Substitute Bride: Utterly Pampered by Her Billionaire Husband-Chapter 1052: Mort Thorne Has Been Found!

At this moment, Hayden Crawford’s phone suddenly rang, an incoming call.

"Hello." Hayden pressed the button to answer.

Not knowing what the person on the other side said, Hayden’s expression changed. He immediately stepped forward and approached Justin Xavier.

"Justin, there’s something I want to tell you," Hayden said in a low voice.

Justin Xavier looked at Hayden amidst the sea of fire, "What is it?"

"There’s news from Mort Thorne! We’ve found Mort Thorne!"

What?

Justin was startled. He hadn’t expected to receive news about Mort Thorne at such a time.

"Where is Mort Thorne now?"

"In a small village; Mort is severely injured and still unconscious. It was Tanya who found him, and she was the one who sent the message."

Mort had disappeared in a car explosion, and the forces in Starfall City had fully mobilized. The Shaw patriarch and Carney Shaw have been watching intently, searching tirelessly day and night for the past two months. If the news that Cain Shaw is Mort Thorne were true, they surely wouldn’t rest easy. Unexpectedly, Tanya was the first to find Mort.

"Prepare a private jet; I need to go immediately," Justin said.

...

The first to arrive at the small village were Leah Thorne and Serena Sterling. They received the news promptly, changed their flight route, and flew directly to the village.

Soon, they saw Tanya.

Tanya was dressed in local clothing made of rough fabric with a rather unsophisticated floral pattern. Despite the attire, which would usually look unattractive, Tanya, with her youthful and delicate skin and snow-like oval face, appeared exceptionally beautiful and aloof. Her long black hair was casually tied into a bun, revealing her elegant neck, making her look like a gracefully blooming rose from afar, lending even the floral clothes a hint of fashion and allure.

Surrounded by a few elderly women, Tanya accepted things they handed her, "Young lady, here’s some fish and meat. Your uncle is ill; you mustn’t collapse too. Eat more yourself."

"Your uncle was carried here by the river and saved by the village doctor. He’s quite lucky; don’t be too upset."

Tanya extended her small hand to accept the items, then gazed at the women with her beautiful, timid eyes, softly saying, "Aunts, thank you. My uncle is not a good man; ever since he was young, he liked to fight and brawl. You see his muscular build; he’s like a hooligan. This time he had a car accident and was lucky to survive the explosion by falling into the river and being washed here."

"Aunts, my uncle has many enemies outside because he’s involved in the underworld, so please don’t tell anyone about his presence here, as I’m afraid it might cause you trouble."

Hearing this, the women got a bit frightened and responded, "Young lady, don’t worry. We don’t want trouble and won’t tell anyone."

Tanya nodded seemingly innocuously, like a delicate little white flower, "Even hateful people have their pitiful sides. My uncle... he is quite pitiful. He lost his parents and relatives early on, and although he’s over thirty now, he hasn’t married because no one wants to marry him. It seems he’ll be a bachelor for life..."

"Aunts, we’ll stay here for two days, and then I’ll take my uncle away. My uncle’s family is relatively wealthy, and we’ll definitely reward you generously for saving his life then."

Tanya fully demonstrated the art of conversation by setting the unpleasant facts up front then offering a bit of consolation, leaving the women placated and compliant.

The women nodded continually and then left.

Leah was dumbfounded. She couldn’t imagine what her brother would say if he knew he had been portrayed by Tanya as a bachelor hooligan.

Once the pride of heaven, having fallen to this extent, truly... life is full of surprises.

In a typical romance script, if two people were stranded in a small village, Tanya should be pretending to be in a couple with her brother, calling him husband, not uncle, right?

Why not follow the script?

"Tanya." Leah walked forward.

Tanya turned around and saw Leah, "Miss Thorne, you’re here."

"Tanya, where’s my brother?"

"Your brother is inside; you can go in and take a look."

Leah immediately pushed open the wooden door and walked inside.

Mort Thorne was lying in bed, still unconscious. The medical conditions here weren’t great, and his body was wrapped in many white bandages, indicating he was severely injured in that car explosion.

However, he was still alive!

Leah’s eyes instantly turned red, and she quickly took her brother’s hand. Her brother had narrowly escaped death twice, all because of her.

It was her who harmed her brother.

"Brother..." Leah’s tears fell swiftly.

"Leah, don’t cry. I just checked Mort’s pulse; it’s still strong. For someone to venture through the gates of hell twice and return safely, even the King of Hell wouldn’t dare take him," Serena said with a smile.

Leah nodded, feeling slightly reassured. This time Serena had come along with her, so with Serena here, her brother would surely recover.

"Serena, when will my brother wake up?"

Serena took out a needle, "I’ll give Mort an acupuncture. I believe he’ll wake up soon."

Serena couldn’t be disturbed while performing acupuncture, so Leah turned her head and didn’t see Tanya.

Tanya hadn’t followed them inside but remained outside.

Leah went out and indeed saw Tanya standing there, "Tanya, why didn’t you come in?"

Tanya glanced inside, her eyes bright and clear, "Miss Thorne, I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to listen to your conversation."

Leah’s heart trembled slightly, feeling that Tanya was a very perceptive girl—cool yet not arrogant, serene yet warm, admirable at just 19 years old.

"Tanya, call me Leah; calling me Miss Thorne feels too distant. Why don’t you call me Sister Leah?"

Tanya didn’t insist and amiably changed her address, "Sister Leah."

"Tanya, why did you notify me immediately when you found Cain Shaw?" Leah asked, curious, as Tanya probably didn’t know she and Cain were siblings.

Tanya slightly curled her lips, "Cain was on his way to find you when the incident happened, so I thought if it were him, he would want to inform you that he’s not dead first."

Leah nodded.

At that moment, a commotion suddenly erupted from the distance, "Who are you? How dare you barge in? We have no injured person or any... Cain!"

Tanya looked up to see Carney Shaw arriving with a large group of subordinates.

This Carney came too fast.