Leonard’s hand stayed firmly on the doorknob. He studied Bill for a second or two before stepping aside. "Come in and talk."
Bill shook his head. "I won’t come in. I just wanted to drop by and break the news."
His gaze flicked over Leonard’s shoulder into the apartment, catching sight of Suzy walking over, before pulling his eyes back.
"Thank you for all the supplies you sent over this past stretch; they were a huge help. But we talked it over, and we can’t stay here any longer."
"Where are you heading?" Suzy stepped up beside Leonard, looking at Bill.
Bill paused for a moment, as if organizing his thoughts. "We caught wind of a location on the east side of the city—a newly established base. Supposedly, someone spearheaded its construction. It has perimeter walls, patrol units, and a structured supply distribution system. The living conditions are far better than here, and it’s much safer."
It was actually Lucas who had picked up the rumor half a month ago. After hearing about it, the three members of the Edison family wrestled with the decision for a long time before finally resolving to move.
"A base?" Suzy repeated the word.
"Yeah," Bill nodded. "The news came from Mike’s side. He mentioned that the base has solid backing, complete facilities, and is still expanding. Once we heard that, we wanted to check it out for ourselves."
As he spoke, his eyes flickered slightly, as though there were still unspoken thoughts weighing on his mind.
Suzy didn’t press him. She understood that beyond the base’s attractive conditions, there was a far more significant reason behind their departure... Aaron.
Staying here meant passing through those familiar stairwells every day and catching glimpses of the corners where Aaron had once spent his time, which was a constant, painful reminder. Moving somewhere new was perhaps a sense of closure for them.
Suzy was equally aware that the Edison family members felt somewhat awkward whenever they faced her. After all, she was the one who had killed Aaron. Throughout this period, she had done her best to avoid appearing before them, sending Leonard and the others whenever supplies needed to be delivered down.
"When are you leaving?" Suzy asked.
"As soon as we finish packing—probably tomorrow," Bill said. "Lucas and Elijah are already packing up below. I just came up to give you guys a heads-up."
"Is that place reliable?" Leonard chimed in. "Are you sure it’s not a scam?"
Bill considered the question, then shook his head. "I can’t say for sure. But staying here isn’t a sure thing either. At least if we go, there’s a glimmer of hope for a fresh start." He paused, then added, "If you guys want to come along, you’re welcome to. They said there are slots available."
Bill harbored no malice toward Suzy’s group. Even though she was the one who took Aaron’s life, he couldn’t bring himself to hate her; after all, Aaron had been in the wrong first. On top of that, Suzy had helped them immensely, sending generous supplies time and again—acts of kindness Bill kept close to heart. He wasn’t the ungrateful type.
Still, expecting him to interact with Suzy without a single shred of awkwardness was simply unrealistic. At present, keeping their distance was the best path forward.
Suzy cast a glance at Leonard. Leonard didn’t voice an opinion, merely twitching an eyebrow slightly.
After a beat, Leonard replied, "We’ll wait and see."
Heading to a base wasn’t entirely out of the question, but living under someone else’s rules meant losing their freedom. As for the living conditions, there was no need to overthink it—it certainly wouldn’t be nearly as comfortable as their safehouse. More importantly, making a move like that required consulting Suzy and the rest of the crew. Leonard figured the odds were high that nobody actually wanted to go.
"Alright," Bill didn’t push any further. Whether Suzy’s group decided to join wasn’t really their concern anyway.
Suzy subtly shot Leonard a look. Catching her drift, Leonard said to Bill, "We’ll head downstairs in a bit to see how your packing is coming along."
"Sure, sounds good." Bill didn’t overthink it and readily agreed.
With the conversation wrapped up, Bill didn’t linger and took his leave.
The moment he headed downstairs, the door across the hall swung open. Derek and Thomas were standing right in the doorway; they had clearly overheard the entire conversation.
Derek wore a complex expression, looking as though he were still digesting the news, while Thomas maintained his usual calm, unreadable composure.
"You guys heard all that?" Suzy raised a brow.
Derek nodded. "Caught most of it. Are they really leaving?"
"Looks like it, otherwise, he wouldn’t have made a special trip up here to tell us," Leonard replied.
"Come on in, everyone," Suzy stepped aside, gesturing for Derek and Thomas to head inside first. Though the temperature had risen noticeably, it was still quite chilly outside.
The two stepped into the apartment one after the other. Suzy noticed Liam wasn’t with them.
"Where’s Liam?" she asked, puzzled. She had assumed he would be with them as well.
"Liam’s in the kitchen cooking breakfast for Noah," Derek explained offhandedly.
"Let’s have him come over too," Suzy said.
"I’ll go grab him right now," Derek said, turning right back around to head into their unit.
A moment later, he dragged back a bewildered Liam, who was still wearing an apron. Liam looked completely lost, clearly having no idea what was going on.
"You dragged him over just like that?" Suzy was caught between laughter and tears seeing Liam in full kitchen gear.
Derek took it in stride, giving a nonchalant nod. "He was practically done cooking anyway, so yanking him over isn’t a problem."
Suzy looked at Liam. "Is Noah’s breakfast ready?"
Liam was in the middle of untying his apron. Hearing her question, he gave a soft nod. "Yeah, he’s already eating."
As he spoke, the corners of his lips curved upward into a subtle, tender smile that radiated an inexplicably soft, devoted charm.
Suzy’s eyes locked onto him, momentarily mesmerized. For some reason, ever since Liam moved in, his gentle, domestic charm had only grown stronger by the day. Was it because of that apron?
Thomas unobtrusively stepped in, blocking her line of sight to Liam. "Let’s head inside."
With that, he reached out, caught Suzy by the shoulders, and gently ushered her back into the living room.
Everyone gathered around the coffee table and took their seats. The atmosphere in the room felt distinctly different from before.
Suzy looked at Derek and Thomas sitting across from her, then glanced at Liam beside her and Leonard perched on another chair. She suddenly felt as though they were gathered for an official team meeting.
Only Liam still looked like he was completely out of the loop.