Seeing her strong reaction, Zero waved his hands in alarm.

"We let her go! We let her go a long time ago! We released her right after you told us to, before the New Year."

Mia Grant frowned, not quite believing him. "Then what was that look on your face just now?"

Zero scratched his head, unsure of how to explain.

"There’s no one else here. Why are you beating around the bush?"

Zero sighed. "She was released, but... rumor has it she went insane."

"Insane???" Mia Grant’s eyes widened. After a moment, she sat up straight and lowered her voice. "Are you sure?"

"Not entirely. But Serena’s parents were in and out of Hughes Hospital multiple times before the New Year. We only managed to find out they were seen around the psychiatry department. We’re just guessing it was Serena Grant who was ill."

"..."

Mia Grant fell silent.

"As you know, it’s a Hughes Family hospital. It’s not easy for us to make a move there."

Mia Grant said nothing. She pulled out her phone, unlocked it, and after a moment’s hesitation, sent a message to Hayes Hughes: "Hayes, are you free?"

Hayes Hughes had returned two days ago, but they hadn’t had a chance to meet.

The day he got back, she was stuck at home, and for the past few days, he’d been working overtime.

He didn’t reply. ’He must still be working.’

Putting down her phone, Mia Grant stared at Zero for a few seconds. "Have you seen Serena Grant leave the house recently?"

Zero shook his head. "No, we haven’t. We’re not sure if she was in the car when her parents went out."

"Serena’s parents left for Portia on New Year’s Eve and returned to Jynsia one after the other on the fourth day of the lunar new year. They must have been handling the old master’s funeral."

"Serena Grant was nowhere to be seen at the funeral."

Mia Grant frowned.

’Did she really go insane?’

’That seems a bit much.’

"How long did you hold her, exactly?"

"Less than a week. She had food and water the whole time, and we didn’t mistreat her. Aside from not being able to go outside or see the sun, it was no different from a normal place to rest."

Mia Grant sighed silently. "Her mental fortitude must be pretty weak, then."

"Still, you guys are too much. If I hadn’t found out, how long were you planning to keep her? If the Grant Family came looking for her, wasn’t Kian Keller afraid of the trouble?"

She’s not part of the Grant Family anymore, and Silas Grant has also cut ties with his parents. They haven’t been in contact for a long time.

In other words, as far as Serena’s parents are concerned, she’s their only precious daughter.

If anything happened to Serena Grant, they wouldn’t let Kian Keller off easily.

The Keller Family is active in the political sphere. If this blew up, it would have a major impact on their entire family.

"She was the one who tried to drive a wedge between you and the Boss. That’s why he wanted her to experience what you went through."

"We considered the Grant Family, which is why we didn’t get rough. The Boss isn’t going to lock someone up on his turf until they die." 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

"Don’t forget what we do for a living. If we really wanted her dead, we wouldn’t have kept her at the Boss’s place. We would’ve shipped her overseas and disposed of her quietly long ago."

Zero sounded a little smug, which sent a chill down Mia Grant’s spine.

"That’s a human life. You can’t even do that to a cat or a dog."

Realizing his misstep, Zero nodded in agreement. "You’re right."

"From now on, I want you to keep an eye on her for me."

"And then what? Do you need us to do anything?"

"Don’t hurt her."

Then, Mia Grant added, "Not only that, I want you to protect her from the shadows."

Zero froze. "Huh?"

"Protect Serena Grant?"

"Yes." Mia Grant nodded with a smile. "Consider it earning some good karma for Kian Keller."

Zero was still confused. "Are you sure?"

"Of course." Mia Grant crossed her arms and lectured him, "All this fighting and killing you guys do isn’t good. You don’t have the right to end someone’s life."

"Everyone has their own fate. When their time comes... they’ll die naturally."

Zero let out another "huh?" and nodded, as if he only half-understood.

"But for how long? Are we supposed to do this indefinitely? This will divide our attention, and the Boss wants us to focus on you."

"It’s not like you’re the only ones watching me. I have plenty of ’mobile surveillance units.’"

"..." Zero thought about the various groups of people he’d run into downstairs lately. "There are quite a few, that’s true."

"As for how long... it doesn’t have to be forever. Let’s say one year."

"One year?"

"Mhm. Until the day before her twentieth birthday."

Zero immediately relayed the message to Zelo and the others.

Her phone rang.

Mia Grant glanced at the caller ID and motioned with her eyes for Zero to leave.

She answered only after the door closed.

"Hayes!"

The girl’s excited voice came through the phone. A smile touched Hayes Hughes’s eyes. "I’m here. I was just with a patient and didn’t see your message."

"Oh, it’s fine, it’s fine! It wasn’t urgent. Are you free now?"

"Mhm, go ahead."

Holding his phone, Hayes Hughes said a quick word to an intern beside him and turned to walk away.

"At the old master’s funeral a few days ago, were Silas’s parents there?"

’Silas’s parents.’ It took Hayes Hughes a moment to realize who she was talking about.

"They were."

"And... what about Serena Grant?"

"She didn’t come. Said she wasn’t feeling well."

"Not feeling well? What happened?"

"I’m not sure. Apparently, she went on a trip abroad with friends before the New Year, and she hasn’t been well since she got back."

"I see."

Mia Grant stroked her chin.

"Is something wrong?"

"It’s nothing. I was just curious."

Hayes Hughes sighed. "If you won’t tell me, then I’ll have to guess."

"And I’ll keep guessing until I get it right, how about that?"

Mia Grant’s eyes widened. "Are you really Hayes Hughes?"

A light chuckle came through the earpiece. "If you don’t want to talk, I won’t force you, of course. But it seems to me that you do have something you want to say."

"I’m not a stranger. You don’t have to be so formal with me."

"It’s not that I’m being formal..." ’Forget it.’ Mia Grant said, "Actually, it’s about Serena Grant."

"I heard someone saw Silas’s parents at the hospital before the New Year, frequently visiting the psychiatry department."

"And since you said Serena Grant didn’t attend the funeral, I was wondering..."

By the window, Hayes Hughes’s expression turned serious. "Which hospital?"

"One of the Hughes Corp’s, I think? In Jynsia, that would be the one where you work, right?"

"Okay, I’ll go check."

---

Downstairs, Hayes Hughes found the clinic’s records.

In an office, he saw Serena Grant’s medical file.

"Psychotic break?"

The old professor beside him blew the tea leaves from the surface of his cup. "Yes. So young, too. No idea what kind of trauma she suffered. She was speaking nonsense when she came in."

Hayes Hughes looked at him. "Do you remember what she said?"

The old professor thought for a moment. "Something about getting locked up for eating, that sort of thing."

"Oh, right. She also mentioned a name. At least, I think it was a name."

"What was it?"

"Grant something..." The old professor couldn’t quite recall. "Meow?"