Chapter 267
Chapter 267
Medical books?
Aria couldn’t help but connect this with the items she’d taken from the old traditional medicine practitioner’s place.
There were exactly three books.
These must be the medical books Culver was after.
Before they knew it, Owen had walked Aria to Betty’s place.
Noticing the slight furrow in her brow, he instinctively reached out and lightly ruffled her hair, withdrawing his hand instantly. “You’re home. Go get some sleep. Don’t overthink it, or you’ll have trouble sleeping.”
His words came out faster than intended, the end of his sentence carrying a barely noticeable tremor.
With that, he turned and strode off in the opposite direction, his steps hurried and urgent.
The warmth on her head vanished instantly, replaced by a biting cold wind.
Aria’s eyes widened. ‘Did Owen just… pat my head?
‘Could he have mistaken me for Anabel?
‘Do we really look alike?‘
Owen could still feel Aria’s gaze fixed on his back.
Thank god it was night. At least she couldn’t see how flustered his steps were.
He clenched his right hand, his throat working repeatedly as he swallowed. Only when he reached the door did his heartbeat finally settle.
He had no idea why he’d reached out to pat Aria’s head. When he saw her frown, he instinctively wanted to smooth it out, and by the time he realized, his hand was already there.
‘At least I only touched her head and not her brows,‘ he mused. ‘Otherwise, that would’ve really been crossing the line.‘
Owen stepped inside, just as he locked eyes with Caleb, who was coming out of the bathroom.
Caleb was also staying there, sleeping on the living room couch. He stayed there instead of going back to the dorm, simply to be closer to Aria.
They weren’t used to sharing rooms, neither of them.
Owen had initially offered his room to Caleb, but Caleb refused.
If it weren’t for Aria, Owen wouldn’t have even thought of doing something so ‘thoughtful.‘ After all, he only had the title of ‘big brother‘–there was no need to accept such favors.
Caleb broke the silence first, his voice calm but probing. “Why are you blushing?”
“Windburn. It’s freezing out there.”
“I’m going to shower.” Owen averted his gaze and headed to his room.
Caleb frowned as he watched Owen walk into the room.
‘It’s not like today’s the first cold day. Why haven’t I ever seen his face get windburned before?‘ he wondered.
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11:00 Thu 12 Jun
Chapter 267
Owen had come back with Aria.
If Caleb didn’t trust Owen’s character, he would have suspected the guy was up to no good with Aria.
“Dr. Webster, I believe Aria has taken those medical books,” someone reported respectfully.
Culver sat on the sofa, holding a printed photograph of a recess.
The bottom of the recess was covered in dust, except for a clearly visible rectangular outline in the center–obviously left by the medical books that had
once been stored there.
He instructed, “Find a chance to search her place. Those medical books are secondary. The seal is the real target.”
The two exchanged uneasy glances. “There are surveillance cameras at the entrance. We’re worried we might tip her off.”
If they could find what they wanted, then fine. But if they couldn’t, they would definitely tip her off.
Culver ordered, “Hire a hacker to disable the surveillance.”
The man answered, “Understood, sir.”
They left, gently closing the door behind them.
Culver’s mind flashed with the image of Aria’s cold, distant face.
‘That girl is no simpleton,‘ he mused. ‘I need to tread carefully around her and absolutely can’t afford to offend her.
‘If she catches wind of my plans, she’ll show up with the seal and throw everything into chaos. Taking over Todd School would be next to impossible
then.
‘Dr. Todd really was lucky. He took in a random village girl, only to discover she’s so well–connected.’
Just as Culver was about to rest, a sudden knock interrupted the silence.
“Dr. Webster, it’s Hannah,” called a woman’s voice from outside.
He frowned in annoyance, about to refuse, but restrained himself and said curtly, “Come in.”
Hannah stepped inside, her expression barely concealing a trace of unease.
With feigned concern, she asked, “Dr. Webster, I heard Aria had been disrespectful to you. Is that true?”
Before coming, Culver had left no stone unturned in investigating Aria’s background and social connections.
