Chapter 1717

[ 714 words ]

In reality, it wasn’t just blind luck; Barrett Stone had recognized the shifting tides and played his cards with absolute brilliance.

By saving Silas’s life in that hellhole, Barrett had secured the heir’s eternal gratitude.

When Barrett inevitably climbed the ranks of the FIB, his destiny would be inextricably bound to Silas’s dynasty.

They would rise together, or burn together.

Silas had been groomed in the ruthless art of manipulation since childhood; he knew exactly how to bind men to his cause.

Of course, Dane had no intention of burdening Claire with the dark, political machinations of the elite.

By the time they pulled up to the Churchill Estate, it was already 7:30 PM.

Padgett lived by an incredibly rigid schedule and usually took his evening stroll right about now.

But tonight, he was glued to his chair, waiting for his granddaughter. Even though he was starving, he had only nibbled on a few pastries to hold himself over.

It was a glaring testament to how deeply the old man adored her.

“Grandpa, I’m home!”

Claire hadn’t brought back a single souvenir, but Padgett couldn’t care less.

He frantically scanned his granddaughter, letting out a massive sigh of relief when he saw she was perfectly fine, albeit a shade tanner.

“You reckless girl, how could you fly into a foreign country without telling anyone? Your aunt Victoria and I were terrified you’d been kidnapped!”

Padgett’s fear was visceral, rooted in the agonizing memory of his own daughter walking out the door and vanishing forever.

His daughter had disappeared without a trace. If his newly found granddaughter met the same fate, the grief would literally kill him.

Claire felt a sharp pang of guilt, knowing she had caused him genuine terror.

“I’m so sorry, Grandpa. I honestly wasn’t thinking straight.”

“The mission was incredibly urgent. Dr. Tandy called, I grabbed my gear, and we were airborne. I didn’t even have time to email my professors.”

Padgett gently poked Claire’s forehead, sighing in defeat. “You are exactly like your mother. You share the exact same reckless fire.”

She was so young, yet perfectly willing to throw herself into the line of fire for the greater good.

Hadn’t his daughter abandoned her family for her country in the exact same way?

His only dying wish was to uncover the truth about Melissa.

Whether she was alive or dead, he just needed to know.

When Padgett first learned Claire had abandoned her genius-level mathematics track, he had been overjoyed.

Being a doctor was a safe, respectable profession. No matter how brutal the shifts, she would always come home for the holidays.

As long as she wasn’t drafted into some classified black-ops division, she would be safe.

But now, his certainty was shattered.

She had pivoted into medicine, only to prove she was even more of an unstoppable force in the OR than in a math lab.

She was barely a freshman, and elite military units were already headhunting her for international extractions.

Would she ever just be a normal, quiet doctor?

Padgett was deeply terrified for her future.

Meanwhile, Dane had already started piling food onto Claire’s plate.

Claire had a

deeply ingrained habit

she only ate from the dishes placed directly in front of her. If a dish was

out of reach, she simply ignored it.

It was a psychological scar from her time with the James family, brainwashed into her by Octavia.

Octavia used to constantly lecture her about high-society etiquette, claiming that reaching for food was peasant behavior, and that eating a few bites less was better than looking like a starved beggar.

It was just a pathetic excuse to mentally abuse and underfeed her.

Claire had eventually stopped fighting the toxic woman and simply adapted by eating whatever was closest.

She wasn’t a glutton anyway. When Octavia wasn’t around, she bought whatever she wanted, refusing to waste her breath arguing.

But here in the Churchill Estate, Padgett adored her so fiercely he ordered a massive banquet just so she could taste everything.

Because Claire wouldn’t reach for the food, Padgett fully intended to personally serve her every dish.

But with Dane sitting right there, the old man didn’t even get the chance.

Dane commandeered the serving utensils, methodically filling Claire’s plate with a perfectly balanced meal.

Whenever she glanced at a dish she liked, he instantly added a generous portion to her plate.

Running on adrenaline and an empty stomach for twenty-four hours, Claire demolished two bowls of rich

chicken soup, two bowls of rice, and

a massive amount of protein.

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