After he returned the hair dryer to its original position, Janet fell asleep while leaning against the headboard. A smile ghosted his lips when he stared at her sleeping face. It struck a chord in his heart that brought forth a sense of warmth. All of a sudden, he caught a glimpse of the silver gun beside the bed, which he picked up without making a sound.
As soon as he grasped it, his heart sank when he noticed that it was equipped with a muffler. Come to think of it, he had yet to teach her how to install a muffler on a gun. Moreover, the gun was loaded. When he unloaded the cartridge, he noticed that it contained only seven bullets, while the eighth was missing, which indicated that she had fired the gun.
As soon as he noted that, doubts arose within him. He observed her sleeping face before letting out an abrupt chuckle. Then, he mumbled in a low voice, “Janet, was it you that I saw?” However, he also wondered why she chose not to tell him the truth if she was indeed the woman he saw. It was fine if she didn’t want to tell him, as he agreed that everybody had a right to keep secrets, but he would feel sorry for her if she was indeed J’Adore. He caressed her face and spent some time staring at her before turning to exit the room.
As soon as he stepped out of the room, he saw Sean walking up to him, who greeted him with a solemn nod. “Mr. Lowry.”
Mason returned the nod before brushing past him.
While watching Mason leave, Sean hesitated if he should tell him about his suspicions. In the end, he called out to Mason. “Mr. Lowry!”
He stopped in his tracks before turning back slightly. “What is it?”
“I have a feeling that something’s fishy regarding what happened early this morning,” Sean said. According to Black Python, he had been standing guard in front of the hotel room all night with White Python, so Janet shouldn’t be able to sneak out of the room. One possible exit remained, which was the area in the backyard that was undergoing maintenance. He realized it was obstructed from view when he checked on the surveillance records.
Pursing his lips, Mason paused for a moment before asking, “Does it have something to do with Janet?”
“Yeah.”
“We’ll talk about it after we return to Sandfort City.” Mason narrowed his eyes, keeping a straight face as he did so. Perhaps she had her reasons. All will come to the surface when the time is right.
Sean nodded obediently, as he agreed that they shouldn’t be investigating Janet behind her back. After all, she must’ve worked extraordinarily hard to attain the position as leader in Markovia. Due to the difficulties that she had to go through, she would of course hide her identity carefully.
It was seven o’clock at night in Markovia. Janet, Mason, and a few more people were dining in the hotel. Checking out Janet’s high-collared outfit, Henry laughed before making fun of her. “Miss Janet, there’s still some time before winter arrives. Don’t you feel stuffy in it?”
Mason’s gaze darkened while glancing at Janet, as he could see from his position the red marks on her neck. While propping her collar up, she glared at him for leaving not one, but multiple hickeys on her neck when she was asleep. It was his fault that she had to wear a high-collared outfit during summer, causing people to give her a knowing glance during the afternoon.
Being on the receiving end of Janet’s glare, Mason vented his frustrations on Henry. “Focus on eating your food!”
“I’m full already, so I’ll go pack my stuff,” Janet said. After that, she looked at Mason while tugging on his hand. “Don’t you need to pack up?”
“Alright.” Mason pursed his lips before smiling at her. Later on, he followed her upstairs.
