Zachary was speechless. He wondered if Stan could stop scaring him—his heart was not strong enough for such a thrill! Stan was literally killing him here!"W-Well, whose is it?!" Zachary exclaimed."Ian Jefferson's," Stan replied, his voice flat just then.Zachary almost breathed an expletive right then. "Him?! How?!"It was absolutely unexpected. He would never have thought it possible!"I don't know the details either." Stan sighed."Oh, never mind. It's fine as long as it's not James. F*ck me, I almost had a heart attack!" Zachary exclaimed cheerfully. "Alright, I'm hanging up now. I have to tell Isaac about this.""Yeah," Stan replied and hung up.Zachary then slid his phone into his pocket but jumped in surprise when he turned to find Erin standing behind him!"W-What are you doing here?!" he exclaimed.Erin simply stared at him in silence while Zachary felt guilty from the stare. Did she overhear something?He searched his memory but did not find anything suspicious

"Well, since Hector killed Ian, he spared James the trouble!" Zachary exclaimed, suddenly finding Hector a pushover. "That's one concern less on our list! And that means it's Hector who knows about the castle, not that gang who's after us."That gang was definitely the worst of the two!"Find out where he is now," Isaac told Zachary—Hector remained a time bomb that could inflict serious damage unless they removed him from the equation. Who knew when he would jump out at them, catching them off guard?Zachary nodded."He's in hiding—even James had trouble tracking him down earlier," he said, though his tone soon changed. "But that doesn't mean he's gone without a chase, especially now that he made a move. There must be clues somewhere.""Yeah," Isaac said. "Make it fast!" "Right away," Zachary replied, and he turned to see Irene walking toward them."The leg wasn't James's?" she asked—she heard them talking about it but just wanted to confirm it.Zachary nodded. "It's Ian's."

Martin quickly averted his eyes. "Nothing."Lulu certainly doubted that and reached out to turn his face so that he faced her directly. "Tell me. What was that about?"Martin came clean right then. "Well, you know who the father is. I won't mind if you want Jean to be named after him…"Lulu glowered right then and turned to leave the room.For some reason, her heart hurt. Martin followed her outside. "Are you upset?"Lulu kept her back to him. "No.""You are," Martin said, exposing her right then.Lulu said nothing to that and kept her gaze lowered.Martin walked up in turn and wrapped his arms tightly around her waist from behind, and he brushed his cheek against hers. "I misspoke. Please don't get angry, alright?"Lulu pursed her lips and turned to face him. "I'm not that cold, Martin. I know you've been good to me, so why would you mention him?""I was just trying to say that I'd respect whatever you decide on. I wasn't deliberately mentioning it to upset you," Martin ex

Lulu felt her head clearing right then and asked with a hoarse voice, "What time is it?""Ten," Martin replied. That late?!Lulu promptly got up to check on her daughter. But when she did so, her blanket slipped off and bore her naked form, leaving her taken aback.It was only then that she remembered what happened last night, and she blushed slightly.Martin draped her pajamas over her shoulders. "Get washed up. We'll eat together."Lulu nodded, and he got out of bed.His body was muscular. His chiseled pectorals and abdominals gave the sense of firmness and strength.And Lulu certainly experienced that it did not just look that way—he really was strong!Her cheeks burned even as scenes of last night played in her head. Never did she expect that she would unleash herself like this! She got out of bed and headed to the bathroom.She stood under the shower sprinkler and turned it on. Water gushed and started splashing over her, wetting her hair like seaweed over her fair sh

Lulu said nothing and simply held her glass as she stared at Martin. "When did you start liking guessing games? And I'd never guess it.""I was not given a case at the precinct," Martin said then. "I was given a reward for my brave actions."He waved an envelope at her and handed it to her. "For you."Lulu opened it to find three grand sitting inside. But for men like Martin, money mattered less than carrying their honors. And Lulu knew all too well that Martin earned his with his life."How could you give this to me?" she asked.Martin checked on Jean who lay in bed and reached out to stroke her tender cheeks. "All that I have is yours."Lulu smiled."By the way, shouldn't you call Irene?" Martin told her then. "Ricky will be sentenced in a few days. Even if he had committed many crimes, they might reduce his jail time since he helped us apprehend a major ringleader."As Lulu's smile faded slightly, Martin looked up. "Just enjoy your own life. Worry less about others."