Ashton’s face was full of pride as he grinned. “Of course! Girls have to be a little fierce when they’re out in the world, or people will just bully them. Brier’s doing exactly what she should,” Ashton said.

    Speechless, Hamish hung up, clearly annoyed. ‘Being bullied by people? With her skills, she’s more likely to be the one who bullies others, Hamish scoffed deep down.

    b‘/bThis guy, when ites to Briar, she does nothing wrong in his eyes. Doesn’t he even have a bottom line? What has happened to his principles? Hamish thought to himself.

    However, no matter how fast Brandon tried to keep things under wraps, some news still slipped out. Somehow, Edgar caught wind of it and showed up at the hospital early in the morning.

    He imed he was there to visit his daughter, Beatrice, but barely a minute after stepping into her room, he quietly slipped out and made his way to the floor where Emily and Sawyer were staying, clearly wanting to check on their conditions.

    Hamish had already stationed people near the rooms. The moment Edgar got close, he was politely and courteously “invited” to leave. Not wanting to expose his purpose, Edgar had no choice but to turn around and leave.

    “Dad, how is it? Did you see them?” Beatrice asked as soon as she saw Edgar return so quickly.

    She was puzzled. ‘Why is Dad suddenly so concerned about Emily? Is he trying to curry favor with the Wade family?

    ‘But it makes sense. iSince /icurrying favor with the Wade family through Briar isn’t working, now he’s trying to use me,‘ she thought.

    Edgar shook his head and said, “No, people were watching both rooms. I couldn’t get in.”

    Beatrice watched her distracted father, grinding her teeth in frustration, and tried to remind him, “Dad, this must be Briar’s doing. Emily and Sawyer offended her, so she messed them up just like what she did to my leg.”

    Edgar still couldn’t believe it. ‘How could Briar be so capable? Isn’t she just a student who only knows a bit of traditional medicine?‘ he thought.

    Seeing Edgar still not convinced, Beatrice’s eyes flickered. “Dad, Ben came to see me too…” she said.

    “What?” Edgar’s face instantly darkened. “Ben came to see you? How on earth do

    you even know him?” he asked.

    Beatrice stammered, “It was… When I was hanging out with Emily 1 identally caught her meeting up with Ben…”

    Edgar was silent. The affection in his eyes when looking at Beatrice vanished, reced by a sharp, menacing re. “Beatrice, why didn’t you tell me this important thing sooner?” he asked.

    Beatrice shrank back under his gaze, trembling as she tried to hide herself under the nket, terrified.

    “Dad, I really didn’t know you were working for Ben. At first, I just wanted to use him to teach Briar a lesson…”

    Beatrice tried to justify herself, but her voice grew weaker under Edgar’s cold, piercing gaze, and she shut her mouthb, /bsulking.

    “Do you have any idea what kind of person Ben is? Do you know what will happen once iyou /iget involved with him? One day, you might not even know how you die,” Edgar snapped.

    “Dad, Ben isn’t as terrifying as you say. If it weren’t for Briar setting me up, I…” Beatrice tried to defend.

    “Shut up!” Edgar exploded, his fury boiling over. “This ends here. You’re not to contact Ben again. If I ever catch you, I’ll break your other legb.” /b

    With that, he stormed out with anger without giving Beatrice a chance to respond, leaving Beatrice alone in the ward, looking both innocent and panicked.

    bHamish’s /bpeople caught everything, and Hamish got wind of it right away.

    At that moment, Hamish was lounging on the sofa in Ashton’s office when he received the call. “Got it. Keep an eye on her. Let’s see who she’s waiting, f?r if she’s so determined not to be discharged,” he said.

    After hanging up, Hamish shed his usual roguish grin and said, “Ashton, you guessed it right. It turns out Beatrice really is tied to that mysterious Ben

    Hamish had put the call on speaker just now, so Ashton heard everything. “Looks like we’re on the right track,” Ashton said.

    “By the way, where’s your fierce little girl? Why didn’t you bring her to the office with you? Aren’t you worried she’ll sneak off and cause trouble againb?/bb” /b

    Hamish asked.

    Ashton red at him and said, “How is my Briar fierce?”

    Hamish just shrugged, grinning. ‘Not fierce? Beatrice’s leg is broken, and Emily and Sawyer are practically living dead now… Hamish thought.

    Ashton replied, “She has ss this morning and has gone to theb.”

    Hamish nodded and said, “Good. Once she’s in theb, we don’t have to worry about her causing any trouble.”

    Meanwhile, the “trouble–free” Briar had already finished Joshua’s research project ahead of schedule. She sent the report to his email and smiled sweetly. “Mr. Swift, I’m all done. I’ll head out now.”

    Joshua looked over Briar’s report and nodded in satisfaction. “Good work. There’s nothing else for you this afternoon. You may go now.”

    Joshua knew Briar had her ownb at home, her own research direction, and she was working on specialized drug experiments for rare conditions. Therefore, he was always more lenient with her.

    Briar slung her backpack over her shoulder and left. Frank, who had been put in charge, quickly took out his phone to update Ashton. “Ashton, Briar’s going home now,” he said.

    Ashton asked, “So fast? Weren’t you guys supposed to be working on experiments all morning?”

    Frank sounded embarrassed when he said, “Yeah, but Briar finished everything in less than two hours. Mr. Swift was so impressed and let her leave early.”

    “Alright, I’ll give her a call,” Ashton said.

    Hamish burst outughing and said, “Your girl is seriously impressive!”

    Before Ashton could call Briar, her call came through first. “Ashton, I’m all done here. Should I go find you now?i” /i

    Ashton said, “Alright. Where are you now? I’ll have Brandon pick you up.” Briar told him her location and then stayed put, waiting for Brandon toe and get her.

    Not far away, a ck sedan was slowly approaching Briar. The windows were heavily tintedb, /bmaking it impossible to see who was inside. But the car’s sneaky vibe immediately put Briar on alert.

    She kept her calm, pretending ito /ilower her head and dig through her bag as the car got closer. Just as it stopped, two big guys in ck rushed out of the passenger and back seats, right as she dug out a piece of white chocte.

    “Thud.” The chocte slipped frorn Briar’s hand as the two men grabbed her and dragged her into the carb, /bwhich sped off down the street. By the time Brandon arrived, Briar was nowhere to be seen.

    Brandon got out, dialing Briar’s number as he looked around. Soon, his eyesnded on a piece of white chocte lying on the ground.

    Brandon’s face turned pale. ncing at the surveince cameras in the surroundings, he realized the bones /bfacing this spot bwere /bball /bbusted. Without hesitation, he called Ashton. “Mr. Wade, Miss Jennings might be in trouble…”

    10:04 FT 22 bAug /b