Chapter 457

She said they were friends.

How would Alexander Laurent get into the village?

Sebastian Evans had it arranged.

"I called for an auto rickshaw. Only those can handle the village roads."

"How long is the wait?"

He checked the time. "Half an hour."

"Okay."

…

Sophia Sullivan put her phone away.

Caleb Watson urged her. "The vehicle is at the village entrance. Let's go."

Moore Ermang had initially refused to take them.

But this morning, he suddenly changed his tune.

He said someone offered him a hefty sum to pick up a person.

Taking them along for extra cash was a bonus.

Caleb pressed anxiously. "We're running out of time…"

Sophia and Hannah Morse stood still.

Caleb was stunned.

Sophia said calmly, "We're not leaving."

Hannah nodded. "Mhm~"

Caleb grew frantic. "Didn't we agree last night?"

Hannah blinked. "Who agreed? You were the only one talking."

Caleb was speechless.

"This place is too dangerous! The Croix brothers are mad dogs! They bite!"

Sophia cut him off. "Caleb."

"…What?"

"Are we still friends?"

He fell silent.

Sophia pressed. "Are we or not?"

"It's precisely because we're friends that I can't drag you into this!"

The image of Jude Granger's miserable condition was still vivid.

Blood everywhere. His parents begging on their knees.

Caleb had nightmares every night.

He couldn't involve his friends again.

"Please, just go! Take the bus to the high-speed rail station. You can be back in Cambridge today."

Sophia looked straight at him. "We appreciate your concern. But if we leave and something happens to you, we'd never forgive ourselves."

"If it were you, would you abandon your friends?"

"I'm sorry…" Caleb clutched his head in agony. "I never should have dragged you into this…"

Hannah sighed softly. "Trust us. Facing this together is better than you bearing it alone."

"Auntie needs to go to the hospital. The Croix family has blocked the roads. Delaying will only make it worse."

"You can't return to school. You'll face penalties, even expulsion."

"Is that the outcome you want?"

Caleb's entire body went rigid.

He finally slumped powerlessly onto a pile of firewood.

Sophia turned and walked towards the house. "It's still dark. Let's get some more sleep."

The real battle was yet to come.

Hannah immediately followed. "Me too! I'm freezing!"

This time, Caleb didn't stop them.

He watched their retreating figures, his vision blurring with tears.

Yet, a warmth spread through his chest.

Sophia stopped at the bedroom door.

Hannah halted beside her.

Sophia pointed to the adjacent bedroom.

Hannah gently pushed the door open a crack—

Marcus Lawrence was actually fast asleep.

He didn't even bother pretending.

Hannah was speechless. "Unbelievable."

Sophia raised an eyebrow. "Caleb thought he went to the restroom."

"No wonder…"

The restroom trip was a lie. Sneaking off to sleep was the truth.

Hannah suddenly realized. "Then we lost out? We specifically got up, got dressed, and walked to the door?"

Sophia pondered. "We definitely lost out."

…

The rooster crowed. Dawn broke.

The mist hadn't yet dissipated.

Opening the door revealed open land, with rolling mountains in the distance.

Hannah exclaimed, "Mountain Town lives up to its name!"

It was all mountains along the way.

The sky was tinged with red. Caleb looked up. "It might be sunny today."

Hannah was delighted. "Really?"

It was finally going to warm up.

Mr. Watson helped Mrs. Watson outside.

The barefoot doctor said Mrs. Watson shouldn't lie in bed too long. She needed to move around.

Every morning, Mr. Watson accompanied her for a walk in the yard.

The couple panicked when they saw Sophia and the other two were still there—

"Was the vehicle unavailable? Old Walter, go quickly and call Lee Sanwa…"

Hannah explained gently. "Auntie, we chose to stay ourselves."

Mrs. Watson was shocked. "You kids… why won't you listen? Please go… Caleb, talk some sense into your classmates!"

All three looked at Caleb.

Caleb was silent for a moment, then slowly raised his head. "Mom, let them stay. They won't leave anyway."

"This is a sin…"

"They came all this way to find you. Our home is poor, we can't host them properly. At the very least, we can't let the children take risks!"

Caleb nodded. "I know. But they want to help us."

He never accepted help before.

Proud and annoyingly aloof.

He owed no one.

But Sophia and the others were different.

She said they were friends.

Friends…

Mr. Watson sighed, turned, and went into the kitchen to make breakfast.

If the Croix brothers came again, he would stand in front with a knife.

He'd risk his life to protect these kids.

He swore it to himself.

…

At ten in the morning, the Croix brothers returned.

Sophia, Hannah, and Marcus exchanged glances, feeling relieved instead.

What was coming would come.

Who was afraid of whom?

Connor Croix kicked over a wooden stool with a loud crash.

Sebastian Croix "accidentally" knocked over the washstand with his stick.

Hannah gritted her teeth in anger.

Remembering Sophia's words, she took a deep breath and sat back down.

Connor scanned the group. "Well, look who's all here? Perfect."

Xu Kang slapped a contract down in front of Mr. Watson.