Chapter 455

Caleb hesitated. "Will Leo agree?"

"Sophia and the others aren't Watsons. They don't fear offending the Croix brothers. Leo won't turn down a profitable deal."

"Alright."

Sophia, Marcus, and Hannah exchanged glances. "Auntie, we don't want to leave."

"No!" Mr. Watson stood abruptly.

Catching himself, he sat back down slowly. "You must leave. Connor and Sebastian Croix are returning tomorrow. Those brothers are rabid dogs—capable of anything!"

For their safety, they had to depart before dawn.

Caleb agreed. "It's too dangerous here. Return to Kyoto immediately. Jude is still hospitalized. I can't risk anything happening to you..."

Seeing their resolve was firm, they stopped arguing.

In Chloe Sullivan's room—

Caleb meticulously cleaned every corner.

Mrs. Watson brought fresh linens and had him remake the beds.

"...All set. Rest now. I'll wake you in the morning."

Sophia and Hannah lay down.

Late night, silence enveloped everything.

In the darkness, Hannah turned over again—

"Sophia..." she whispered.

"Hmm?"

"Are you cold?"

"A little," Sophia admitted honestly.

Hannah's teeth chattered. "How is the south colder than the north?"

She suddenly missed last night's small hotel.

Sophia took her hand and rubbed it. "The bed hasn't warmed up yet. It'll get better."

Hannah pouted. "It's been so long already..."

Just as Sophia was about to speak, faint voices came from outside.

It was Mrs. Watson.

"Sweetie, take these quilts to the sisters."

Chloe Sullivan: "Should I ask brother to carry one?"

"Brother shouldn't go in. You can make two trips."

"Okay."

Footsteps approached, followed by a knock—

"Sophia? Hannah? Are you asleep? Mom sent me with extra quilts."

Sophia quickly opened the door.

"Sophia, Mom thought you might not be used to our weather. It gets cold at night. These are newly made quilts, never used. Add them if you're cold."

"Thank you, Chloe Sullivan."

"You're welcome."

Chloe Sullivan set down the quilts and brought another.

Sophia and Hannah each added a quilt, finally feeling warm.

"Sophia, are we really leaving tomorrow?"

"We can't. If we leave, Caleb's family is finished."

"Yeah! I think so too!"

Remembering the day's events, Hannah's mood sank. "...Thinking back, I was too impulsive. What if those thugs had really attacked..."

She thought in this age of social media, threatening to expose them would make them back down.

She forgot cornered dogs will bite.

Her impulsiveness nearly endangered Sophia and Marcus, and made the Watsons' situation more precarious.

They came to help, but only made things worse.

"Don't think that. You were brave. But next time, be more cautious. Don't put yourself in danger."

"Okay! I understand. Those two are coming back tomorrow. What should we do?"

"If we can't fight them..."

"?"

"We find reinforcements."

...

Kyoto. The moonlight was cold.

Alexander Laurent just arrived home. Turning on the light, he saw the stack of documents on his table.

He meant to give them to Sophia.

Returning that afternoon, he knocked on her door. No one answered.

He hung up his coat and glanced at the clock. Ten exactly.

She should be back by now?

Alexander picked up the documents, opened his door, and walked across the hall—

"Sophia? Are you home? It's me."

No response.

Worried, he took out his phone, about to call her.

But she called first—

"Hello, Sophia?! Are you home? I have documents for you. No one answered the door."

"Professor, I'm not home. I'm in Yu... Caleb..."

Alexander gripped his phone tightly, barely catching "Caleb." "Where are you?"

The call crackled, full of static, broken and hard to follow.

"Ran into... situation... urgent... tomorrow..."

"Hello? You said Yu Province? Bad signal? Hello? Hello?!"

Alexander pulled the phone away. The call had dropped.

He immediately redialed—

"I'm sorry, the number you have dialed is currently unavailable..."

He hung up and tried again.

Still unavailable.

Meanwhile, Sophia, buried under the quilts, looked helplessly at her disconnected phone. "The signal here is terrible."

"My phone only has one bar. I recorded something today but couldn't upload it..." Hannah lay on her stomach, head resting on her arms.

She'd tried. The signal was slightly better in the open area outside the main door. Getting a call through indoors was pure luck.

"Sophia, should we go outside to call?"

"It's too late. Coming and going isn't convenient. We'll talk tomorrow."

Hannah gave a lazy murmur, eyelids heavy.

As she was about to fall asleep, she mumbled, "Sophia... the reinforcements you mentioned... is it Professor Laurent..."

Sophia paused.

A soft reply came in the dark. "Yes."

Soon, Sophia also fell asleep.

In the middle of the night, both woke up shivering.

They simply squeezed into one bed, layering both quilts for extra warmth.

At dawn the next day, Caleb knocked to wake Sophia and Hannah.

"Let's go. We'll head to the village entrance..."

Sophia got up. They dressed and followed Caleb out.

Just standing in the open area outside the door, Sophia checked her phone. This hour...

She opted for a text.

She texted Alexander their exact location and what the Watsons were facing.

Hannah: "Did it go through, Sophia?"

"Yes, sent."

"Should we contact anyone else? Strength in numbers! I just texted my dad, asked if he had any ideas. He hasn't replied yet, probably still sleeping..."

Sophia thought it made sense. After a moment's consideration, she sent the same message to Sebastian.

Asking her brother for help wasn't really asking—he said so himself.

Unbeknownst to her, the two men who received the messages were together.

And they had been up all night.

Last night around ten, when Alexander's calls failed, he knew something was wrong with Sophia.

And it involved "Caleb."

He immediately called Sophia's academic advisor.

The advisor answered, surprised and flattered. "Professor Laurent? How can I assist you?"

"Where is Sophia Sullivan?" he blurted out.

"Ah?"