Chapter 1453 Xanthus’s Disappearance
After Raeleigh had fallen asleep, Jepherson glanced at Santiago. He was lying on the bed soundlessly, eyes closed but still awake.
Jepherson returned to the bed and lay down beside Raeleigh. He looked at Santiago and muttered, “I’ve already promised Colston that I won’t make things difficult for him. In the meantime, focus on helping Jacky and build up your reputation as fast as possible. We can wait, but Deanna can’t.”
Santiago asked, his eyes still closed, “To what extent?”
Jepherson hesitated for a moment and said, “Start with the entrance. Someone has to watch over the several strongholds in Capital City; we must control the voices of the citizens in the capital.”
“Mm.”
Santiago narrowed his eyes and asked, “Why did Grandma suddenly become so open-minded?”
“Grandpa has assumed responsibility for everything that happened that time. Since he does not wish for us to speak to Grandma about this, I believe he has his way of dealing with her.”
Jepherson was well aware Raeleigh’s abduction was all but simple.
“So, what are you going to do?” Santiago looked up at his brother, and Jepherson immediately replied, “I don’t know yet, but I believe the truth will come out one day.”
“Says Captain Obvious. Anyway, I’m tired; she has been nagging at me the whole day. She’s relentless. Heed my words, never offend a woman.”
Santiago kicked the blanket and pulled it over his chest with his free hand. Then, he closed his eyes and went to sleep.
…
Raeleigh woke up in Jepherson’s arms. When she tried to move, he opened his eyes and made space for her. Then, she turned around to look at him.
Raeleigh smoothed her hair and sat up on the bed. Seeing it was already dark outside, she went to prepare dinner.
Jepherson and Santiago remained asleep until dinner was ready. They got up when Raeleigh was serving dinner.
Jepherson ate on his own, whereas Santiago waited for Raeleigh to feed him.
Later, Jacky arrived. Santiago invited him to join them for dinner, but he refused, saying he had already eaten and only sat for a while.
After dinner, Jepherson stood up and said, “I’ll get going. I have something to attend to.”
“Put a jacket on.”
Raeleigh reminded Jepherson as she sent him off. The two of them walked along the corridor for a while before Jepherson entered the elevator. “What are you doing every night? Why do you always go out at this hour?” Raeleigh asked.
“It’s men’s business.”
Then the door of the elevator closed, and he left.
Raeleigh stood in the corridor for a while before returning to the ward. When she saw Santiago and Jacky chatting, she decided to sit outside instead.
In the end, she dozed off.
When Raeleigh finally woke up, she saw Santiago sitting outside and asked in surprise, “Why are you here?”
“Why can’t I be here?” Santiago’s face was full of amusement as he shrugged. “We’re in a hospital, and I’m a patient. Why wouldn’t I be here?”
Raeleigh was rendered speechless for a while, still groggy from her sleep. She patted her head and looked at Santiago. “Hungry?”
“Dude, I just ate two hours ago.” Santiago chuckled. Raeleigh leaned against the wall and squinted her eyes at him, feeling refreshed now.
“Let’s go back.” She stood up, about to go back. Then, something struck her, and she turned to Santiago. “Where’s Xanthus?”
Santiago was equally surprised, only remembering about Xanthus then. He took out his phone and called Xanthus, but it went straight to voicemail.
He looked at Raeleigh and asked, “He turned off his phone.”
“It’s Stella.”
Raeleigh could only think of Stella. In her opinion, Stella was the only person who would do this.
“We don’t know that. What happened last time ended hastily. She will definitely not leave things just like that.”
Santiago got up and made a call to Jepherson, informing him of Xanthus’s disappearance. Then, he called Jacky to come over.
Raeleigh replied anxiously, “Could it be that he went home?”
Santiago looked at her. “Do you really think so?”
Raeleigh thought it didn’t make sense either. If Xanthus had gone home, why wouldn’t he answer the phone?
“I’ll go and find him,” Raeleigh said. But Santiago shouted at her suddenly, “Stop.”
She stopped and turned around, only to see Santiago’s gloomy face.
“Who said you could leave?”
Raeleigh came back to her senses upon being yelled at by Santiago. She calmed down and frowned.
Santiago strode to her and said, “Even if something did happen, you still have us.”
Raeleigh pursed her lips. “If it’s really Stella, I will never let her off the hook.”
“Not bad, you at least have this in you. Consider your life wasted if you don’t even have this mindset. Call Jepherson and ask if he has any news.”
“This is his mess, don’t let him walk around so leisurely.”
Raeleigh didn’t want to follow Santiago’s advice, but she thought he was right to call Jepherson.
She pulled out her phone and called Jepherson. When the call went through, she immediately said, “It’s about my brother.”
“I’m already at the hospital’s entrance. Come out.”
Her body froze for a moment before she asked, “You know where Xanthus is?”
“Yes.”
She turned to look at Santiago with hesitation but still put the phone away in the end and said, “What about you?”
“Just go.” Santiago flashed her a reassuring smile and said, “After what happened last time, nobody in Capital City would dare to touch me.”
Raeleigh thought for a moment, then said, “I’ll be back soon.”
Santiago watched as Raeleigh headed for the elevator and entered, then looked down at his arm before returning to his ward. He walked a few steps before stopping and raising his head, a frown forming on his face.
“Who are you?”
Santiago was about to turn around when the man said, “Your killer. You wouldn’t want to turn around.”
“Why would I listen to you?”
Santiago turned around only to find a dead man lying on the ground, his body twitching. He looked around him, and a few men appeared in no time. They immediately said to Santiago, “Mr. Santiago, Mr. Jepherson told us to protect you.”
“You killed him?” Santiago was somewhat taken aback, baffled at the fact that there was someone who could kill in a matter of seconds.
“It wasn’t us; he was already on the ground when we came. It isn’t you?”
“Does it look like it?” Santiago glared at the man who spoke, then walked over and kicked the dead man’s head, trying to see his face.
He looked ordinary. Santiago turned to look elsewhere. After wiping his shoes, he returned to his ward, ordering one of the men to lock down the entire building as he walked.
He wanted to see if he could find the person who killed the man.
After coming out of the hospital, Raeleigh quickly got into the car only to see Jepherson putting his phone down.
“Who was that?” Raeleigh asked. Jepherson glanced at the hospital and said, “A bodyguard.”
“Is it… ”
“Yes.”
Jepherson stopped Raeleigh before she could finish her words. Some things were better left unsaid.
Of course, she knew what was going on.
As the car drove off, she asked immediately, “What in the world is going on?”
“You’ll know when you get there.”
Jepherson held her hand, his eyes glued to the road, driving at full speed until they arrived at Stella’s place.© NôvelDrama.Org - All rights reserved.
Stella’s subordinate came out of the house and stood at the door to welcome Raeleigh and Jepherson. They greeted them politely and invited them in.