In a past life, Hamish had been here before, even though his visits had been few and far between. He remembered the route as soon as he entered, knowing that it would take at least fifteen minutes to reach the Powell family. Along the way, there was a racetrack, a golf course, and a park with a small playground designed specifically for children.
However, Hamish was not interested in these distractions. He only wanted to see Elisa as quickly as possible.
Luck was on his side, as he heard a child shouting as he passed by the playground.
“Ivan!”
Hamish abruptly stopped and turned to look. Wasn’t that Ivan, Elisa’s useless older brother, squatting on the ground playing with a water gun?
Young Ivan resembled a chubby rice ball, with both Mr. and Mrs. Powell being attractive individuals who had produced the stunning Elisa. As Elisa’s brother, Ivan was not unattractive himself.
Ivan was bragging to a group of children, “Who needs Ultraman when my dad bought me a two-meter-tall action figure? I couldn’t bring it here, but I’ll definitely show it to you. It’s so tall and impressive.” He gestured proudly as he spoke.
Among this group of children, Ivan’s family was among the wealthiest and most influential. The other children playing with him dared not offend him and flattered him as they surrounded him.
Enjoying the flattery, Ivan lifted his chin smugly.
“I don’t believe you.” A voice of dissent came from nearby. Ivan furrowed his brow and turned to look, seeing a stranger who appeared to be around his height.
“Who are you?”
As Ivan was dense in his childhood, Hamish saw an opportunity to get closer to the Powell family through him and perhaps gain some information about Elisa.
“You may not know me, but I know you. You are Ivan, and your dad is Koby.”
“If you know me, why don’t you believe me? My family is wealthy.”
Mockingly, Hamish replied, “I still don’t believe you unless you show me yourself.”
Ivan’s competitive spirit was aroused, and the other children around him quickly supported his claims. “Ivan’s family is wealthy. They must have a two-meter-tall Ultraman at home. I’ve even seen his Transformers collection before.”
“I’ve seen a real Ultraman before, ten meters tall. If it fell, it would crush you all.”
Pointing at Hamish, Ivan challenged him, “If you don’t believe me, then follow me home, and I’ll show you. But you have to come alone, no one else allowed.”
With a smirk, Hamish followed Ivan, listening to his complaints along the way.
As they walked, Hamish looked around, paying attention to everything.
“How do you know my dad’s name?” Ivan asked.
“Because our families have business dealings, and that’s how I know.”
Frowning, Ivan asked, “If you know my family, why have I never seen you before? What’s your name?”
“Hamish.”
“Oh.” As Ivan’s anger subsided, he began to realize that something wasn’t quite right. The way this seemingly same-aged child spoke and the expression on his face resembled his grandfather’s. Was this a case of an old soul in a young body? And why were his parents not with him but letting him roam outside alone?
One of the Powell family’s rules was not to enter someone else’s home without permission, yet here he was taking him home.
“And you accuse me of bragging. I think you’re the one who’s bragging.”
Ivan continued complaining as they reached the front door.
Seeing Ivan return, the groundskeeper approached, “Young sir, you’re back… Who is this?”
Ivan nodded, pointing to Hamish, “A new friend I know. He’ll only stay for a while.”
As Ivan introduced him, Hamish didn’t even glance at the groundskeeper, his attention seemingly elsewhere, focused on what lay inside.
“I’ll go fetch the Madame.”
The groundskeeper turned and went inside. There were more than one servant in the house, and one of them sighted Ivan bringing a boy of the same age home and went to prepare some pastries.
“I’ll show you my action figures later. You better be careful. If you break them, you won’t be able to afford it…”
Moving a few steps forward, Ivan noticed that Hamish hadn’t followed. He suddenly stopped and asked, “Why are you standing there? Let’s go.”
His eyes vacant, a sense of fear seemed to weigh heavy on Hamish, the air around him thinning. It felt as if someone were squeezing his throat and cutting off his air supply.
One phrase the groundskeeper had mentioned kept echoing in his mind, mentioning a person.
“Madame.”
Old Mrs. Powell had long since passed away, so the groundskeeper couldn’t have been referring to her. And Koby’s wife had died during childbirth when Elisa was born, and Koby had never remarried. So who was this “Madame” she spoke of?
As if in a trance, Hamish felt the fear within him escalate, tightening like a taut string. A voice suddenly rang in his ear, urgently warning him to leave this place quickly…