Chapter 188: Chapter 188: Where did you find a child?

Mrs Vale stood stiffly in place, her expression filled with fear as she stared at the scene before her.

"Adrian!... Adrian!..." she called, but it was as if she was speaking to empty air. "Adrian!, stop. He’s... he’s..."

She suddenly paused, her eyes widening in horror.

It was now obvious that the man was on the verge of losing consciousness, yet Adrian didn’t seem to notice at all. If anything, his grip kept tightening with every passing second.

The man suddenly let out a weak grunt. That sound seemed to break the last of Mrs Vale’s restraint.

Realizing that if she didn’t act immediately something terrible might happen, and knowing that the rumors surrounding Adrian were already causing enough trouble, she moved forward at once. When she reached them, she grabbed Adrian’s shoulder and pulled with surprising strength.

At first, it didn’t seem to have any effect. Then Adrian’s fingers suddenly loosened and the man crashed onto the ground hard. He coughed violently, his body folding over itself as he struggled to breathe.

Adrian looked down at him calmly.

"The next time you raise your hand at someone I..." He suddenly stopped, his jaw tightening. "Pray I never hear about it."

His voice was simple and calm, but it was clearly not simple for the man lying on the ground.

The man’s face had already turned pale from fear. It looked as if he was regretting every decision he had made in his life. He tried to stand up but his legs kept shaking.

Every time he managed to get up, they gave out beneath him again and sent him back to the ground. After several attempts, he finally forced himself upright.

He staggered away in a direction completely opposite to where his partner had fled. But he had not taken more than ten steps before his knees buckled and he crashed face first onto the ground. His fingers clawed weakly at the soil beneath him as he struggled to stay conscious.

Then all of his movements stopped. His head slumped to the side and he had blacked out instantly.

Adrian still hadn’t looked away. Even after the man lost consciousness, his gaze remained fixed on him.

His face was calm. Only the faint tremble in his fingers betrayed his composure, and it was so little that it could easily be missed by anyone not looking closely.

Mrs Vale’s breathing remained uneven. Her eyes moved from the unconscious man to Adrian.

His eyes were slightly bloodshot, and his fingers didn’t manage to escape her sight.

Without saying a word, she suddenly stepped in front of him and wrapped her arms around him gently.

Adrian froze. His shoulders became rigid, and his arms were left stiff at his sides. For a long time, he didn’t push her away, but he didn’t return the hug either.

Mrs Vale buried her face against his chest. A bright smile appeared briefly on her face before something dimmer replaced it. "I’m alright," she whispered.

Adrian lowered his gaze to her hair. An unreadable expression flashed across his eyes, but he remained completely still until she finally stepped back.

Mrs Vale glanced toward the unconscious man again. "They were from the Hurdins," she said, shaking her head tiredly.

Adrian simply nodded. There wasn’t even a trace of surprise on his face.

"They really are shameless," Mrs Vale continued bitterly. "Taking advantage of other people’s tragedy just to rise higher." Her gaze moved toward the man lying on the ground. "Serves him right. He won’t escape questioning even after he wakes up."

She sighed heavily before looking back at Adrian. "You still need to be very careful. People like this can do anything if it helps them gain an advantage."

Then, as though a thought had suddenly occurred to her, she looked up again. "How did you know what happened?" She hesitated for a small second. "How did you even know where I was?"

Adrian’s expression immediately cooled and a small scoff left his lips. "If you insist on getting kidnapped again," he said coldly, "at least learn how to notify me first."

Mrs Vale blinked. For a second, she looked completely speechless as she looked at him.

Adrian snorted again. "If someone hadn’t called, I’d still be sitting in a meeting right now."

A sigh escaped Mrs Vale’s lips. "Of course, that’s one of the reasons I couldn’t just disturb you. You’re..."

"You should learn to," Adrian interrupted firmly.

Mrs Vale immediately fell silent, her words catching in her throat. Then... knowing there was no point arguing with him in his current mood, she changed the subject.

"You said someone called, who was it?" She asked, looking at him curiously.

Elara’s heart immediately skipped a beat. She instinctively took a step backward. The memory of her last meeting with Mrs Vale surfaced in her mind. Suddenly, leaving right now seemed like a very good idea.

Unfortunately, things only became worse because in the very next second, Adrian suddenly turned his head toward the shrubs where she was hiding.

Beside her, Zia giggled through her hands.

At some point, Elara’s hand, which had originally been covering Zia’s eyes, had somehow shifted to cover her mouth instead. And she had completely forgotten it was still there.

Mrs Vale followed Adrian’s gaze. She squinted into the darkness.

"Huh?" she muttered in confusion as she looked back at Adrian’s face.

Before Elara could even react, Zia had already wriggled free from her hold. Then she shot out of the bushes like an arrow.

"Scary Suit Uncle!" She screamed happily as she ran up to him.

Before anyone could stop her, she wrapped both hands around his arm and looked up at him with sparkling eyes. "Scary Suit Uncle bravo!" she said proudly. "When I grow up, I want to be just like you."

"Anytime somebody makes my mommy angry, I’ll grab them like this." She immediately demonstrated by clutching Adrian’s arm tighter. "And if anyone tries to steal you from Elara, I’ll scare them away too."

She giggled to herself. "But anybody that touch Grandpa will get extra, extra scaring."

Adrian’s lips pressed together in obvious displeasure as he tried to free his hand from her grip but she only held on tighter.

Mrs Vale looked down at the little girl, her brows furrowing in a mixture of surprise and amusement. "Where did you find a child?" she asked.