Chapter 717
"Mom, we're fine."
"Mom, we got everything."
Todd and Keith looked up at Haley with their big, innocent eyes, acting all sweet.
Haley's heart, which had been pounding, finally calmed down. She felt safe.
She took each kid by the hand and led them inside.
Karl changed his shoes at the door and sniffed the air. "Wow, it smells amazing. Is this food from Country H? Looks delicious."
While Keith and Todd were meeting Leonardo, Haley cooked a table full of tasty dishes.
Four kids and three adults sat down to eat.
Karl couldn't stop praising, "Your cooking is incredible. No wonder your kids are so smart; it must be because of the food!"
"Your mouth is full, yet you still can't shut up," Thomas said, smirking. Karl looked almost thirty but acted so unreliable.
Halfway through the meal, Karl rubbed his chin. "Why do you think Leonardo wears a mask?"
Owen blinked his big eyes. "Lots of heroes on TV wear masks, like Superman, Zorro, and ninjas!"
"Now that you mention it, I feel bad calling Leonardo ugly," Karl said dryly. "Maybe his face got messed up in that assassination attempt on August. He's probably really scarred, so he hides it."
Suddenly, Todd remembered Keith's odd behavior earlier.
He turned to Keith. "Keith, did you notice anything?"
Keith bit his lip, holding back a crazy thought.
If he said Leonardo's voice sounded like Ivan's, would it give Haley and Todd false hope?
The bigger the hope, the bigger the letdown.
"I think Leonardo isn't as ruthless as they say," Keith said. "He gave us the list without any fuss."
Thomas pulled over the computer. "Let's see what kind of list he gave us."
After hooking up the hard drive, a folder popped up. It was an internal military document, a list of people who joined the military in the past month.
Haley pursed her lips. "Everyone, look through the names carefully. Pick out any that sound similar or have similar meanings."
They split the work, each taking over a hundred names.
In less than twenty minutes, they were done.
There were fewer than ten names that sounded like Ivan, and none matched the age.
This meant Ivan wasn't in the Black Gang's military camp.
Everyone's faces turned serious.
If they couldn't find him among the regular folks in Hinterlands or in the military, did that mean Ivan was already dead?
As soon as the thought hit, Haley pushed it down hard.
She believed Ivan couldn't be dead.
Even if it was just for her and the kids, he'd try to stay alive!
Haley felt a lump in her throat, tears welling up. She quickly turned her head, wiping her eyes and forcing the tears back.
Suddenly, there was a heavy knock on the villa's door.
Haley quickly stood and walked to the door, seeing two guards in green military uniforms outside. Her face turned cold.
She turned back and whispered, "Thomas, take the kids upstairs."
Thomas pressed his lips together. "You and the kids go upstairs and hide. I'll handle this."
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