Old Mr. Sinclair opened his mouth wide, his pupils suddenly constricted, and a hoarse sound emerged from his throat.
Then, he jerked violently, his entire body tensed up, and went silent.
The doctor hurriedly checked, only to find the person had passed away.
"It might have been a severe intracranial hemorrhage. Even sending him to the hospital wouldn’t have saved him."
With a tense face, Sebastian Sinclair, had no intention of dealing with the old man’s funeral, turned around and picked up his phone...
Juliana Jacobs and Mrs. Sinclair were taken to a villa in the outskirts of Kingsford.
The first heavy snowfall had arrived.
Dylan Paxton sat by the fireplace, warming himself.
Juliana Jacobs and Mrs. Sinclair were roughly pushed into the house.
In her staggered movements, Mrs. Sinclair shielded Juliana with her body, preventing her from falling.
"These two women can’t stir up any trouble, untie them," Dylan Paxton’s secretary said.
Mrs. Sinclair had her ropes untied, shook her arms, and looked at Dylan Paxton.
"You want what’s in my husband’s hands; taking me is enough. Bringing an unrelated person, are you afraid too few people know what you’re up to?"
Old Mr. Paxton didn’t even lift his eyes.
"There are no unrelated people; I want the core data of ’Genesis.’ No one leaves without handing it over."
Juliana Jacobs felt a chill in her heart.
Something must have changed, prompting him to double down on his security.
She steadied herself, walked up to Dylan Paxton, deliberately shook the car keys in her hand, and raised her voice, "’Genesis’ data is not with me, but you can let me go back to get it?"
Her ambiguous words annoyed Dylan Paxton, who snatched the car keys from her hand and threw them into the fireplace.
A "bang!"
The keychain, upon encountering fire, slightly exploded.
Juliana Jacobs raised an eyebrow.
Dylan Paxton ignored the little commotion and gloomily instructed his secretary, "Cut off one of her fingers and send it to Aetherflame; Caleb Shaw will certainly hand over the goods."
"Cut..."
This soft scoff came from Mrs. Sinclair.
The ’Genesis’ technology is now Aetherflame’s business secret; it can earn big money for Aetherflame. Caleb Shaw has no relation with her; his sister’s issue..."
Mrs. Sinclair glanced at Juliana Jacobs.
"...is still entangled with this person. Caleb Shaw would have to be stupid to exchange a company core secret for the enemy that put his sister in a hospital bed."
Juliana Jacobs was stunned by Mrs. Sinclair’s words.
She didn’t need Mrs. Sinclair to do anything for her!
Not at all!!
But Dylan Paxton’s thoughts were already led by Mrs. Sinclair’s words.
"You’re absolutely right. Apply pressure on Sebastian Sinclair; not only will he hand over the USB drive, but he can also use his influence to force Caleb Shaw to hand over ’Genesis’ data; the possibility is greater."
"What... what?"
Mrs. Sinclair pretended to be very frightened, retreating step by step.
At Dylan Paxton’s signal, two burly men stepped forward and seized Mrs. Sinclair.
The gleam of the knife flashed, a pinky finger dropped to the ground, and Mrs. Sinclair’s cry pierced Juliana Jacobs’ heart.
Her emotions surged, her stomach churned, but at this moment, she couldn’t show any discomfort, or Mrs. Sinclair would have suffered in vain.
At this point, Elias Langley walked in.
Dylan Paxton glanced at the severed finger in the box, "Send this to Sinclair Manor."
Elias Langley signaled the person behind him to take it over.
"Just received the news, Sebastian Sinclair might make a big move, the situation could be very unfavorable for you, should a retreat be arranged?"
Dylan Paxton seemed prepared, snorted coldly and said, "What waves can he stir up? Give him a day, let him hand over everything. We... will retreat tonight."
"Retreat? To where?" Elias Langley asked.
Dylan Paxton, the old fox, "I have my arrangements, the journey is long, take good care of Iris Paxton."
Elias Langley nodded and, as he turned, his gaze quickly swept over Juliana Jacobs.
Although her face was slightly pale, she stood straight.
Elias Langley pushed the door open and left, without looking back.
However, after Mrs. Sinclair’s severed finger was brought into Sinclair Manor, the entire mansion remained quiet as a deep pond, without a ripple.
Night fell.
A convoy disguised as medical equipment transport, along with three SUVs, were all set to depart at the villa entrance.
Juliana Jacobs and Mrs. Sinclair, with their hands tied behind them, were brought out.
The last to come out was Iris Paxton.
She sat in a wheelchair, enveloped in a thick down jacket and hat.
But through the exposed skin and her hunched form, it was still clearly evident that her physical condition was extremely poor.
"You’ll be in the same car with Iris Paxton," Dylan Paxton said to Elias Langley.
But Elias Langley calmly replied, "I feel comfortable with Iris being with you. Transporting hostages is crucial; nothing can go wrong on the road. You trust these Zenthian, I don’t."
His words struck a chord with Dylan Paxton; he actually didn’t trust these Zenthian either.
But the elite warriors he trained personally over the years needed to stay by his side for protection and couldn’t be dispatched to escort the cars.
He gave Elias Langley a glance, ultimately permitting his arrangement.
Elias Langley immediately carried Iris Paxton into the car that Dylan Paxton would ride.
"Let’s go, there’s no point in looking at such a heartless man," Mrs. Sinclair said to Juliana Jacobs.
But Dylan Paxton didn’t fully trust Elias Langley either, instructing a Zenthian to join the car.
The convoy started.
Elias Langley glanced at the rearview mirror and spoke to the Zenthian in the front passenger seat, "Untie them. The car is locked, they can’t escape. If anything goes wrong, it’ll delay the trip."
The Zenthian agreed with his words and complied.
As soon as the ropes were untied, Juliana Jacobs was engulfed by nausea and dizziness.
Mrs. Sinclair immediately let her lie down, resting her head on her lap, and whispered, "Does this feel better?"
Juliana Jacobs closed her eyes, biting her teeth hard, not letting herself vomit.
Mrs. Sinclair worriedly said, "If only there were some orange peel to smell..."
"Behave!" Elias Langley coldly barked.
The convoy slowed down at the highway entrance to reorganize.
He pushed the door open, quickly went to a shop by the road, and bought a bag of sugar tangerines.
Dylan Paxton lowered the car window, his gaze cold, "We’re very tight on time."
Elias Langley calmly dismissed his doubts, "Long trip, we might encounter inspections. If she causes a commotion on the way, attracting attention would be more troublesome."
Dylan Paxton said nothing more, raising the car window.
Subsequently, the convoy entered the highway, speeding towards Oakhaven.
Along the way, with the sugar tangerines and Mrs. Sinclair’s acupoint massage, Juliana Jacobs’ condition improved somewhat.
She even had the strength to complain half-heartedly on the road, "Why aren’t these tangerines sour?"
Elias Langley glanced at the rear-view mirror, saying nothing.
At the same time they set off, Sebastian Sinclair held a live broadcast during prime time that evening.
Holding personal identification, he faced the camera, without making a single accusation against Dylan Paxton, instead, he called on "witnesses of the pursuit case fourteen years ago at the border of Brierlock cities," revealing that he was attacked for carrying vital chip data back then, and the USB drive was lost since.
"I had been silent for so many years because Old Mr. Paxton guaranteed he would catch the culprit and bring justice for me. Sigh... had the data not been lost back then, today’s technology might have led the world."
His words were sincere, filled with regret.
The live broadcast rapidly fermented.
Without need for names, the clue "Esteemed Old Mr. Paxton personally took over the case back then and yet no progress" led sharp-witted netizens to point directly at Dylan Paxton.
From afternoon Caleb Shaw started losing contact with Juliana Jacobs, seeing the live broadcast, he realized she was likely in trouble.
Hence, after Sebastian Sinclair’s live session ended, he leveraged the buzz to release a statement, revealing ’Genesis’ technology’s special equipment access permit applications had repeatedly been obstructed by particular forces, privately he had been coerced and tempted by Rhyvion Group to hand over the technology.
And everyone knows, Rhyvion Group is run by The Paxton.
The combination of both matters instantly ignited public opinion, the heat reaching a boiling point.
Thus, Elias Langley’s prior facilitation of an investigation procedure against Dylan Paxton was swiftly initiated.
That night, a high-level investigative team was established.
But when they reached Dylan Paxton’s old nest, it was long empty, only a few key Paxton were apprehended.
Ten hours later, the disguised medical convoy arrived at the border city.
But for Juliana Jacobs, this was her second visit to Oakhaven.
The previous time she was captured by Isaac Grant’s people.
It’s just Dylan Paxton is more indulgent than Isaac Grant’s men.
The convoy, grandly entered a riverside sanatorium.
The backyard directly accesses an abandoned small cargo terminal.
This is a stop on Dylan Paxton’s pre-reserved evacuation route for himself.