Chapter 367

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Caitlin shook her arm, trying to get rid of the water from the tea, and looked down at her wet clothes, quickly pulling at her collar to let them breathe. The tea was extremely hot, and even through her clothes , it stung her skin uncomfortably. Her fair skin turned bright red where the tea had splashed..
“ I’m fine, but I don’t understand why Millie would do that,” Caitlin said, raising her cold gaze and fixing it on the woman before her. She had already seen through Millie’s little trick and wanted to ask why Millie was targeting her. Was she doing it on Carmen’s behalf to get at her ?
Douglas, seeing the trouble his wife caused, glanced at Caitlin’s red arm and scolded Millie, “Millie, how could you be so careless? Look what you’ve done to Caitlin.”
“Sorry, I was just trying to pour a new cup of tea and didn’t see Caitlin coming in. Oh no, your clothes are wet, and your skin is red. I’m so sorry. Let me take you to change into something else and put some ointment on it, okay?” Millie said, clearly trying to play the innocent.
Caitlin saw through the act and couldn’t help but think: Millie truly is a white lotus–appearing pure while scheming underneath. If she dared to provoke her, Caitlin would find a chance to get back at her!
The news of Caitlin’s return reached Timothy’s ears. He instructed, “Caitlin’s back, prepare dinner!”
“Yes, sir!”
A lavish dinner was served, and everyone took their seats to eat. Caitlin noticed that Carmen was absent, probably due to her injuries from the whipping earlier.
As they ate, conversation resumed. Because Caitlin had broken the rules earlier, no one cared much about speaking freely during the meal, including Timothy.
Millie, feeling a sense of triumph after her little scheme succeeded, was in a good mood, and she wore an air of satisfaction during dinner. When her eyes met Caitlin’s, she slightly tempered her behavior, making sure to appear courteous. She used the serving chopsticks to pick up
food for Caitlin.
“Caitlin, try this dish, it’s a local delicacy from Departure City that you can’t get anywhere else.”
Caitlin tasted the food, “Mmm, it’s delicious. Thank you, Millie, You’ve been so kind to me, I should return the favor.” Caitlin got up and place some food on Millie’s plate in return.
“Thank you, thank you! Caitlin is so sweet,” Millie said as she smiled and ate the food Caitlin gave her, blissfully secretly tampered with it.
After dinner, everyone began to leave, and Caitlin escorted Timothy out.
“You don’t have to see me off, you should rest too.”
“Don’t worry, Timothy. I’ll walk you to your place. I still have something to discuss with you.”
Timothy didn’t argue and, after arriving at his residence, asked, “What do you need to discuss? ”
“I want to talk about my mother.”
unaware that Caitlin had
Caitlin sat down beside Timothy. He looked at her and calmly asked, “Yes, since now, you’ve never really talked about your mother. What happened to her?”
Caitlin coldly scoffed, “Timothy, do you really not know what happened to my mother ? ”
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I truly don’t know .”
“ My mother passed away four years ago, but she wasn’t actually dead. She was kidnapped by someone named Black Hawk. I’m sure you le familiar with him, Timothy.”
Timothy’s brow furrowed, his expression showing a hint of surprise.
Before Timothy could deny it, Caitlin showed him a photo. “This is Black Hawk. He tried to attack me, but I captured him. From his words , I learned he worked for The Yuncey Family. Timothy, he’s one of your men, isn’t he? ”
Although Black Hawk hadn’t said anything, Caitlin had intentionally tricked him to see if he would slip up.
Timothy stared at the photo for a moment before nodding, “I know this Black Hawk. He did work for The Yuncey Family in the past. But once his work was done, we lost contact with him. Are you suspecting that your mother’s disappearance is related to me?”
“Is it not related?”
Timothy sighed deeply and swore, “Caitlin, I can swear on my life that your mother’s disappearance has nothing to do with me. ”
“Since you say it’s unrelated, then tell me, what was it that you had Black Hawk do for you?”
“Honestly, you know The Yuncey Family is a large organization, and there are certain things that are too sensitive to be handled publicly. The Yuncey Family hired Black Hawk to handle such matters, but it was all limited to Departure City. If you don’t believe me , I can show you the receipts for the tasks he completed.”
Timothy turned around and went to his study. He soon returned with a wooden box, inside which were a stack of receipts.
“Here, these are the receipts Black Hawk handed over after completing his tasks. They all bear his signature.”
Caitlin skeptically picked up the receipts and glanced through them. They were task receipts from several years ago, when Black Hawk was. still a member of the Moro organization. The tasks listed were all related to disputes involving The Yuncey Family and individuals in Departure City. There was no mention of any international work or tasks in other countries.
James had once mentioned that his encounter with Black Hawk had happened within V Country as well.
Could it be that after Black Hawk left Moro, his new private employers were someone else?
But these receipts alone weren’t enough to prove anything. Who knew if Timothy had hidden something?
Still, his explanation seemed plausible and well–crafted.
Caitlin, uncertain whether Timothy was truly unaware or deliberately evading, decided to press on.
“Okay, let’s drop the Black Hawk issue. Then, I want to ask, does The Yuncey Family possess the full ‘Yun’s Aromatic Codex‘?”
Timothy didn’t hide anything, “Yes, the second part of the ‘Yun’s Aromatic Codex‘ is in my possession. I’ve been trying to find the first part so we can revive The Yuncey Family Fragrance Garments. But the first part is still missing. Caitlin, did your grandmother or mother pass down the first part to you?”
“They did.”
Timothy’s eyes shone with excitement at her words, “Really? Caitlin, can you give me the first part? Studying Fragrance Garments and restoring The Yuncey Family’s legacy is my lifelong dream. Our Yun’s Fragrance & Dye Studio has been waiting for this day!”
“I’m afraid I can’t give it to you.”
15:43 Wed, 6 Aug
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“Why not?”
“I burned it.”
“Burned it?”
Timothy stood up from his chair, shock and disbelief written all over his face. “Why would you burn the codex? Do you know…?”
Timothy’s face was filled with pain as though he had been deeply wounded.
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“It was just an old book. I figured as long as the names of the spices and the dyeing methods were written down, it wouldn’t matter,” Caitlin said nonchalantly.
But Timothy looked as if he might vomit blood, “How could you burn it? Do you know that the codex contains… ? ”