“Hi, Bill, what’s that thing you’re holding?”
In the old-fashioned courtyard, Cobra glanced at Bill as he was about to pass by, his curiosity piqued by the item in Bill’s hands.
Bill, with a sour expression, grumbled, “What do you think it is? What good things does our dear Mrs. Ryan want? It’s the middle of March, and she wants to eat watermelon.” He furrowed his brow.
Hawk, standing next to Cobra, frowned. “Can she even eat watermelon in her condition? Bill, don’t spoil her.”
Bill rolled his eyes. “Spoil her? How could I not? Boss is letting her travel all the way to France while she’s pregnant. How could I not spoil her?”
When Cobra heard this, he looked sympathetic, though his grin suggested more mischief than pity. “So, this is really tough on you, huh?”
Bill shot Cobra a sharp glare, but Hawk shook his head. “She’s French, and she probably wants to come back and see her homeland. It’s not exactly spoiling her.”
Cobra chuckled. “Homeland? She probably doesn’t even know where she was born. Where is this ‘homeland’ of hers? I think she just wanted a nice place to play around.”
Bill added, “She doesn’t just want to come back now, it’s more like the Boss finally allowed her to. She has leverage over him. Echo’s been taught some dirty tricks by that punk Edward, and now she’s got a whole bag of them.”
A calm voice cut through the conversation, “Talking behind people’s backs-this is your style, huh?”
Bill turned around to see Edward leisurely strolling up.
Sunlight peeked through the clouds, casting a soft glow over Edward, enhancing his already striking features. His smile, barely visible at the corner of his mouth, added an air of danger to his beauty.
Bill raised an eyebrow. “You’re getting more and more devilish-looking.”
Edward maintained his smile, casually reaching out to rest his hand on Bill’s arm. Before Bill could react, Hawk grabbed him and yanked him a few steps back. Bill froze for a moment, then glared at Edward.
He couldn’t forget who he was dealing with here. Edward might look young, but his tricks and schemes were next level.
Over the past couple of years, he’d risen to the same height as them within the Dark Family. He had significant influence, but he was stubborn-no one could tell him what to do, not even the Boss.
Echo might be the only one who could reign him in a bit, but Edward was dangerous, like a rose with thorns-beautiful, but handling him could lead to problems.
Edward glanced at Hawk, then slowly withdrew his hand. He looked at Bill with a bored expression and said, “What are you glaring at? Got a problem? Come on, show me.”
Bill, seething, fixed Edward with a fierce glare. He’d been on the receiving end of this guy’s schemes a few times. Edward’s tricks seemed endless, and if Hawk and the others hadn’t been keeping him in check, things could have gotten messy. Bill knew better than anyone that facing him one-on-one would only end badly.
Cobra held back a laugh and said, “Mrs. Ryan gave you something to do, and you’re still standing here? What if she gets hungry? Go on, what are you waiting for?”
When Bill heard Cobra giving him an out, he shot Edward a glare, then turned and walked off.
Edward smirked and said, “Perfect, I’ve got something to talk to my sister about. I’ll come with you.” With that, he fell into step behind Bill.
Hawk and Cobra watched Bill walk off, shaking their heads. Hawk muttered, “What a mess. This kid’s trouble-he’s asking for it.”
Cobra nodded. “He really stepped in it this time. Let’s go grab some coffee, we’ve got a little free time. That stuff’s pretty good.”
Meanwhile, in the pavilion, four people were sitting around a coffee table.
One of them, a very pregnant woman, was leaning back in a cushioned wicker chair, glaring at a handsome man across from her who was sipping coffee with a smile. “Michael, where’s the info on Skye you were supposed to find? Three days! Three days-who told me three days would be enough? How long has it been now? You tell me!”
Michael, seeing Echo glaring at him with fiery anger, immediately regretted mentioning this whole thing.
He bitterly smiled and said, “How should I know? It’s like she disappeared off the face of the Earth. I turned Hong Kong upside down and still couldn’t find a trace.”
Echo shot Michael a furious look. Back then, Michael had promised her he’d find something in three days, but with all the chaos and excitement she was dealing with, she had pushed it aside. Now that she remembered, she had thrown all their resources into finding Skye, but still, nothing. The lack of news was driving her crazy, and she was getting both frustrated and worried.
“You idiot,” she snapped, “you were bragging about it, and now this!”
As she said this, she angrily grabbed a plum from the table and threw it at Michael. He managed to catch it with a rueful smile, popped it into his mouth, and immediately made a face as the sourness hit him.
Ivy, watching the scene, couldn’t help but laugh and shake her head. She reached over and gently placed a hand on Echo’s arm. “Don’t be mad. You’ve got two people to think about now. Stressing out isn’t good for your health. You need to think about the little one.” She softly rubbed Echo’s now noticeable baby bump.
Echo shot Michael another furious glance before turning to Ivy. Leaning back in her chair, she muttered, “But I’m so worried. We’ve been looking forever, and still no news. This world isn’t small, but it isn’t big either. With Dark family’s influence, there’s no one we can’t find, but still-nothing.”
Michael spoke up, trying to calm her down. “She really does seem to have vanished. No trace, no sign. It’s like she disappeared into thin air.”
Echo’s eyes narrowed at him.
Ivy quickly jumped in and said, “This might actually be a good thing. Think about it-if something bad had happened to her, we’d know by now, right? But no news? That means either she’s hiding on purpose, or she’s just choosing a different life from us. No news is good news, you know. You’re not having trouble with that logic, are you?”
Hearing Ivy’s words, Echo let out a soft sigh. She’d thought about it herself already, and Ryan had told her the same thing. Still, she really wanted to find Skye. And she was curious about how Skye could just disappear like that. To vanish right under the noses of all these powerful people-it was surprising. Echo hadn’t realized Skye had that kind of ability.
“Alright, alright, enough of that. Skye’s got her own path. If she wants to meet us, we’ll find her. If not, why should we force it? Here, look what I brought you,” Ivy said as she reached for a gift box beside her.
Echo’s frustration faded as quickly as it came. Maybe Ivy was right-no bad news meant everything was fine. As for where Skye was or whether they’d meet again, that was all up to fate.
With a raised eyebrow, she turned to look at Brook and Ivy. “By the way, why didn’t you guys come to my wedding? And why didn’t you invite me to yours?”
Ivy burst out laughing. “Oh, Echo, you think we could’ve gone to your wedding? The place was full of people from the underworld. We’re barely on the edge of the law ourselves-going there would’ve just caused trouble for you. Plus, you didn’t even invite us.”