Hassan nodded and said, "I want to ask Mr. Mercer if he knows the whereabouts of my cousin."
Lance did not answer immediately. He narrowed his eyes slightly, a dark gleam flashing in them, and slowly said, "Mr. Hassan, did you ask the wrong person?"
"Perhaps. I know my cousin can be quite annoying. If she has offended Mr. Mercer, some discipline is understandable, but I hope Mr. Mercer can show some mercy. My uncle and aunt only have this one daughter," Hassan said, hinting at something.
At the same time, he was secretly observing Lance. Unfortunately, Lance's face remained expressionless.
Seeing this, Hassan frowned, wondering if he had misunderstood something.
Lance did not know what Hassan was thinking and showed no reaction to his previous words. Instead, he directly asked him to leave, "If Mr. Hassan has no other business, you may leave now."
Hassan nodded and left without saying anything.
Unexpectedly, as he walked out, he almost bumped into Deanna, who was about to open the door.
"Mr. Hassan, what are you doing here? Were you looking for me?" Deanna asked in surprise.
Hassan shook his head and denied it, "No, I came to see Mr. Mercer."
Hearing this, Deanna found it strange but did not ask further. After all, she couldn't think of any reason for Hassan to see Lance other than business matters.
At this moment, Hassan asked, "Miss Jones, you just came back from my grandfather's place, right? How is he doing?"
"Old Walsh is recovering well. A couple more days of treatment should suffice; after that, he just needs proper rest," Deanna replied honestly.
Hassan smiled warmly and gratefully said, "Thank you for your hard work during this period, Miss Jones."
"It's my duty," Deanna said modestly.
Listening to their casual conversation, Lance frowned. He stood up from the sofa and walked over.
Deanna was surprised to see him and asked, "Why did you come out?"
"I heard your voice but didn't see you come in, so I came to check," Lance said. However, his eyes were filled with danger as he stared at Hassan.
Hassan felt as if he were being watched by a fierce beast, causing the hairs on his back to stand up. He quickly realized the source of the dangerous aura emanating from Lance and understood what was going on.
"It seems I have disturbed you two. I'll take my leave now," he said gentlemanly.
Lance nodded and then took Deanna back to the room.
Deanna finally realized what was happening and looked at him with a mix of amusement and exasperation. "Was that really necessary?"
Hearing this, Lance knew his thoughts had been guessed but did not deny it.
"He's had feelings for you before," he said, suddenly pulling Deanna close and pressing his forehead against hers. "It took me a lot of effort to win you over; I need to guard you well."
Deanna found his words both amusing and sweet. "So the mighty CEO of Mercer Group is a jealous man."
"Did you just realize that?" Lance admitted with a playful look. "Stay away from those with ill intentions."
Deanna raised an eyebrow. "You want me to stay away from them, but what about you?" she asked with a mischievous glint in her eye. "You have more admirers than I do."
"But I've never paid them any attention," Lance defended himself.
Deanna snorted softly. "That doesn't erase their existence."
Lance was at a loss for words. He suddenly felt that continuing this topic would be dangerous, so he changed the subject. "It's getting late. I've prepared your bath; go freshen up."
As he spoke, he gently pushed Deanna towards the bathroom.
Deanna saw through his little trick but didn't press further. "Wait a minute; I haven't taken my pajamas."
"No worries; I'll bring them to you," Lance said as he pushed her into the bathroom.
Half an hour later, both of them were ready for bed.
Even though they had already spent a night together, Deanna still felt a bit uneasy.
Lance noticed and kissed her forehead gently. "Sleep well. Goodnight."
"Goodnight," Deanna replied and closed her eyes to sleep.
While their side was warm and peaceful, Mr. and Mrs. Walsh were too worried to sleep.
They had no news of Leticia all night.
If it hadn't been less than 48 hours, they would have gone to the police by now.
The next morning, Deanna woke up early and found Lance still asleep. She quietly got out of bed and washed up.
A few minutes later, she walked out of the room and headed downstairs to exercise in the garden.
As she reached the living room, she saw Hassan returning from outside with dark circles under his eyes as if he hadn't slept all night.
Although puzzled, Deanna didn't ask much and greeted him politely.
"Good morning, Mr. Hassan," she said before preparing to leave.
Seeing this, Hassan quickly called out to her, "Miss Jones, wait a moment."