“In…the herb hut in the backyard.” Austin pointed toward the backyard and added, "I'll take you there."Alexander was not in a hurry and asked, "What about the servants?""The servants are in their quarters. They've been told not to work until they’ve fully recovered. Everyone has to rest and isn’t allowed to go out." Austin did not know why he had so obediently answered Alexander's questions.Alexander nodded when he heard this. "Are those your granduncle's orders?""Yes," Austin quickly replied. Then confusion hit him. "How do you know?"Dominic was sick in bed, so one should assume Austin had been handling things around the house. Yet, somehow, Alexander immediately knew these were Dominic's orders."You're not that far-sighted," Alexander retorted with a smirk, which shocked Austin almost instantaneously.He was dissatisfied and about to defend himself when he thought about Alexander's validity. If it had not been for Dominic's orders before he passed out from high fever, Au
Galen's face was flushed as he lay there pitifully, no longer as agile as before. The sight of him angered Austin. In his moment of anger, he suddenly began slapping himself. "This is all my fault!"Alexander quickly stood up. "Don't be reckless. We don't even know what's going on yet. I'll go visit Dominic.""I'll accompany you!" Austin quickly responded. However, he immediately understood Alexander’s gaze toward Galen. "I'll stay and take care of the child.""Thank you." Alexander nodded, turned around, and walked toward the backyard.At this point, it did not matter whether or not Austin had close contact with the child. Besides, Austin showed no signs of sickness, so staying and caring for Galen was better.Alexander made a call as he walked toward the backyard. "Leave a few men here and call off the rest. Also, ensure those who leave stay home for three days and observe themselves if they have any symptoms.""Huh?" The assistant standing outside needed help understanding wha
A string of words came from Dominic's mouth, but Alexander could not determine what he was trying to say. "What did you say?"Another string of gargled words sounded. Alexander could see Dominic's mouth moving but could not hear what the older man was trying to say.Ultimately, Alexander, whose body was also wet from the splashed water, squatted beside the tub indifferently. "Old man, you…""You son of a b*tch!" Those five words were unambiguous. It was teeth-clenching clear. Although Dominic did not have much strength, his rebuke was still loud.It rendered Alexander speechless, but it was a good thing. It meant the older man's physical symptoms were not severe since he still had the strength to curse.Alexander checked the water and noticed it was warm. He looked at the equipment next to it, and it seemed no heating device was in this tub. However, the water continued to steam.It was strange as it had been a while since Austin greeted Alexander at the door until now. No matter
However, Dominic still looked meager and tired, and his voice sounded softer. It was dry and hoarse. Alexander would have missed it if not for his heightened hearing. He squatted beside the older man again and inched closer to him. “How’re you feeling?”Dominic shook his head feebly before opening his mouth and choppily muttered, "Don't…let…any…out."Although he was not speaking in complete sentences, Alexander still understood his meaning."Is it very contagious?"The older man nodded but did not answer."Will I be infected?" Alexander wondered if he could escape this calamity. After the last plague almost killed him, he did not think he would face another disaster. Despite this, none of it mattered now.If Galen had gotten infected, Alexander's fear was redundant. He must stay by his son's side to accompany and care for him."Not…sure." The older man took a deep breath before raising his arms with great effort. "Look!"Before he could lift his arm to put it out of the tub, it
Alexander's eyes widened. Something was moving in Dominic’s veins, wriggling as it moved along. It was not a hallucination, as something was squirming in the older man’s veins.The hairs on Alexander’s skin stood at the sight of this despite everything he had been through. "Old man, that’s…"If Dominic had not warned Alexander from touching him before this, he would have rushed forward to hold Dominic's arm."Symbiote!" Dominic slowly uttered the word and took another long breath. Then he glanced at his arm as if nothing was out of place and put it back into the water again. His arm plopped heavily into the water once again, making a splash. This time, Alexander was ready and leaned back."Three hours…later…get Austin…that bastard…help me up!" With that, Dominic fell silent again.Alexander, too, did not speak. He knew the older man must have exhausted all his strength at this moment. Although he seemed to have passed out, it was nothing severe.After taking a deep breath, Alexan
All of Austin’s initial attempts had failed, but he immediately succeeded when Mike gave him a plan. Then Mike made no more appearances after that.‘Why would he help if he didn’t have ulterior motives? Would he be so kind as to help Austin without hoping for anything in return?’ Alexander could not believe it.After pondering momentarily, he blurted, “Mike?”Austin was stunned. “You know him too?”A moment later, he added, “It was him! He was the one who saved me! He told me how to escape the place and what I should do along the way. I shouldn’t have trusted him! If I knew this would happen, I’d be better off in there!”Alexander felt conflicted upon hearing Austin’s words as he could not determine if Austin was telling the truth.‘Did Mike really do this on purpose? Based on my understanding of Mike, he would think otherwise. However, his son is captive now, and he did not mention doing anything for Nick. Mike might’ve done that under the organization’s immense pressure or thre
Galen was in stable condition. His fever had subdued, and there was nothing much different about the little boy.Alexander did not bring up the matter of the symbiote with Austin as he was still puzzled about it too. Moreover, Dominic might bring it up once he regained consciousness later, so Alexander was in no rush.He carried Galen back into the room and placed him on the bed. Then he removed Galen’s clothes before wrapping him up in a blanket. He lifted Galen’s sleeve subtly to check on his arms carefully. Then he also checked on Galen’s chest, back, and private parts. Finally, he breathed a sigh of relief.Fortunately, he saw nothing like what Dominic had on his arm anywhere on Galen. He hoped Dominic was a special case and that nothing would happen to Galen. Even so, Alexander still felt uncomfortable about it.Recently, he only had little time to spend with Galen. He had placed Galen here under Dominic’s care for his safety, but he did not expect accidents to happen here too
“I do!” Mike tightened his grip on his phone and tried hard to control his emotions.“My men found Nick’s last known location. He’s in Yudonia.”That surprised Mike. “Yudonia?” A moment of hesitation later, he denied that possibility quickly. “That’s impossible! My men have searched all over the world, including Yudonia. I have a lot of connections there too, and none of them had ever seen Nicky there.“If he were there, I would’ve known it instantly. Your news is wrong!”Mike was disappointed. He thought he could finally find his son this time, but he immediately knew Alexander had received false news.Then again, if it were that easy, Mike would have found Nick by now. He would not have to wait for so long.“Are you sure?” Alexander loosened his tie, helping himself to breathe better. He stared into the distance; the cloudy sky appeared endless to his eyes.Since Dominic’s manor was in the suburbs and on a vast land, Alexander could practically see everything from the balcony.