By the river, the night breeze was a little cool and the waves were getting higher.
Elaine stood on the harbor, hijacked by Caesar.
Her eyes were red and her voice was hoarse from crying, "Uncle ..."
Caesar lowered his voice and said, "Elaine, I won't hurt you. If they let me go, you can go back safely."
Elaine choked, "But you weren't like this before... Will you come back? Grandpa and Dad won't blame
you. You have to stop being so obsessed."
Caesar was a bit of a wreck, but the smile on his face was relaxed, "Elaine, you're still young. When
you get older, you'll know that no one in the James family can stand me, including you. Have you ever
hated me?"
Elaine said, "That's because you caused Sherry to lose her baby and I ..."
"Right? What's happened has happened, and it can never be changed. I'm not obsessed. They're the
ones who have pushed me step by step to where I am now. Don't I want to get on with my life? But who
has given me a chance? Did your grandfather give me one? Or did your father give me one? And
Sherry, will she ever forgive me?"
Elaine opened her mouth but didn't know what to say.
As darkness fell, the lights along the harbor were lit up one by one and illuminated the whole river.
Darnell stood a short distance away with one hand in his trouser pocket and looked indifferent.
Caesar shouted at him, "I don't have time to waste with you here. How long before the boat arrives?"
Darnell glanced at his watch, "Two minutes."
Caesar laughed, "I'm surprised you're teaming up with them. Seems like I've made quite a scene."
Darnell looked at him and said in an unemotional tone, "Don't flatter yourself. You and I both know
who's behind you now that you've come back to Riverside City to stir up troubles."
"But so what if you know? In fact, I'm quite curious as to why you've managed to keep your composure
when Clarence doesn't deal with him. You think you can atone for Bancroft's wrongdoings by this?"
"It's none of your business."
Caesar laughed loudly, "I'm afraid you can't spare the energy right now. Since the death of Bancroft,
the James family has been in chaos. Those who opposed you died, but the forces behind them are still
there. You can't uproot them overnight. And you dare not push them too hard because you're afraid
they'll work with City N, and then the James family will be completely out of your control."
Darnell was silent, and after a long time, his lips curled up, as if in silent mockery.
The smile on Caesar's face slowly froze as he finally understood what was going on, "You have
foreseen the death of those elders a long time ago, right?"
Just as he finished, Caesar suddenly realized why his men could have killed those elders so easily.
How did Darnell eradicate those men in just two days after he returned to Riverside City so quietly?
So that was how it was ...
He thought he could pin the blame on Darnell, but he didn't expect that he was the one being used. To
murder those people with a borrowed knife; he turned out to be the knife.
At that moment, the boat Caesar wanted pulled up behind him.
The man on the boat came down and walked straight up to Darnell.
Darnell looked at Caesar and his voice was cold, "Let her go."
Caesar withdrew his gaze and spoke in a voice that only he and Elaine could hear before pushing her
forward. Then he quickly jumped into the boat and left.
Elaine lunged forward a few steps before being caught.
But before she had time to stand firm, there was a sudden bang in the distance.
The next second, the ship was going up in flames!
Elaine was startled by the blast and involuntarily clutched the man's shirt.
Darnell placed his hand on her back and patted her gently. He looked up at the river still burning in the
distance and frowned.
Soon, one of the men came over and said, "Master, it's..."
Darnell gave him a look, then he immediately understood and didn’t say a word.
It was a long time before Elaine emerged from his arms and stared blankly into the distance, "Is that
the boat Uncle Caesar was on?"
Darnell nodded indifferently.
Elaine stiffened and turned to look at him. Her moist eyes filled with shock and fear as she spoke
incredulously, "You killed him?"
Darnell turned, "If you think so, then yes."
Elaine tried to say something else but found her vision blurring. Eventually, she passed out from
exhaustion.
Darnell took two steps and stopped again after hearing the noise behind him.
His men said, "Master, Lady Elaine just fainted from the shock. Don't worry ..."
Darnell said, "Where did this boat set sail from?"
"From the James family's cargo port. I checked and the boat is fine."
Darnell looked at the river, and his thin lips parted slightly, "Search for him. Whether he's dead or alive,
I want to see his body."
"Yes."
Darnell walked over to Elaine and picked her up.
...
When Stella and Clarence returned, Noah had just finished his bath and was crawling around the
house as if he had an endless supply of energy.
Dolores said, "Why are you guys back so late? Was there something wrong at the funeral?"
Clarence said, "It's a long story."
Dolores spoke immediately, "Then don't say anything. I'm glad you're safe."
Stella went to pick up Noah, "Ms. Anderson, we'll go to our room then."
Dolores nodded, "Go on, get an early night. it's almost time for Noah to go to bed too."
"Ms. Anderson, good night."
Back in the room, Stella put Noah to sleep while she said to Clarence, "You go ahead and take a bath.
I'll go when he's asleep."
Clarence came over and wrapped his arms around her from behind, then rested his chin in the crook of
her neck, "When he's asleep, we'll go to the bath together."
Stella was speechless. Fine.
But they didn't know if Noah was having a good time or what, he kept his big round eyes open and
looked here and there, not wanting to go to sleep at all.
Stella yawned a few times, but he still waved his little hand and giggled.
Clarence reached out and pinched his cheeks, "You just like to go against me, don't you?"
Noah swatted his hand away and crawled into Stella's arms, "Mummy, hug."
Stella picked him up and said to Clarence, "Come on, don't tease him. He can't sleep when you're
here."
"Is it because of me?"
"How come it's not? You two are staring at each other. You go away, and he will sleep after playing on
his own for a while."
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