Chapter 608: Suspicion Arises

"I just want you to hold on to it. If it gets lost, it gets lost."

Although the jade pendant was incredibly important to Quentin Blackwood, he couldn’t shake the feeling that it inherently belonged to Ivy Sherwood. He felt completely at ease with it in her hands.

Since Quentin had given it to her, Ivy accepted it. "I’ll just keep it at home anyway. You can get it anytime you need it."

After arriving home, Ivy put the jade pendant away safely, placing it next to her mother’s. Although Quentin’s pendant didn’t look particularly valuable and seemed quite ordinary, it was equally important to Ivy.

Once it was tucked away, Ivy began searching the house. She pulled out a large box containing all her mother’s belongings and rummaged through it, but she found absolutely nothing. Sitting in the middle of the scattered pile, she was truly at a loss.

She looked up at Quentin and asked, "What exactly do you think Jason Summers wants?"

Quentin shook his head. He couldn’t figure it out either. Jason Summers didn’t lack money, so what was it that he could possibly be missing?

Unable to find a single clue, Ivy had no choice but to give up for now.

After packing the items away again, Ivy went to the hospital to visit her grandpa. Old Master Mercer’s vitals were all declining. His condition was extremely poor, and he rarely had moments of clarity.

Since visiting hours in the intensive care unit were limited, Ivy stayed with him for just a short while. She gently assured him that everything would be alright and that as long as he cooperated with the treatment, he would definitely recover.

Seeing her grandpa in such a state made Ivy second-guess whether she should just cave to Jason Summers’s demands. If Jason could provide the antidote to save her grandpa, she was tempted to just let him search for whatever he wanted.

She and her grandpa hadn’t been reunited for long, and their family had barely spent any time together. How could something like this happen? Yet, Ivy was also plagued by a deeper worry. If Jason really got his hands on what he wanted, what if it ended up harming even more people?

"Ivy," Grandpa said, gripping her hand weakly but tightly. His eyes were filled with reluctance.

"I’m right here, Grandpa!"

"Ivy, you have to live well... live well."

The old master’s greatest worry was Ivy. She was the precious granddaughter he had finally found after so much heartbreak, and he always felt that he owed her the world. Even though he knew Ivy was doing well now, he just couldn’t rest easy unless he watched over her himself.

"I won’t be fine, Grandpa. You have to stay by my side to watch over me and guide me. Without you here, I won’t do well at all. Promise me, Grandpa. Promise me you’ll always stay by my side, okay?"

Old Master Mercer looked at her and parted his lips with great effort. "Alright... Grandpa promises you."

While Ivy stayed inside talking with the old master, outside the ward, Quentin received a phone call.

"Quentin, save me! Save me! Ah!" Claire Sherwood’s voice screamed through the receiver. "Quentin, I don’t know what I did wrong. Someone kidnapped me, and they want to kill me! Please, I beg you, save me!"

Quentin frowned, ready to hang up. "The man who kidnapped you is Jason Summers. You should take it up with him."

"Quentin, save me! For the sake of me saving your life before, you can’t just stand by and do nothing! Have you forgotten my kindness to you? If it weren’t for me back then, you would’ve starved to death long ago! I was the one who brought you food every day. I carefully prepared those meals—I made them with my own hands! Without me, you wouldn’t be who you are today!"

Hearing Claire’s words, a faint glint flickered in Quentin’s eyes.

Made with her own hands? When she came to bring him food back then, that wasn’t what she had said. He clearly remembered that the chattering little girl had told him, "The servants at my house made a little extra food. We can’t finish it anyway, so hurry up and eat."

Quentin said coldly, "Made with your own hands? Then you were truly thoughtful, even arranging the food into such cute shapes."

Hearing his response, Claire thought she had a chance. "Yes, yes! I made it all!"

After Claire spoke, the line went silent. Claire felt a sinking wave of uncertainty. Was Quentin actually going to save her or not?

She continued to plead, "Quentin, I’ve never bothered you all these years, nor have I ever used my past kindness to guilt-trip you. I really have no other choice now. I don’t want to die. For the sake of the food I gave you back then, save me, okay?

"Could you really just watch me die? If I die, I won’t let you and Ivy off, even as a ghost!"

Claire’s pitiful wails came through the phone, making her sound extremely aggrieved. She repeatedly brought up her past kindness to pressure Quentin, intentionally trying to weaponize his guilt so he couldn’t refuse.

"I did so many good deeds when I was young! I saved so many people, and this is how I end up? What was the point of saving all those people back then?"

A dark emotion flashed through Quentin’s eyes as he finally spoke. "I will go find Jason Summers."

Hearing this, Claire let out a massive sigh of relief. "Then I’ll wait for you."

She figured that if Quentin was willing to save her, Jason Summers would definitely have to get what he wanted first. In that case, her mission could finally be considered complete.

When visiting hours ended, Ivy emerged from the ward. She had carefully collected her emotions before stepping out so as not to worry Quentin. Seeing him on the phone by the door, Ivy mirrored his earlier actions and didn’t step forward to interrupt. She only walked over after he hung up and noticed her.

"How is Grandpa doing?" he asked.

Ivy shook her head. "Not very well."

He looked terrible. Even though Grandpa had spoken quite a bit, it was obvious that his condition was rapidly destabilizing.

Perhaps because of her grandfather, Ivy didn’t have much of an appetite. Even though Quentin cooked dinner himself that evening, she barely touched it. Quentin, however, kept serving food into her bowl. Before she realized it, a small, heaping mountain had formed.

"I can’t eat that much," she said. Looking at the massive portion, she knew she was eating for two now, but it still wasn’t to this extreme extent.

"Just eat as much as you can." Quentin also served her a bowl of rich, nutritious soup.

After Old Master Mercer was poisoned, Quentin no longer trusted any meals prepared by the staff at Norhaven. Only by handling the cooking himself could he be absolutely certain that there were no issues with the ingredients. Ivy honestly suspected that if they had a vegetable garden, Quentin would insist on growing the produce himself just to feel at ease.

After sipping some soup and eating less than half a bowl of rice, Ivy pushed the rest toward Quentin.

Once dinner was over, Ivy and Quentin washed up and lay in bed, holding each other tightly.

That night, however, Ivy had a terrible dream. In it, she plunged into a boundless darkness. She was completely alone in the void. Suspended in front of her was a giant screen continuously playing scenes of her life—warm images of her with her family and Quentin.

Ivy reached out to touch them, but the images suddenly shattered into pieces. It felt as though those beautiful scenes were just an illusion, and the abyss she was trapped in was reality. It was an endless, engulfing black where she was falling alone forever.

No family. No Quentin.