The Road to Rebirth Her Fresh Start and His Late Sorrow novel Chapter 129

Albert stared at Lucy, who was practically vibrating with excitement, his eyes dark with frustration. Without a second thought, he slapped her hard across the face.

Smack—!

Lucy froze in shock, her hand flying to her cheek as the sting set in. "Dad, how could you hit me?" she asked, disbelief coloring her voice.

"How could I not?" Albert yelled, his voice rising with each word. "We've lost all contact with Hackett, and even the people I sent out can't be reached! Do you understand what that means?"

"Lucy, they might be in trouble because of you! Was Baldrick worth risking the entire Allen family over?"

Lucy flinched at his words, fear creeping into her heart as she stared at the contorted features of her father.

"Dad, you're overreacting," she tried to reason, her voice shaking slightly. "Hackett's probably just busy with Lena and can't get to the phone."

But before she could finish her sentence, her phone rang.

Albert snatched it up, answering urgently, "Hello? Any news about Hackett?"

On the other end, his subordinate hesitated, "We tracked Hackett's last location to a shack outside Featherwood, but it burned down last night. It's nothing but ashes now..."

"What did you say..." Albert was dumbstruck, his mind refusing to process the words.

Lucy, standing close enough to overhear, felt her heart drop. Her voice turned sharp, almost a shriek, "Was my brother in there?"

Silence hung on the line, as if the person on the other end was grappling with how to respond.

"Find him, and find him fast!" Albert ordered, panic lacing his voice. Lucy mirrored his distress, her mind racing.

"Yes, sir," the subordinate replied hastily before the line went dead.