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Chapter 41
“Mr. Lockwood, please rest assured, the security in downtown Willowdale has always been top-notch. We haven’t had any incidents of missing children in the last six months. Sebastian will be found; he couldn’t have gone far!”
The butler looked up, his heart ski pping a beat as he observed the increasingly stern features and icy glare in Orion’s dark eyes.
Ever since Lilian had passed away, Orion’s main concern had been his young nephew.
Despite being swamped with corporate affairs, he made it a point to fly in from Crestwood to Willowdale every few months just to spend time with Sebastian. It was unimaginable that today, of all days, Sebastian had mysteriously vanished. This was the first time in
two decades of service with the Thompson family that he had seen Orion this
furiously enraged.
With more than ten hours since Sebastian’s disappearance, the golden window for searching was closing fast. If anything were to happen to Sebastian, the consequences were unthinkable.
As night deepened, the villa was ablaze with lights. Orion, after glancing at the clock countless times, finally lost the last shred of his composure. Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.
“I’ll find him myself.”
Outside Villa 27 in Crystal Lakes.
Xanthea stood at the door with Sebastian in tow, utterly stunned. “A five-story villa-this is really your place?”
“Yeah, let’s go inside!”
Xanthea was stunned. She had thought she was helping a lost boy she found on the beach, not realizing he was a playful young heir from a wealthy family. His home was even grander than the expensive new house her family had recently purchased!
“Alright, we’ll…”
Before she could finish, several uniformed officers and a teary-eyed maid ran out from the villa, ecstatically lifting Sebastian into their arms.
“He’s back, he’s back!”
“Sebastian, where have you been all day? Mr. Lockwood and all of us have been worried sick!”
“Uncle’s here?” Sebastian wriggled excitedly in the arms of one of the officers. “Let me go, I want to see Uncle!”
This cheeky boy had indeed triggered a full-scale alarm by sneaking out. Shaking her
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head, Xanthea said, “Since your uncle’s here, I better not intrude.”
“No!” Sebastian panicked at the thought of her leaving, clutching her hand tightly. “You promised to stay with me tonight!”
“That was before your uncle came back.”
“But, but.” He stuttered before suddenly declaring with utmost confidence, “But my uncle is
super handsome-the most handsome man in the universe!”
Xanthea was puzzled. What did his uncle’s looks have to do with anything?
“Mr. Lockwood, Sebastian-he’s back!”
The butler, wiping away tears of relief, hurried to the foyer to report. Orion’s tense expression softened momentarily.
“Uncle!”
From afar, Sebastian’s joyful call could be heard.
But before he could rush into his uncle’s arms, a chilling voice stopped him cold. “Sebastian Thompson, come here now!”
Sebastian’s legs halted as he saw the stormy expression on the man in the hall.
Uh-oh, Uncle was angry. Being called by his full name was usually a prelude to a spa nking!
Curious, Xanthea stepped inside, wondering just how handsome his uncle could be. The most handsome man in the universe”? Surely an exaggeration. In her two lifetimes, she’d met many, yet the only one who could possibly live up to that praise was Orion himself.