Chapter 774

The little girl was far too understanding, and Natalie promised once again to make time for her soon.

"By the way, is Mr. Stapleton still in the hospital? I already told our driver that I want to visit him this Saturday."

At the mention of Marico, Natalie had to fight the urge to sigh.

She had always seen him as reckless and carefree, a playboy who got into bar fights and caused trouble. She thought that was the extent of his flaws. Never in her wildest dreams did she imagine him capable of murder.

Still, a part of her refused to believe he was truly a monster. He had stepped up to help her and Kristin on multiple occasions. Beneath all that rage, there had to be a core of decency and justice.

Penelope ushered Julian upstairs to do homework with Kristin and Hubert, strictly reminding him to keep an eye on them.

Once the kids were out of earshot, Natalie finally let her anxiety show.

"Do you think Marico has already..."

Penelope shook her head. "I don't know. I just hope he still has a shred of sanity left."

"I should have noticed how erratic he was acting this morning."

"Even if you had, you wouldn't have been able to stop him. No one can, unless they lock him up abroad like they did last time."

"But he's a human being, not a stray dog you can just lock in a cage."

Just as Natalie's panic threatened to boil over, Theodore finally descended the stairs. "I found Marico. He's at a derelict warehouse on the outskirts of the city."

Both women stood up instantly.

"Are you going there right now? I want to come with you!" Natalie insisted.

Theodore hesitated for a second. "Fine."

Penelope wasn't particularly worried about Marico, but she was terrified for Natalie, so she decided to tag along as well. Just as they were heading for the door, Kristin came sprinting down the stairs, tears streaming down her face.

"Hubert said Mr. Stapleton is going to die! Why didn't you tell me, Mommy? I want to go find Mr. Stapleton too!"

Kristin ran up and blocked their path.

Penelope shot a withering glare at

Hubert, who was sheepishly trailing

behind her. "I was just in the

bathroom and accidentally

overheard Dad on the phone mentioning Uncle Marico, the boy muttered guiltily. "He said someone was going to die. So I told Kristin."

He had obviously misheard the context and terrified the poor girl with the wrong information.

There was no time to sit down and

ver

explain the nuances of a kidnapping to a child. Penelope made a split second decision and told Natalie to just bring Kristin along.

"You two stay out of trouble and stay in the house. If you do anything stupid, you're

grounded!" Penelope warned Hubert before walking out.

Hubert stuck his tongue out. "It's not my fault I have good ears."

"More like a big mouth," Julian muttered dryly.

"I do not have a big mouth!"

"Yes, you do!"

The boys instantly started bickering. Penelope and Theodore didn't have time to referee; they told the nanny to watch them and rushed out the door.

The warehouse was located in a

dilapidated neighborhood on the

edge of

town. The area had been

marked for redevelopment, and most of the residents had moved

out long ago. But the city's O

Contion plans had stalled

leaving the place feeling like a ghost town.

The streets were completely deserted. They searched the rotting buildings for a

while before finally spotting the abandoned warehouse.

A faint light flickered through one of the grimy windows. The moment they stepped

up to the door, a blood-curdling scream echoed from inside.

"Mr. Stapleton, Grandpa Stapleton, I'm begging you! Please spare my life!"

Whatever Marico was doing to the man, it elicited another agonizing shriek. "Help! Ahhh! Somebody help! He's killing me!"