Chapter 269 Threats Loom Again
The assassin organization protected their clients in tiers.
Opting for just any service could end up with the customer's information being sold off to other parties. But the Blind Serpent sat at the apex of the food chain. They provided top-notch protection, earning the trust of high-profile clients who only dared to place their orders with them.
Thus, to crack the layers of encryption while avoiding detection by Blind Serpent before identifying the contractor's identity posed a tremendous challenge.
Three days post-explosion, although Darwin still hadn't woken up, he'd at least survived the worst of it. Thanks to limitless funds, his external injuries had healed rapidly.
After a comprehensive assessment, he was finally moved out of the ICU.
Another day passed, and Fiona discreetly transferred Darwin to her own hospital.
Anniston had been relentlessly seeking updates about Darwin's condition. However, beyond the knowledge that he was alive, she couldn't pry out a single detail. It was only when she noticed the collective departure of Darwin and the Rhoads family's bodyguards from the hospital that Anniston put two and two together—Darwin had been moved.
Fury surged within Anniston. Though she had been marginalized and suppressed these past years, her years of accumulated media connections were still valuable. On more than one occasion, her lawyers had suggested she host a press conference to bring her plight to the public—one of a heartbroken mother—while subtly undermining the enigmatic image of Miss Chelsea Rhoads.
Each time, through gritted teeth, Anniston refused. It wasn't that she didn't want to. It was the fear that if she stirred up the media frenzy, Chelsea might, in defiance, reveal Darwin's true parentage. With all eyes on her at that moment, the potential humiliation was unbearable.
This blackmail, this sense of being so utterly constrained, tormented Anniston to the point of insomnia. Her mental state was deteriorating.
But there was a silver lining. Lilian's medical report had come in. After meticulously reviewing it, Anniston looked up at Lilian, who sat across from her, and said, "You're in perfect health."
Lilian cast her eyes down. Yes, she herself... was healthy and whole. Her womb and everything else were all in fine condition.
"As soon as the embryo is ready, I'll let you know," Anniston said, her own gaze lowered as she sipped her bitter coffee that tasted like cough syrup.
"Okay." Lilian replied, as obedient as ever.
As she left, the sun shone brightly outside. Lilian got into her car, started it up, and drove off. A short way down the road, she could no longer suppress her excitement about the impending child, and she burst into manic laughter.
She drove all the way home to a modest, stand-alone villa—a token of gratitude from Darwin for her help with the Solomons when Fiona had first passed away and Darwin was seriously ill.
She parked the car and was about to head upstairs when a figure rushed toward her, grasping her arm. Startled, Lilian's instinct was to shake free.
"Lilian, it's me—your mother!"
Lilian frowned, now seeing the person clearly. Her mother's hair had turned whiter since their last meeting; her eyes were swollen as if she'd been crying extensively, and her cheeks sagged from thinness. Her lips were devoid of color, and her frame was hunched.
This was starkly different from the sharp-tongued, spiteful woman Lilian remembered, who so often directed harsh words her way.
"Let go," Lilian said, her voice dripping with disgust.
"Lilian, I'm at my wit's end here. Your brother has disappeared; it's been days since he's come home! And his phone just goes straight to voicemail! He's your only sibling, please, as capable as you are, I'm sure you can find him!" Mrs. White was on the brink of tears.
Lilian looked at her mother, her mind flashing back to the cryptic message Blind Snake sent in the wee hours after the explosion. Her worthless brother, lying in a pool of blood like a dead dog.
"He just extorted millions from me. He claimed he needed it for a trip with his girlfriend and a shopping spree... Wouldn't surprise me if he's living it up overseas," Lilian coldly detached herself from her mother's grasp.
Mrs. White clearly had no clue about his latest escapade. She squirmed, "Your brother is still young, a bit reckless maybe..."
"At 26?" Lilian sneered.
Unable to meet her daughter's gaze, Mrs. White's lips quivered, "Lilian, your brother left me with nothing, and I... I need to go for chemotherapy tomorrow..."
As Lilian stared at the woman before her, she was catapulted back to her teenage years, groveling for money to buy paint in front of her mother. What did she get for it? Impatient rejections. A couple of pleas were met with slaps and accusations of being a financial burden.
The next day, Mrs. White splurged on a pair of Dior co-branded sneakers for her son—sneakers that cost an exorbitant premium. Meanwhile, the money Lilian needed for paint wasn't even close to the cost of those shoes.
"If you can't afford it, don't get treatment," Lilian scoffed, her voice sharp with sarcasm. "That scared of dying?"
A visible shock rippled through Mrs. White, her hands trembling.
"How could you be so heartless? I am your mother who brought you into this world!"
"Oh," Lilian shrugged nonchalantly, "then sue me. Whatever the court decides I owe you, I'll pay."
Standing her ground, Mrs. White had lost the sharp edges of her youth. Confronted with a daughter who had grown powerful beyond her, fear dominated her emotions.
"I only need a few thousand, I'll pay you back when your brother returns..." She pleaded with diminished pride.
Lilian's patience for conversation had run out. She sidestepped her mother, intending to leave.
But after a few steps, it seemed despair had finally conquered Mrs. White completely . She clutched the hem of her clothes tightly.
"Aren't you worried I might turn to the media for help?" She called out desperately.
Lilian paused. She had been in high spirits; after all, she and Darwin were expecting.
She turned around to face her mother, whose flushed, sickly appearance only accentuated her frailty.
"I was wrong," Lilian drawled, laden with heavy irony.
Yes, profoundly mistaken. How could she have let the sickness and age of this woman erase the memories of her inherent pettiness? The same woman who bore Thomas, that piece of trash. Blind Snake should have been instructed to eliminate her as well.
What an... insufferable nuisance!
Mrs. White watched Lilian as a pang of guilt twisted in her heart. She knew she hadn't always treated Lilian right.
But... she needed to survive.
What would happen to Thomas after she was gone? He was still young, unmarried, and without children...
"I only need half a million – just to get treatment. After that, I promise you'll never see me again," Mrs. White steeled herself. Penniless and with no idea when Thomas might return, she felt desperate.
Lilian frightened her, and she loathed having to show up for chemotherapy sessions after chemotherapy sessions, which made her beg for money like a pauper.
"All I have on hand is ten grand," Lilian replied coldly. "Take it. Once I gather the rest, I'll deposit it directly into your account."
Mrs. White hesitated, eyeing Lilian warily. "You're not going to cheat me, are you? You'll actually send it?"
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