Mr. Hawthorne, Your Wife Wants a Divorce Again-Chapter 1097: Smoke Screen

It’s not Cyrus Hawthorne, but a child no more than ten years old!

Both his feet are shackled in iron chains, rubbing his ankles raw, leaving them blood-red, with skin turned inside out, the wounds struggling to heal, and the blood oozing out has a black tint, particularly unnerving.

Even though Ann Vaughn has seen worse injuries, she still feels a chill down her spine.

Zeus Base won’t even spare such a small child...

The boy, awakened by her arrival, leans back, a deep layer of vigilance in his light-colored eyes; the more he retreats, the louder the noise from the chains on his feet, and the faster the blood flows.

"Don’t move, your wound is severely infected. If the bleeding doesn’t stop, you’ll be in danger," Ann quickly halted his evasive actions, holding his skinny ankle, staring at the chains for a while.

She’s not afraid of getting dirty as the dark blood flows onto her snow-white wrists, not even furrowing her brow.

The boy’s pupils dilate slightly in shock at her actions, momentarily forgetting to dodge.

"Wait a moment," Ann takes out a small, intricate tool from her pocket, pulling out a wire for picking locks, and fiddles with the keyhole on the chain.

Before long, with a click, she successfully unlocks it.

Ann throws the weighty chains aside and sees the boy wanting to hide again; she immediately presses down on his knee, warning, "Don’t move, I’m in a hurry."

The boy: "..."

Seeing him finally cooperate without moving, Ann smiles with satisfaction, pulling out some disinfectant to treat his wounds and asks, "What’s your name? How did you end up locked in here by them?"

The boy presses his lips together in silence.

Ann doesn’t mind; this child seems just a few years older than Kenny and should be in the age of cuddling in the arms of parents, enjoying love.

Being locked here like a pet for so long, having a strong sense of vigilance towards strangers is normal.

"It’s done." Ann deftly ties a butterfly knot on the bandage, lifting her head to ask the boy, "I have other things to do. Will you wait here for me for a moment? I’ll come back to get you once I’m done. If you agree, nod your head."

The boy still doesn’t speak.

Ann patiently looks at him, "If I were a bad person, I wouldn’t need to treat and bandage you, right? Or do you want to stay here and get bullied by those bad people?"

The boy shows hesitation, twisting his hands together for a long time before shaking his head slightly.

Though his face is obscured by disheveled hair, one can tell from his exposed eyes and mouth that he’s a handsome child.

Ann can’t help but smile, gently patting his head, giving a few instructions before turning to leave.

Unfortunately, the entire prison is just that one sealed room with the boy; there’s no other hiding spot, not even additional doors.

Ann returns fruitlessly, confusion mixed with unease filling her heart, her rapidly spinning mind suddenly latches onto a clue, startling her.

Is it possible that Cyrus Hawthorne wasn’t captured at all, but the base sent out a smokescreen to mislead her?!

Ann immediately senses trouble, quickly returning to the room to pick up the boy and rush out without time for an explanation.

Just then, an alarm rings loudly in the prison.

Ann stands at the window, looking down to see several patrols rushing over, her brows furrowing tightly.

They discovered so quickly...

"Hey kid, are you afraid of heights?" Ann steps back a few paces, moving to another window’s ledge, symbolically asking the boy she’s holding.

The boy doesn’t respond, his clear eyes staring intently at her, unnervingly calm.

In the next second, the calm in his eyes shatters, giving way to shock.

This woman is crazy?!

This is the third floor!

Without hesitation, after posing the question, Ann leaps off the window ledge with the boy, landing perfectly in a shrubbery below.

With the thick plants cushioning them, Ann remains unharmed, and the boy she protected is also safe, though his face is ghostly pale.

"Let’s go." With that, Ann rushes into the woods, the boy in her arms disappearing from sight in the blink of an eye.

When the patrol arrives at the sealed room, the people inside are nowhere to be found.

Anticipating the forthcoming wrath, everyone present shudders involuntarily.

...

Ann never expected that just after turning around to explore the path, the frail little boy would vanish from her sight.

Even after searching the vicinity, there’s no trace of him.

It’s clear he has learned from Ann’s method of stepping on branches and leaves to avoid leaving footprints, not leaving a single trace, as if afraid Ann might find him.

Forget it; she has done her utmost duty. The child’s survival henceforth depends on his own fate.

Ann, with her hand over her pounding heart, breathes heavily, her smooth forehead covered in sweat, her complexion ghastly pale.

The S-grade drug is a complete anti-human creation, containing too many ingredients harming bodily organs and destructive to cellular structure.

The effects aren’t immediately obvious, but her increasingly weak physical state shows the drug’s highly erosive nature.

Since it’s confirmed Cyrus Hawthorne isn’t in the base, there’s no need to waste time here; it’s better to leave early and work on an antidote...

While pondering, footsteps from a nearby bush reach Ann’s ears, disorderly and dense, clearly a large group.

Ann’s eyes narrow, suppressing her dizziness from the drug’s side effects, planning to leave, only for her arm to suddenly be grabbed by a hand pulling her into a nearby bush.

By the time the patrol reaches the bush where Ann stood, there’s no trace of anyone.

"Captain, we’ve searched the whole forest, and still can’t find that assistant. Could she have left the base, reached another part of the island?"

"In such a short time, unless she grew wings, she couldn’t have left the base so quickly. Request instructions to lock down the base and search one by one. I refuse to believe we can’t find that woman!"

...

It’s unclear how much time has passed.

The dizziness from the drug recedes gradually. Ann massages her temples, opening her eyes only to be baffled by the surroundings.

This is...

Ann stands up, surprised gaze on the giant, frightful carnivorous plant on the balcony, blinking incredulously.

It turns out, the one who helped her break through the patrols and saved her was Wade Lowell?!