"Thank you for dropping me home." Keith smiled at Ian before getting out of the Vehicle and carrying Yingying inside the Manor.
He already knew that they were all waiting for him, but as soon as he stepped inside and saw the ladies rushing toward him, he sighed in his heart.
"Hey!" He brightly smiled at Qingyue, who worriedly latched onto his arm.
"Are you okay?" She tearfully asked.
"I am fine." He assured her and then smiled at Celine, Amelia, May, and Viola. "She needs to rest." He pointed at the girl in his arms and informed them before they could ask anything.
Amelia nodded to him without saying anything and followed him towards the section where their rooms were situated.
Everyone waited inside the Multipurpose Room whilst he and Viola entered Yingying's room to put her to bed.
"Help her change into something light. She will not wake up for another 8 to 10 hours." He informed Viola, the ever-so-attentive maid, who obediently nodded her head.
"Yes, Young Master!" She bowed to him before walking over to Yingying's cupboard and getting to work.
Keith did not stay long and left the room after planting a kiss on Yingying's forehead.
He closed the door behind him and then before he could say or ask for something, his cute little maid stepped forward and offered him a glass of water.
<Thank you!> He said to her before taking the glass and quenching his thirst. <One more, please.> He handed it back to her and asked for another one.
Minami cutely rushed towards the table where the pitcher was placed and got back to him as fast as she could without spilling the contents of the glass.
<Thank you!> He emptied the glass and handed it back to her before leaning in and kissing her on her forehead, which completely flustered the little girl and made her blush furiously.
He happily laughed as he watched her run away, but then sighed again in his heart when he turned to look at the ladies who were staring at him.
"I am fine!" He said again, and frankly, he had even lost count of how many times he had already said these words tonight.
"Little Keith, why did you go to Delvon when you knew that things were not stable?" Celine reproachfully asked. "I thought you were wiser than making such a grave error of judgement."
She had never before spoken to him so angrily, and despite all his composure, he could not help but crack into chuckles.
"Did I say something funny?" The grey-eyed woman narrowed her eyes at him.
"No, but you look quite adorable when you are mad, Aunt Celine." He commented and then walked over to her before lightly hugging her. "My apologies for making you worry about me."
Celine sighed in his arms and her body relaxed a lot.
"Just don't do such a reckless thing again." She requested him.
"Okay." He nodded to her and then let go of her. "Where's Mother?" He looked at May and asked.
"Lady Venessa is busy, Young Master." The old woman informed him, and Keith nodded to her, understanding the underlying meaning behind her words.
"Please call Sebastian and ask him to see me in my study in twenty minutes." He instructed her, and May nodded to him before leaving the room.
"You are not going to have dinner?" Qingyue frowned and asked.
"No. I am not hungry." He shook his head before looking Amelia in the eyes.
It was a strange phenomenon that they could understand each other just by looking into each other's eyes, and Amelia nodded to him before excusing herself away from the room. She was going to wait for him in his study.
Keith spent the next twenty minutes chatting with the pair of mother and daughter, giving them brief accounts of what happened last night and tonight.
Celine was really anxious when Keith confirmed that it was the Falkens behind tonight's attack on him. She was well aware of the enmity between the two families, and she advised him again and again to take every precaution possible for his safety.
After asking Viola to lead both of them to their room, he excused himself stating that he had a lot of things to attend to tonight.
Qingyue wanted to come with him, but Celine understandably stopped her daughter and led her away to their room.
"Young Master!"
When he arrived in the study, Sebastian, who was waiting for him, immediately bowed and greeted him.
Amelia was silently sitting in his chair at the table, going through something on a tablet, and she paid no attention to the two of them as they started discussing the important events.
"Anthony Falken is missing."
Keith frowned when Sebs informed him about what happened in the last few hours.
"Since when?"
"He went missing in the afternoon, but the news came out only an hour ago."
"I see..." He narrowed his eyes and nodded. "Has Ryou contacted you?"
"Yes. I provided him with all the information that he required and arranged for the supplies that he asked for." His right-hand man nodded to him. "Also, a few key members of our Consortium have been targeted and killed around the same time that you were targeted, Young Master." He handed Keith his cellphone to let him check the details.
These things were making no sense to Keith until he saw the names of the people who had been killed, and felt a chill run up his spine.
Each person on the list was a mole that had been planted in the Business by their enemies, and all the moles planted by Falkens had been killed off tonight. He understood who was behind everything and sighed in his heart.
His mother was playing a big game, and she had trapped the Falkens from all angles possible.
When the results of the investigation would come out, the authorities would undoubtedly target the Falkens, and even the blame for killing the key members of the Demiliore Consortium would fall on them.
Yes, his mother's decision meant that their business would suffer a little, but this loss was well-worth the profit they would enjoy after some time. And their biggest gain was the loss of trust in people's hearts toward the Falken Family.
He smiled inwardly when he thought of all the chaos the Falkens were going to be plunged into the next morning. He did not doubt that Ryou would succeed in completing his tasks. After all, the enemy did not even know where they were going to get hit.
"Where's Christian?" Keith curiously asked.
"He showed up at his Family Office in the evening, but then the Forces of Falken Family escorted him back home after the news of Anthony being missing came out," Sebastian replied to him. "His Father is currently visiting the Grayson Family."
"Oh..." He narrowed his eyes but did not think too much about it.
For the head of the Falken Family to visit the Grayson Manor at this hour meant only one thing. He was worried about what was coming their way, and he wanted to do some damage control in advance.
The phone in his hand suddenly vibrated and Keith handed it back to Sebastian, who excused himself away and attended the call.
Sebastian returned a minute later, and there was a light smile on his lips.
"Don Francis is dead. His own men turned on him and he was murdered in cold blood. Police have found his body dumped at the Graveyard where he had buried his son last evening, along with several other bodies, presumably of those who were loyal to him." He grinned as he informed Keith about the news that he had just received.
"I see. Take every measure possible. And keep an eye on all key members of our Business..." Keith did not show any delight or surprise at the news and started instructing Sebs about what he had to do next.
"Good Night, Young Master." The tall young man bowed to him before leaving to make arrangements for everything that Keith had tasked him with.
"Hey!" He called out to his beautiful wife as he wrapped his arms around her from behind the chair and planted a kiss on her head.
"Grandma has promised me that she will make the Falkens pay." She smiled and informed him as she put away the tablet and leaned back in the chair some more.
"Is that so?" He chuckled.
"Yes." She nodded. "You really scared her tonight."
"And you were not scared?" He curiously asked.
"I wanted to be there with you, yes. But I was not really worried." She truthfully said. "Besides, I know that you would not harm yourself. After all, you don't want Mother to get mad at you, do you?"
"True." He nodded his head.
"Keith."
"Yes?"
"What does it feel like to take someone's life?"
Her question surprised him a little, but he was not too shocked since he knew that she was genuinely curious about it.
"I don't know about others, but strangely, It does not bother me." He truthfully said. "Actually, I don't feel anything about it."
"How many lives have you taken?"
"By my hands? Two." He told her.
"I see." She nodded to him and then lost herself in her thoughts.
"Why? Do you plan on killing someone?" He playfully asked.
"I might." She lightly said.
Her answer made him curious and he quizzically raised his brow at her.
"When you were attacked, I was not worried. But for the first time in my life, I felt this rage boiling up in my heart that I wanted to kill those who wanted to harm you." She did not feel any embarrassment as she revealed the truth to him. "And I still have this urge to take Christian's life."
"Is that so?" He could not help but delightfully laugh at her words. "I would rather have you not stain your hands in the blood of such filth. He's too insignificant for you to even hold hatred against him."
Amelia simply nodded to his words without saying anything and then they both turned to look at the door that was suddenly knocked on and then opened up as a beautiful lady walked inside the study.
"Mother!" He brightly smiled as he allowed himself to be caged into her protective arms.
Venessa did not say anything and just kept hugging him for a good few minutes, keeping her face buried in his chest.
And Keith stayed silent too. There was not really any need for words between them as they both could feel their hearts resonating in a familiar rhythm.
"I will accompany you tomorrow to the Grayson Manor." She said as she separated from him and pulled him down to plant a kiss on his forehead.
"Okay." He nodded to her words and then looked her in the eyes. "Anthony Falken is missing." He lightly said.
"They tried to take my child away from me. And I will take their child away from them." She indifferently said, not really caring about the fact that they were not alone.
"So, he's alive."
"For now, yes." His mother simply said and then pulled them both by their hands. "Come. I have prepared dinner for you."
