CHAPTER 378: CHAPTER 378: WILL HUGO QUINN BE IN TROUBLE?

Xavier Crawford gritted his teeth. With only ten seconds remaining, he practically cut one of the red wires with his eyes closed.

"None of you will survive, haha, Eleanor Hollis, this is all karma!"

The old man sneered, slowly closing his eyes, ready to embrace death.

"Click."

The red wire was cut, and the timer stopped at two seconds, no longer moving.

Xavier Crawford’s eyes were bloodshot, staring at those two seconds, afraid that time might suddenly speed up like before.

It’s paused. It really is paused.

He breathed a sigh of relief, removed the bomb from the old man’s body, and ordered someone to take it away.

Eleanor Hollis wiped the sweat off her face, and gave Xavier Crawford a grateful glance. If it weren’t for this person today, she might really have died.

"Eleanor, did you offend someone?"

Xavier took a sip of coffee to calm his nerves. Seeing the old man being escorted away, he finally felt at ease.

This bomb had clearly been modified by someone. If the other party really wanted Eleanor Hollis dead, it would have exploded the moment the old man entered the office.

But the other party clearly did not intend to kill her directly; instead, they toyed with her like this, pushing her rationality to its brink, letting her suffer repeatedly between hope and despair. If she hadn’t offended someone, who would go to such great lengths to modify a bomb to tease her?

Eleanor’s eyebrows furrowed slightly. She had offended a lot of people; she had made enemies of all the women in Serenford who wanted to marry Hugo Quinn.

"I’ll investigate this matter, Xavier, thank you."

The old man kept saying she’d harmed his granddaughter, but she didn’t even know his granddaughter. Clearly, the old man had been incited by someone.

She had already sent someone to interrogate him, believing that results would come soon.

But half an hour later, the bodyguard informed her that the old man had committed suicide by poison.

Eleanor’s brows knitted together, and her heart felt unusually troubled.

The enemy was in the shadows while she was in the open, clearly at a disadvantage.

If this kind of thing happened again a few more times, she couldn’t confidently say she would survive until Hugo Quinn returned.

Xavier drove her home, not forgetting to give detailed instructions.

"With Hugo not around, you should go out less and just stay home and wait for him. If you get bored, give me a call; Grace and I will come to keep you company."

Eleanor looked at him gratefully, having just returned from the brink of death. Still feeling lingering fear, she didn’t stay to have dinner with him; instead, she dazedly entered the villa.

"Mommy."

Marcus was watching TV in the living room and ran over excitedly when he saw her return.

Eleanor ruffled his hair worriedly, thinking that she almost couldn’t see this child again.

"Dinner is ready. With Dad on a business trip, it’s just you and me at home."

The villa’s chef had already prepared dinner, but Eleanor had no appetite. Forcing herself, she took a few bites before putting down her chopsticks.

Marcus frowned; Mommy ate too little.

"Marcus, sorry, I already ate at the company. I’ll watch you eat, so have a little more."

Marcus, hearing she’d already eaten, relaxed and continued eating, even adding another bowl of rice.

After dinner, Eleanor went to his room to help him with his homework.

But clearly, she wasn’t in a good state tonight, frequently zoning out. Even when Marcus called her, she didn’t respond, staring at the crooked letters in the book.

"Mommy, you should go rest. Do you miss Dad?"

Marcus worriedly placed a hand on her forehead, but found no sign of fever.

Eleanor stood up, feeling a little dizzy.

"Let’s skip the tutoring tonight; you should go to bed early too."

Back in her own room, she tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Hearing the rain outside only made her more irritable.

She closed her eyes, forcing herself to fall asleep, but as soon as she did, she had a nightmare.

In the dream, Hugo Quinn was isolated. Many people in white protective suits were disinfecting him, and she wanted to get closer, but a mysterious force kept stopping her.

"Hugo..."

She shouted, and then woke up, drenched in sweat.

The room was empty and strange; she’d never felt this way before.

Unable to sleep, she turned on the lights.

The villa had always been well-guarded. Just like Xavier said, as long as she stayed there, nothing should happen.

She breathed a sigh of relief, picked up her phone, and called Hugo Quinn.

No one answered. Unwilling to give up, she called a second time.

Still no answer. Her heart fluttered with fear, as if a vortex had appeared beneath her, sucking her down.

Why wasn’t he answering the phone? Had something happened to Hugo Quinn?

Africa, heavy rain pouring down.

Hugo Quinn had just come in from outside, wearing a large raincoat, soaked from head to toe.

Nearby, Cole Crawford and Lan Yancy had also changed out of their rain gear, their expressions grim.

The sickness was worsening, and they had heard that the plane was landing in the most affected area, which had already been cordoned off by the local government. Entering wasn’t going to be easy unless they disguised themselves as local police.

The three of them sat around the small coffee table, hearing gunfire outside, knowing that someone was taking action under the cover of night.

Africa was chaotic, and with recent unrest, many took this opportunity to rob, making it unsafe for women to go out at night.

At dusk, every household would lock their doors to avoid being targeted.

"Are we going into that area?"

Cole Crawford furrowed his brow. Going in? Who knew if they’d come out alive? But this epidemic did not seem to be stopping, and nobody knew how long the area would remain closed off.

"Let’s observe a bit more. No need for rash actions; there are operatives from other nations everywhere. Everyone gathering here must have other missions."

Hugo Quinn rubbed his temples. His sharp eyes quickly spotted operatives disguised as civilians. What was everyone’s purpose for coming to Africa during this turbulent time?

Cole Crawford fell silent, reclining back and falling asleep on the couch.

"If we’re not acting, let’s rest well and conserve our energy. That group seems eager to enter that area too; we’d best prepare early."

Hugo Quinn and Lan Yancy nodded, each heading to their beds.

For the sake of safety, they hadn’t booked individual rooms but took a suite—one living room with three bedrooms.

After they left, Cole Crawford lit a cigarette, opened the window, and smoked leisurely.

After Mom and Dad went missing with the plane, the responsibility of taking care of his brother fell on his shoulders.

His brother knew nothing at the time, while the uncles watched with greedy eyes.

He had to grow up instantly from a kid, tightly shielding his brother behind him.