“You and my grandmother were close?”
“She saved me.” Victor said as a nostalgic feeling started to make his lips tremble. “Just like how she saved Madam Luo.” He let out a deep sigh. “Lilian was a bit cold but she always cared for others. She just… I believe she just didn’t know how to show her emotions. She was just like you a few years ago.” Victor leaned back and eyed the fire in front of him. “I believe the order found their way to you?” he asked without looking at Lily.
“Yes.”
“Is that why you disappeared for a few months?”
“Yes.” Lily eyed his side profile. Now that she thought about it, Victor should not have access to any information regarding her matters. However, the way he spoke showed his confidence in his knowledge.
“Just so you know… Lilian didn’t tell her daughter Bec to run away.” Victor answered. “I just want to clear that up right now. Bec was the one who decided that she could not live a fate just like her mother’s so she stayed away and tried to conceal herself. But the order found her as she went to mainland china which was… ruled by another member. They have been watching her since then.”
“Until she died?”
“Yes. Until she died.”
“Does my grandmother know?”
“She had her suspicions. But everyone thought… she had forcibly kicked her daughter out of the mansion because she wanted to protect her. That wasn’t the case.” Victor shook his head. “That wasn’t the case at all.”
“How did you know this?”
“Naturally, I was there when it happened.” He answered without batting an eyelid. “They had a big argument. It wasn’t about the engagement. It was far more deeper than that, Bec wanted a simple life. She didn’t want to manage a business or become slaves of the people that her mother worked for. She wanted to live in a cabin, away from people. She wanted to live in peace. With Lilian’s status, that dream was close to impossible.” A sad smile soon lingered on the old man’s face. “Your grandmother knew this because…a certain woman from Hong Kong called her a few months after you arrived. She told her about the people watching you since you were a kid.”
Lily’s hands trembled before she quickly closed it into a tight fist. That woman should be her Grandmother Ye. This only coincided with the notes that she found on her journals. She had indeed called Lilian telling her to be careful as some unknown people seemed to be interested in Lily.
“Is that why they killed her?”
Victor shook his head. “For some reason, I am not surprised that you know this much information and yet you still managed to stay calm. Lilian truly… She is truly a genius for limiting her contact with you to avoid any emotional attachment. She knew her time would be up soon and the only way to keep you safe was for you to become as emotionally unattached to her as possible.” This of course surprised Lily. However, that really sounded like something her grandmother would do. Still, those actions… Just how strong was her grandmother for her to be able to force herself to be apart from her granddaughter? For her to act as if she never cared. For her to become as unemotional as possible while watching Lily suffer from those nightmares?
Lily was too engrossed in her own thoughts that she didn’t notice the tear slowly rolled down her cheeks. Lilian suffered everything alone because she thought this would give her granddaughter peace. “Did she know about Yuanfeng too?” she asked.
“She did.” Victor nodded. “But she chose to stay away. It was better that way.”
Lily turned silent. After hearing those words, she concluded that Lilian never intended to save her in the first place. She knew that they would come for Lily once she did that. “Why did she save me?” she asked.
“I do not have the answer to that question. I’m sorry.”
Lily sighed. She already knew that answer to that question. Lilian saved her because of the pitiful state that she was in. She was in a mental hospital, alone and in misery. How could Lilian ignore that? Additionally, her daughter Bec had just died. Her emotions at that time must have been unstable. She was after all a mother. How could she still pretend to not grieve for her daughter’s death?
“Do you hate her?”
“I understand her.” Lily said. After Lilian saved her, she taught everything to Lily. Now that Lily thought about it, everything that she learned should be something that she could use against the order. The way she handled people, manipulating them to her own bidding was something that Lilian taught her. The military book, all those tactics in fighting against a much bigger enemy. Everything …. was telling her that those lessons were meant for her to use against the order. “If I was in her shoes at that time… I would have done the same thing.”
“But you will not do it now.” The old man’s voice had a hint of certainty.
“You are right. I would not do it now.”
“That is good.” For the first time since Lily arrived, a gentle smile rose on the older man’s lips. “She will be happy to know that.”
“They want something from her.”
Victor turned silent. He lowered his head, hiding his expression from Lily. Seeing this, Lily continued, “They might not stop until I gave it to them.”
“Do you have any idea about what this thing they want is?”
“It should be a piece of research.” she answered.
Surprisingly, Victor didn’t show any reaction to her words. “Are you planning to give it to them?”
Lily gave a sad smile as she shook her head. How could she give something that she didn’t have? Moreover, she didn’t even know what was this thing they wanted from her.
“Lilian didn’t give it to them. Do you want to know why?”
Lily frowned. Did this mean Victor knew what it was?
