The Retired Young Mercenary Is Secretly a Billionaire

Chapter 326: A trap!!

Inside the villa, the atmosphere became much calmer.

The journey from the island had left everyone tired, yet the unexpected arrival of Nora had brought a strange warmth to the morning.

Tea and coffee were served.

The aroma slowly filled the living room.

Nora sat comfortably on the sofa while Elena personally poured tea for her.

Nora accepted the cup with a smile.

"Sorry for coming uninvited when you are all tired."

Elena immediately shook her head.

"What are you saying, Aunt? You are family too."

Nora’s eyes softened.

Family.

It had been a very long time since someone had spoken that word to her with such sincerity.

Miles sat across from her.

His curiosity had not faded.

"So, how did you find us?"

Nora lifted her teacup.

"Since you arrived in Star Harbor, I was waiting for the right time to come here."

She took a small sip before continuing.

"It took some time to find where you lived, but it was not difficult."

Miles raised an eyebrow.

"So you arranged for someone to follow me to find my address?"

"You could have simply called me."

Nora chuckled.

"I wanted to see your surprised face."

Elena laughed.

Daniel nodded immediately.

"It is rare we get to see his shocked face anyway."

"He is always the one surprising everyone else."

Nora pointed toward Daniel.

"See? Daniel agrees."

Miles could only sigh helplessly.

At that moment, footsteps echoed from the staircase.

Monica had just returned after putting the sleepy twins to bed.

Nora looked toward her with interest.

"So please introduce me to this young lady too."

"I know who she is."

"I just didn’t know she was family as well."

Elena smiled.

"She is Mona."

"My niece."

Nora blinked.

"The face of Reaper Group."

"Monica is actually Mona?"

Monica smiled modestly.

"I am only the face."

"He owns it."

She pointed at Miles.

Nora froze for a moment.

Then she looked at Miles again.

Her eyes widened.

"So now I understand."

"I always thought all those years you were hiding the inheritance after acquiring it."

Miles looked confused.

"Inheritance?"

Without revealing much, Nora quickly corrected herself.

"I mean the thing you found in the Half Moon Tribe."

"Oh."

Miles nodded.

"Right."

He glanced toward Monica.

"She has been with me since the beginning."

"I didn’t even know she was family before returning here."

Nora laughed softly.

"Some coincidences are truly lucky."

Miles nodded.

Then another question came to his mind.

"You helped develop the tribe, right?"

Nora’s expression became nostalgic.

"Yes."

"It was the task given to me by Big Brother Timothy."

The room grew quieter.

"He told me that one day it would help you protect your family."

A faint smile appeared.

"He was right."

"He always was."

She looked down at her tea.

"I was very young back then."

"When Father cast him out, I was still a child."

Her voice carried complicated emotions.

"We did not share the same mother."

"Father was..."

She paused.

Then shook her head.

"Complicated."

"But after my mother passed away, Father took me in."

"When Father was busy, Big Brother Timothy took care of me."

Her eyes became slightly wet.

"He was more of a father to me than anyone else."

Silence followed.

Miles listened carefully.

"How come I never heard about you?"

"Even Grandpa Gordon never mentioned you."

Nora sighed.

"After I was married away against my will as part of family tradition, I severed all ties with them."

"There was nothing left for me there."

"Father passed away."

"Brother Gordon was always busy."

"Big Brother Timothy was abandoned."

She smiled bitterly.

"Why would they speak about me?"

Then she quietly added.

"I was a child born out of wedlock."

The room became silent.

Elena immediately moved closer.

"Don’t say things like that, Aunt."

"Even if others did not care."

"Father did."

"Edward did."

"So we do."

Nora looked up.

Her eyes trembled.

Then Miles smiled.

"Yes."

"Great Aunt Noey."

For a moment, Nora completely froze.

That nickname.

A nickname she had not heard in decades.

A nickname only one person used.

Edward.

Memories flooded her mind instantly.

A young boy running through hallways.

A bright smile.

A cheerful voice calling her Noey.

Her eyes became red.

She looked away for a moment.

Trying to regain control.

Miles spoke gently.

"Great Aunt."

"When did you see Grandpa Timothy for the last time?"

Nora took a long breath.

Then answered quietly.

"One day I found a letter."

"It was after he disappeared."

Everyone listened carefully.

"He wrote that if I was reading it, then he was probably no longer alive."

Her fingers tightened around the cup.

"He said he had lost Edward."

"He had lost the company he spent his life building."

"He had lost his grandson."

The room became heavy.

Nora continued.

"He gave me one final task."

"Protect the tribe."

"Help it grow."

"He said one day you would return."

"He said one day you would claim what they were protecting."

"And revive the family again."

Miles slowly leaned back.

A thoughtful expression appeared on his face.

"He predicted everything decades in advance."

"And somehow all of us played our parts."

Then suddenly he paused.

A realization struck him.

"Wait. Do you think he is dead?"

Nora looked at him.

"What?"

Miles exchanged a glance with Elena.

Nora frowned.

Then her eyes widened.

"Is..."

"Is he alive?"

Miles looked down briefly.

Then answered honestly.

"He is not dead."

"But he is not truly alive either."

"He has been in a coma ever since."

The teacup almost slipped from Nora’s hands.

"What?"

Her voice cracked.

"What did you say?"

Tears instantly appeared in her eyes.

"Where is he?"

"Where is Big Brother Timothy?"

Elena immediately moved beside her and gently held her hand.

"He is here."

Nora looked at her.

Completely stunned.

Elena smiled warmly.

"Come."

"Let’s go see him."

Nora’s tears finally fell.

After all those years.

After decades of separation.

She was finally going to see her brother again.

....

Afternoon.

For once, the Pearl Villa was unusually quiet.

Everyone had taken the day off.

The twins were napping after exhausting themselves over the weekend. Elena was spending time with Nora. Daniel was enjoying a peaceful afternoon with a cup of tea.

But inside Miles’ study, the atmosphere was completely different.

Miles stood near the window with a phone in his hand, his expression growing darker with every passing second.

"Wang Qian?"

"Why would he do this?"

"This does not make any sense."

Monica stood nearby, equally confused.

"Wasn’t he Wáng Yí’s father?"

Miles nodded slowly.

"Yes."

"Are you sure they gave this name?"

Marina’s voice came through the speaker.

"Yes, Leader."

"We tracked the payment trail."

"The money came directly from Wang Qian’s investment firm."

Miles frowned.

"Something is definitely wrong."

"I have never even met that man in person."

"His daughter is one of my closest friends."

"I was never his enemy."

"Why would he attack Graveyard?"

Marina remained silent for a moment before answering.

"I feel something is fishy as well."

"According to the gang members, one of their contacts was killed a few days ago."

"He was the one communicating with them."

"Maybe he knew something more."

"And now after hearing your side of the story, it sounds like they were manipulated."

Miles’ eyes narrowed.

"It means this is a trap."

Marina paused.

"A trap?"

Miles suddenly turned toward Monica.

"Monica."

Monica immediately understood.

She picked up her phone.

"I already tried contacting Wáng Yí."

"No answer."

"I also contacted her residence."

Miles stared at her.

"And?"

Monica looked troubled.

"They said Wang Qian and Wáng Yí haven’t been home for days."

Miles’ expression instantly changed.

"What?"

"What the hell is going on?"

A genuine concern appeared in his eyes.

"Try Meiling."

Monica immediately dialed another number.

Several minutes later she ended the call.

Miles looked at her.

"What is it?"

Monica slowly lowered the phone.

"I contacted the art school."

"Apparently Meiling hasn’t returned for over a week."

The room became silent.

"What?"

Miles’ voice was cold.

Marina immediately understood the seriousness.

"It sounds serious, Leader."

"Do you have any enemies there?"

Miles looked outside the window.

"The only enemy I ever had there was Xin."

"But he is dead."

He slowly clenched his fist.

"And yet everything points toward him."

Marina thought carefully.

"Maybe someone connected to him is behind all this."

Miles nodded.

"It is possible."

"We need to find Wáng Yí and Meiling before anything goes wrong."

Marina straightened her posture on the other side.

"What are your orders?"

Miles answered instantly.

"Contact Darius."

"Someone needs to go to Shanghai."

"Monica will send all relevant information."

Marina nodded.

"Understood."

The call ended.

The room became quiet again.

Miles looked troubled.

"How did this happen?"

"Besides Xin and Meiling, nobody knew I was Ghost."

Monica crossed her arms.

"This is a huge risk."

"They definitely captured Meiling."

"But why leave Wang Qian’s name behind?"

Miles sat down slowly.

"That’s the concerning part."

"Wang Qian is a powerful man."

"Harming him and his family is not easy."

"Trap or not, we have to find out where they actually are."

Monica nodded.

"Don’t worry."

"The warriors will find them."

Just then, a knock sounded on the door.

Monica opened it.

Both of them looked up.

"Great Aunt?"

Nora stepped inside with a gentle smile.

"You looked troubled."

"Do you need my help?"

Miles immediately shook his head.

"It’s nothing that serious."

Nora laughed softly.

"I know better than that."

"There are quite a lot of enemies you’ve made over the years."

She sat down calmly.

"Did you take care of those treasure hunters?"

Miles blinked.

"You know about the treasure hunters?"

Nora nodded.

"I learned they were chasing Big Brother Timothy."

"And Elias Flinch’s disappearance was not exactly difficult to notice."

Miles smiled slightly.

"You are right."

"There are no treasure hunters left anymore."

Then he looked at her curiously.

"Did you know Elias Flinch?"

"Yes."

"We met occasionally at business gatherings."

Miles leaned forward.

"So you live in London?"

"Can you tell me your full name, Great Aunt?"

Nora smiled.

"Connor."

"Nora Connor."

Monica’s eyes widened immediately.

"Connor?"

"You mean the Connor family?"

"One of the most influential industrial families in the United Kingdom?"

Miles finally nodded.

"That explains a lot of things."

Nora laughed softly.

"Well."

"You know how much the Sterling family valued business relationships."

Miles shook his head.

"You are right."

"But not anymore."

"Marrying daughters for business alliances is forbidden now."

Nora looked surprised.

"What changed?"

Monica smiled.

"The ownership structure."

"Miles owns fifty one percent of ACE Group."

Nora froze.

"What?"

Her eyes immediately shifted toward Miles.

"So you’re leading ACE too?"

Miles laughed.

"No."

"They never believed women could run the business."

"So I changed that."

"Silvey is handling ACE."

Nora blinked.

"You mean David’s daughter?"

"Yes."

For a moment Nora said nothing.

Then she suddenly laughed.

A genuine, heartfelt laugh.

"You have no idea how happy that makes me."

"My husband would love hearing that."

"The old men of our generation would probably faint."

Even Miles laughed.

And for a brief moment, despite the dangers gathering around the world, the study felt lighter again.