Let Me Go, Mr. Howard Chapter 293

The Bentley reeked of perfume—the kind teenage girls bathed in.

The scent hit Teddy the second the window cracked open. He swallowed hard, realizing the 'boss' these gorillas worked for was a woman.

His gaze shifted, landing on the woman inside the car.

Blonde. But not the brassy, bottle-blonde most European women chased after—this was natural. Her eyebrows and lashes were the same golden shade, her eyes a pale, icy blue. Like something frozen at the bottom of the ocean.

Teddy met her gaze and dipped his head slightly. "Ma'am."

She returned the nod, her demeanor neither warm nor cold.

Teddy couldn't read her angle. He kept his guard up.

"I heard you were the one who handed Duke over to Mr. Marco Russo?" She cut straight to the point, which actually caught Teddy off guard.

He frowned, his eyes lingering on her face for a brief moment before his expression smoothed out. "Yes."

The woman looked intimidating, but her eyes were clear. Probably some rich family's princess.

"There's a million dollars in here. Convince Mr. Russo to let him go." She produced a black card, holding it between two fingers and resting it casually on the window frame.

Teddy's gaze barely touched the card before he flatly refused. "No thanks."

The moment the rejection left his mouth, the two men behind Teddy stepped forward in unison.

Even under the implicit threat, Teddy's expression didn't change. "Miss, why would you want me to play negotiator? I'm just a bodyguard."

"I know Mr. Sebastian Howard trusts you. Mr. Howard is Mr. Russo's nephew. If Mr. Howard backs your word, Mr. Russo will listen."

She smiled—whether amused by his question or just being polite, he couldn't tell.

But Teddy's face went serious in that instant.

The relationship between Sebastian and Marco wasn't common knowledge. In fact, very few people knew about it at all.

After all, in most people's minds, why would a business tycoon raised in Lumaria have any connection to the Russo family on Virella Island, Seraphim?

Yet this woman knew. And she knew plenty about him, too, apparently.

This just got a whole lot messier.

Teddy raised an eyebrow and exhaled slowly. "Miss, you've done your homework. But I'm still not taking the money."

Her brow furrowed immediately, clearly displeased.

But Teddy kept talking. "Given your intel, you probably also know Duke and I go way back." His gaze dropped to the card in her hand. "So even without that, I'd try to help him anyway."

His words clearly struck a chord.

Her face lit up like a blooming rose. "That's wonderful. I'll wait for good news. Don't worry—I'll make sure you're properly compensated!"

Obviously, someone who didn't know what money problems looked like.

Teddy silently looked away. After a few seconds of consideration, he said, "Not necessary. It wouldn't be appropriate."

As Sebastian's bodyguard, agreeing to this already broke protocol. But given his history with Duke, wanting to help made sense. Taking money on top of that? That would cross a serious line.

Teddy didn't want to leave leverage lying around. Sure, they were discussing saving Duke now—but who knew what this money might be 'payment' for down the road?

"I know how your bodyguards operate. Don't worry—I'll find something you absolutely can't refuse as payment."

Teddy didn't put much stock in her promise, but he still took her business card.

As he left, though, Teddy couldn't shake the feeling he'd forgotten something.

It wasn't until he got back to Maple Valley Villa and sat down with a cup of tea that he remembered what he hadn't done.

He pulled out his phone and sent Sebastian everything he'd noticed at Kevin's place, along with an honest confession about the rich girl he'd met and the business card.

After sending the photo of the card, Teddy finally took a closer look at it.

Averly Stafford.

The name didn't ring a bell, but the surname sure did.

Among people named Stafford, one stood out—Hans Stafford, president of Thalassia Federal Bank.

Teddy finally grasped exactly what kind of 'rich princess' he'd met today.

But why would Averly go to such lengths to save Duke? Was this actually Hans pulling strings, with Averly just there as misdirection?

While Teddy was puzzling over the real motive, his phone rang.

He picked up immediately. Sebastian's voice came through the speaker.

"Averly Stafford?" Sebastian led with the name from the card, his voice tinged with obvious confusion.

Not something you heard from Sebastian often.

Teddy grunted in confirmation, the business card spinning between his fingers. "I'm thinking Duke might be one of Hans Stafford's guys. Averly... could be a smokescreen."

His theory was simple and blunt—Averly showing up was probably Hans's idea.

But Hans didn't want to make too much noise, so he sent Averly to approach Teddy in secret.

"Smokescreen?" Sebastian actually laughed at that theory. His tone stayed calm, just threaded with amusement. "A smokescreen that involves sending out your own daughter?"

Teddy's words died in his throat. Confusion flickered across his face for a split second before his expression reset.

"No."

He answered.

Sebastian continued. "I'm putting you on this. See if you can get Duke to cough up who hired him."

"Yes, sir."

"As for Benjamin and Kevin..." Sebastian's voice paused briefly. After a moment of consideration, he went on. "Stick to the original plan for now. I'll have Shane check the hotel surveillance for those two women."

Foreign hotels took customer privacy seriously. Even money couldn't just buy you access to their security footage.

But Shane was different.

He was a long-term resident at that hotel. He had the right to request lobby entrance footage—he'd just need to frame it the right way.

Teddy acknowledged the order.

The next day, Teddy arrived at Hotel Caelstra with Libbie at the agreed-upon time to meet Kevin in the lobby.

"And who's this?"

The moment they met up, Teddy's attention was drawn to the maid trailing behind Kevin.

She wore a face mask. The visible parts of her face showed scarring, though thick bangs covered most of it. She wasn't tall—maybe five-foot-six at most.

"She's my newly hired maid. She speaks Seraphine—perfect for translating." Kevin smiled as he introduced her.

Teddy frowned. "The Russos all speak English."

The implication being: not necessary.

But Kevin acted like he didn't get it, going on and on about how she could handle Seraphine translation.