Chapter 274 - 272: If It’s Abnormal, There Must Be a Demon

"Tch!"

Yvonne Sterling watched them file out the door one by one, like rats scurrying away, and couldn’t help but scoff. "A bunch of trash. A whole family of scum!"

Once the Fultons had left, Jasmine Sterling finally collected herself and thanked the police. "Thank you so much. I’m sorry for the trouble of having you come all this way."

"It’s our duty," the officer replied. "If anything like this happens again, call us right away. It’s the best way to de-escalate the situation and ensure your safety."

Jasmine Sterling nodded. A moment later, a thought occurred to her. "By the way, Officer, would you mind telling me who called you?"

’It had to be one of us,’ she thought. ’The Fultons would never call the police on themselves. My phone is in the bedroom. My sister and brother-in-law were in a standoff with them, and Ronald was watching everything closely, not playing on his phone.’

The dispatcher would have asked for the caller’s name and contact information.

The officer answered immediately, "The call was made by someone named Cecilia Sterling."

As he spoke, his gaze drifted between Jasmine and her sister. Clearly, he assumed "Cecilia" was a woman’s name.

"Cecilia?" Jasmine said, startled. She quickly explained, "That’s my daughter!"

"Oh, right, Cecilia!" Yvonne snapped back to reality. She had been on the phone with Cecilia earlier. She picked up her phone to check, but the call had long since been disconnected.

"Jasmine, Cecilia called me just now," Yvonne said. "She must have heard all the commotion."

Yvonne quickly called Cecilia back. The call connected almost immediately.

"Cecilia, honey, it’s your aunt."

On the other end, Cecilia had already cleared security at the airport. "Auntie, did the police get there? Are you all okay?"

"We’re fine, we’re fine. Here, talk to your mom."

Yvonne handed the phone to her sister. Jasmine took it and said hurriedly, "Cecilia, the police came. Everything’s fine now. They’re all gone, so don’t you worry."

"Mom, I bought a ticket for the next flight back. Just wait for me."

"Oh, don’t go to all that trouble! Everything is really fine now," Jasmine quickly tried to dissuade her.

It wasn’t that she was afraid of troubling her daughter. Rather, deep down, she never wanted her children—neither Ethan nor Cecilia—to have too much contact or involvement with the Fulton family.

But Cecilia was insistent. "No. I never should have left you in Veridia by yourself in the first place. This time, I’m coming to get you myself. I’ll be home before 1 a.m."

After hanging up, Jasmine sighed helplessly and looked at Yvonne. "Cecilia insists on coming back."

"Of course she is. She’s such a good daughter. Once she found out, there’s no way she’d let you face the Fultons alone."

Brendan Harris chimed in, "It’s good she’s coming back. You’ll feel more at ease with Cecilia here."

Seeing that the matter was resolved, the police officers left.

Jasmine’s tense nerves finally began to unwind. She walked over to the sofa and sat down, just in time to hear her sister muttering regretfully, "I was off my game. I should’ve laid into them even harder."

Her words made Jasmine laugh. "You were already amazing. The Fultons brought all those people and still couldn’t get the upper hand at all."

Ronald even gave his mother a thumbs-up. "Mom, your combat prowess is off the charts. I wish I’d recorded that. If I posted it online, you’d be an overnight sensation!"

"Oh, get out of here," Yvonne said, glaring at her son before adding, "You should head home. You have school early tomorrow. Your dad and I will stay here with your Aunt Jasmine and wait for your cousin to get back."

After all, she couldn’t bear to leave her sister all by herself.

Down at the entrance to the residential complex, the Fultons hadn’t actually left. They hid in the shadows, waiting for the police car to drive away before emerging one by one.

"Connor, the police are gone. Let’s go back up!" Claire Fulton said, looking at Connor Fulton.

Victor Fulton, who was standing nearby, quickly shot down the idea. "Forget it! That sister of hers has a mouth like a machine gun. I’m not going back up there just to get cussed out again!"

Connor’s expression was grave as he said, "Let it go. It’s too late tonight. If we cause another big scene, the police will just come back."

He then turned to Victor. "Victor, are you sure Ethan isn’t at his school?"

"I’m sure. I staked the place out the first day and didn’t see him. The next day, I went right into the school and asked his classmates. They said he transferred!"

Victor snorted. "That’s total nonsense, isn’t it? The college entrance exams are right around the corner. Who transfers at a time like this? I’m telling you, Jasmine Sterling has him hidden somewhere!"

"But hiding him isn’t practical!" Claire pointed out the flaw in his logic. "Does he just not go to school then? He must have transferred. His classmate wouldn’t have a reason to lie."

Connor Fulton nodded, thinking his sister had a point.

Then he heard his sister mutter, "But where could she have transferred Ethan? Back to her hometown?"

"Where’s her hometown?"

"I heard Mom mention it once. Said they’re from Fornan."

"What? How are we supposed to find him there?"

"We still have to look!" Connor suddenly barked, glaring at the others. "No matter what, we have to find Ethan!"

Sensing the iron will in their older brother’s tone, the others fell silent.

「Shortly before one in the morning, a travel-worn Cecilia Sterling rushed home.」

Jasmine and the others were all waiting up for her. They had even made her a late-night snack.

"It wasn’t that big a deal. You have to go back to school soon, and yet you made a special trip all the way back here."

Jasmine said with a sigh of resignation, placing a bowl of freshly cooked wontons on the table for her daughter.

"A whole clan of them showed up at the door, and you’re saying it’s nothing." Cecilia turned to her aunt. "They didn’t do anything to Mom, did they? Did anyone lay a hand on her?"

"As if they’d dare!" Yvonne’s eyes flashed. "Your Uncle Brendan had a kitchen knife tucked into his belt the whole time. I’d like to have seen any of them try to touch your mother!"

"It was just to scare them. We couldn’t have actually used it!" Jasmine said.

"Mom." Cecilia looked at her mother, her expression serious. "I was thinking about this the whole way back. I think there has to be a reason we don’t know about for the Fultons to suddenly raise such a ruckus looking for Ethan."

"Your uncle said the old folks are getting on in years and want to see Ethan."

Cecilia shook her head. "If it were that simple, they wouldn’t have needed to cause such a scene. You’re not an unreasonable person. The other Fultons might not get that, but your uncle certainly does. He knows that if he had just discussed it with you properly, you might have softened up."

"In the past, the Fultons would just sneak a peek at Ethan at his school every once in a while. This time is completely different. It’s too abnormal!"

As Cecilia spoke, realization dawned on Yvonne. "When things are this strange, something sinister is afoot. Cecilia has a point."

At this, Jasmine grew tense. "What do they want to do to Ethan?"

"Mom, don’t panic yet," Cecilia said, trying to soothe her. "They wouldn’t go so far as to actually harm Ethan. But we do need to investigate their true motive."

Just then, Yvonne suddenly turned to Brendan. "Doesn’t your third sister live over there? Can you ask her to do some digging and find out what’s going on with the Fulton Family?"

Cecilia and Jasmine both turned to look at Brendan, who nodded without a moment’s hesitation. "No problem. I’ll give her a call tomorrow."