Chapter 898 He Passed Out from the Pain

But just as Chloe Reed had said, they were working for money. Since there was a higher-paying job available, why would they choose the lower-paying one?

They were putting their lives on the line every day; naturally, it was better to earn a more generous salary. Quite a few of them wavered, and several had already approached Daniel Hayes on their own initiative.

Daniel stood to the side, recording their details with a face full of smiles as he chatted with the bodyguards about the next steps.

Of course, some remained unwavering, their expressions exceptionally solemn.

Chloe noticed this and said calmly, "For those of you who aren’t choosing me, I expect you to keep today’s conversation a secret. I’ll give you a hush fee. When you go back to Walker Grant, just tell him that I was dissatisfied and fired you. He’ll give you another sum of money."

Those few men avoided her gaze and then left the room.

Seeing this, Chloe lowered her eyes faintly. This was all within her expectations. A total of twenty people stayed behind.

Once everyone had registered, Chloe announced, "From today onward, you are my personal bodyguards. You only take orders from me. You will continue to protect me in secret, and my first command to you is this: if Walker contacts you, you will communicate with him as usual, but you must not reveal my whereabouts. Just brush him off with some vague excuses."

"Understood!"

Chloe curved her lips into a smile. "I’ll be relying on your care in the days to come. You may leave now."

The men left one after another.

After they were all gone, Daniel said, "Chloe, they changed their minds so easily. What if someone else tries to buy them off with money just like you did? What happens then?"

"If they can be bought once, they can be bought a second and third time," Chloe replied. "That’s why I don’t truly trust them. I only trust you." She looked at him with exceptional seriousness and earnestness. "Daniel, I’ll have to trouble you to keep an eye on them for me."

Daniel grinned, looking incredibly sincere and hearty. "Alright! Leave this matter to me!"

The sky darkened. It was already evening.

Chloe was about to get up and head back when her phone rang. Taking it out, she saw it was a call from Fiona Linton.

"Hello, Fiona."

Fiona sounded extremely anxious. "Chloe, where are you? Your Walker is having another episode!"

An episode?

Hearing this, Chloe paused. She then remembered his eye pain—a condition that had been examined numerous times without any doctor finding the root cause. His condition was a complete mystery. Even though there seemed to be nothing wrong with his eyes, they just wouldn’t heal.

"He’ll still be in pain even if I go back," Chloe said.

Fiona choked on her words for a moment before saying, "Why not give it a try? What if the pain goes away when you get back?"

"Oh." Chloe gave a cold, dismissive response before hanging up the phone.

She took a deep breath, then turned and left the teahouse. On her way back, she braced herself mentally, resolving to hide her emotions as much as possible in front of Walker.

She didn’t plan to ask him why anymore. He had already done what he did. What was the point of asking why? He had repeatedly abandoned and hurt her for Sunny Reed and Noah Grant in the past. Now, this was just one more injury added to the pile. In his eyes, it probably didn’t even mean anything.

Perhaps he assumed she would always be soft-hearted enough to stay by his side. After all, she was the reason he had suffered so many injuries, and she was the reason he had gone blind.

Chloe scoffed inwardly, the emotions in her watery eyes growing increasingly cold.