chapter 953

Genevieve hung up the phone abruptly.

She was sure she had shut her eyes while shooting at Charice. However, she could not stop her mind from imagining the bullet piercing Charice's head, the blood splattering onto the bed and walls...

Feeling something rise from her stomach, she leaned over the toilet bowl and started throwing up violently to the point that she even vomited bile.

I killed someone... I killed someone...

Her limp body slumped onto the floor. Gazing at her hands, she saw that they were trembling. It even seemed as though she could still vaguely see the gun in her hands.

The first time I held a gun, it was Patrick who taught me how to do it. At that time, the men Marilyn hired were chasing us down. Hence, he taught me so I could protect myself. I shot and killed someone back then, but I felt no guilt because that person was an assassin. However, the person today was Armand's mother. Even though she didn't raise him, they're still related by blood. I killed the mother of the person I love!

Genevieve felt as though she was about to go crazy. Just as a shriek was about to escape her lips, she immediately lowered her head and bit her wrist, forcing herself to suppress it.

Her entire body shook from head to toe, and even as her teeth broke her skin and blood began to flow, she did not feel a thing.

Feeling something vibrating next to her feet, she looked down and realized that her phone had dropped there. The phone was still working despite its shattered screen, and Johanna was calling her at that very

moment.

Genevieve picked up the phone with trembling hands and held it up to her ear. "What is it?"

Johanna could tell Genevieve's voice sounded a little hoarse, but she had no time for small talk. She said anxiously, "Mandy has been running a fever on and off since last night. Medications and drips haven't worked, and she even fell unconscious this morning. After a careful examination, the doctor found that she has myocarditis, and it's serious."

The news jolted Genevieve to her senses. She leaned against the wall for support while struggling to stand. "Why didn't you tell me about Mandy's recurring fever?"

"I thought Armand called you..."

After learning that Amanda was unconscious, Genevieve ended the call, grabbed her personal documents, and rushed out.

"Granddad, Mandy is running a fever. I'm going back to check on her."

Herbert got up from the couch, thinking of heading to Jadeborough with her. However, Rebecca placed a hand on his arm and stopped him. "Grandpa, you should stay home and rest. I'll go with Genev." Grabbing her bag that was on the couch, she then hurried to catch up with Genevieve.

Genevieve wanted to book a flight ticket to fly to Jadeborough. Alas, there were no flights scheduled around that time. Seeing how anxious Genevieve was, Rebecca called her father.

Soon, a government helicopter flew to the Zeigler residence and took them to Jadeborough at once, landing on the rooftop of General Hospital an hour later.

When Genevieve called Johanna, the latter was too distressed to speak. However, Johanna eventually managed to say through broken sentences that she was at the hospital's emergency room. Genevieve panicked instantly and rushed over there with Rebecca. From afar, she could see Johanna, Cooper, and the others standing outside one of the emergency rooms.

When Johanna saw that Genevieve had returned, she rushed to hug her tightly. "Genev!"

Genevieve glanced over and saw Armand standing by the door to the emergency room with his back toward her. His hands hung by his sides, clenched into fists so tight that the veins on the back of his hand bulged. It was clear he was riddled with anxiousness.

Her throat felt dry as she asked Johanna, "How's Mandy? Why was she taken to the emergency room?"

"Mandy woke up an hour ago, but she suddenly started coughing up blood and complaining that she was in pain. So, the doctor took her to the emergency room. Timothy had to pull some strings to be able to enter the emergency room. They still haven't come out yet..." As Johanna spoke, tears started streaming down her face.

Genevieve's body swayed, and Cooper quickly held onto her to steady her. He said softly, "Don't worry. Mandy will be fine."

"She has to be fine..." she said while clutching Cooper's shirt tightly.

Just then, the door to the emergency room finally opened.

Armand was standing right in front of the door, and he watched as Timothy and another doctor walked out of the room. Both of them were still wearing masks, but Armand could see the overwhelming sadness in their eyes.

Upon noticing Timothy's reddened eyes, he could not bring himself to ask anything.

Chapter 954

Genevieve stumbled forward and grabbed at Timothy's shirt. "Is Mandy okay..."

Her voice trailed off as she looked past Timothy into the emergency room behind him to see a nurse shifting Amanda's small body from the operating table to the gurney and draping a white cloth over her. "No!" she screamed, rushing into the emergency room and throwing herself at the gurney.

Swatting aside the cloth in the nurse's hand, she saw Amanda lying on the gurney. The little girl's eyes that would curve into halfmoons when she smiled were closed, and she showed no signs of life. Genevieve touched her daughter's face with trembling hands. "Mandy, open your eyes..."

Her cheeks used to be soft and warm, and she always loved rubbing her face against mine. But now, her face is pale and icy. Her body is so cold that even her fingers have gone stiff.

"Mandy, look at me... Open your eyes to look at me, okay? I promise I'll never get angry at you again. You can eat anything and go anywhere you want. Whatever you want, I'll give it to you. I'm begging you, don't leave me," Genevieve pleaded. Her tears fell onto Amanda's face, and her lips trembled. She was practically on the brink of a breakdown.

Then, she held onto the nurse as if she were her last hope. "Please save my daughter. She was only running a fever. How could she... How could she..."

The nurse gently pried her hands loose and said softly, "I'm sorry for your loss."

When Johanna walked into the room, the sight of Amanda's lifeless body hit her like a ton of bricks. She staggered and fell into Timothy's arms.

It was only a high fever. Why is she suddenly dead?

Devastated, she grabbed at Timothy's shirt and shook him hard. "Aren't you a doctor? Why couldn't you save your goddaughter?"

"I..." Timothy opened his mouth, but words eluded him. All he could do was let her vent her emotions.

After a long while, Armand finally walked into the room.

He usually looked calm and composed. However, the second he entered and saw Amanda's cold body, he nearly broke down. His feet felt as though they were nailed to the ground. No matter how hard he tried, he could not move them.

When he finally made his way over to Genevieve, who was still leaning over Amanda's body on the gurney while sobbing bitterly, he pulled her away and covered Amanda with the white cloth.

Genevieve flung the cloth aside. "Don't! She's not dead! She's just asleep! After a while... After a while, she'll wake up. I'm going to wait for her to wake up."

Grabbing her hand and staring at her emotionlessly, Armand uttered, "Genevieve Rachford, what else do you know how to do apart from crying and causing trouble?"

She felt a chilliness descend over her as he gazed at her. "Do you think I killed her?"

Without waiting for him to respond, she mumbled, "It's my fault. I didn't protect her well. I should've let her stay in Dartan..."

Armand did not look her way again. Instead, he used the white cloth to cover Amanda's body, then carried her out.

Meanwhile, Nigel summoned Harry back to the Hompton residence to question him because of Charice's death.

Harry said, "I was the one who killed Dylan, but that was because he tried to harm me first. I was only making him pay for his actions. However, this is my biological mother we're talking about. How could I possibly harm her?"

Nigel was silent as he fixed his eyes on his son. Even as he gazed at the innocent expression on Harry's face, he could not help feeling uneasy.

I raised him, yet I can't read him.

Harry had just left Nigel and returned to his room when Jesse called him on his phone.

"Genevieve's daughter is dead," said Jesse.

The devastating news caught Harry off guard. "What? How?"

"I asked someone at the hospital and heard that the child had a recurring fever last night. It wouldn't go down even after taking medicine and finally caused myocarditis," Jesse explained. Harry hung up and turned on his computer.

I planted an explosive device in Mandy's ear, but it has always been disengaged. Everything I said was merely a bluff to scare Genevieve!

Chapter 955

After accessing Genevieve's phone system, Harry clicked on a hidden monitoring software program and played what it had recorded.

He heard Johanna calling Genevieve to say that Amanda was still suffering from a persistent high fever. After that, he heard Genevieve rushing back to Jadeborough, followed by the sudden news that Amanda was in the emergency room and had passed away. Finally, the sound of Genevieve's heart-wrenching cries and her conversation with Armand played on the recording.

After checking his phone, Harry realized the explosive device inside Amanda's body was no longer working and could not determine her coordinates.

That type of explosive device was very unique. When one dies, one's body temperature drops quickly. As a result of the low temperature, the device planted inside that person would lose its ability to function. Harry stared at his computer screen, dumbfounded.

He blamed himself a little. I know Armand is intelligent. That's why I kept wanting to pit our abilities against each other. I thought he must've discovered the bomb and faked Mandy's death. However, a ploy like that may trick me, but it can't fool the computer. Now that the device inside Mandy's ear isn't functioning anymore because of her body's low temperature, that must mean she did indeed die. All I wanted was to use the little girl to threaten Genevieve. I never wanted her dead. But after hearing Genevieve's anguished cries, I can't help feeling upset and flustered.

After turning off his computer, Harry bought a flight ticket and rushed to Jadeborough.

Following Harry's orders, Jesse kept a close eye on Armand. He reported to Harry that Armand did not cremate Amanda. Instead, he had her body sent directly to the funeral parlor.

The sudden death of his daughter was a terrible blow to Armand.

As he left the funeral parlor, his heart seemed to spasm painfully, and he nearly collapsed. Subsequently, he was sent to the military hospital.

Armand had had a heart transplant. Even though it was compatible with his body, his heart still could not take extreme emotions of happiness or sadness.

Genevieve lingered alone in the ward Amanda stayed in the previous night, not allowing Armand or anyone else to accompany her.

When Harry entered the ward, he saw her sitting on the cold floor and leaning against the wall. She held a small, light blue coat in her hands, staring vacantly into space with a blank expression. He crouched before her and murmured, "I'm sorry..."

She did not respond, still looking impassive.

It saddened Harry to see her looking as though she was dead inside. I hate seeing her like this. Even the light in that pair of eyes I adore is gone.

Like a child who had done something wrong, he took her hand and placed it against his cheek. "I only wanted to use Mandy to threaten you so that you'd care more about me. I didn't think she'd run a high fever that wouldn't go away... It's my fault. If I'd known, I would've come to Jadeborough earlier. Don't be mad at me, okay?"

After several minutes, Genevieve finally gave some response.

Her eyes focused on the man before her, and she realized who it was. Despite that, she did not even have the strength to scold or slap him.

She gazed at him with lifeless eyes. "You made me kill the mother of the person I love and let me watch my daughter die right before my eyes... You've truly sent me to the depths of hell..."

Pulling him right in front of her, she said quietly, "Harry Hompton, I'm begging you. Just kill me."

Harry knew he was the winner of the game.

He had ruined her, yet he felt no joy or sense of victory in his heart. All he had hoped for was to have someone stay by his side and to only have eyes for him.

His face gradually paled, and he said in a helpless tone, "I'm sorry, Genevieve..."

The door to the ward was ajar, and when Johanna walked past the door, she happened to overhear what Genevieve said at the end.

Fearful that something would happen to Genevieve, she dashed into the ward and yanked Harry away from Genevieve, then helped the latter to her feet. "She's not feeling too well, so I'm taking her home." Harry wanted to follow them, but he could not stand up, no matter how hard he tried.

Chapter 956

Johanna brought Genevieve back to Swallow Garden. Like a ghost, Genevieve walked up the stairs and into Amanda's room mindlessly.

The image of Amanda running around in her room floated in Genevieve's mind. She remembered how Amanda would lie in bed every morning, refusing to get up, or how Amanda would ask her for help when putting on her clothes.

Devastated, she slumped onto the rug and began bawling her eyes out.

For the next few days, Genevieve stayed in Amanda's room, neither eating nor drinking. Even when Johanna forced a spoonful of soup into her mouth, Genevieve would spit it out the next second. Seeing that Genevieve was starting to lose weight, Johanna felt her heart ache. "Genev, Mandy's death has nothing to do with you. Please eat something, okay? What will Lucian do if something happens to you?"

When Genevieve heard that, a glimmer of light seemed to appear at the far back of her hollow eyes. She took the bowl from Johanna and began to take small bites of the fish stew.

As she swallowed, she turned to look at Johanna. "I'm craving sweet corn pie."

"All right. I'll ask the housekeeper to bake you one right away." Johanna let out a breath of relief to see that Genevieve had finally got herself together. Without hesitation, she hurried downstairs to ask the housekeeper to bake the pie.

When Johanna returned to the room once again, however, she saw Genevieve lying on the floor.

Genevieve had smashed the bowl into pieces and used a shard to cut her wrist. Fresh blood had stained Genevieve's clothes while her face had turned as pale as a piece of paper.

Johanna let out an ear-piercing scream before rushing forward and wrapping up Genevieve's bleeding wrist with towels.

Genevieve had a coagulation disorder. Even though her wrist had been tightly wrapped up by towels, fresh blood kept gushing out of her wounds. Before they could even reach the hospital, Genevieve's breaths were getting shallower and shallower.

The doctors immediately rushed Genevieve into the operating room and commanded the nurses to get blood from the blood bank.

When Timothy got to the hospital, Johanna collapsed into his arms and broke down. "I-It's all my fault. I-I didn't keep an eye on Genev. She broke a bowl a-and use a broken piece to cut herself..." Timothy was feeling anxious as well.

"There's still some of Marilyn's blood left," Timothy comforted Johanna as he stroked her head gently. "Genev will be fine. Don't cry."

Once the blood transfusion was done, Genevieve's blood loss was recovered. She had barely made it out alive.

Nevertheless, Genevieve was stuck in a nightmare. The memory of her killing another person and Amanda's passing kept resurfacing in her mind. The emotional torment caused her breaths to be unstable when she was unconscious.

Harry had been at the hospital all that while.

He did not enter the ward Genevieve was in. However, through the listening device on Johanna's phone, he knew that Genevieve's condition was unpleasant.

Guilt overwhelmed Harry. If he had not let Genevieve go to Baykeep, she would have remained by Amanda's side. That way, Amanda would not have lost her life to a high fever.

Jesse also mentioned that Armand had suffered from a heart arrest because of Amanda's passing and was being treated in the military hospital.

Harry turned his gaze mindlessly to the window. To his surprise, he noticed a black Chevrolet outside the hospital.

Seeing the familiar license plate on the Chevrolet, Harry narrowed his eyes as he walked to his laptop on the coffee table before switching it on.

Genevieve was asleep for a long time. When she woke up, she stretched her arms and felt a dull ache on her wrist as she moved.

Cooper had been working in the waiting room. Upon hearing movement, he quickly figured that Genevieve had woken up and immediately head to the bedside. "Genev, how are you feeling? Are you feeling any pain anywhere? Any discomfort? Do you want me to call the doctor?"

Genevieve shook her head in response and pushed herself up into a sitting position.

She accepted the cup of warm water from Cooper. After sipping on the water, she finally felt much better. Feeling a little confused, she asked, "Why am I in the hospital?"

Cooper did not answer. He merely took out the food from the thermal lunch box and placed it on the table silently.

"Where's Lucian and Mandy?" As Genevieve spoke, she caught sight of the bandage on her left wrist. Opening up the bandage, she saw a huge scar. The wound had almost healed.

All of a sudden, she remembered everything.

Chapter 957

Genevieve felt as though she was about to suffocate. Her heart squeezed as she stared at the scar on her wrist. Within seconds, tears began streaming down her face.

Tracing her cheeks, the tears trickled off her chin and fell onto her wrist.

Cooper was afraid that her healing wound would be infected. He quickly pulled her arm away, disinfect her wound, and bandaged her wrist once again.

Wiping the tears away from Genevieve's face with his fingers, he scolded her amidst the heartache. "When you were committing suicide, did Lucian cross your mind? You still have a child. What will happen to Lucian if you die?"

"Mandy's gone..." A lump formed in Genevieve's throat. "I didn't take good care of her. I'm not fit to be a mother..."

She had willingly made a deal with Harry to kill Charice so that Amanda would live. However, now that she had blood on her hands, Amanda had still passed away.

"Mandy died because of high fever and bleeding in her lungs. Her death has nothing to do with you," Cooper comforted her. "Lucian still has no idea about Mandy's death. Genev, you need to pull through. Lucian has lost her sister, and he's still young. What will he do if he loses you too?"

Despite his mature and calm attitude, Lucian was only five years old.

He still needed his mother.

However, whenever she remembered Amanda's breathless body and ice-cold skin, she felt as though knives had pierced her heart. Genevieve collapsed into Cooper's embrace and sobbed mournfully. Cooper's heart clenched. He opened his mouth to say something, but in the end, he merely pursed his lips in silence.

After her tears dried up, Genevieve felt a little better. Cooper handed her a towel to clean her face before feeding her some warm vegetable stew spoonful by spoonful.

Once she was done eating, Genevieve tried to get out of bed. "I'll go back to see Lucian."

"Lucian is in Johanna's house. He's doing fine." Cooper pushed her back onto the bed. "You're not feeling well right now. The wound on your wrist has not healed yet either. I think it's best if you go tomorrow." Genevieve touched her face gently. She imagined she must look exhausted and might even frighten Lucian by her appearance if she were to see him like that.

In the end, she resigned and lay back down in bed.

Cooper did not go anywhere. Instead, he remained in the ward with Genevieve.

Only after Genevieve had fallen asleep did he leave to buy some fruits from the hospital supermarket. Before he left, he asked the nurses to keep an eye on Genevieve.

When he reached the elevator, he pushed the button and took out his phone to check for any messages. That was when he saw a message from Sally saying that she would be going over around seven at night because there was something she needed to do.

Aware that Genevieve was emotionally unstable at the moment, Cooper had decided to stay at the hospital overnight to accompany her. He sent a quick text to Sally, letting her know that she did not need to visit that night.

Ever since the incident, the Carlo family had not tried to harm him. It was as though they had vanished without a trace.

Ding! Just as Cooper sent the message, the elevator door opened. Cooper intuitively figured out something was amiss. He snapped his head up to see three men standing inside the elevator.

One of the men had a gun pointed directly at Cooper's head. His finger was resting on the trigger. He only needed to make one small movement, and it would be the end for Cooper. The other two men walked out and grabbed Cooper, forcing him inside the elevator.

Genevieve was once again trapped in a nightmare. She dreamt of Armand's emotionless eyes as he berated her for daring to kill his biological mother. The scene then quickly changed to a child on a bed. Amanda was coughing loudly as blood spilled from her mouth onto the pillow. Tears streamed down her face as she looked at and begged Genevieve to save her from her discomfort.

It wasn't until the sudden ringing of a phone that Genevieve jolted awake from her nightmare.

She sat up slowly and looked around. The ringing was coming from the table. A black phone was placed on the table, and at that moment, the phone was ringing from an incoming call. Genevieve did not see Cooper and assumed that it was his phone. After a brief moment of hesitation, she picked up the phone.

However, the moment she answered the call, the caller did not utter a word. Instead, they hung up almost immediately.

A frown formed on Genevieve's forehead as she stared at the phone. Soon, the same number sent a photo. Genevieve clicked on the notification and saw Cooper being forced into a car by a few men dressed in black.

As she looked at the photo, she received another photo within twenty seconds. Cooper had been taken by the men to Goodwill Cemetry.

The number sent another text yet again: Someone wants to kill Cooper.

Chapter 958

Genevieve paled. She quickly put on a pair of shoes and rushed out of the ward. From Cooper's phone, she found Sally's contact and dialed the number.

To her dismay, no one picked up the phone.

Meanwhile, Cooper had his hands tied behind his back and was abducted to Goodwill Cemetry by the men.

Even though it was only four in the afternoon, the sky was dark and gloomy. From the looks of it, it was about to rain.

The overcast sky loomed over the empty cemetery.

As he walked up the steps, Cooper noticed a few people standing in front of a grave from afar.

All of them were also dressed in black as they stood in two lines side by side with their hands behind their backs.

A man stood silently in the middle. His eyes were lowered and focused on the gravestone. The man was tall. Even though he did not move, he exuded an overwhelming aura, causing others to be instinctively terrified of him.

As he approached the men, Cooper suddenly remembered whose grave that was. Yet, he had no clue as to whom those men dressed in black suits were.

The people who had tried to kill him the other time were also dressed in black suits.

Are they members of the Carlo family?

When Cooper arrived in front of them, he could feel the full extent of the man's imposing aura, as well as the man's murderous intent. A chill ran down Cooper's spine.

A bodyguard walked over and whispered to the man.

Unlike Genevieve, Cooper was not fluent in so many foreign languages. He could not understand what the bodyguard was telling the man, but he could see the man turning slowly to look at him.

The man had well-sculpted features with dark eyebrows. He looked like a handsome Chanaean. However, he had a pair of rare purple eyes.

There were wrinkles on the edge of his eyes, indicating that he was no longer young.

The man narrowed his purple eyes as he looked at Cooper. In a deep yet cool voice, he said, "Were Wayne Rachford and Mia Quinn your adoptive parents?" The man spoke in clear, concise Chanaean.

Cooper blinked, dumbfounded. He did not expect the man to be a friend of Wayne and Mia. "Yes."

"Were you the one who killed them?" the man asked again.

"Yes." Cooper guessed that the man had already investigated their deaths. Thus, he did not bother to lie.

Cooper scanned the man in front of him. All of a sudden, he remembered where he had seen the man.

Two days ago, Sally had shown him a photo. Even though the photo only showed his side profile, Cooper was certain that he was the man in the photo.

The man standing in front of him was the previous head of the Carlo family-Arcus Carlo, otherwise known as Silas Juksford in Chanaean.

Silas' expression darkened. The murderous intent behind his eyes increased. As he raised his hand, the bodyguard next to him immediately took out his gun, cocked it, and handed it to him. After taking the gun, Silas walked behind Cooper and shot the latter in both his legs.

The sharp pain of bones breaking almost caused Cooper to faint. With a muffled moan, Cooper fell in front of the grave knees first.

"How dare you?" Silas pointed the gun at Cooper's forehead and pulled the trigger.

"Don't shoot!" Suddenly, someone shouted from afar in a panicked tone.

Silas turned around to see Genevieve, still dressed in a hospital gown, sprinting toward them. At the sight of Genevieve, the man froze. The murderous intent in his purple eyes seemed to be diminishing. Seeing that the man had his finger on the trigger, Genevieve quickly stood in front of Cooper.

"Genev? Aren't you asleep in the hospital?" Cooper's expression shifted when he saw Genevieve. "How did you find me?"

"I received a text from your phone saying someone wants to kill you..."

Only after Genevieve lowered her head did she notice that Cooper had been shot in his legs and was bleeding profusely. She quickly took off her jacket and wrapped it around his legs.

Silas stopped her. His voice was no longer as cold as it was a moment ago. "You're Genevieve Rachford?"

Genevieve had no choice but to turn and look at the man. When she saw his pair of purple eyes, she recalled seeing the man in her mother's locked photo album.

Even after several decades, the man did not look much different. The only change was the new wrinkles at the corner of his eyes.

Genevieve stared at the man blankly. "What's your relationship with my mom?"

"Looks like you know me." Afraid that he would startle her, Silas suppressed his anger. His eyes no longer looked merciless. "Your mom and I used to be together." Silas let go of Genevieve and stretched out his hand to touch her face. "You look a lot like your mom. You're both so beautiful.”

Genevieve immediately took a few steps back to dodge the man's touch.