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Chapter 100: Chapter 100: Did He Give You the Courage?

"What happened?!"

Lynn Winslow looked at the returning bodyguard captain and asked coldly, "Was I the target?"

If Ian Sterling hadn’t reacted so quickly, that bullet would have gone straight through her head.

The bodyguard captain’s expression was grim. He said to Lynn, "Miss, we can’t risk calling an ambulance. I’m afraid they have another move planned. Let’s take our car back to Winslow Manor. The doctors there can treat a gunshot wound."

He bent down to carry Ian Sterling on his back, but Ian hesitated, reluctant. Lynn’s tears were streaming down her face. "Just get on! This is no time to worry about your pride!"

The moment Ian Sterling saw her crying, he forgot all about his pride. Ignoring the blood that was still pouring from his wound, he scrambled onto the bodyguard captain’s back.

Lynn followed, her heart pounding with panic. She swayed, nearly fainting, but Selene Sterling was quick to catch and support her.

"Don’t panic. It’s a shoulder wound. It’s not that serious." Selene Sterling had spent years abroad and had even been to conflict zones, so she knew a thing or two.

Biting her lip, Lynn couldn’t stop the tears from falling as she forced herself into the car.

Selene Sterling sat in the passenger seat, while Lynn cradled Ian Sterling’s head in the back. The bodyguard captain drove.

They were surrounded by a convoy of bulletproof cars driven by other bodyguards, just in case their attackers decided to pursue them.

"Miss, I’ve checked the bullet’s trajectory. It was definitely aimed at you," the bodyguard captain said grimly. "The sniper was too far away and got clean away. The others we caught are just small-time thugs. They don’t know a thing. We couldn’t get anything out of them."

Lynn lowered her gaze to Ian Sterling, whose face was beaded with cold sweat. Her heart seized, making it difficult to breathe. After a long moment, she said, enunciating each word, "Investigate. I don’t care who it is—the grunts, the mastermind behind the sniper—capture every last one of them and bring them to Winslow Manor."

"Understood."

—

Word had already reached Winslow Manor. Elder Winslow was waiting at the entrance. The sight of Lynn Winslow and Ian Sterling, both drenched in blood, made him tremble with a fury that seemed to set him ablaze.

"The absolute nerve! A bit of infighting is one thing, but to plot against the Winslow family..." Elder Winslow said through gritted teeth. "Don’t worry. Your grandfather will not let them get away with this."

Doctors whisked Ian Sterling away. Lynn, completely drained, sank to the floor. Joel Winslow rushed in from outside, stopping short at the sight of his sister covered in blood.

"Sis, are you hurt?"

Lynn shook her head and looked up at the closed door.

"My dear granddaughter, don’t worry. Our medical facilities here are as good as any hospital’s. He’ll be fine," Elder Winslow said, stepping forward to comfort her. But Lynn just shook her head, pushed herself up against the hallway wall, and looked toward the end of the hall where Selene Sterling was on the phone.

Selene Sterling sensed her gaze, ended the call, and met her eyes.

Lynn bit her lip. "He was hurt because of me. I’m so sorry."

Selene Sterling walked over and wrapped her in a hug. "It’s not your fault, Lynn," she said softly. "If he can’t even protect his own woman, then he’s a good-for-nothing."

Lynn let herself be held, her eyes, brimming with tears, staring blankly into the distance. She murmured, "Why is it that whenever he’s with me, he always gets hurt because of me?"

"Don’t you dare think like that." Selene feigned annoyance and patted her on the back. "Back in the day, Finn would fight with my parents and then fight with me, all for you. He followed you around all day without a shred of shame. You can’t say things like that, or it’ll just make him hurt more right now."

Lynn gave a muffled hum of assent, burying her face in Selene’s shoulder and falling silent for a long time.

Elder Winslow sighed and gestured for Joel to follow him.

The two of them entered Elder Winslow’s study, where the patriarch’s benevolent expression had vanished, replaced by an icy mask.

If he were truly the kind old man he pretended to be in front of Lynn, the Winslow family would never have achieved their status in Morelia.

He stared down at the desk, then slammed his heavy, calloused hands onto its surface.

"Joel, investigate this. There aren’t many who would dare make a move on the Winslows. The second branch of the family has been locked away for ages, so it can’t be infighting."

Joel nodded. As he turned to leave, he suddenly remembered something. "Grandpa, our second grand-uncle’s granddaughter... didn’t she marry someone in Rhodo? I hear her husband holds a high position there."

Elder Winslow’s head snapped up. He ground out the words through clenched teeth, "Investigate it. Now."

Joel’s face turned to ice, all traces of his usual warmth gone. He strode out of the room.

’In that moment, he was grateful to Ian Sterling. He had protected his sister—his beloved sister.’

The doctor soon emerged from the room. "Miss," he said to Lynn, "we’ve removed the bullet. It’s a good thing Finn reacted so quickly, otherwise it would have been much worse. The biggest problem now is the blood loss."

Lynn let out a breath of relief and sagged against the wall, only then realizing she was drenched in a cold sweat.

She took a few deep breaths before hurrying into the room. Ian Sterling was semi-conscious from the anesthesia, his normally pale skin now completely bloodless, his lips even paler still.

She kept vigil by his bedside, refusing to leave for anyone. By the time Ian Sterling woke up the following evening, Lynn had only just stepped away.

Joel had brought their cousin back from Rhodo, along with her husband—the very man who held such a high position there.

The pair were kneeling on the floor, tightly bound. Elder Winslow sat in the master’s chair, casually sipping his tea with his eyes lowered. Joel stood nearby, hands clasped behind his back, saying nothing.

When Lynn arrived, her face went cold at the sight of the couple. She walked forward and knelt beside her cousin, who was gagged but shaking her head frantically. Lynn pulled the black cloth from her mouth.

"Lynn, Lynn, it wasn’t me! It really wasn’t! I don’t know anything!"

She explained frantically, but Lynn just stared at her, her expression impassive, her eyes filled with a towering hatred.

’Trying to hurt me... that, at least, had a motive. After all, they were all fighting over the coveted prize that was the Winslow family. But she had hurt Ian Sterling.’ Lynn lost control. With a trembling hand, she grabbed her cousin’s hair.

"You’d better tell me the truth, Cousin. Otherwise, your husband, your son and daughter, your missing grandfather, your father, and your brothers... they’ll all go to hell with you today."

The cousin’s eyes widened in sheer terror, and her trembling body gave a violent shudder.

They had practically grown up together. As a child, Lynn had been like a sweet little cupcake, always smiling at everyone. She had a bit of a princess’s temper, sure, but she was easily placated.

Before their two branches of the family started fighting over control of the Winslow fortune, they had been outwardly amicable. The cousin had often wheedled Lynn into buying her designer bags and fine jewelry, and the good-natured Lynn had always obliged. Now, staring at the person before her—a Lynn radiating a chilling malevolence—she felt nothing but disbelief and a wave of overwhelming terror.

Lynn suddenly smiled at her. She let go of her hair and stood up. "Back when you used to sweet-talk me into buying you bags and jewelry, I actually found it rather amusing to have a little clown like you dancing for my entertainment. Think of all those gifts as your fee."

She slowly walked over to her cousin’s husband, who was kneeling beside her with his head bowed. "Before you were married," she said in a slow, deliberate voice, "you had your little schemes, but you were never this bold. Did he give you this courage? Did he make you feel like having someone at your back meant you could do whatever you pleased?"

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