Chapter 157 The Thing She Fears
Two days passed, and Amelia had been busy with the relocation of the Shadow Operations Division.
On Thornfield's side, according to her plan, the Hays family members targeting the Shadow Operations Division had "successfully" wiped out several important Shadow Operations Division strongholds.
Rumors were already spreading that the leader of the Shadow Operations Division was dead, and that the organization was now falling apart, in terrible shape.
Of course, the truth was that all the Shadow Operations Division members had been relocated.
Besides that, they had also bought many shops, with different people staying in other locations.
They seemed unremarkable, blending in with the locals, but actually served a huge purpose.
—They were used to gather intelligence for the Shadow Operations Division.
Of course, some remained in Thornfield, continuing to monitor the situation there.
Amelia had been busy for two days. She was mentally exhausted, but physically fine.
Because Natalie cooked different soups for herself every day. She often worked until very late before sleeping, but her weight had actually increased a little bit.
In other words, Natalie was taking very good care of her.
But on the morning of the third day, Amelia was woken up by laughter and noise from downstairs.
She really hated noise, and since she'd been busy with Shadow Operations Division matters until after 4 AM last night, only falling asleep at dawn, being woken up before 8 AM now made her look rather gloomy.
She got out of bed barefoot and walked to the balcony.
She saw a tall, upright figure standing downstairs, talking with Liam and Mason.
As for Grant, he had already gone to work at the Crawford Group.
Although Samuel wasn't always at the company, Grant was very serious and dedicated, leaving early and returning late every day.
Everyone was surprised at first because Grant had always seemed like a carefree person, but when he got serious about something, he was completely different.
And Natalie was holding and playing with a cute little dog.
The puppy was a Golden Retriever.
Its thick fur reflected a golden sheen in the morning light.
Amelia instinctively frowned.
The man downstairs seemed to sense something and looked up.
His gaze met hers precisely.
Amelia instinctively turned and ducked back into her room.
The first thing she thought was, did she look ugly just after waking up?
Actually, she didn't look ugly at all; she was kind of cute.
This was Samuel's first time seeing Amelia with messy hair, all fluffy, like the puppy in Natalie's arms, making him want to ruffle it, lift her up, and give her a hug.
Amelia was usually so cold and distant, but the morning version of her showed such a huge contrast.
Samuel couldn't help but smile.
Liam and Mason both saw it.
They exchanged glances, both feeling very proud.
Samuel, whom everyone feared or wanted to please, now had eyes only for their sister.
How could they not be proud?
However, regarding Amelia and Samuel's relationship, neither of them planned to interfere.
No matter how good Samuel was, it only mattered if Amelia liked him.
Before long, Amelia came downstairs.
She wore a simple white tracksuit, her hair tied back with a hair tie, neat and fresh, like morning dew, clean and pure, yet reflecting the sun's brilliance.
Samuel was the first to see Amelia. He walked up to her and explained why he was visiting today.
"Last time at the Hagen family's place, I told Mrs. Richardson I'd found a dog. I was supposed to bring it the next day, but I was worried it might have parasites, so I had the vet clinic do deworming first, gave it shots, and made sure everything was fine before bringing it over."
Amelia nodded.
She remembered this.
But just then, Natalie came over holding the puppy.
"Amelia, Samuel said it doesn't have a name yet. He wants you to name it."
As she spoke, she tried to put the puppy in Amelia's arms.
Amelia was startled and quickly backed away.
Just as she was about to hit the door behind her, Samuel reacted quickly, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her toward him.
They were very close, able to feel each other's breath.
Amelia's back stiffened, and she quickly stepped out of Samuel's embrace.
Before she could speak, Samuel explained first: "I didn't mean to hug you. You were about to hit the door."
Amelia knew that, of course.
But he was so jumpy, explaining everything in advance, making her seem difficult.
However—
Amelia thought about it and realized that in front of Samuel, she had always been a difficult person.
That was strange.
She felt she was pretty easy-going with everyone else, so why was it only with him...
Natalie approached again with the dog, but stopped about 3 feet away.
"What's wrong? Are you afraid of dogs?" Natalie asked while placing the dog in Liam's arms.
Liam was sitting in his wheelchair, and his lap was just right for the puppy to stand on.
Everyone was looking at Amelia.
After all, Amelia's reaction had been quite strong.
This was also the first time Samuel had seen Amelia look panicked.
She was usually so composed.
Seeing everyone staring at her—including the puppy—Amelia felt a bit embarrassed and touched her nose, saying: "I was bitten by a dog in the village when I was little, so I'm a bit scared."
Actually, it wasn't a village dog; it was Piper and Isaac's dog.
It was a black dog with a black tongue, very smart and obedient to its owner's commands.
So when Isaac told it to bite her, the dog didn't hesitate for a second, rushing over and biting her calf.
Fortunately, a villager passed by and stopped it; otherwise, the dog would have torn off a chunk of Amelia's leg.
And Isaac's reason for having the big black dog bite her was simple.
Isaac was just a child then, too, and didn't understand what an arranged marriage was; he only knew that there was an extra person in the house, and everyone was praising Amelia for being pretty, so he got jealous.
Just because of his jealousy, Amelia's calf was left with a permanent scar.
So she wasn't afraid of anything, but she was very afraid of dogs.
However, Amelia didn't mention these details, only saying she was bitten by a dog as a child.
Samuel immediately said, "Then I'll take the dog back."
He paused, then added: "I'll train it properly, make it obedient, then bring it to you. From then on, it'll be your guard dog, and no other dog will ever dare bully you."
The term "guard dog" made Amelia laugh.
She didn't refuse, nodding and saying okay.
Since it was a trauma, she couldn't avoid it; she had to overcome it.
Just not now—she'd wait until Samuel trained the dog not to bite people... then see.
It wasn't that she was scared.
So Samuel came with the dog and left with the dog.
But before leaving, he asked her to name the puppy.
Amelia thought for a moment and said, "Let's call it Lyric."
The black dog that bit her was called Lyric.
Since she was going to overcome this trauma, she might as well use the same name.
Samuel agreed. This little golden retriever was a girl.
"Okay, she'll be called Lyric," he said.
Amelia was silent for a second, then said, "I want you to train it so that whoever I want it to bite, it bites."
Samuel said, "Okay."
Soon it was lunchtime.
Natalie asked about Felix.
Mason shook his head: "No idea. He's been leaving early and coming back late these past few days, even busier than Grant. Don't know what he's up to. And every time he comes back, his shoes are covered in mud. Last night, he even dirtied the carpet at my door."
Natalie said, "Then have him follow you around sometime, so he doesn't cause trouble outside."
Mason agreed: "Sure, I could use the help anyway."
Amelia listened quietly without speaking.
After going upstairs, she called Lyndon.
"The person I asked you to find, have you found them?"
On the other end, Lyndon said apologetically: "Not yet... Don't know where this woman is hiding. But don't worry, as long as she's in Goldenvale, I'll find her sooner or later!"
Amelia said with certainty: "She's definitely still in Goldenvale."
"Then I'll search more carefully. Even if I have to search every corner, I'll find her!"
Amelia said, "That's not necessary. I have a guess, but I'm not sure."
"Please tell me."
"Send someone... no, you personally follow Felix and see where he goes."
"Felix is your brother?"
"Yes."
Though she didn't want to admit it, they were indeed siblings by blood.
"Yes, I understand. I'll get on it right away."
Amelia hung up the phone, and what came to mind was Felix's strange behavior these past few days.
And the mud on his shoes.
Her guess was that Felix had hidden Yasmin somewhere.
Actually, during this time, she could tell that Felix wanted to repair their sibling relationship.
Natalie had also been hoping she could open her heart to Felix as she did with her other brothers.
She had actually been wavering.
After all, though Felix was foolish, he wasn't malicious.
That was also why she was willing to let Felix help her investigate the remaining members of the Combat Arts hall.
This was giving Felix a chance to make amends.
But if her guess were right, then she and Felix would forever only be siblings by blood, never close in any emotional sense.
She hoped she was wrong.
Everyone wants family harmony.
Since she hadn't slept well in the morning, Amelia planned to take a nap before going to handle Shadow Operations Division business.
But she had barely lain down when Natalie knocked on her door.
"Amelia, we have visitors."
Amelia threw off the covers and got out of bed, opening the door to ask: "Who's here?"
"The Sullivan family."
Amelia's eyes showed slight surprise, and she quickly followed Natalie downstairs.
The visitors were Steven and his father, Bobby.
After some small talk, Bobby got to the point.
"Ms. Richardson, at the Luminance Art Gallery, before, I mentioned wanting you to treat an old friend of my father's. I wonder if you've thought about it?"
Amelia had forgotten about this.
Bobby's reminder made her remember.
"What's wrong with them?"
"I'm not entirely sure. They've seen all the famous doctors but haven't been cured, so after hearing that you saved my father, they specifically came to ask us for help."
Bobby said this, then reminded her: "This person has an unusual status. If you can cure him, it would benefit the Richardson family."
Amelia raised an eyebrow and asked, "Who is it?"