The Heiress’ Return: Six Brothers at Her Beck and Call (Wynter Quinnell) novel Chapter 1853

Meade muttered, "What kind of nickname is 'Feeder' and 'Boss?' Weird."

He figured Wolf probably didn't have anyone looking after him. They had had him for this long, and still, no one came looking.

Once they shipped him out, it would be a big payday. That pretty face alone would make him perfect for adoption by some wealthy family in Havenia.

Jovanni stared at Wolf, his mind full of schemes.

Little did they know that the "kid" they had caught was nothing short of a nightmare in disguise.

As for the names saved in the contact list? "Feeder" was the head of the Yarwood family, Dalton, and "Boss" was the Southern Cascadia Chamber of Commerce's chairman and the Special Unit's leader, codename 001, Wynter.

Each of those titles should have been flashing red warning signs. And now, they had hit the jackpot of bad luck.

Thinking about this, Meade slammed Wolf's smartwatch on the ground, then smashed it with a nearby rock before tossing it into a ditch. They had already waited long enough. Someone might trace the GPS and find them if he delayed more.

…

What they didn't know was that the smartwatch was also connected to the task force's system. As soon as the watch was destroyed, alarms triggered on the other end.

The task force's monitors went black when they were in the middle of routine work. Four red words flashed across the screen when the monitors came back on—"Wolf is in danger!"

Seeing this, they were thrown into confusion. Noticing something was off, Sheldon Bridger walked over to Wolf's quarters. No matter how hard he knocked, there was no answer. At that point, it was clear—something had definitely gone wrong.

The team immediately mobilized. Everyone knew how much Wynter cherished Wolf. If he came back with even a scratch, all of Colifernia would feel the impact.

…

Meanwhile, Wolf sat on the floor of a dim room, surrounded by several children. Every one of them wore a terrified expression, tear streaks still visible on their cheeks.

Wolf's fists clenched. He might not like being around strangers, but kids were different.

At this moment, Marlin Marshal scooted closer and whispered, "How did you get kidnapped?"

Wolf tried responding with hand gestures, but Marlin didn't understand.

"Can you not talk?" he asked.

Wolf nodded.

Outside, Meade told Zenia, "Go feed them something, and take good care of them. We're shipping them off to Havenia soon."

Zenia nodded and went to prepare the food.

Meanwhile, Jovanni took a drag from his cigarette and looked at the room. "Boss, how are we getting out of here later? We're carrying more kids than usual. If they start crying or something…"

Meade waved him off, confident. "Relax. Just follow my lead, and we'll make it to Havenia safe and sound."

Zenia came back out. "I gave them some food. The new kid wouldn't eat, though."

Meade narrowed his eyes. "Get him to eat. He has to."

She nodded again and went back inside, crouching down beside Wolf. "Come on, sweetheart. Eat something. After you're done, I'll take you to your family."

She pointed to the other kids. "They all ate, right? You don't want to be the odd one out."

Wolf didn't even bother replying in gestures. From the moment the food was placed in front of him, he smelled the sedative.

Still, he picked up the food and began to eat. Satisfied, Zenia smiled, headed back outside, and gave Meade an "okay" gesture. He nodded in understanding—once the kids were out cold, they would be on the move.

Soon, the sedatives took effect. One by one, the kids slumped over. Only Wolf remained upright.

Hearing footsteps outside, he quickly shut his eyes and fell to the floor, pretending to be unconscious. The sedatives did not affect him, but for the children, it was more than enough.

Meade pushed the door open, took one look, and smirked. "Let's get to work."

He and Jovanni began carrying the kids into the van, then drove off in a different direction.

"Boss, how are we getting across?" Jovanni asked.

Meade kept his eyes on the road. "We're going to smuggle them over."

"Is that safe?"

Meade shot him a glare. "Do you think I would be in the car if it weren't? Relax."

The van continued heading toward the docks.

...

Meanwhile, back at the municipal building, the old man stood at the window. He had witnessed Wolf being dragged into the van. He hadn't planned the kidnapping, but it worked in his favor.

Ever since the first time he had seen Wolf, Wolf had been showing up outside the municipal building almost every day. It made the man uneasy.

Just then, a knock came at the door.

"Come in," the old man said, turning away from the window.

Otto Erickson entered, arms full of documents. "Sir, these need your review and signature."

"Alright, just leave them on the desk. I'll handle them shortly," the old man replied with a pleasant smile.

Otto did as instructed, then asked, "Sir, where is Kiaran today?"

The old man sighed. "He left, saying he wanted to pursue his dreams. I couldn't force him to stay—that wouldn't be fair. Everyone has their own path."

Otto clicked his tongue. "That guy's ungrateful. Working by your side is a blessing. How dare he just walk away?"

The old man said nothing. He reached for his teacup, only to find it empty.

Otto quickly offered, "I'll go get you a fresh cup."

"Much appreciated," the old man said kindly.

"Of course, sir. It's the least I can do. It seems like you really need a new secretary," Otto said with a grin.

"We didn't take his soul," Grim said stiffly, keeping his composure. "He went to the underworld on his own. According to the ledger, today is the day his life ends. You're a cultivator—you should understand. Life can't be forcefully extended, and heavenly law can't be defied."

"Really?" Wynter's eyes sharpened at the phrase "life ends". Her tone grew more hostile. "I guess you haven't heard the saying, 'Even if the Grim Reaper demands death at midnight, a miracle doctor can keep someone alive till dawn.'

"One of his soul fragments is still trapped in that formation, and you're here declaring his fate is sealed. What heavenly law is that? Why hasn't hell reacted to the Sacrificial Human Formation? You should've known something was wrong. Why didn't you stop it?"

No one sensed abnormal deaths faster than the underworld guards, especially if a soul was forcibly cut off from the Realms of Reincarnation in the formation and defied natural order.

According to the rules of hell, cases like this should be thoroughly investigated—or prevented before they even happen, but their response this time...

Wynter narrowed her eyes. "Who messed up down there?"

The underworld guards froze. They weren't fools.

They exchanged a glance, and then Grim instinctively disabled his communication with hell and looked up. "There is something strange about this case in Colifernia. But Ms. Quinnell, we're just underworld guards.

"With Mr. Yarwood's current condition, if we don't extract his soul now, all three fragments will get pulled into the formation. When that happens, things will get tricky. As for why hell hasn't intervened—that's above our clearance."

"Where's his second soul fragment?" Wynter asked.

Vesper sighed. "It was supposed to be brought down by a colleague, but... the chain snapped. We don't know where it went. Mr. Yarwood's fate is hard to trace as his lineage protects him. It makes him nearly impossible to find."

Wynter didn't respond immediately. Then, she suddenly reached out. "Let me have a look at his life records."

Grim gave a helpless smile. "The system's been unstable. We don't know what's going on, but his file won't load. And... the ledger isn't something we can show mortals, Ms. Quinnell. You should know—"

"Where else can I see it? Hell?" she interrupted.

Vesper answered automatically, "The underworld judge should have a backup."

Wynter's eyes darkened. "Got it."

Vesper raised his hand. "Let me take Mr. Yarwood down first. If we delay—"

"Delay what?" She cut in. "Your system's already unreliable, so that ledger's timing can't be trusted. There's no need to take him. I'm coming with you and will answer to your boss myself."

The underworld guards exchanged a glance. Was she really going to report them? Why did they have a bad feeling about this?

As Wynter spoke, she turned her attention to the medical staff nearby.

The doctors and nurses looked completely confused. From their perspective, Wynter had been standing in a corner, talking to thin air. They couldn't see the underworld guards at all.

Only Jensen beside her seemed to understand. He listened in silence with a medical mask on, his gaze drifting back to Dalton, lying on the operating table. He wondered if Dalton would come back if Wynter went looking for him.

There wasn't much time left. The Savior's energy could only protect Dalton's main soul for seven days. If Dalton didn't return within that time, his body would become unusable.

If he chose not to leave the formation, everything would stay frozen in the past, and even the present reality could begin to change. For example, the Quinnell family would revert to the fate they were originally meant to face.

Despite being a Savior, Jensen could see both the past and the future.

He knew better than anyone that if fate ran its course, the Quinnell family was destined to fall hard in this generation because they had personal burdens to repay.