Chapter 89: Family

On his way home, Kai could sense that something was causing Jean immense anxiety. Thankfully, Elara appeared completely unaware of the threat, which meant whatever the threat was, it was still controlled.

But what could have happened? Had those people already discovered where they were and arrived at their doorstep?

Adam had informed him of the situation, but he himself did not know that the Vancroft family had been investigating Kai so closely and had already managed to determine where he had recently moved.

What if they had already made their move, knowing Adam had been informed and that it was only a matter of time before Kai learned about them as well? What if Adam was involved with them too?

He might have been overthinking everything, but that was where his mind was at the moment.

Screech.

Thankfully, the library was less than a kilometer from his house, so Kai reached home quickly and stepped out of the car.

"Tch."

Just as he had feared, three cars were parked outside his house. Their registration plates alone were enough to indicate that they belonged to people of considerable status.

Without wasting another second, Kai rushed toward the door, only to find it already open.

He stepped inside and called out, "Jean?"

"Oh, so the man is finally here."

The voice definitely did not belong to Jean.

When Kai reached the living room, he found several people gathered inside. Jean was among them.

He immediately went to her, ignoring everyone else around him.

"You okay? Did they do something to you?"

Jean looked nervous, there was no doubt about that, but she nodded.

She appeared physically unharmed, so Kai assumed it was the stress of the situation that had left her slightly pale.

He let out a quiet breath of relief before turning around.

That was when he noticed a certain older woman, perhaps in her early thirties, sitting comfortably on the couch with a sly grin playing across her face. Her legs were crossed, and she carried herself with the casual arrogance of someone who believed the room belonged to her.

Three men stood behind her, each dressed in suits of varying shades. Their posture and physiques made it obvious that they were not her bodyguards. Though their expression suggested otherwise.

Kai’s gaze returned to the woman.

"Intruding into someone else’s house like this... An apology should be the least of your concerns."

The woman scoffed.

"Intruding? Your wife let us in."

She crossed her arms as she spoke.

Kai frowned and glanced at Jean. Her head was lowered, avoiding his gaze.

The woman continued, "Well, that was the bare minimum she could have done to show respect to her elder sister."

Kai narrowed his eyes.

No wonder she looked familiar.

However, he couldn’t resist adding, "I thought you were her mother. Then again, Jean did say her mother has a soft personality."

It was a double blow, and Kai had struck precisely where it hurt the woman most.

One of the three men immediately scowled.

"Don’t you dare speak like that to the eldest daughter of the Scarlette house."

Kai turned his cold gaze toward him.

"This is my house. I can say whatever I want."

The man growled under his breath, but the woman raised a hand, silencing him before the situation could escalate.

"Let’s go through the introductions before I explain why I’ve come here."

She placed a hand against her rather garishly exposed chest and smiled.

"My name is Christella Scarlette. I am the elder sister of the woman you have accepted into your family. These three are my husbands: Leo, Jay, and Kole."

Kai crossed his arms. "Heard you. Now get to the point."

He didn’t need Christella to spell it out. Her very presence was affecting Jean. She had been unnaturally quiet since Kai arrived, and the constant nervousness rolling off her was vivid enough for him to sense.

"Oh my, you are a fiery one. You come from the slums, yet your attitude is higher than a king’s." Christella mocked with a chuckle, prompting the three men behind her to laugh along.

Kai rolled his eyes. "And yet, look at the difference in our manners."

"You...!"

Kole, as Kai had guessed was his name, roared and took a step forward as though he intended to charge.

Christella shook her head and stopped him once again.

Kai didn’t need to guess anymore.

Of course. Puppets.

Christella rose from her seat and approached him, deliberately swaying her hips a little more than necessary with each step.

Kai noticed Jean moving closer to him. Her fingers curled around the hem of his shirt, clutching it tightly as though she needed something to anchor herself.

Christella’s eyes remained fixed on Kai.

"How can you possibly like someone who has a habit of running away from her duties and fears responsibility? I mean, she must have told you how she betrayed her betrothed and ran away."

Kai tilted his head.

"She followed her own wishes. I don’t see a problem with that."

Christella’s lips curled into a grin.

"Considering you seem rather fond of her, why don’t you try someone better?"

Kai frowned.

For a moment, he genuinely couldn’t believe what he had just heard.

Then Christella slowly raised her hand toward his face.

"I once shared many things with my sister..." Her smile widened. "Perhaps it’s time I take something from her as well."

Clench.

Her hand never reached him.

Another hand had clamped around her wrist with enough force to stop her cold.

And no, it wasn’t Kai.

He had been about to intervene, but someone had beaten him to it.

Christella’s frown deepened, only for her expression to transform into pure shock when she saw Jean standing behind Kai.

Jean’s eyes were visible over his shoulder.

They were empty.

Dead.

And somehow, that made them all the more horrifying.

Her fingers remained locked around Christella’s wrist, trembling from the force she was exerting.

When Jean finally spoke, her voice was barely audible. It trembled, but there was nothing in it except raw, restrained fury.

"Don’t... touch him..."

Her grip tightened.

"He is... mine."