Chapter 14: His Intention

The moment Alexander heard Alicia’s response, he exhaled in relief. He turned to the mother-and-daughter pair and fixed them with a cold glare. Beatrice and Winnie shrank back, avoiding his gaze.

It didn’t stop him from lecturing them. “Beatrice, it seems you have too much time on your hands. You should get back to overseeing your businesses instead of making Clinton do your work.”

Beatrice’s face drained of color. Alexander shifted his attention to his daughter and sneered. “You just resumed at the company today. Your weekly report will be on my desk this weekend. If you don’t perform, the next time you resume, it’ll be as an ordinary staff member.”

Winnie’s nerves frayed, but Alexander didn’t care. He turned to Alicia. “Keep working hard, my dear.”

Then he left the dining table. Winnie and Beatrice shot Alicia a cold look, but Alicia only grinned and walked away with a smile.

“Mom, I really hate her,” Winnie hissed, her expression hard and menacing. “Seeing her smile makes me want to tear her apart. I hate her so much.”

“I don’t like her either,” Beatrice grumbled. “We should check on those thugs at the company. What the hell are they doing?”

“I’m calling someone,” Winnie said, snatching up her phone. She stood and stalked off. After a moment, Beatrice left as well.

In her room, Alicia shut the door and pulled out a briefcase. She fiddled with it for a few minutes, then retrieved a bulky, single-button phone. The screen lit up, and a deep voice crackled from the speaker. “Legion Leader, three, two, one.”

Alicia frowned. “Tell them to back off. I don’t need any security.”

“Legion Leader, we can’t compromise your safety right now,” the voice argued. “We’re under attack by the Hulk regions. They’ve sent death squads to target—”

“Tell them to back off,” Alicia repeated. “I can secure myself.”

“Four, five, one,” the voice intoned, then cut out.

Alicia slipped the modified phone back into the briefcase, hid it, and lay down. She had just closed her eyes when her door creaked open.

A silhouette slipped into the dark room and eased the door shut. Alicia’s expression shifted when she caught him pulling up a mask. She already knew what he was here to do.

She moved first. Flipping out of bed, she landed lightly on her toes, close to the intruder. He froze, startled, then lunged—but Alicia was faster. In a single motion, she immobilized him, grabbed his clothes, dragged him across the room, and hurled him through the window.

She returned to bed and slept.

At dawn, her door burst open. Beatrice and Winnie charged into the room.

Alicia’s sleep was cut short. Annoyance hardened her features as she glanced at the wall clock—5 a.m.—then at the mother and daughter rifling through her room. She sat up, arms folded, and watched them coldly.

When their search turned up nothing, Beatrice faced her with a condescending tilt of her chin. “Where is he? The man who sneaked into your room last night?”

“You seem well-informed,” Alicia replied evenly. “Did you send a man to my room?”

Winnie and Beatrice faltered. Regaining her voice, Winnie snapped, “Don’t talk nonsense. A servant saw a man sneaking in. We came to check.”

Alicia rose from the bed. “I’m going out. Feel free to search all you want.”

She left without another word. Winnie and Beatrice exchanged a baffled look, then tore the room apart again, finding no one.

“I thought you sent Isaac to her room,” Beatrice demanded, exasperation creeping in.

“I actually sent him to Cathy’s room…” Winnie frowned, her brows knitting. “If he used the gas, Alicia should still be asleep. I don’t know what’s going on, Mom.”

Beatrice considered this, then said, “Let’s go find Isaac.”

They had barely stepped into the hallway when the chief butler appeared, face grave. “Madam, Young Miss, I think you need to see this.”

Beatrice and Winnie traded a look. “Lead the way,” Beatrice ordered.

He brought them to a courtyard where several servants had gathered. Their faces drained when they saw Isaac lying on the ground. Beatrice recovered first.

“Everyone, leave,” she commanded.

The servants scattered. Beatrice turned to the chief butler. “No one speaks of this. And my husband must not hear of it.”

The butler hesitated. “Ma—”

“I’m not negotiating,” she cut in, voice cold. “This is an order. If my husband finds out, you’ll regret ever working in this mansion.”

With that, Beatrice and Winnie returned inside. During breakfast, they watched Alicia closely and exhaled in relief when she ate in silence and said nothing about Isaac.

“Dad, I’ll head to the company,” Alicia told Alexander before stepping out. Andy’s car was already waiting. She got in. Though Andy knew what had happened, he said nothing. The driver pulled away from the mansion.

Andy offered her a cup. “Tea-milk. You always asked for it when I visited while you were still locked up.”

Alicia didn’t take it. She understood his intention. “I don’t feel like drinking it anymore.”

Andy’s eyes narrowed, then he smiled.