The murder of his mother functioned as his most agonizing vulnerability.

Yet what Scarlett failed to comprehend was: "Why on earth must it be me?"

She pointed a finger toward herself, the confusion in her mind intense.

Even though they were currently legally bound by a marriage certificate, the entire arrangement functioned strictly as a facade!

Beatrice stepped back, releasing her grip on her arm as a radiant smile curled her lips: "Ordinarily, I would be the one to anchor him through this day; but today, I have come to offer my final farewell."

Sebastian emerged from the kitchen holding a freshly prepared fruit platter, stepping into the living room precisely as her words faded.

His expression remained completely unreadable as he rested the platter directly before Scarlett: "Eat."

Then he turned his head to lock his eyes onto Beatrice: "Where exactly are you traveling?"

Chapter 32

Beatrice leaned closer to pluck a piece of fruit, commenting casually: "A worthless scrap of paper cannot bind your freedom, so it naturally cannot restrict mine either."

Sebastian tracked her hand executing a rapid sweep over the platter, automatically swatting her fingers away, chiding: "I prepared this specifically for Scarlett; monitor your conduct..."

He speared a piece of fruit with a small fork, delivering it directly before Scarlett's lips as he spoke: "Have some fruit first; I will escort you over to the corporate building in a little while."

"Hmph, I have never been graced with this tier of hospitality inside this residence..." Beatrice set her fork down, muttering under her breath.

Sebastian failed to unleash a shred of irritation, merely asking: "Are you relocating to the Star Kingdom? To track down your former lover?"

A sudden calculation flashed through Beatrice's eyes, her hand executing a brief pause before she countered: "I have no such intentions; it brings far too much sorrow."

She laid her fork down completely, rising to face them as an absolute, liberated joy broke across her features:

"My legal fiancé has gone to the length of securing a marriage with another woman; my mind is completely shattered by the sorrow, so I intend to execute a full-scale voyage around the globe to master my emotions."

Staring at her relaxed smile and her completely liberated demeanor, Scarlett felt nothing but intense envy.

A voyage around the globe truly sounded magnificent.

Sebastian arched an elegant eyebrow: "You certainly know how to engineer a situation, dumping the absolute entirety of the blame squarely onto my shoulders."

The moment she executed her departure, the marriage alliance would naturally disintegrate into absolute nothingness, and with her location entirely unknown to her family, they would be incapable of forcing her into another arrangement.

Yet...

She was departing with an absolute, majestic freedom, leaving Sebastian entirely alone to manage the chaotic fallout of the household.

Beatrice swept up her sunglasses, offering a sly, knowing smile as she waved her hand and turned to depart: "I am taking my leave; there is no necessity to escort me out."

With her raven hair and striking crimson lips, her every movement exuded an enticing allure, yet her conduct carried an absolute, majestic liberation that irresistibly pulled at one's senses.

"Do you truly intend to let her depart without offering an escort?" Scarlett asked Sebastian.

He tracked the heavy click of the front doors sealing shut, shaking his head quietly: "She possesses more than enough capability to secure her own well-being."

Sebastian shifted his gaze to look at Scarlett, gently sliding the fork out of her hand as he spoke: "Let's head over to the corporate building."

While he buried himself in executive duties, she simply curled up on the sofa to browse through his books.

Yet the texts inside his private office were exceptionally dense and unvarnished, written in a highly academic register; she hadn't parsed more than a few pages before her consciousness fractured, falling into a deep sleep.

Sebastian, however, rose to his feet and headed toward the kitchen, his movements smooth as he prepared to exit.

The light automatically softened, pairing with his exceptionally delicate actions as if he were deeply terrified of disrupting her rest.

Right after the man finalized the blanket, his personal phone resting nearby suddenly emitted a sharp, digital ding.

An active notification banner flashed brightly across the screen, exposing the text with absolute clarity:

【I happen to be the primary client who commissioned the contract on Sebastian. The assassination remains active; you are free to dictate the bounty.】

By the time Scarlett regained consciousness, the afternoon was already drawing to a close.

The primary illumination throughout the office had been completely shut off, and the massive French windows were halfway sealed by heavy curtains, leaving only a sliver of natural light to pierce the dark.

Sebastian was utilizing that exact sliver of natural light coupled with the soft illumination of his desk lamp to process a thick stack of corporate documents.

The light isolated a small, precise square around his desk, leaving the rest of the sprawling office completely swallowed by the dark shadows.

She stared at the scene in a brief stun: "Why on earth haven't you switched on the lights?"

Sebastian turned his eyes to look over: "You're awake."

The moment the words left his mouth, he pressed a digital remote, and the massive curtains automatically glided open as the primary office lights clicked on.

She understood the reality in an instant; he had maintained the dark solely because she was resting.

The text she had been browsing had already been resting on the desk. She reached out to unlock her phone.

The second her screen activated, an incoming message alert flashed before her eyes.

"Heh..." Scarlett tracked the exact sequence of characters, letting out a quiet chuckle before looking up at Sebastian, teasing: "Your life truly appears to be exceptionally popular in the underworld."

Sebastian arched an elegant eyebrow, "What exactly is your implication?"

She marched directly up to his desk, thrusting her screen before his face to expose the notification.

"The billionaire tycoon who initially hired the Syndicate to eliminate you has already perished, and the organization itself has been completely eradicated; yet this individual went to such immense lengths to establish a channel to reach me, determined to take your life at all costs."

Sebastian tracked the characters, his gaze turning unfathomably deep as he asked quietly: "You chose to expose this communication to me directly without offering a beat of hesitation; do you harbor absolutely no professional concerns?"

Scarlett dismissed the query with a casual wave of her hand, her tone entirely unbothered: "We function as friends, do we not?"

Sebastian's eyes turned exceptionally clear, a distinct light glinting within their depths.

"Merely because we function as friends... I had harbored the assumption that you..."

Chapter 33

His words trailed off into ambiguity, as though there were still unuttered sentiments harboring in his mind, yet he chose not to elaborate further.

She paid absolutely no heed to his hesitation, a fresh strategy sparking in her mind as she questioned Sebastian: "Do you care to unravel the absolute identity of the puppet master pull the strings behind this communication?"

Sebastian's movements paused briefly, a sharp amusement glinting in his eyes as he tracked her expression.

"Your implication being?"

Scarlett arched an elegant eyebrow, opening the active communication to deploy a concise reply:

【We will execute a face-to-face meeting to map out the specifics.】

…

The Café.

Scarlett sat concealed inside a quiet corner, clad in a black jacket, loose grey trousers, and a deep blue baseball cap pulled low over her features.

This was the exact location specified by the client who had revived the contract on Sebastian.

Sebastian had seamlessly aligned with her strategy, choosing to utilize this communication as a net to trap the ultimate mastermind behind his assassination.

She kept her headphones securely over her ears, her fingers casually typing across her laptop screen to project the illusion of a university student buried in her coursework.

Yet she was fully aware that the headphones emitted absolutely no music; her auditory channel was entirely tuned to Sebastian's low register:

"Three minutes remaining."

The remaining time before the designated meeting was precisely three minutes.

She typed a fresh line across her screen, angling the hidden camera resting against her chest directly toward the interface: 【Entirely unnecessary.】

The second they had secured the client's confirmation to meet, Sebastian had immediately equipped her with an absolute suite of tactical surveillance gear, even positioning the active assets of the Crescent to secure the entire parameter of the café.

Scarlett had initially assumed the strategy was simply a standard ambush to apprehend the target.

Yet Sebastian had countered firmly: "Securing your absolute well-being functions as the primary directive."

A profound warmth bloomed within her chest, but she still felt obligated to argue: "It is entirely unnecessary. I have processed active contracts entirely unaided for a considerable time; I harbor absolutely no necessity for backup."

Sebastian had pinned her with an ironclad gaze, halting her argument: "The Syndicate operates entirely without logistical support; the Crescent functions under an entirely different methodology."