Mia Grant had disappeared.
Yates Donovan’s n tore the entire building apart but couldn’t find her.
It was as if she had vanished into thin air.
Yates Donovan didn’t believe it. ’It’s not like she could have turned into a butterfly and flown away.’
He had watched her go into the restroom with his own eyes and had been standing guard right outside the door ever since. How could she possibly be gone?
The hospital was Hayes Hughes’s territory, so they couldn’t access the surveillance footage.
Yates Donovan ordered his n to pull all the surveillance footage from the areas surrounding the hospital.
Even deep into the night, Yates Donovan still hadn’t found a single useful clue...
"Are you sure this is all the footage?"
Yates Donovan stared at the clips on the laptop, looking expressionlessly at his subordinate.
Cold sweat dripped down the man’s back as he nodded repeatedly. "This is all of it—the footage from every business across the street from both hospital entrances."
"There’s also footage from the main road, which we managed to pull on the sly. We really couldn’t find any sign of Miss Grant."
"We think that either Miss Grant is still inside the hospital at this very mont, which is practically impossible. Or..."
Yates Donovan’s eyes narrowed. He smiled as he shut the laptop. "So, you’re trying to tell she just vanished into thin air?"
"..." The subordinate lowered his head.
For so reason, Yates Donovan suddenly felt a surge of irritation.
The feeling was so intense it left him unable to sit still.
He rubbed the back of his neck, his gaze sweeping over the odds and ends on the desk as he searched for a quick release.
Suddenly, his gaze froze. After a few seconds, he glanced sideways at the n across from him and asked:
"Who pulled the footage from the main road?"
"I did," a man stood up.
"It was that easy?"
"Ye-yes. I called them, ntioned your na, and they agreed without hesitation. It didn’t take long for them to send the footage over."
Yates Donovan bead at him. "Is my na really that effective these days?"
"..."
「Early the next morning.」
Mia Grant woke up in a familiar room.
She rubbed her throbbing temples and pushed herself up from the bed.
The first rays of the morning sun pierced through the white, sheer bed canopy, landing on her soft hair.
"Nghh."
She looked around.
’Isn’t this... isn’t this Kian Keller’s house?’
’How did I get here?’
Mia Grant patted her forehead, trying hard to recall what happened yesterday.
She rembered going to a private hospital with Yates Donovan to visit Hayes Hughes.
When it was ti to leave, she’d said she needed to use the restroom. In reality, she was planning to make a run for it.
The second floor wasn’t that high; for her, the jump would be a piece of cake.
’It wasn’t my first ti, either.’
She landed smoothly and dusted off her hands. Just as she was trying to decide between the front and back entrance, she turned her head and was drugged unconscious.
’This all felt so familiar...’
The last ti, it was also at Hayes Hughes’s hospital, and they’d used the sa trick.
Mia Grant gasped. ’Kian Keller’s n are like ghosts, it’s impossible to guard against them.’
The dose seed to be stronger than last ti; she had slept straight through to the morning.
Climbing out of bed, she rummaged through the cabinets and eventually found her phone in a drawer.
’They didn’t take it away?’
But the battery seed to be dead, and there was no charger in the room.
’Oh well.’
’It’s not my first ti here, anyway.’
Hiding the phone under her pillow, Mia Grant slipped on a pair of slippers and headed downstairs as if she owned the place.
The bedroom door was unlocked, and she reached the ground floor without a hitch.
It was early, and the butler was directing the maids as they cleaned.
"Softer, now. Don’t disturb..."
The butler turned his head and his eyes t Mia’s. "Miss Grant?"
She walked down the spiral staircase, stopping a few steps from the ground floor. Leaning over the banister, she looked down. "Butler, where’s Kian Keller?"
It was strange. Kian Keller was usually up by this ti, but she had also woken up very early today, and the empty space beside her in the bed was cold, with no lingering warmth.
"Sir is in..." The butler caught himself. ’Wait, that’s not right.’ He looked at her. "Miss Grant, when did you arrive?"
"?" Mia Grant stared at him, then let out a dry, mirthless laugh. "Weren’t you the ones who ’invited’ here in the middle of the night?"
"..." The butler searched his mory. ’I have no recollection of that at all.’
"Is Kian Keller in the backyard?" He went there every morning to sit and soak up so sun.
’He probably commits so many sins that he needs to replenish his ’yang’ energy on a regular basis.’
"Sir is in his room."
"He’s not in there."
"He is in your bedroom."
Mia Grant froze.
She had woken up in Kian Keller’s bedroom today.
It wasn’t as if she’d never slept in his bed before, so she hadn’t thought anything was amiss.
She did, in fact, have her own separate bedroom in Kian Keller’s house.
Back when Kian Keller had rescued her and brought her to his ho, she had tearfully asked him if she could still co here if she ever had nowhere else to go.
He had casually said she could, but the very next day, he had a room prepared for her.
It was three tis larger than her room at the Grant family’s estate.
He had even stocked it with clothes and jewelry for her.
"Has my room always been here?"
"Yes," the butler nodded.
Mia Grant was lost in thought.
The last ti, when she’d coughed up blood and he carried her out of the basent, he had taken her straight to his bedroom.
She had assud her own room was long gone.
"Sir said that even if you two were to live together in the future, he would still keep your original room to give you plenty of personal space."
For a mont, Mia Grant didn’t know how to react.
At first, the words sounded quite touching. It was as if no matter how far she strayed, as long as she looked back, there would always be a ho for her with Kian Keller, a room that belonged only to her, always waiting for her return.
But on second thought, it was almost laughable.
’Kian Keller’s possessiveness was off the charts; there was no way he would ever let her leave.’
’Personal space... Heh. Once he imprisoned her here, the only places she’d be allowed to move between would be these two bedrooms.’
Mia Grant walked into the living room, sat down, and asked what was for breakfast.
’First ti’s a charm, second ti’s a habit. Even a prisoner has to eat, right?’
She’d been asleep since last evening and hadn’t eaten a thing.
The butler listed off several dishes. Mia wasn’t a picky eater, so she was reasonably satisfied.
In the dining room, Mia sat for a long ti without seeing Kian Keller. She couldn’t help but ask, "Is he not coming down to eat?"
The butler served her food. "Sir is still busy."
"Oh." ’Just as well,’ she thought. ’Seeing him right now might ruin my appetite.’
After breakfast, Mia Grant stretched lazily and walked toward the elevator. "Could you please send a charger to the bedroom? For fruit, I’d like cherries, not green grapes. I’m getting a little tired of them."
"Oh, and one more thing, please prepare a change of clothes for . I’m going to take a bath in a little while. No flower petals, thank you."
The butler called out to her hesitantly, "Miss Grant, don’t you have class today?"
At the elevator entrance, Mia turned her head at the sound of his voice. "What do you an?"
"What, am I not even allowed to eat a few of your household’s cherries now?"
"...No, no, that’s not it." The butler gave an awkward laugh and took a few steps forward. "I’ve seen your class schedule, and your day is packed. How about I have soone take you back to school in a bit?"
"?"
’Am I hearing things?’
As a realization dawned on her, Mia Grant’s eyes went blank. She pointed to herself. "Are you... kicking out?"
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