Chapter 615
Hearing that voice, Paige turned around as if by reflex. Seeing Rowan, the hatred in her eyes practically spilled over.
Her teeth ground together audibly.
Slate looked at Rowan, then at Laurel, and finally at Paige, his mind reeling.
He could feel the gazes landing on him shifting from their usual flattery to blatant schadenfreude.
It couldn’t be true…
But he was raised by Paige herself.
She knew him.
He knew her, and he knew enough about this cousin he’d been at odds with for years.
Intuition told him it was all true.
It was like someone had dumped a bucket of ice water over his head in the dead of winter. He plunged into a freezing abyss.
It turned out his friction with Rowan and Paige’s mistreatment of Rowan had nothing to do with some deep-seated feud between his father and his uncle.
The real reason was that he wasn’t a Murphy.
Paige had always targeted Rowan to secure more benefits for him within the family.
No wonder whenever he suggested that since Rowan was capable, they should just let him run the family, she never agreed.
This was the root of it all.
She was afraid that once Rowan completely took over, there would be no place for Slate.
He didn’t know how he managed to leave the banquet hall amidst the sneers, only vaguely hearing Paige spit a venomous parting shot at Rowan: “Ungrateful traitor!”
An ungrateful traitor.
Who was the real traitor here?
Maya watched the grandmother and grandson walk away. The coldness on Laurel’s face hadn’t faded, and she looked increasingly unsteady.
Now, it was her turn.
She looked helplessly at Tristan. “Dad…”
Before Tristan could speak, all three Wilkinson siblings simultaneously looked behind Rowan.
“Why did you come alone? Where’s Elissa?”
Rex asked. Noticing something off in Rowan’s expression, his heart skipped a beat. “Did something happen?”
Rowan gave a slight nod. “That’s why I’m here.”
Consumed with anxiety, he didn’t beat around the bush. “Is it possible any of your family’s enemies found out about Elissa’s true identity?”
Rex frowned. “What do you mean?”
Laurel was the first to connect the dots, her face turning grave. “Was Elissa kidnapped?”
Then, she spoke decisively. “Impossible. First, only a few of us know about this. Second, our enemies don’t do kidnappings.”
If they were truly coming for the Wilkinsons, they would just shoot to kill.
Even if they had an ulterior motive and abducted someone, she would have received a phone call by now.
But Rowan was already here, and no call had come through. It definitely wasn’t targeted at their family.
Jesse looked tense and immediately said, “Regardless of who it’s aimed at, finding Elissa is the priority. Do you have any leads? gather some men and go with you right now
The thought of Elissa’s life hanging in the balance made Laurel turn pale, but she steadied herself. “I’ll call Grandpa and mobilize all outo resources to find her.”
Jesse nodded. “You and Rex stay here to handle the fallout. I’ll call you when I have news.”
With that, he and Rowan strode away.
“I’m going too…”
Just as Rex was about to follow, he suddenly remembered something. He took a few steps back toward Maya. “Did you do this?”
Their voices weren’t loud, and Maya, too afraid to get close, couldn’t hear clearly. She froze. “Did I do what?”
Tristan was about to explode, but Laurel had already stopped Rex. “It wasn’t her.” Maya’s network didn’t extend far enough to pull off something like this in Vistapeak City.
Eighty percent of the local gangs knew about Rowan’s relationship with Elissa. No one would risk taking that job.
Tristan breathed a sigh of relief. He patted Maya comfortingly, assuming Laurel was softening. Seizing the opportunity, he said, “Maya grew up with all of you. Can you talk to the police and have then wait until there’s solid proof before taking her away?”
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Laurel asked pointedly, “If the police leave today, do you think they’ll be able to find
her in the country tomorrow?”