Chapter 242: Chapter 240: Aren’t You Going to Kill Him?

"Sigh. I’m not thrilled about having someone else come along to split your attention."

"But what can I do? She’s your biological sister, after all."

"Of course, it’s okay if you don’t feel ready to meet her."

"We can wait until you are. It’s not like she’s going anywhere."

"Carla Sinclair is very dependable. Just like me, she’ll love you unconditionally~"

"We’ll give you all our love and the absolute best of everything in this world!"

"Really?" Mia Grant’s eyes welled up.

Ian Sinclair’s lips curled into a smile. "You were born worthy of being loved!"

"It was just a cruel twist of fate that led to a few small setbacks. All your suffering ends now. From now on, my love, you won’t be mistreated again."

As he finished speaking, Ian Sinclair saw a tear slide from the corner of her eye.

He reached out in a panic. When the round tear landed on his fingertip, its heat seemed to sear his very soul, making his heart clench.

Suddenly, he thought of that time in high school.

「On the rooftop at dusk.」

Her eyes had been red then, too, just like now.

He’d sat beside her, watching her helplessly.

His mom always said he had a silver tongue, that he was much smoother with words than his brother.

But in front of her, he was always at a loss for words.

"Uh... you just lost one competition. It’s not a big deal. Is it really worth crying over?"

"Crybaby."

She glared at him, her eyes red, but she fought to keep the tears from falling.

"What do you know! I lost to Serena Grant!"

"So what?" He genuinely didn’t understand.

She seemed to completely break down. "I’ve lost everything to her! The one thing I was good at, I lost that to her too! I have no value to the Grant Family anymore! I’m going to die!"

"...What are you talking about? That’s ridiculous."

"You may not be their biological daughter, but you’ve lived with the Grant Family for over a decade. There’s still a bond there. How could they just cast you aside?"

"Besides, it was just one competition. What does it even matter?"

"You don’t understand anything."

He asked tentatively, "Well, what if... I help you look for your birth parents? Maybe they’re looking for you, too."

She shook her head. "They don’t want me. They don’t love me at all."

He almost blurted out, ’That’s impossible!’ but then he remembered that just because he had a good upbringing didn’t mean everyone did.

He swallowed his words and hesitated before inching closer to her. "Why don’t you just let it out? It must hurt to hold it in."

"Anyway, there’s no one else here, and I won’t..."

Before he could finish, the girl beside him burst into a loud wail. He flinched in surprise, then quickly raised a hand as he recovered. "Whoa, you... Ah, never mind."

He gently patted her back.

Remembering that day, Ian Sinclair smiled. "This is the last time."

"If you cry again, it must be from happiness."

"Not from sadness over people who don’t deserve your tears."

"A repeat of that day... can’t happen again. Just thinking about it still scares me."

’She seemed so suppressed back then.’

’He always wondered what on earth the Grant Family had done to her.’

’To push such a wonderful girl to that point.’

’He wanted to ask, but he was afraid of reopening old wounds.’

Mia Grant suddenly felt like laughing. "It’s only been a few days, and you’ve already gotten so much smoother with your words."

Ian Sinclair propped his chin on his hand and gazed at her. "I’m full of good qualities. You just rarely paid any attention to me before."

"You always favored my brother."

"I did not."

"You did. Why else wouldn’t you get engaged to me? I would’ve wanted it, even if it was fake."

At the mention of that, Mia Grant hit him in frustration. "You have the nerve to bring that up! How did you explain my ’ashes’ when your mother found them?"

"I just said I was holding onto them for my brother. Pinned it all on him."

"Your mother believed you?"

"I think so," Ian Sinclair said, rubbing his nose sheepishly.

Hearing that, Mia Grant knew she was doomed.

"So what if she finds out? It’s my fault anyway for shamelessly chasing after you. My feelings were one-sided. What’s it got to do with you?"

"You’re so beautiful, adorable, and smart. Isn’t it completely normal for someone to like you?"

"We’re twins. What’s so strange about us having the same taste?"

"Anyway, you don’t need to feel guilty about it. Oh, let’s not talk about this anymore. It’s Christmas today. If you’re not sleepy... how about I take you out?"

Mia Grant blinked. "Now?"

"Yeah." Ian Sinclair checked the time. "It’s still lively outside. Want to go? I’ll take you to see the fireworks!"

"Are there still fireworks now?"

"If you want to see them, there will be."

With that, Ian Sinclair pulled her to her feet.

The men the Sinclair family had previously assigned to protect Mia Grant also went out, shadowing the couple from a distance.

Even so, Zelo and Zero still tagged along.

The riverbank was packed with people.

Zelo and Zero were forced to climb a tree, using binoculars to track their targets.

Seeing the young couple standing ahead of them, holding hands sweetly as they watched the fireworks, Zelo sighed. "If only our Sir were this romantic."

Zero zoomed in on their targets and tutted. "You expecting Sir to be romantic? What’s the difference between that and expecting a block of wood to gain sentience?"

"Sir is getting on in years, and all he does is burn incense, pray to Buddha, and fidget with those damn prayer beads of his... Sigh. It’s no wonder the young lady isn’t interested in him."

"If I were her, I’d run too. Who doesn’t like a young, considerate, and energetic college guy?"

"That whole stoic, ascetic elite thing is out of style. Sweet, attentive ’puppy-dog’ boyfriends are all the rage now."

"Sometimes I really want to pry open Sir’s head to see what he’s actually thinking."

"He clearly likes her, but he won’t make a move."

"His girl’s getting snatched away, and all he does is sulk in private."

"Who says he hasn’t made a move? Have you forgotten? Sir was all about that domineering, forceful kind of love in the beginning."

"It’s just that the young lady is too delicate and frail for that approach. Otherwise, she’d throw a fit—crying, screaming, threatening to end it all—and Sir would be the one left heartbroken and miserable in the end."

"So, you think this will finally spur Sir into action?"

Zelo thought for a moment, then aimed his phone at the riverbank and snapped a photo. He sent it to Kian Keller. "Sometimes, all it takes is a little stimulation to get someone to try harder."

The photo showed the girl looking up at the fireworks, while the young man beside her held her hand tightly. Taking advantage of her distraction, he leaned down and kissed her.

Zero glanced at the group chat and sucked in a sharp breath. "You... You absolute menace! Well played!"

---

The Hughes family estate in Portia was brightly lit.

On the sofa, Kian Keller gripped his cane, sitting quietly to one side, indifferent to his surroundings.

Across from him, a tall figure pulled the trigger. "Who fired the shot."

A large screen on one side was still playing recent surveillance footage.

The pitch-black muzzle was aimed at that slender figure.

The girl screamed, breaking down completely as she covered her ears and ran blindly forward.

A dark figure tackled her to the ground just in time, and a bullet rang out as it struck a nearby lamppost.

Chaos erupted all around.

But the girl’s choked sobs cut through the noise, reaching the man’s ears with perfect clarity. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

None of the men being held on the floor spoke a word.

The man chuckled lightly, raising a hand to take off his glasses.

A gunshot rang out. Kian Keller glanced at Simon Adler, who was sitting opposite him. "What about him? Aren’t you going to kill him? If you can’t bring yourself to do it, I can help."