"Currently, the map is not in my possession..."
A cold, incisive glimmer sparkled in Ethelbert's eyes as he stared intently at Flora, as if threatening to pounce at her should she utter another displeasing word.
She sighed deeply: "I need time to recreate it.
How about this, I will have it delivered to you tomorrow.
It will save you from travelling back and forth too often, and also reduce the number of people visiting this place."
She still remembered her current status, as Ethelbert had accurately pointed out, as a recent prison escapee.
If she were to take a single step outside the door of this house and be discovered by the White family, she would wake up in a detention center the next morning.
"But..." she hesitated: "Could you do me another favor? For you, it would be a mere lift of your hand..." She didn't want to implore Ethelbert, but at the moment, he was the only one who could help her.
Flora's promise gave Ethelbert a fleeting sense of reassurance.
He was now quite amenable, motioning with his chin for her to continue.
"I want a photo of my father, either from the present or the past."
"That's a simple request." Ethelbert smirked: "Wait for it, I'll have someone bring it to you later.
I don't have his current photo, but I have many old ones in my photo album."
Pausing for a moment, he added: "You really care about him, don't you? Don't you resent him for abandoning you?" After all, what Edsel had done years ago was no different from Matthew's current situation, disappearing without a word from the women in his life.
"He is my father." Flora meant that she merely wanted to know what her father looked like, regardless of whether she harbored any resentment.
Ethelbert shrugged: "Suit yourself.
But, have you really not considered my side of things? Technically, I am your biological father's adopted son, we could be the perfect match... You with me, we would be even closer, wouldn't we?"
"Thanks for the consideration, but no." Flora was quite firm: "I have no interest in you." The only man who could stir her interest was the one who was now out of her sight - Matthew.
"Having been in the underworld for so many years, I have never heard of anyone who fell into the hands of Blood Falcon and managed to return.
Who knows, Matthew might already be a soulless corpse." He leaned in to whisper to Flora.
Blood Falcon was known for their ruthless and decisive operations.
Anyone who fell into their hands had almost zero chance of survival.
"Even if Matthew can't return, I have no intention of settling with you." Because, whether successful or failed, intact or crippled, alive or dead, she only loved one person.
Having finished discussing the necessary matters, Ethelbert decided to leave the house.
The longer he stayed in Matthew's subordinate's house, the more uncomfortable he felt.
Flora opened the door for him.
Unexpectedly, just as he had left, and the heavy door hadn't yet shut, a loud, harsh and familiar voice rang out not far away: "Flora, what are you doing here?"
Selena stared fiercely at Flora's beautiful face, her eyes ablaze.
In her mind, Flora should have been in a detention room by now.
"That's my business." Flora turned to go back inside and shut the door, but Selena on the other side quickly reached out to stop her.
Seeing her actions, Flora realized that she wouldn't be able to slip away easily today.
But she didn't want to, absolutely didn't want to, return to the detention room once more.
With each step, Selena closed the distance between them, her voice growing harsher: "When you were stealing other people's men, did you think of this day? You shameless, promiscuous, cheap woman..." The more she swore, the angrier she became, not caring that Flora's face was growing increasingly pale.
"How fares this day?" Flora's hand, which had been hidden behind the hem of her robe, emerged, holding a sharp knife: "Selena... Tell me... who should bear the consequences of this situation?"
An unarmed woman confronting another armed, it is apparent without a look that this is a futile fight akin to an egg vying against a stone.
The fact that Selena is pregnant, restricts her from making hasty movements.
The blade of the knife gleamed menacingly.
Selena shivered slightly, taking a step back, unable to restrain herself.
"The young mistress White is pregnant and yet bravely ventured here alone. That's indeed commendable.
However..." She gently blew on the knife: "Only the two of us are here.
If I 'deal' with you, the heaven knows, the earth knows, you know, I know, and no one else will.
No... maybe Matthew's men, who will see you being 'handled' by me, might help me cover my tracks, dispose of the evidence."
The corners of her mouth curled into a chilling smile: "Tell me... should I use this knife to mar your face or pierce it into your belly?" One threatens her beauty, the other threatens her child. Either choice was unbearable for Selena.
She knitted her brows tightly, eyes ablaze: "You dare!"
"I dare you to lay a finger on me! Flora, you should know your current position.
When the police arrive, I will make you taste the power of the law."
"Then... let's see when your police arrive." If she dared to break out of prison, what more could possibly scare Flora..
Selena's body shivered.
She had never imagined Flora, in her madness, could display such a terrifying aura.
She gritted her teeth, wide eyes fixed on the lily-white hand holding the rising knife.
"Selena, I never wanted to be at odds with you, but you persistently meddle with my life.
Since he disappeared, every minute, every second, I've been living in hell.
And yet you dare to harm my son!" The gleaming knife reflected the sunlight, blindingly bright, Flora growled: "Dare to touch my son, you should foresee the consequences!"
In this world, no one loves their children more than their mothers.
For Flora, her two children, no, counting the baby in her belly, three, are the crystallization of her love with Matthew and her life source.
Selena kidnapped her son, intending to harm him, was akin to severing her lifeline.
The knife's tip halted less than a centimeter from Selena's eyeball.
Flora smirked, her eyes devoid of any warmth: "Or should I scar your face, pull it from your forehead down your cheek... Just to match your bodyguard.
Winky, I remember the name correctly, right?"
"You..." Selena jerked her head up: "How do you know Winky?"
"Why wouldn't I know Winky? Or do you mean to say... that there's something between you two that you don't want others to know?" In fact, Flora had long known about their relationship: "I knew about the two of you way before Matthew did." Because she witnessed Winky meeting Selena, and the two of them had a significant dispute regarding the unborn child.
Selena's first reaction was disbelief.
She thought she was careful about everything, even deceiving Matthew.
How could it be...
But while she was lost in thought, Flora swiftly grabbed her arms, twisting them behind her back.
She then dragged Selena into a deserted alley.
When several loops of rope wound tightly around her body from chest to ankle, Selena came back to her senses.
She was tightly bound to a post, with no capacity to fight back.
"Selena, I'm not the despicable and vile woman you are, I won't harm the child in your womb.
Tied up here... you will fend for yourself."
Leaving behind a sentence, Flora spun around and walked away.
It wasn't that she harbored no resentment towards Selena.
Only the heavens knew how deeply she yearned to annihilate both her and the unborn child she carried.
But, considering her own three children, she couldn't bring herself to act.
She would leave Selena to meet her own destiny.
If indeed someone came to rescue Selena, then it was simply her fate.
This was the first time in her life that Young Mistress White had been so passive in her dealings with another woman.
After a brief moment of shock and terror, she writhed in her bonds, as if possessed, eager to break free.
But the more she struggled, the more she realized Flora had not held back.
The rope dug into her skin, the discomfort escalating with every futile movement.
She screamed aloud: "Flora! You heartless wench! Come back here! You won't die a peaceful death!" All the while cursing Flora in a shrill voice, she made desperate attempts to free herself from her bindings.
At that moment, a stabbing pain shot through her lower abdomen.
A warm fluid trickled down from between her legs, sliding down her thigh to pool on the ground.
With wide eyes, Selena looked down, horrified as the pool of fresh blood on the ground grew larger.
The pain in her lower abdomen worsened.
Damn, she had used too much force, completely forgetting the formed fetus she carried.
"Miss, are you alright?" Little Emma blinked, a look of concern as she watched the pale and fatigued woman sprawled on the sofa: "Do you need me to help you to your room?"
After that Ethelbert had left, Flora had disappeared for a while.
When she returned, she looked pale and weary, barely sprawled on the sofa, as if all her strength had left her.
Flora shook her head: "I'm fine..." It was the baby in her womb who was really at risk.
The unborn child seemed to be upset by her unusual mood, so it was continually stirring in her belly.
Finally, Selena's savior arrived.
But by the time they reached her, she had lost so much blood that her complexion had paled and her consciousness was in a haze.
On the ground, a small pool of blood had turned a dark red, almost black.
The dried blood on her legs was enough for anyone to guess what was happening.
The rescuer rushed her to the hospital and informed Daniel.
Upon receiving the news of his daughter's plight, Daniel hurried to the hospital.
To outsiders, it would seem that he was a loving father, worried for his daughter.
But what truly concerned him was the safety of the fetus his daughter carried.
In Daniel's eyes, Selena Young Mistress White was nothing more than a pawn.
But the child was different; it was the cord that tied Matthew - a powerful force that not everyone could draw.