It was dawn of the following morning when Patrick came back home. His face was ghastly pale, as
though he had aged ten years over the span of one night. His shirt was also creased all over. He
dragged his tired body to the living room and sank into the sofa. Elissa and Ritchie had been waiting for
him to come home. They exchanged glances. Ritchie went to the kitchen to fetch a glass of water for his
father.
“How’d it go, Dad?” he asked anxiously. Patrick ignored the water. He rubbed his temples and sighed
heavily.
“Ethan has found out about our secret force. We’ll have to sacrifice it for the sake of the bigger picture.”
Hearing this, Ritchie and Elissa looked at each other and all the color drained from their faces. The
Lester family’s “secret force” was cultivated by Patrick when they first came to Seacisco. It took care of
the nasty, under-the-table deals in the dark. It had been there for the Lester family for at least two
decades.
With a cold, stony expression, Patrick stood up and declared, “From now on, you two have little to no
power in the Lester family. You’d better behave yourselves from now on!”
After saying that, Patrick stormed out of the room and slammed the door. Elissa and Ritchie were
speechless. Elissa sat on the sofa wordlessly, looking dispirited. She was in deep trouble this time. In the
hospital in Barnes, Ethan had just gotten off the phone. His eyes landed on the TV, which was
broadcasting news about a gang being sieged by the police.
“It’s been really dangerous lately. This sort of thing has been happening every day. I heard that the
cinema collapsed because it was blown up by gangsters as well.”
Holding a basin of warm water, Janet strode in and fixed her eyes on the TV. Ethan pointed the remote at
the TV and turned it off. “There’ll always be bad guys,” he said lazily. What he didn’t tell Janet was that
he was the one behind the destruction of the Lester family’s secret force, which was a major blow to
Patrick.
The Lester family patriarch had failed to salvage what he had built over the last two decades. He was
weak now. A trace of imperceptible contempt flashed in Ethan’s eyes. But it was a pity that he was
cooped up in the hospital and couldn’t deal with the Lester family himself. His subordinates were doing
most of the work. If it were up to him, he’d have liked to see the desperate look on Patrick’s face.
Janet shrugged and proceeded to put the basin on the bedside table. She dipped a towel in it, wrung out
the excess water, and then strode over to Ethan to wipe his arms.
“The doctor said that you can leave the hospital in around two or three days.”
When Ethan turned to look at Janet in front of him, the gloom in his eyes instantly disappeared. He
asked dotingly, “What else did the doctor say?” Before Janet could reply, a voice came from the door.
“He said that you should exercise more instead of lying in bed all day long.” With a big grin on his face,
Garrett strode in.
“Janet, he’s lucky he has you here taking care of him.” He put bags of tonics on the table and looked
Ethan up and down inquisitively.
“Mr. Larson, it’s only been a few days but it seems you’ve gained weight.” Ethan glanced at him fiercely.
Back when he was in Seacisco, he had been missing Janet like crazy and had lost a lot of weight.
Garrett chuckled and shook his head. Suddenly, he looked out the door and shouted, “Are you planning
on standing there all day, Laney?”
Hearing this, Laney walked in and shot him a death glare. Then she smiled and handed a gift basket to
Janet. “I’ve brought some tonics for you. They’re good for your health.”
Suddenly, Janet felt as if she had returned to Seacisco, with all her dear friends around her.
She accepted the gift graciously. Ethan and Garrett proceeded to talk about work in the ward, whereas
Janet and Laney headed out to buy some food for lunch.
“So what’re you up to now?” Janet looked at Laney carefully. She found that her old bodyguard was
wearing light make-up and lipstick. Laney looked lovely.
“After everyone found out Ethan’s true identity, I didn’t have to be your bodyguard anymore. Since you
moved to Barnes, there was no reason for me to stay with the Larson Group. Garrett joke that if I
remained jobless, no man would want to date me. So he recommended me a job as a trainer,” Laney
explained.
The truth was that Garrett had specifically asked her to become the chief coach of Pole Shadow, a secret
force cultivated by Ethan himself. At least it was safer than being a bodyguard. Janet smiled and said
sincerely, “That’s good.”
The two fell silent for a while. Suddenly, Janet poked Laney’s arm and teased, “It seems that Garrett
cares about you a lot. I heard he’s been single for a while now. That’s not like him.”
“Single? I doubt it. He’s probably just gotten good at hiding it.” Laney shrugged indifferently. It seemed
Laney didn’t have any special feelings for Garrett. Janet then decided not to say anything more.
********
Before Ethan was discharged from the hospital, Beal and Johanna came to visit him several times. Their
attitude towards him had changed a lot. Every time they came, they looked genuinely concerned about
him.
After leaving the hospital, Ethan went straight back to Seacisco. He had been in Barnes for too long, and
work had piled up in the Larson Group.
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