Let Me Go, Mr. Howard Chapter 258

The flippant and triumphant voice came through the receiver. Scarlett's heart sank heavily, and she felt her face tighten. She slowly opened her mouth and exhaled.

"Why should I believe what you're saying?"

Her fingertips gripping the phone trembled slightly, but her voice was incredibly steady, her exhale turning into ambiguous sarcasm.

Adeline hadn't expected her to remain so calm at this point. She narrowed her eyes and snorted. "I saw it with my own eyes, just three days ago. Sebastian personally took him there, and Mark went with them." She paused, then continued with a smile. "You should be familiar with that person, right?"

Scarlett fell silent for a moment, leaning back slightly against the lazy chair, her fingertips pressed against her temple, her eyes cold and expression icy. A forbidding low pressure surrounded her entire being.

Like a storm silently brewing over the ocean's surface—seemingly calm and waveless on top, but with turbulent undercurrents churning beneath, as if ready to stir up shocking waves that would swallow everything.

But just a few seconds later, Scarlett raised an eyebrow, taking a deep breath with the movement. Though her tone was flat, it carried several degrees more coldness.

"I remember Ms. Morgan previously saying you would become my child's mother."

Adeline's smile froze, her eyes trembling slightly, betraying some panic. "You..."

"I know that was fake." Scarlett heard just that hint of panic, and the corners of her mouth curved up. "So I treat everything Ms. Morgan says as lies."

Adeline's pupils contracted. "No! This isn't fake! This is real!"

She shrieked, desperately wanting Scarlett to believe her.

However, after several consecutive shrieks ended, no sound came from the receiver.

She looked at her phone and saw the call had already been disconnected. Scarlett apparently hadn't bothered listening to the rest of what she had to say.

"Scarlett!"

Adeline's eyes blazed with fury as she roared, the hand holding the phone beginning to tremble.

The caregiver watching from nearby was the first to realize something was wrong. He rushed in, but before he could reach her, he heard a loud crash—Adeline had violently hurled the phone against the wall, instantly shattering the screen.

The space fell silent for a moment.

"Bitch! Bitch!"

Adeline stomped and shrieked, her voice so sharp it seemed to pierce eardrums. Her eyes remained bloodshot as the hand that had been gripping the phone now clawed at her hair, nails scraping down her scalp, not caring that several strands of black hair were torn out by the roots.

"Ms. Morgan!" The caregiver frowned and stepped forward quickly, grabbing her arm with swift, precise movements.

His grip was strong, jerking Adeline's body to one side.

"Get away!" Adeline immediately swung her arm.

But the caregiver had obviously anticipated this. He leaned back slightly to dodge Adeline's swing, then turned to look at his colleague entering with a sedative.

"Ms. Morgan, please relax. You need to rest."

Several caregivers surrounded her. Shortly after the medication entered her system, Adeline's eyes rolled back, her previously tense body instantly went limp, and she lost consciousness.

...

Having hastily hung up the phone, Scarlett could no longer suppress her inner emotions. She tremblingly set down the phone, her slightly moist eyes faintly reddened.

She blinked and took a deep breath, finally managing to stabilize her overly agitated emotions.

The phone had gone dark by now, but she couldn't help looking toward it, Adeline's words echoing constantly in her mind—that arrogant, triumphant tone, completely different from her previous false gentleness.

Scarlett understood the other's pride. In such a frenzied state, not everything she said was necessarily false.

Moreover...

Scarlett pressed her lips together lightly, lowering her eyelids, her mind unsettled.

Sebastian always tried to hide things from her. Though there had indeed been some improvement in this area recently, who could guarantee he'd really revealed everything?

[Just three days ago, Sebastian personally took him there...]

This phrase from Adeline was like a curse, deeply etched in Scarlett's mind.

"Three days..." She repeated this timeframe, almost immediately thinking of Michael's phone call from some time ago.

She couldn't remember exactly how long ago that call was, but her subconscious told her it hadn't been too long.

Grabbing her phone, Scarlett began searching through her call history.

Within just a few seconds, her movements stopped abruptly, her index finger frozen on one side of the screen.

Her finger had stopped at a string of numbers, with the call time noted directly below.

December 18th.

Today was December 22nd—exactly four days ago.

Thinking of Michael's strange attitude during that call, and even Sebastian's subsequent call revealing something abnormal, Scarlett's heart contracted sharply.

She raised her hand to cover her chest, slowly leaning back against the stuffed animal behind her. The soft toy had always been able to calm her emotions, but now, it couldn't settle her down at all.

She tremblingly called Michael back. After just a few rings, a mechanical female voice came through with an automated message.

The sentence was in Vesperian—Scarlett couldn't understand it at all, but the familiar intonation made her hair stand on end. She was certain Michael's phone couldn't be reached, either turned off or without signal.

But either possibility was impossible for Michael if he were still in the country.

Realizing Adeline might have been telling the truth, Scarlett became nervous again. She picked up her phone once more and, for the first time, actively dialed Sebastian's number.

At this moment, it was midnight in Lumaria.

But even so, the phone was answered within seconds, followed by a male voice.

"What's wrong, Letty?"

Sebastian's voice was hoarse—he'd probably just been pulled from deep sleep, his voice still heavy with drowsiness, softening on her name with unconscious comfort.

Scarlett pressed her lips together. All her accusations didn't know how to come out. Several times she opened her mouth, only to let out silent sighs.

"What happened?"

After not hearing a response for a long time, Sebastian's voice became clearer. Background sounds suggested fabric rustling, as if he were sitting up. "Don't be afraid. I'm here."

This comfort was even more indulgent.

But Scarlett lowered her head, as if not wanting to hear it, holding the phone away. Only after her emotions had settled did she bring the phone back.

"Where is my cousin Michael?"

She'd tried her best to steady her voice, unwilling to reveal any vulnerability, but her voice still trembled.

Sebastian's drowsy brain seemed to explode in that instant, immediately snapping awake, his eyes regaining clarity, his voice low and steady. "Why are you asking about this?"

Scarlett wasn't unfamiliar with such counter-questions, but they made her feel even more chilled.

Whenever he had something he didn't want her to pursue, Sebastian would always use such counter-questions to shut her up.

She took a deep breath, her voice becoming even more unsteady, taking on a sob. "You put him in a psychiatric hospital, didn't you?"