Chapter 804 Catherine’s Family
Branden glanced at his phone. It was already 6 PM, and there was no sign of any message on his personal phone.
He didn’t want to wait any longer and decided to head to the school directly. Half an hour later, Branden arrived at Catherine’s school in his car.
“Mr. Duncan, should I drive in?” Paxton asked.
“No need.” Branden opened the car door, got out, and asked Paxton to stop the car on the side of the road. He walked into the school alone.
As he reached the bottom of the laboratory building, he coincidentally encountered Marshall coming out. Branden greeted him, considering Marshall was Catherine’s mentor.
“Looking for Catherine?” Marshall smiled kindly.
Branden nodded, and Marshall gestured to him. “Come on, I’ll take you in. When I left the lab, her lights were still on. She should be inside.”
Marshall knew Catherine always left her phone in a drawer when she was in the lab. Unless she checked her phone, it was not easy for others to find her.
Marshall admired Catherine’s dedication to her work. He believed such qualities were essential for someone in research.
Guided by Marshall, Branden entered the building. As they passed the security office, Marshall waved at the security personnel when they were about to stand up. “No need to bother. This is Catherine’s family. I’ll take him up.”
With Marshall’s guarantee, the security didn’t approach, letting them in.
“Catherine’s family,” Branden thought and accepted the new title calmly, and his expression suggested he was quite satisfied.
“She’s inside. You can knock and enter on your own. I won’t bother,” Marshall said and turned away, leaving Branden at the door.
The young ones had their dates, and old folks like him also wanted to go back to have a meal with their families. He didn’t want to delay here.
After respectfully seeing off Marshall, Branden knocked on the lab door.
“Knock, knock, knock!”
The sound of knocking brought Catherine’s attention back. She looked at the clock on the wall, realizing dinner time had passed without her noticing.
Assuming it was Marshall inviting her for dinner, she was about to decline when she opened the door and found Branden. “Why are you here?” she asked.
Seeing her expression somewhat odd, Branden thought it was because of his abrupt intrusion. He quickly explained, “It’s almost dinner time, and since I didn’t hear from you, I thought of coming to the entrance of the lab building to check. It just happened that I ran into Professor Hartley. Being treated as your family, I was allowed in.
“Uh-huh,” Catherine replied indifferently, her face calm, not revealing her emotions.
Seeing her like this was rare for Branden, and he couldn’t help but worry. “What’s wrong? Upset?”
“Nothing. Just thinking about some data.” Catherine gave a simple response and pulled Branden away. 11 Come on, let’s go eat. I’m a bit hungry.”
Branden, hearing that she was hungry, led her toward the school gate without further delay.
They came to the oatmeal shop Catherine had chosen last time. While she checked her phone, Branden had already placed their orders, following Catherine’s taste.
When the dishes arrived, Branden noticed Catherine wasn’t eating much. He tasted the dishes, and it wasn’t an issue with the food.
“You eat so little. Feeling unwell?” asked Branden.
Despite saying she was hungry earlier, she only took a couple of bites.
Catherine shook her head, and Branden’s concerned look left her unsure how to respond. In her mind, Zobber’s findings kept replaying.
[Catherine, I found something. It’s indeed related to Mr. Duncan. Strange. How does Mr. Duncan know them?]
Catherine didn’t disclose the reason to Zobber. After taking the documents, she instructed Zobber to keep this matter confidential for now.
“Kathy…” The gentle voice of the man brought Catherine’s drifting thoughts back.
After coming to her senses, she picked up her fork and quickly started eating. Nothing. Just thinking. Now, let’s eat!”
Branden had been watching Catherine’s every move. Although she was eating a decent amount now, and her expression was normal, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. It was as if something was about to happen.
After Catherine finished the bowl of oatmeal Branden had filled for her, she put down her utensils. “I’m done eating.”
Seeing her not in the best condition, Branden felt a bit distressed. “Is the experiment not going well?”
Knowing how sharp Branden’s eyes were, Catherine came up with an excuse to avoid detection. “Not really. I’m just a bit tired.”
When he saw her droopy eyelids and exhausted look, Branden’s heart ached as if someone had stabbed it with a needle.
Originally planning for an evening date, he now only wanted to take her home and let her rest.
“Shall we go back and rest?” he asked.
“Yeah,” Catherine replied and stood up quickly.
Thinking she was genuinely tired, Branden hastened his movements to take her back.
In a suburban residence in Loxton, Ronin felt completely at ease in the unfamiliar environment.
He had lost count of how many times he had been moved in the past few days. These people seemed to have a lot of strongholds. No wonder their tracks were hard to trace.
For Ronin, however, it didn’t bother him much. Though the masked man kept him confined, he didn’t mistreat Ronin and even granted Ronin a certain level of freedom within the room. As long as he stayed inside, he wouldn’t be harmed that was what the masked man had told him.
When the door opened, Ronin put down the game controller and turned to look. To alleviate his boredom, the masked man had arranged a gaming console for him. It didn’t have internet access, but playing some single-player games was still possible.
Seeing the masked man, Ronin seemed excited. He dropped the game controller and rushed toward the masked man. “Hey, you’re here! Did you bring me anything good? Any tasty treats?”
The masked man was consistently puzzled by Ronin’s reactions. Ronin’s behavior didn’t match that of a person held captive. He seemed to be on vacation, incredibly relaxed. For those who had once tormented and even kidnapped him, he also behaved very friendly.
“Ronin, I advise you to behave and not play any tricks!” The masked man gritted his teeth.
Ronin, looking puzzled, stared at him. ” What tricks? Haven’t I been obedient? It’s not my fault. You guys haven’t told me to do anything or provided tools. How can you blame me? It’s too unfair.”
“Do you really want to act?” The masked man’s voice was full of doubt. Clearly, he did not believe Ronin.
Ronin extended his hand. “Then provide the tools. As long as you ask, I’ll do it.”
With hesitation, the masked man decided to get the tools for Ronin. He swore that if he caught Ronin doing anything suspicious, he would kill Ronin.
