Squaring her shoulders in determination, Molly started walking toward the hospital. Finally, she reached
the hospital steps and struggled to get inside. Her feet felt swollen after a whole day of walking and her
body felt heavy with tiredness. She saw Eric the moment she stepped in the lobby. Lenny was pushing
him from behind.
Eric's eyes lit up at the sight of Molly. He had been scouring the hospital for her. He stepped forward
and inspected her from head to toe. A gleam of relief swept over his face when he was sure Molly was
fine. He had been worried about her. "Little Molly, where the hell have you been? Didn't I tell you to stay
put and wait for me so we can have dinner together?" he asked her with mocking anger.
Studying his face, Molly caught a trace of worry in his eyes and felt guilty. Eric was always the first on
the scene when she was feeling sad and helpless. His tenderness gave her a warm feeling inside. She
didn't want him to worry about her all the time.
"I was feeling bored so I just stepped outside for a while," she answered nonchalantly. Her eyes
flickered slightly, she hated telling a lie.
In a glimpse, Eric could see that Molly was lying. But he let it slide. "If you were bored, why didn't you
just come and find me? You know I enjoy your company. I was also a little bored after my exercise at
the gym. Next time, come to me so we can have fun together," he chided her.
Molly smiled lightly, shrugging her slender shoulders. The note was burning a hole in her pocket and
she wanted to forget about it even for a short while. "Well, I'm starving. So why don't we go and have
that dinner now, hmm?" she suggested to Eric.
Eric's lips lifted in a wry smile. He slowly nodded his head to show his agreement. Turning around, he
motioned Lenny to leave them alone. Taking Molly's hands, he led her to the hospital diner.
*
At the EMP Exchange Center, Brian sat broodingly in his office.
His eyes were fixed at the screen in front of him. He was reviewing the CCTV recording gathered from
Sharon's room. He didn't find anything suspicious in the video recording. There was no anomaly that
would point out that her death was an accident. Her passing seemed to be just a normal death from
illness.
His thoughts were interrupted by a sudden knock on the door.
Brian turned his face to the door. Tony entered. He gave a quick glance at Harrow who was leaning half
of his body over the bar counter. Walking directly towards Brian, he reported, "Mr. Brian Long, we found
out that it was Jenifer who kidnapped Daniel."
"Really?" Brian raised his eyebrows. He was not surprised at the information. "Where did she take
him?"
"He was taken to L City special force barracks," Tony informed him.
He wasn't expecting that Jenifer would take him there. Brian frowned thoughtfully. His lips thinned and
he said in a chilly voice, "Why, are we about to escalate to political struggles now?"
Tony frowned at the thought as well. He knew that XK Intelligence Agency would never participate in
any countries' disputes, unless there was really no other option. But it happened very rarely. Especially
concerning the military forces from those countries, they had been trying to avoid getting involved in
any kinds of conflicts as much as they could. Although XK Intelligence Agency was still foremost in
collecting information, if the fundamental interests of the agency were involved, they would never sell
out the information. They were also realistic in the sense that they knew they had no hope in winning
against a united attack from these countries.
There was a long silence as everyone drifted in his own thoughts. Harrow absentmindedly twirled his
lighter in his hand. His eyes were shifting to Brian from time to time. He scowled at the thought of the
tense situation Brian was facing. But most of all he was worried about was that without XK
Intelligence's assistance, it seemed to him that everything concerning Molly was like a whirlpool, a
whirlpool that sucking in whoever that got closer. 'What if Brian loses his direction and gets pulled down
and sucked by that swirl? Can he escape? Or will everything be destroyed along with him?'
Harrow mentally recoiled in fear at the trail as his thoughts had taken. Since Brian seemed to be so
much into Molly lately, his fears were not far off the mark. He stopped playing with his lighter and gazed
thoughtfully at Brian.
The silence in the room continued. No one in the room dared to speak when Brian was weighing the
situation in his mind. His eyes narrowed, his long slender forefinger and middle finger made a tapping
sound on the table. The rhythmic tapping sound echoed in the room adding to the tense and stressful
atmosphere. Suddenly the tapping stopped, Brian raised his head slowly and said in a cold voice, "I
want to know if Jenifer and Justin have come to an agreement."
"Yes, sir!" Tony replied readily and left the room in a hurry. He understood that time was of the essence.
It was a vital situation and one that meant so much to Brian.
Harrow regarded Brian in wonder. He felt ashamed to think that he doubted Brian's capabilities even for
a moment. What kind of person Brian is, he knew better than most. 'Even if someone obstructs him, he
will always keep his head no matter what. He is always him, a powerful, indestructible and inscrutable
being who would never lose his direction!'
Brian switched off the surveillance recording and the screen instantly changed to display stock market
trends. He rose slowly from his seat and put on his coat. Turning to Harrow, he said, "M Country stock
markets will open tomorrow, I want the company's stocks that Rory purchased hit limit down!" he said in
a resolute voice.
Harrow was shocked at his order but he just shrugged and said, "OK!"
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