Let Me Go, Mr. Howard Chapter 298

"Letty!"

Sebastian got there first. He rushed forward and pulled the lost-and-found Scarlett into his arms, holding her so tightly he seemed ready to absorb her into his body.

The Scarlett in his embrace only froze briefly before raising her arms to return the hug.

That response made Sebastian stiffen. He grabbed Scarlett's shoulders and pushed her back, his eyes locking onto her face.

Scarlett smiled and tilted her head at him. "What's wrong?"

Something felt off to Sebastian.

Still gripping Scarlett's shoulders, he gave a gentle squeeze. The feeling was wrong.

Without showing any reaction, he shook his head and took her hand, his thumb rubbing across the ring. "Nothing. I'm just glad you're back."

The others, a few steps behind Sebastian, crowded around at that moment.

"Letty! Are you alright? Are you hurt?" Rosalia was the second to rush forward. She cupped Scarlett's face, her tone urgent.

But the moment the question left her lips, Rosalia's eyebrow twitched slightly. Her fingers gently stroked the cheek beneath them. Her joy plummeted instantly.

Rosalia immediately glanced at Sebastian. He noticed, dropped his gaze, and shook his head imperceptibly.

"I'm fine, Rosa. Don't worry." But Scarlett didn't pick up on anything unusual. She smiled and pulled Rosalia's hands down, her tone affectionate with a hint of wheedling.

In that instant, the faint suspicion in Rosalia’s heart sharpened into something far more certain.

She smiled and pinched Scarlett's cheek. "As long as you're okay. You had me so worried!"

After that came everyone else's concerned questions in rotation.

And the further it went, the brighter Scarlett's smile became.

Finally, everyone started heading back in small groups. Rosalia volunteered to stay with Scarlett. No one objected.

"Kevin, where's your maid?" Sebastian hung back and called out to Kevin, who was walking ahead.

At that question, Kevin's steps faltered slightly. He turned to glance at Sebastian and smiled. "Well, she seemed to be having some kind of reaction to the environment here. Constant allergies. So I sent her home early."

"Really? Didn't take her to a hospital?" Sebastian's voice went cold, his tone lifting at the end like a taunt.

Kevin frowned. He sensed something was off, but couldn't pinpoint what. He could only smile and respond. "Well, she said it's a chronic condition. Didn't want to waste the money."

Sebastian let out a cold snort and brushed past him. "A CEO can't even cover medical bills?"

The Scarlett who'd returned from her disappearance was extremely animated, but everyone worried this might be post-traumatic fear manifesting. So they forced her to return to her room to sleep, and even stationed two bodyguards outside the door.

Kevin and Benjamin weren't staying in the main building. After dinner ended, they took a shuttle to the small castle where they were temporarily housed.

The Russo family gathered in the reception hall. Everyone's expressions were grim.

"That's not Letty."

Rosalia spoke first.

She bit down hard, clearly infuriated by being played for a fool.

"She should be Adeline Morgan." Sebastian's tone was steady. He thought of that maid whose face they couldn't see clearly. "That maid was her. Kevin's got issues. He's working for Hans Stafford."

While searching for Scarlett today, neither Sebastian nor Marco had given up investigating Hans.

And that investigation really had turned up major problems.

After Hans was elected president of Thalassia Federal Bank, he'd used his position countless times to seize clients' assets as his own.

Over fifty years ago, Wesley's assets had caught his eye. But his first attempt hadn't gone smoothly—not only had he failed to gain control of those assets, but Wesley had also become suspicious of him.

Wesley had drawn up his will early, specifically to prevent Hans from succeeding.

After practicing on several smaller deals, Hans's methods became increasingly sophisticated. But how could Wesley—who'd been wary of him from the start—let him have his way?

When Wesley realized Hans was about to make his move, he'd revised his will ahead of time, making the inheritance laws extraordinarily complex. But even all that hadn't been enough to escape Hans's schemes.

"But I didn't find anyone named Kevin in Hans's network." Marco frowned and clicked his tongue.

Sebastian fell silent for a moment. Just as he was about to continue speaking, his phone rang.

He answered immediately, but the voice on the other end wasn't Scarlett's—it was Shane's. "I had someone pull the surveillance footage and copied a segment. I think it might be useful to you."

"Got it."

Sebastian's tone stayed calm.

After hanging up, Sebastian opened the video Shane had sent.

The surveillance angle was pointed right at the elevator lobby.

Kevin entered the frame first, followed by Adeline and Ayana.

Sebastian and Marco had investigated Ayana before, so she wasn't unfamiliar to them.

"Neville..."

Suddenly, Adeline's voice came through the surveillance footage. Her voice was actually quite similar to Scarlett's—if she just sounded a bit weaker, it would be nearly identical.

Neville...

That name wasn't unfamiliar to Sebastian at all. His gaze sharpened instantly. He understood everything in a flash.

Olivia hadn't participated in their discussion. She was still tracking Scarlett's whereabouts.

The Russo family might not have spent much time with Scarlett—barely a week, but Scarlett's personality was distinct. She was sensitive and proud, never expressing her feelings lightly.

That was worlds apart from the Scarlett they'd found today.

Meanwhile, on the other side, the real Scarlett—whom the Russo family and others were frantically searching for—was currently lying in a chair on a private plane.

She'd inhaled some kind of powder in small amounts. Right now, she felt dizzy and disoriented, aware only of a massive roaring sound in her ears that made her head throb like it was about to split open.

"Honey? Honey?"

Suddenly, a woman's voice came from nearby. Her voice was high-pitched, remarkably like Rosalia's.

The woman seemed worried. Scarlett desperately wanted to respond, but her head hurt too much. Shaking it left and right didn't reduce the pain one bit.

Until a cup of warm water was pressed to Scarlett's lips.

Scarlett drank a little. The water seemed to dilute part of the drug. Her headache eased considerably.

"How are you feeling, honey?" the woman asked again.

Scarlett found the question confusing. Once the headache subsided, she slowly opened her eyes. But the person before her wasn't Rosalia—it was a Black girl!

She was instantly terrified. She bolted upright and scrambled backward. "Who—who are you?"

Seeing her frightened, Ayana quickly tried to soothe her. "It's okay. You're safe now, Adeline. Come here to me."

Adeline?

Scarlett frowned, looking around, then remembered the voices she'd heard before losing consciousness.

[Just give her to that lesbian. That's all she deserves anyway!]

She immediately understood her current situation. She quickly raised her hand to stop Ayana from approaching. "Hey! Don't move!"

Fortunately, the woman was obedient enough.

"I'm not Adeline Morgan. I'm Scarlett Seymour." Scarlett couldn't afford to delay. She'd roughly figured it out—this must be a 'swap operation' Adeline had orchestrated. Suppressing her nerves, she said, "You've got the wrong person."