CHAPTER 506: CHAPTER 506: A SMALL WARNING

The next day, because Ruby Sullivan had to go to the factory in R City early to provide technical guidance for the new products, she didn’t have time to see off Mr. T. So, she got up early to prepare his favorite buns and wontons. However, due to time constraints, she only managed to prepare the fillings and then hurried out the door.

Shortly after, Ethan Sterling also woke up, carrying breakfast for more than a dozen people as he left.

Pat and the others were surprised to have breakfast prepared personally by Ruby Sullivan and expressed their heartfelt thanks.

"I’m very happy to have met you," Mr. T said to Ethan Sterling sincerely.

"I’m also very happy to have met you," Ethan Sterling smiled.

The two of them waved at each other, and Mr. T took a few steps, then stopped and turned to Ethan Sterling, saying, "I think you can start training Seth in shooting; it’s not a bad idea to learn early."

"I’ll consider it," Ethan Sterling shouted back.

In the vast open space of the airport, their voices were faintly heard, making the farewell seem even more desolate.

Ten minutes later, the captain received takeoff instructions from the command center. The plane quickly ascended into the sky, disappearing above the dull azure.

On his way to the company, Ethan Sterling called Ruby Sullivan, updating her about Mr. T’s departure and Pat’s gratitude to her, "I’m going straight to the company now, hmm... report over."

Ruby Sullivan chuckled with a yawn, "I’m still on my way to R City."

"Then try to get some sleep," Ethan Sterling said and made kissing sounds into the phone.

Today, Howard was driving, and Ruby Sullivan sat in the passenger seat. Being so close, she felt a bit embarrassed and just smiled, "Let’s leave it at that for now."

Ethan Sterling was eagerly waiting for the return kiss, unsure why it turned into "let’s leave it at that." He became a little anxious, "Did you not hear me clearly just now?" He then exaggeratedly made kissing sounds into the phone again.

Old Black, sitting in the front, felt unexpectedly stirred inside and was curious about whether the boss’s lips hurt.

On the other end, Ruby Sullivan was amused and helpless, "I heard you."

"Hmm," Ethan Sterling responded, happily waiting, yet after a long pause, he only heard, "If there’s nothing else, I’m going to hang up."

"Of course there is something!" Ethan Sterling was baffled, how could there be nothing?

Ruby Sullivan pursed her lips, squinting to glance at Howard, and then adjusted her posture, wanting to lean against the car door to respond softly.

Then she heard Howard clearing his throat, saying righteously, "I’m a professional driver."

Ruby Sullivan instantly blushed and quickly hung up the phone, "Oh, what did you say?"

"It’s, it’s nothing."

On the other side, Ethan Sterling sighed into the phone. To not disturb his wife’s rest, he could only sadly pocket his phone.

*

When Rhonda Sullivan opened her eyes, she first felt dizzy, then cold, feeling like she was in an icehouse. She reflexively screamed with an "ah."

Her hands and feet were securely tied, hands bound behind her back, and she was stark naked, lying in a bathtub. The water in the tub was chilly, with chunks of unmelted ice.

She was angry and anxious, wriggling like a struggling caterpillar in the bathroom, creating splashes everywhere, yet unable to get out of the bathtub. Instead, she exhausted herself.

She wanted to call for help, but she had already driven away the resident maid. The cleaning service came only once a week, and she didn’t know when someone would arrive.

Helplessly, she called for help in the bathtub, her pleas turning to despair, and she began to cry.

After an unknown amount of time, she heard the phone ringing and quickly turned to look, seeing her phone on the washstand not far away.

Rhonda Sullivan immediately stopped crying and tried to stand in the bathtub, but didn’t know how to step out. After hesitating for a moment, she closed her eyes, leaping hard, only to hit her foot on the bathtub edge. The force sent her face-first onto the floor, dazing her completely.

After a moment of numbness, severe pain spread from her mouth throughout her body, and a heavy taste of blood started spreading. Rhonda moved her tongue, spat out two bloodied teeth, discovering that they were her front teeth.

Henry Linden, after repeatedly calling with no answer, grew worried and drove to The Sullivan Estate.

Because Rhonda Sullivan’s condition was unstable, he called her daily under the pretext of work updates to check on her well-being.

Henry didn’t want to visit unannounced, as it might agitate Rhonda unpredictably, getting a beating was trivial; worsening her already unstable emotions would be bad.

After pressing the doorbell several times with no response, and still not getting through on her phone, he was heading to the property manager to forcibly enter when his phone rang; it was Rhonda.

He heard her teary and loud cry: "The door code is, I’m in the bathroom, come rescue me quickly."

"Got it!" Hearing the final plea for help, Henry immediately sprinted back, practically rushing into the bathroom.

Seeing Rhonda Sullivan curled up on the floor, he was shocked by the scene but quickly composed himself, taking off his jacket to cover her, and lifting her up from the floor.

The previous night, Pat and Mr. T had prepared four large bags of ice before coming over. Since Rhonda was Ruby Sullivan’s sister, they didn’t want to harm her, simply intending to delete what needed deleting and teach her a lesson.

Rhonda, thinking she saw a hallucination, got drunk and made a scene while Pat, feeling hot, unapologetically stripped her, tied her up, and threw her into the bathtub. Heavily intoxicated and feverish from alcohol, she found the ice somewhat comforting, eventually falling asleep.

Pat and Mr. T checked her computer, phone, various storage devices, and cloud storage, finding she had indeed kept many backups.

Once everything was deleted, Pat used her lipstick to write a passage in Italian on the bathroom mirror.

Besides recognizing Wenny and Mr. T, Henry couldn’t decipher the rest. Luckily, translation software was quite advanced now. Although transcribing the handwritten Italian took some time, he figured out the message.

It was more or less what he guessed: a warning from Mr. T to keep Rhonda Sullivan away from Ruby Sullivan.

The bleeding from her front teeth had already stopped by itself. Henry first let Rhonda Sullivan take a hot shower to ward off the cold, and since her teeth were missing, it wasn’t suitable to drink ginger tea.

Afterwards, he took her to the hospital.

The teeth issue wasn’t too serious; just required a bit of suffering to have new ones implanted. The cold had affected her a bit, but there was no major concern, however, the psychological trauma would not fade as quickly.

Henry understood that this was Rhonda Sullivan’s own doing. For years, he watched her squander good opportunities, letting jealousy and hatred consume her, watching her walk into an inescapable abyss. He always wanted to pull her back but felt powerless.

In hindsight, perhaps he wasn’t determined enough.

This time, he couldn’t let her continue down the wrong path.