Mr. Hawthorne, Your Wife Wants a Divorce Again-Chapter 1036: There’s Another Accomplice!

A look of sheer terror appeared on her face.

Ann Vaughn slightly pursed her red lips, raised her hand to wipe her cheek, and only then discovered her face was covered in cold sweat.

In just a few minutes of distraction, it felt as though she had a nightmare.

"I don’t know either, it’s just that the word ’sacrifice’ feels terrifying. By the time I came back to my senses, I was already like this." Ann Vaughn’s eyes were filled with bewilderment, and her lowered lashes trembled.

Cyrus Hawthorne studied her vacant expression and slightly pale complexion, a thoughtful look crossing his dark, narrow eyes.

Ann Vaughn’s fear was somewhat unusual.

Just hearing that one might become a sacrifice is certainly frightening, but not to such an excessive reaction.

Unless, Ann Vaughn had not only heard about the Zeus Base but had also experienced something there.

Only then would there be such a profound impression of fear left in her subconscious.

Cyrus did not press her for more details and instead gently smoothed her hair with his fingertips, his voice lowering a few pitches: "I’ve assigned a Shadow Guard to stay by your side. If you find yourself in danger, they will appear immediately."

"Huh?"

"In the future, no matter what happens, don’t try to be strong yourself. Just instruct them to handle it, understood?"

The tension in Ann Vaughn’s nerves gradually eased, and she patted her chest to assure him: "Don’t worry, I promise not to let myself be in danger, safety is the priority for everything!"

After all, she was quite cautious about her life.

Who knows when those people might suddenly appear?

"Oh right!" Ann suddenly remembered the task Breeze had entrusted to her, pondered the wording, and then subtly mentioned it to Cyrus.

"I see," he replied.

Cyrus’s expression did not change, but the slight smile at the corner of his lips carried a chilling, profound hint.

It seemed he had been too agreeable in recent days.

Everyone dared to bother Ann Vaughn with such trivial matters.

...

Before leaving the hospital, Ann detoured to Susie Sommers’s ward, only to learn from the doctor that she had just been discharged.

After almost having a miscarriage last time, Susie’s health was much worse, requiring long-term rest to recover, or it would be even worse in the future.

Being discharged now was detrimental, offering no benefit to Susie’s health.

Ann quickly took out her phone to call Susie, while heading downstairs in the elevator, hoping she might catch up with her if she went out at that moment.

Seemingly a step too late, Susie was nowhere to be seen outside the hospital building, and her phone continuously indicated she was in a call, leaving Ann with inexplicable anxiety.

Hopefully, nothing has happened...

Ann’s red lips tightened as she was about to leave when her peripheral vision suddenly caught a familiar figure.

She turned on her heel and immediately chased after it.

...

In a shabby house on the outskirts of town.

The soundproofing here was terrible, and from time to time, the shrill cry of a baby could be heard emanating from inside the house.

"Cry, cry, cry, damn it, just keeps crying! Do you believe I’ll kill you little bastard later!"

"Don’t say I didn’t warn you, we still need her before the Lynch Family’s ransom arrives."

"Heh, true enough. Once I get the Lynch Family’s ransom, I’ll let Reese taste the pain of being separated from her flesh and blood!"

As soon as this was said, a loud slapping sound came from inside the house.

Following that was the full-throated wailing of a baby, its cries echoing through the desolate vicinity of the abandoned house, sounding especially desolate.

Hidden in the shadows, Ann Vaughn’s eyes were nearly aflame, barely restraining herself from barging in immediately.

Just then, the door to the house was opened.

"I’m going out to buy a few bottles of wine, you’d better not get any ideas, keep an eye on the kid." A small, thin man wearing a black hat and mask walked out of the house and, after descending the stairs, walked away.

Inside, the dilapidated, filthy floor was littered with a few newspapers, on top of which a tiny baby was haphazardly tossed. A bright red handprint was stamped on its tender face, making for a shocking sight.

The cries gradually diminished, while the man sitting beside in utter destitution seemed utterly indifferent, guzzling alcohol.

"Damn it, I told you to stop crying!" Jude Halloway impatiently smashed the bottle near the swaddle, shards accidentally splattering onto the baby’s face, inciting yet another wailing.

Jude’s impatience finally reached its peak. With no one around to stop him, combined with the dual provocation of alcohol, dark thoughts sprouted in his heart.

The Lynch Family thought they were so powerful, ruining his reputation, no company in The Imperial Capital dared to hire him, his whole family left shamed.

But now, wasn’t Reese’s own daughter in his hands?

At this thought, Jude’s hand grasped the baby’s fragile neck, then squeezed hard—

The baby’s face flushed red and purple, its cries growing weaker.

Bang!!

The door to the house was suddenly kicked open.

Jude’s hands trembled as he turned his head towards the door.

Only to see a black object coming towards his face, giving him no time to react. As he turned his head, his face was already buried in some hard object, even his nose cracked with a sound of bone breaking.

The hard object was nothing else but a frying pan.

The one holding the frying pan was indeed Ann Vaughn.

"You #$%@& banana pineapple head!"

"You’re abusing your own daughter, you bastard! Scum! Degenerate!!"

The fire of anger fueled Ann Vaughn beyond reasoning. She raised her slender leg to fiercely kick Jude’s shoulder, forcibly removing the frying pan from his face.

Then she lifted the pan again and smashed it down on Jude’s head with a clang!

Once wasn’t enough, she did it again!

Clang, clang, a few hits knocked the fight out of Jude, his brain pounding with a dull ache.

"You-!" Jude collapsed on the ground miserably, barely finishing a word before spewing blood, convulsing, then outright fainting.

Ann finally tossed aside the frying pan, quickly walking over to the baby, carefully scooping her up.

Only to find, once she held her, that the child’s breathing... was nearly gone.

Ann’s heart missed a beat, she stopped worrying about anything else, hurriedly retrieving a vial of life-extending potion from her multi-pocketed pouch, carefully feeding it to the child.

But the baby’s neck had just been squeezed hard by Jude, damaging her vocal cords, making swallowing very difficult. No matter how much was fed, it just spilled out.

Ann gently massaged the baby’s acupressure points to help the potion flow down her throat.

After about ten minutes, the baby’s faint breathing finally began to stabilize.

Ann’s relief was palpable as she used her handkerchief to dab at the injury on the child’s face, then held her close while exiting the house.

She had barely reached the doorway when she heard a rush of footsteps approaching from outside, sending her heart racing.

She recalled... there seemed to be an accomplice!