Let Me Go, Mr. Howard Chapter 290

Right after Rosalia's voice came Olivia's.

"What happened?"

Her voice was low, steady, utterly calm—yet it carried the unmistakable weight of authority. Pure command wrapped in a question.

Unlike the concern in Rosalia's tone, Olivia's words radiated absolute control. That single sentence made Scarlett instantly recognize the presence of someone who wielded real power.

Natasha, who'd been relatively relaxed moments ago, immediately straightened her spine and glanced over cautiously.

Scarlett had recovered her strength by now. She stood upright with Sebastian's support. Aside from the throbbing pain in her arm, she felt fine.

But Sebastian kept his arm around her waist, steadying her anyway.

"Natasha tried to drag Letty into the silent room." Sebastian's tone was harsh. He shot Natasha a glance, his eyes broadcasting undisguised disgust and irritation.

"What?"

Rosalia's voice arrived before she did.

Scarlett heard her first, then saw her head pop out from behind Sebastian's shoulder.

'Pop out' wasn't quite right—'squeeze' was more accurate.

The small doorway wasn't just cramped inside—the entrance itself was tight. With the three of them already there, fitting another person was nearly impossible. So Rosalia managed to wedge just her head through.

"Letty, are you okay?"

She glanced quickly at Natasha before focusing on Scarlett, whose face had gone visibly pale.

"I'm fine." Scarlett shook her head automatically.

Sebastian, still holding her, let out a dismissive huff. Clearly, he didn't buy that for a second.

"Move."

Olivia's voice cut through from behind.

Rosalia's head vanished instantly.

Marco stepped aside next, then Sebastian guided Scarlett out.

Natasha was nervous—Scarlett could see her fingers anxiously twisting the fringe on her scarf.

"Mrs. Russo," Natasha's voice came out small and pitiful. "I don't know what came over me. How could I treat a guest like that?"

Olivia said nothing. Just stared at her in silence.

The Russos treated their people well, true enough. But they had their own code—an unwritten rule about never overstepping your place.

Meanwhile, Scarlett's mind went back to Natasha mentioning Adeline.

She looked up at Sebastian beside her. "Has Ms. Morgan been to this vineyard before?"

She'd meant to ask quietly, but the surrounding silence was so absolute that her words immediately drew everyone's attention.

Multiple pairs of eyes flicked to Scarlett, then traded glances with each other.

Sebastian paused, but this time he didn't hide anything. He laid it out plainly. "She has. But how did you know that?"

His voice dropped considerably on that last question, his brow creasing slightly.

Scarlett raised an eyebrow, glancing at Natasha with her bowed head. "She mistook me for Adeline Morgan."

The silence deepened.

Olivia looked genuinely surprised. After that brief moment of shock, she whipped around to face Natasha, her words coming with slight hesitation. "Marco, take Natasha to the hospital."

The sudden drama ended as abruptly as it had begun.

Scarlett and Sebastian sat in the small sitting room. The rest of the Russo family had scattered to handle their own business—though it was obvious they were also deliberately giving the two of them space.

"Why would you bring Ms. Morgan to this vineyard?" Scarlett pressed her lips together, her fingertips unconsciously tracing the gilded pattern on her teacup.

Sebastian glanced at her, his gaze lingering briefly on her fidgeting hands. "Decades ago, this vineyard was the Russo family's prison. Their internal prison."

Scarlett frowned. Prisons and death went hand in hand most of the time. What family would choose to rebuild their gathering place on top of one?

Sebastian clearly understood her confusion.

He lifted his wine glass with a soft laugh. "The internal prison never saw any deaths. Just interrogations."

Scarlett took a sip of her tea, looking down. "Then what about Natasha? At her age, you're still having her participate in interrogations?"

If Adeline had been locked up as a pawn under interrogation, Natasha would never have encountered her.

But Natasha had confused Scarlett with Adeline. Which meant the two of them must have crossed paths somehow.

"The night Adeline tried to kill herself, they carried her out of the silent room. Natasha happened to see it." Sebastian sighed softly, as if marveling at the twisted coincidence of it all. "Natasha's old job was interrogating internal traitors or people who'd crossed the Russo family."

He set down his glass, his voice dropping as he drummed his fingers lightly on his knee. "Her memory used to be sharp. Though from the looks of it now, something's gone wrong."

Scarlett gripped her teacup tighter. "Alzheimer's, right?"

She hadn't studied it formally, but judging from Natasha's behavior, that seemed the most likely explanation.

"Probably. We won't know for sure until the test results come back." Sebastian turned to look at her, his gaze settling on the left arm Natasha had grabbed. "Take your shirt off. Let me see."

Scarlett hadn't been watching where he was looking. Hearing those words completely out of context, she immediately choked on her tea.

Her face flushed crimson in an instant. Worse than the choking was the frustration of trying to speak but getting cut off by her own coughing fit.

"Easy." Sebastian didn't seem to realize his mistake at all. His tone was exasperated as he patted her back gently.

Scarlett finally caught her breath and shot him a glare. "I'm trying to have a serious conversation with you! What kind of pervert—"

Sebastian didn't accept that accusation for a second.

His brow furrowed, his expression genuinely confused. "Pervert? What are you talking about? Natasha used to be a mercenary. Even at her age, you think you could handle that kind of grip strength?"

Hearing that, Scarlett froze. The flush that had just started fading from her face came roaring back.

"Take off your shirt. Let me see."

Sebastian prompted her again.

This time, Scarlett didn't hesitate. Her inner layer was loose anyway—she shrugged off her jacket and rolled up her sleeve.

Her pale arm was covered in fingerprint bruises. Natasha had gripped her so hard that some of the marks were already turning faintly blue.

Sebastian's frown deepened immediately. He crossed to a nearby cabinet and pulled out a medical kit.

As a traditional Virella Island mob family, the Russos had their own specially formulated remedies.

He spread the medicinal solution over her entire upper arm, then wrapped it twice with gauze before he was satisfied.

But Scarlett thought it was overkill. She looked down at her arm, now swathed in white bandages, and frowned. "Isn't this a little excessive?"