Anthony's POV:
Once Jennifer fell asleep, I still couldn't get over the feeling of uneasiness, so I got up from the bed.
Not wanting to disturb her sleep, I walked out of the bedroom as quietly as I could and went to the
monitoring room.
As soon as I entered the room, I saw my attendants watching the surveillance videos as per my
instructions.
"Have you found anything?" I asked them.
"Mr.Jones, we've been checking the surveillance videos from the time period before and after
Mrs.Jones was attacked, but we haven't found anything suspicious yet," the head attendant _ replied
respectfully.
I nodded.
"I'll watch the videos together with you.We'll get the work done faster."
"Yes, Mr.Jones."
The attendant led me to a screen and opened up a surveillance video for me.
"Please watch this one."
Motioning for the attendant to leave me be, I focused on the video playing in front of me.
The cameras were on 24/7, recording every moment of every day.
Needless to say, it was a monotonously tedious task to watch the surveillance videos, but in order not
to miss even the slightest clue, we had to watch everything from beginning to end without taking our
eyes off of it.
As long as we could find a clue to catch Larry, all this effort would be worth it.
Calming myself down, I watched the video, playing it at double the speed since there was nothing of
significance happening.
Time passed by.
All of a sudden, something caught my eye.
A strange figure appeared on the screen.
It was a man who kept looking around.
His movements were strange and dodgy.
Judging from his clothes, he wasn't a palace guard.
And most importantly, his physique looked highly similar to Larry's.
"Come and take a look at this," I said to my attendants, pausing the video.
"Do any of you recognize this man? Is he one of the guards?"
"No, Mr.Jones.We've never seen him before," the head attendant replied solemnly.
With a nod, I rewound the video a few seconds and played it, watching that particular section of the
mysterious man's appearance over and over again.
After a while, I asked, "Can you zoom in and make the video clearer so that we can see his face?"
A technician immediately ran over and bowed.
"Of course, Mr.Jones."
He leaned over the computer, fed the video into a software, and worked on it.
After a few moments, the mysterious man's face was displayed clearly on the screen, with every pixel
of his face finally decipherable.
There was no doubt that it was none other than Larry.
"Get the footage from the surveillance cameras near this one!" I ordered my attendants.
Soon, they found the surveillance videos that I asked for.
We all carefully watched the screen as Larry wandered around the garden for a while before seemingly
disappearing into thin air.
He must have used some magic spell.
I rewound the video again and paused it right before the moment Larry disappeared.
For some reason, an ominous feeling rose in my heart.
What if Larry was still hiding inside the royal palace? If so, he might secretly attack us at any time.
It was a threat that we couldn't afford.
After thinking for a while, I turned to the attendants and ordered, "Dispatch a few of the royal guards to
guard the palace.Strengthen the defense around the perimeters, and also increase the protection
around Jennifer and my mother.Arrange the guards to work in two shifts.Don't give the enemy any
chance to make trouble."
"Yes, Mr.Jones," the head attendant replied immediately.
It was only after the deployment of the forces in the royal palace that I was able to breathe a sigh of
relief.
Quelling the uneasiness in my heart, I walked out of the monitoring room.
I wanted to go back to Jennifer as soon as possible.
Although I knew that the guards were dutiful and trustworthy, I wouldn't be able to put my heart to rest
until I could assure Jennifer's safety with my own eyes.
When I returned to our bedroom, I found that she was still sleeping soundly.
Watching her peaceful face as she slept, my breathing gradually calmed down, and I was finally able to
relax.
Lying down next to my dear wife, I closed my eyes.
‘'Good night, Jennifer.’'
The next day, I awoke early in the morning.
I intended to hold a meeting with the elders so that I could inform them about the hidden danger in the
royal palace, as well as to discuss the arrangement of the coronation ceremony.
Jennifer was still sleeping, and I didn't want to wake her up, so I just leaned over and planted a kiss on
her forehead.
She was pregnant, so she needed to rest as much as possible.
Jennifer's POV:
I woke up to find the other side of the bed empty.
It seemed that Anthony had already left.
"Where is Anthony?" I asked the maid.
"Good morning, Miss Smith.Mr.Jones went to have a meeting with the elders.He told us not to wake
you up so that you could get more rest."
Hearing that, my heart fluttered at how thoughtful Anthony was.I nodded at the maid, deciding to go
and talk to Anthony after breakfast to see if there was any progress in the investigation regarding Larry.
After freshening up, I changed into a simple and elegant dress, and had breakfast.
When I was about to go out, however, the maid suddenly stopped me.
"Miss Smith, this parcel just arrived for you."
With a smile, the maid brought me a well-sealed cardboard box.I raised my eyebrows in surprise as I
eyed the parcel.
What could it be? I hadn't bought anything recently.
As I thought the possibilities, I smiled.
It was probably a gift from one of my friends.
Maybe they just wanted to give me a surprise.
Was it from Helen or Skylar? I was excited to see what the gift was, as well as who it was from, since
there was no name or label on the box.
I asked the maid to bring me a pair of scissors, which I used to personally unseal the parcel.
This box was more tightly packed than usual, so it took me some time to cut through all the tape.
When I finally opened the cardboard box, I couldn't help but gasp at the beautiful, delicate gift box
sitting inside it.
The smile on my face widened as I lifted the gift box and weighed it in my hands.
Wrapped with an exquisite ribbon, the gift box was somewhat heavy, making it hard for me to guess
what was inside.
"What could it be?" I murmured to myself excitedly.
"Maybe it's chocolate from Skylar.Argh!"
As soon as I opened the gift box, I dropped it back onto the table in fear.
Inside the gift box sat a glass bottle, in which there was the corpse of a fetus.
An involuntary scream tore out of my mouth, and my whole body shook as I stepped back, trying to put
as much distance as possible between myself and that cruel monstrosity.
Even the scissors slipped out of my trembling hand and clattered across the floor.
"Miss Smith, what's wrong?"
Seeing me in a panic, the maid hurried over and held my shoulders to support me.
With my hand over my chest, I tried to take a few deep breaths to calm myself down, but it was almost
impossible.
I clenched my fist tightly, digging my nails into my sweaty palm.
Shaking my head numbly, I stammered, "There's something wrong with that parcel."
As I spoke, I plucked up the courage to approach the box again.
Upon taking a closer look, I found a small note in the gift box.I picked it up to read the tiny scribbled
words on it.
On the piece of paper was a single sentence that sent a chill down my spine.
"I curse Jennifer's child to die in her belly!"
"No!"
I roared, throwing the note away and covering my belly with my hands, afraid that the terrible curse
would come true this instant.
"Honey, what's wrong?"
I heard Anthony's flustered voice come from behind me.
My mind was still reeling from the shock as I turned around and saw Anthony striding towards me in a
hurry.
He said anxiously, "The meeting just ended.What happened?"
I couldn't bear it anymore.
Not daring to look at the terrifying parcel again, I flung myself into Anthony's arms.
"Anthony! Someone sent me a dead baby!"
I pointed at the parcel on the table with my trembling hand.
"Jennifer, it's okay.I'm here.Don't be afraid,"
Anthony said soothingly, looking into my eyes.
Then, he patted me on the shoulder and strode over to check the parcel.
After a few moments, he turned around and said, "Jennifer, this isn't a real baby.It's just a doll."
As he spoke, he picked up the note on the floor and looked at it.
"I sent it.It must be from Larry!"
"That bastard! How dare he threaten me?" I said through gritted teeth, clenching my fists.
"Damn it! Anthony, what if he hurts our baby?"
"Don't be afraid, honey.I already asked the royal guards to strengthen the security around the palace
perimeters.As long as you're here, you're safe.Larry chose to send us a parcel to threaten us, which
means that he's not able to do anything else,"
Anthony pointed out, holding me in his arms to comfort me.
No doubt, his words made sense.
I nodded and took a few deep breaths, which finally helped me calm down.
Leaning against his chest, I said, "You're right, Anthony.However, I still couldn't shake of the red hot
fury I felt.'”
Larry, you bastard! I will never allow you to hurt my child! No matter what, I would protect the baby in
my belly.
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