CHAPTER 44: CHAPTER 44: HECTOR SHAW

"Alright, miss, I’ll have someone lock down the twenty-first floor."

President Fuller was almost breaking out in cold sweat and dared not be perfunctory. He instructed the security guards around to lock down the banquet hall.

The whole room was silent, and everyone looked at each other, not knowing what had happened.

Mia Redgrave was utterly confused. That lie casually fabricated by Seraphina Redgrave was actually believed by someone, how did it lead to locking down the twenty-first floor?

Seraphina Redgrave was respectfully invited by President Fuller to what was originally Mia Redgrave’s suite for dressing up. The projector was turned on, and the video was connected. President Fuller then withdrew with everyone else.

Seraphina Redgrave sat on the sofa, her face full of nonchalance.

The man on the other end of the video call finally revealed his true face.

Opposite was a man who looked young and handsome, but in fact, he was already over thirty and was currently the head of the Shaw Family.

He sat in an office that was clearly luxuriously decorated, smiled, and sighed at Seraphina Redgrave, "I said at the time that you would surely leave the forbidden zone, Seraphina."

The Shaw family has always been a symbol of mystery in the public eye, but actually, they are no different from other families, with a power struggle within that is still brutal.

A year ago, Hector Shaw was framed by other shareholders of the Shaw Family in a maritime accident and did not die, being washed ashore to the forbidden area by the waves.

The forbidden zone was full of lunatics, with scarce survival resources. Hector Shaw, though decisive in the business world, had absolutely no survival skills in the wild. Seraphina Redgrave, seeing him as pitiful at the time, would share some of the food she hunted with him and would protect him from those lunatics.

If it weren’t for Seraphina Redgrave, Hector Shaw would have long perished in the forbidden zone.

Later, he used the communication device assembled by Seraphina Redgrave to contact his secret agents within the Shaw Family, which enabled him to be successfully rescued from the forbidden zone and finally bring down those shareholders with ulterior motives, completely securing his position as the one in power.

He owes everything he has today to Seraphina Redgrave from a year ago.

Seraphina Redgrave walked to the dressing table, looked at the full array of bottles and jars, a malicious smile curved on her lips.

She casually smashed two jars of what appeared to be very expensive skincare products, and shattered glass scattered all over the floor.

"The forbidden zone can’t hold me."

Seeing the certainty in Seraphina Redgrave’s face, Hector Shaw felt somewhat uncomfortable. He had originally been sitting at that expensive mahogany desk but now stood up and bowed respectfully to her, "Seraphina Redgrave, I’m very sorry, but with my abilities, I can’t get you out of the forbidden zone."

The Z-country’s power structures are intricate, and while the Shaw Family may be mysterious, they only hold sway in the southern mainland, and the country’s borders encompass even more outlying islands that the Shaw Family can’t interfere with.

Prisoners or patients in the forbidden zone, once shackled, are doomed to be locked in the zone by the country for life barring any accidents.

Famous for their lack of external connections, the Shaw Family had no legitimate means to bring Seraphina Redgrave out, forced to resort to underhanded methods which were thwarted by other forces.

Seraphina Redgrave smashed several palettes of eyeshadow, broke countless lipsticks, and then gave the man in the video a glance, "It’s not your fault, there’s no need to feel guilty."

Seraphina Redgrave always seemed indifferent to everything, immersed in her own world, never deigning to play the damsel in distress, like a rose blooming wildly in the wild, flourishing grandly on her terms.

Hector Shaw smiled, knowing Seraphina Redgrave genuinely did not hold him responsible.

Hector Shaw noticed Seraphina Redgrave in a green evening gown, clearly an unobtainable dress, knowing that no matter her circumstances upon leaving, she hadn’t been neglected financially.

"Has the defense in the forbidden zone loosened? You want to go, those guys there didn’t stop you?"

Seraphina Redgrave spent three years earning the respect of those tough guys in the forbidden zone. Without Seraphina Redgrave’s protection, could the elderly, weak, and disabled ones really survive?

Hearing this, Seraphina Redgrave’s formerly calm expression turned slightly pained, "If I don’t leave, would they stop seeking death?"

No internet, no electricity, not even basic living supplies.

To put it harshly, in the forbidden zone, it’s better to die than to live.

Hector Shaw fell silent for a moment, then exhaled deeply, "It’s good that you escaped. Someone like you, you won’t be buried anywhere. Once you have power, you can rescue them later."

The lives of those in the forbidden zone are all tied to her.

Seraphina Redgrave smashed a few more bottles that served no obvious purpose and then finally spoke, "Alright, let’s talk about something else."

Hector Shaw smiled and changed the subject; past was too heavy and there was no need to remind her repeatedly that she was carrying a burden.

"Now that you’re out, I finally have a chance to repay you. Wait for me in Kaelor, where they’ll arrange the most prestigious treatment for you. I’m setting out now to pick you up..."

Hector Shaw was someone who remembered favors.

Seraphina Redgrave saved his life; naturally, she was to have whatever she wanted.

"No need."

Seraphina Redgrave seemed to have had enough and flipped the table over, scattering the scattered things all around.

Hector Shaw asked in confusion, "Why?"

Seraphina Redgrave turned to look at him, her black-and-white eyes devoid of any emotion, "The one who got me out of the forbidden zone was Ethan Sterling."

"What!" Hector Shaw almost lost composure, "That Reaper, why would he..."

Seraphina Redgrave brushed off the dust of cheap makeup from her hands without speaking.

Hector Shaw murmured to himself, "No wonder, only that man in Z-country has the capability to pull someone out of the forbidden zone. But why would he..."

"I resemble his deceased sister."

The cause and effect were clear, Seraphina Redgrave was merely a stand-in for that man.

Seraphina Redgrave sat back on the sofa, casually opened a bag of unopened chips on the table, and began to eat, "What kind of person is Ethan Sterling?"

The reason the Sterling Family was mysterious is that beneath their vast businesses, collecting and selling intelligence was their primary occupation.

"The Reaper, whom no one in Z-country dares to provoke."

Hector Shaw paused, "Ryan Sterling, back then, was one who could manipulate Z-country at will. Ethan Sterling took over power from his father with a single gun, and now his father is living a retired life at home. For someone who treats his own father like that, imagine how he treats his enemies."

From Hector Shaw’s tone, it seemed the Shaw Family couldn’t be relied upon.

Forget it.

She’ll handle it herself.

Seraphina Redgrave tossed the barely eaten chips into the trash.

"By the way, there’s rumored to be a hereditary disease in the Sterling Family, but the news is uncertain. Large families have both true and false news, and such personal matters are even harder to distinguish."

Hector Shaw asked with concern, "But, how are things between you and him?"

The relationship with Ethan Sterling concerned her life.

"It’s alright for now? But who can say what the future holds?"

Ethan Sterling was an overly powerful man, not easy to deal with.

To her, staying by his side wasn’t a long-term plan.

"Seraphina Redgrave, although the Sterling Family holds immense power, it’s not impossible for you to escape. Once you reach the south, on my family’s territory, there’s nothing he can do to you."

He couldn’t go to Sovereign directly; openly taking someone from Ethan Sterling, though it might be fine for him, he couldn’t let the Shaw Family bury itself with him.

"I can’t go south."

"Why?"

"I still have revenge to seek."

The Channing Family has yet to pay the price they should; how could she leave?