Flora had merely caught a cold from the rain, and collapsed due to fatigue from wandering the woods for nearly an hour.
A little rest, and there was nothing to worry about.
Upon the doctor's reassessment, confirming her health had resumed its normal pace, Matthew arranged her transport home.
As for him, he had been on a plane since the crack of dawn, traveling to some far-flung land, with a promise to return and clarify the recent happenings.
"Take care of your health while I'm away, wait for me..." Flora kept reading and re-reading Matthew's last messages sent before his departure.
A subtle upward curve played on her lips involuntarily.
Her mood was so buoyant that the very air around her seemed to have a sweet flavor to it.
Just then, the doorbell resounded incessantly.
She straightened, peering through the peephole.
A young girl stood outside, her hair short, in a dress that looked like a school uniform, blinking at the door.
Beside her stood a pink suitcase, covered with cartoon stickers...
Sydney city, New South Wales state, Australia.
Matthew twirled a pen in his hand, waiting for the pre-arranged call.
His underling stood silent by his side, offering no commentary.
This phone call, he had been waiting for almost half an hour.
Finally, the anticipated ringtone echoed in Matthew's ears.
The heavy tension dissipated, and his associate let out a sigh of relief.
"Andrey, you're thirty minutes late." His deep voice steadily relayed the simple truth.
"Don't be so stiff." Some background noise leaked from the other end: "I'm checking up on the baby."
Before Matthew could question further, Andrey interjected: "The situation is stable for now, but for full recovery, we're still hoping for a stem cell transplant from the umbilical cord.
The thing is... the hospital where the baby was born didn't store the umbilical cord.
You know the situation... so while the baby is still stable, you might want to consider having another child."
Transplants from blood relatives have a higher compatibility rate.
Ideally, full siblings.
"Is that so? I..." Matthew felt a headache coming on, and he suddenly remembered something: "Is there a way to check DNA during pregnancy?"
"Of course.
Amniocentesis, chorionic villus sampling, or analyzing the mother's blood... there are many ways." When it comes to his specialty, Andrey always responds swiftly.
Matthew's tone relaxed considerably: "Alright, I will send someone over to you in due time.
I want to determine the blood relation of the child in her womb." He turned to his subordinate standing next to him: "Arrange for Selena to secretly go there for a test, don't let her find out anything."
The pregnancy of Selena seemed too coincidental to him.
Of course, he might just be overthinking.
If it really was his child, then the chances of a successful stem cell transplant for Paul would increase.
If not... the Whites should be prepared for his wrath.
"Do you have another little angel?" Andrey teased: "Your child will surely be adorable."
Meanwhile, Flora was tiptoeing, looking through the peephole, contemplating whether to open the door.
After a minute of hesitation, she unlocked the door.
The door opened from the inside, and the short-haired girl squeezed through, not forgetting to pull along her sticker-covered suitcase.
"Hi pretty sister, you can just call me Emma.
From now on, I'll be living with you to take care of you." She bowed at a ninety-degree angle: "I'm looking forward to learning more."
Flora's eyes widened, taken aback.
In her brown eyes were two large question marks.
She had never hired a housemaid.
Moreover, she was currently living alone and was perfectly capable of taking care of herself.
Who on earth had sent this girl?
Seeming to discern the perplexity in Flora's gaze, a girl named Emma straightened up, reaching out affectionately to hold her hand: "You're Miss Flora, right? With such beauty, I'm sure I couldn't have mistaken you! It's Aunt Linh who sent me here, just consider me your helper."
Speaking these words, the girl blinked her eyes as if to affirm her readiness for any task, displaying an aura of compliance.
Her utterance left Flora even more stunned: "My mother sent you? She didn't tell me anything, moreover, why did she suddenly hire a housemaid..."
"I don't know." Emma replied nonchalantly: "All I know is that I'm here to work.
She told me to take care of you, so I'll be here to do so.
Goodness, it's almost noon, would you like me to clean or start cooking first?"
Emma's deep blue skirt swirled with every step she took.
She seemed to blend naturally into the environment, not even waiting for Flora's consent before heading straight to the kitchen to start her duties.
Emma was an approachable person and it didn't take long for her to gel with Flora.
After a day living together, Flora gradually adapted to having such an unusual housemaid.
The quiet night enveloped the city.
A gust of cold wind slid through the window, awakening the sleeper.
Flora shivered, sitting up and turning up the bedside lamp.
The soft orange light gently illuminated every corner of the room.
Rubbing her half-awake eyes, she looked towards the window.
Before sleeping, it was her habit to close the windows.
Yet now, the window panes were wide open, the pale gray curtains billowing in the wind, casting eerie shadows.
"Flora?" A cold, emotionless male voice echoed in the chilly night, causing Flora to freeze.
From out of nowhere, a tall man had materialized in her bedroom, right beside her bed.
The long scar on his face was even more menacing in the dimly lit room.
His rough hands firmly held a gun, its dark muzzle pointed directly at Flora's head.
Flora swallowed, her voice wavering: "Winky? We bear no grudges against each other, why would you... want to kill me?"
In reality, the moment Winky appeared, pointing a gun at her, she knew who he was here for.
This man lived for Selena, died for Selena, and would kill for the young lady.
"Do you know me?" The scar on Winky's face twitched: "If you do, then you should know that you have no chance of surviving."
Flora's eyes widened, staring directly at the gun in Winky's hand.
Her mind was blank, she could no longer think, let alone know what she should do.
She was just a regular person, utterly lacking the ability to deal with the gun in Winky's hand.
Winky slightly squinted his eyes, adjusting the aim of his gun.
At such close range, with his skill level, his target had virtually a hundred percent chance of being taken down.
The slim chance of survival rested on the possibility of someone coming to the rescue in time.
"Bang!"
Winky pulled the trigger.
Flora clenched her eyes shut, her heart seeming to stop as she braced for the approaching death.
However, after the gunshot rang out, she didn't feel the anticipated pain of a bullet penetrating her flesh.
She opened her eyes, the scene in front of her even more shocking.
"Miss, get out of here quickly! I'll deal with this assassin!" Emma yelled fervently.
The young girl stood in front of Flora, her eyes full of alertness as she watched the man who had just been forcefully kicked and was now clumsily getting up from the ground.
The handgun lay discarded within the close proximity of the three.
The kick was not weak.
Winky felt as if his internal organs had been turned inside out.
With a sidelong glance at the gun, he evaluated the possibility of escaping the grip of the female bodyguard, achieving his goal for the night.
Flora drew in a deep breath, swiftly slipping off the bed.
But she did not hasten away as Emma had suggested; instead, she took two or three steps, then stooped to retrieve the firearm from the floor.
Her hand trembled, sweaty palm slipping, but her movements were decisively firm.
Gun in hand, she aimed it straight at Winky's head.
Caught off guard, Winky had never expected to be bested by such an ostensibly helpless target.
As he stared down the cavernous barrel of the gun aimed directly at his head, he found it hard to fully accept this as reality.
Could a fragile woman like Flora truly muster the resolve to point a loaded weapon at another living being?
"Miss, pull the trigger! Don't give him a chance to retaliate!" Emma urgently pulled out her phone: "I'm calling the police... Rest assured, if you shoot now, it will be in self-defense. After all, this gun isn't yours."
Flora's indifferent gaze swept over Emma, causing her to unconsciously halt her call to the authorities.
"You, leave. Don't give me time to change my decision."
Both Winky and Emma were flabbergasted, staring wide-eyed at Flora.
She closed her eyes, repeating once more: "Winky, go!"
"Why?" Winky frowned.
The girl's action was beyond his comprehension.
Emma, standing by Flora's side, was equally bewildered by her decision: "Don't be soft-hearted with this kind of person. Miss, this is not the time to display compassion. He broke in here to kill you!" Emma hurriedly reminded.
But Flora disagreed. She shook her head softly.
"Winky, you don't really want to kill me, do you? Your actions today could only be for one person, Selena. Am I wrong?"
Winky's expression was the clearest affirmation.
He remained silent, but it was enough for Flora to understand.
She let out a long sigh: "You love Selena, don't you? Profoundly, ready to live or die for her, or... even commit crimes for her. Don't you see your own folly? You love her so much, sacrifice so much for her, yet she merely sees you as a breathing tool. The man she loves is Matthew."
Flora vividly recalled the look in Winky's eyes when he looked at Selena - an ardent admiration that could not be hidden. Winky was willing to be exploited by Selena, likely because of this affection.
Love infiltrated the marrow, suffocating the heart until it twisted into a pathetic infatuation. And the lover willingly offered their bleeding heart for the beloved to trample. What for?
Flora's light tone inadvertently touched the pain that Winky kept buried deep.
He glared at her with bullet-like eyes.
"That's my business, it's not your place to interfere!" Winky understood everything Flora had just said. Her words had stripped his wound bare and exposed it to the sun.
"I don't want to interfere in your business." Flora declared firmly: "I just... gave you a word of caution. You're intelligent, you probably predicted this. If Matthew discovers your existence, he and Selena will end. How will she look at you then?"
There was only one outcome.
Selena would undoubtedly despise him.
So in love with Matthew, she would employ every means to become Mrs. Charles.
How could she forgive someone who ruins her plans?
Flora cast the gun from her grasp onto the ground, declaring: "This belongs to you, I return it to you.
If you still intend to take my life, as you can see, I'm merely a vulnerable girl.
With your capabilities, you can easily end my life at any time."
She willingly relinquished her absolute advantage, prompting Winky to regard her with a completely different eye.