The Blood Contract
Chapter 61: Twisted ankle

Chapter 61: Twisted ankle

Serena collected the bag, and Rhoda gave a bow before walking away from the dining room.

"Are we done here?" Serena asked, fixing her excited gaze on Marlowe.

"I know that Mr. Morgan is your friend, Serena. But considering our current situation, we cannot trust anyone outside this circle. You also have to be mindful of the gifts you receive. Yesterday, it was a message to cause brain damage. Today, it’s a gift allegedly from Mr. Morgan. For your safety, we need to be sure whatever is in the bag is free of evil intentions," Marlowe calmly spoke, but her tone effectively conveyed that there was no room for argument.

"Fine." Serena let out a sigh. She proceeded to open the bag before bringing out the items inside.

First, it was a book to which a single red rose was attached. It instantly returned the smile to her face. The book used to be her favorite when she was still with him years ago. She couldn’t believe he still remembered.

"My favorite book," she announced, waving the book for all of them to see, even though they had all seen it before the exaggerated wave.

The next item was a box of chocolates. This time, she giggled.

"My favorite chocolate," she repeated the action of waving the item, unaware of the chaos brewing within a certain somebody.

Dropping the box of chocolates, she moved to bring out the next item.

It was a heart-shaped red velvet box. Serena’s brows furrowed upon setting her eyes on it. It kind of looked like an engagement ring box, which made her wonder why he would give her a ring.

But, refusing to jump to conclusions yet, she proceeded to open the box, only to see it wasn’t a ring inside. It contained a small crystal teddy bear figurine holding a red heart. Inside the lid of the box, there was a sentimental message that read:

"I’ve been expecting your call or text, but I couldn’t wait anymore, so I decided to reach out.

I understand your situation, and I know it may not be easy for you with that guy around.

But I hope one of these days we can have lunch together.

If Saturday will be fine, then I’ll be waiting at Oma’s Palace, 2 p.m.

I miss you."

All eyes were set on her as she silently read the message with a smile. Lucian, Darrell, and Adrian still had no idea what the box contained, as they were seated in positions where they couldn’t see what she was looking at. The only person who already knew what the box contained was Marlowe.

"And a teddy bear," Serena concluded, also dropping the box on the table as she did with the others. She knew that was the last item in the bag, but just to put their minds at rest, she turned it over so they could all see. "That’s all. As you can all see, they are harmless gifts."

Lucian strained his eyes as much as he could but couldn’t read what was written in the box. Not only was it far from him, but the writing was also done in small fonts.

"You can return them to the bag. Thank you for cooperating," Marlowe informed her. "Before you eat the chocolate, I’d like to have a sample for testing."

"That’s not a problem," Serena agreed. "So, are we done here? Can I go now?" she asked as she started to return the items to the bag.

"Yes," Marlowe said, and she stood up, holding her gift bag with pride as she proceeded to walk away from the dining hall.

"Don’t forget my stuff, Darrell," she spoke just as she reached the door.

"I won’t," Darrell reassured her before she disappeared from their presence.

As soon as she left, Darrell and Marlowe’s attention shifted to Lucian, but Adrian had been looking at the guy long before then, noticing how he was fuming silently ever since the name Vincent Morgan was mentioned.

"What stuff is she talking about?" Lucian asked Darrell, ignoring the voice inside his head that kept telling him to let the matter go.

"A car jack," Darrell answered instantly, his expression switching to one of alertness. He knew Lucian was mad. But why did it seem as if the anger was suddenly directed at him?

"A car jack?" Lucian asked, unable to make any sense of what he just heard.

"Yes, boss. Madam said she wants to work on the vehicles that are broken down and need servicing. We are lacking a jack and some tools, so she asked me to get them for her."

Lucian didn’t know when a disbelieving laugh escaped from his lips. "When did she become an auto mechanic?"

"She used to be one before she was brought here," Darrell answered, and Lucian had no more words.

When he couldn’t say any more words, he shifted his attention to Marlowe. "Vincent is getting on my nerves, and I’m not going to take it lightly with him anymore. Since he wants a piece of me, I’m going to give it to him."

Just as he said this, he pushed himself up from his seat with the intention of walking out of the dining room. But he was immediately struck with a bone-crushing pain that paralyzed him for a moment and elicited a groan from his lips.

His face twisted in pain even as he bent over and held onto the surface of the table for support, his fists folding into tight balls.

"Boss?" Darrell and Adrian called at the same time, alarm flashing in their eyes as they shot up to their feet.

"What’s wrong, Mr. Draven?" Marlowe asked, also pushing herself to her feet.

Lucian didn’t say anything for a while as he took deep breaths to stabilize himself.

"It’s nothing serious. I stood up too fast and twisted my ankle. Nothing more," he lied, trying his best to keep his voice stable so they wouldn’t suspect anything further. With that, he walked away from their presence.