Chapter 290

Chapter 290

"Yeah. Short, but strong."

Sebastian had fought the person hand-to-hand. He knew better than anyone. That wasn't the kind of strength a woman would have.

He carried Lisbeth steadily forward, explaining as they walked.

"When I was training in boxing, I sparred with female bodyguards. I won't deny it—plenty of women are incredible fighters. But their advantage isn't strength. It's flexibility and speed. The person I fought tonight was clumsy and slow. But aggressive. Really aggressive. And he reeked of sweat."

Lisbeth immediately agreed. "Then it's almost definitely a guy."

She'd noticed before—even the female bodyguards always smelled clean and fresh.

"You don't think he'll come back, do you?"

Sebastian shook his head. "Hard to say."

His target was Megan. As long as he didn't succeed, he'd keep coming.

He looked down at Lisbeth. "But you don't need to worry. The bodyguards I hired are highly skilled. They'll be watching around the clock."

Lisbeth nodded, then suddenly remembered something. "I wanted to ask Megan about the accident earlier, but I didn't get a chance to hear her answer…"

By now, they'd reached the car. Sebastian placed Lisbeth in the back seat and draped a soft blanket over her.

Lisbeth's limbs felt heavy and weak. She wasn't completely immobilized, but she felt sluggish. She let him fuss over her without protest.

"Save your questions for tomorrow." Sebastian pulled out his phone. A message from the female bodyguard.

[Ms. Salazar is asleep.]

Attached was a photo of Megan sleeping.

Lisbeth glanced at it. Megan was out cold. "She had a terrible scare today."

"What about you?"

"Me? I'm not scared. I've got nerves of steel."

Lisbeth looked completely unbothered. Sebastian studied her for a moment. Only when he was sure she wasn't lying did he relax and move to the driver's seat.

"If something like this happens again, you need to be more careful."

Lisbeth's expression turned indignant. "How was I supposed to know he'd impersonate your voice?"

"Impersonate my voice?"

Lisbeth nodded, hugging the blanket as she curled up in the back seat. "I was being careful! I even asked who it was. Then I heard your voice. I thought it was you, so I opened the door."

"AI's everywhere now. Synthesizing someone's voice isn't hard anymore." Sebastian's tone was grave. The light ahead turned red, and he stopped the car, reaching back to adjust her blanket.

"From now on, be extra careful. Don't just listen to the voice. Video call me. Confirm it's actually me before you open the door. Even if you don't open it, as long as it's really me, I won't be upset."

Lisbeth leaned forward, resting against the back of the driver's seat. She closed her eyes lightly, still shaken. "Today was so close. He just barged right in… I don't want to think about what would've happened if Megan had been alone…"

Sebastian's voice was soothing. "If you weren't there, the caregiver would've been. If not the caregiver, her mother. She'll never be left alone."

"I know, but…" Lisbeth sighed. "You saw how vicious that guy was. If it had been her mother or the caregiver, they could've gotten hurt too."

Sebastian lowered his gaze. After a moment, he looked at her through the rearview mirror. "Don't worry. I'll take care of everything. From now on, I'll have the nurses log everyone who visits that floor."

Lisbeth nodded silently.

The car fell quiet. A moment later, Sebastian glanced back and realized she'd already fallen asleep.

She was truly exhausted.

---

Night.

Late autumn had arrived. Suddenly, a violent rainstorm swept through in the middle of the night. Thunder and lightning crashed together, and the deafening roar jolted the sleeping figure inside awake.

Lisbeth's eyes flew open. Her forehead was drenched in cold sweat. Someone was knocking at the door.

She flinched. Swallowing hard, she glanced at the lightning flashing outside the window and shivered. She slipped on her slippers and walked to the door. Her hand had just touched the handle when Sebastian's voice came from the other side.

"It's me. I saw it was raining and I was worried you hadn't closed your window…"

Hearing his soft murmur, Lisbeth relaxed. She opened the door and met Sebastian's concerned gaze. "I was just about to get up and close it."

She turned toward the window, but he scooped her up from behind. Her feet left the ground. Instinctively, her arms wrapped around his neck.

Sebastian set her down on the bed, slipped off her slippers, and tucked the blanket snugly around her. "I'll close the window. Don't catch a cold."

He walked to the window and fought against the wind and rain to shut it. The glass blocked out the storm, but every so often, a flash of lightning lit up the room—bright as day for a split second, then plunging back into darkness.

It made her feel uneasy.

Sebastian turned on the bedside lamp and drew the curtains. In the soft yellow glow, he sat on the floor beside the bed, leaning back against it, and looked up at her.

"Feeling better?"

Lisbeth nodded. "A little… I've just had so much going on lately. I had a nightmare…"

Maybe it was the tenderness of the night that made her want to talk.

Sebastian listened quietly, his gaze sweeping over her forehead. Cold sweat still lingered there. He pulled out a tissue and gently wiped it away.

"Don't be scared."

Lisbeth pulled the blanket tighter. "I'm not scared. I just don't understand… why does this person want to kill Megan so badly?"

"To silence her."

Lisbeth hugged her knees, resting her chin on them. "I don't get it. What happened at that restaurant? Who did Megan fight with? What kind of grudge is so deep that someone has to kill her? Once wasn't enough—now they're trying again. Does Megan know some secret she's not supposed to?"

"Who knows? Maybe."

Without any evidence, Sebastian wasn't going to speculate. But he enjoyed listening to Lisbeth analyze things like this.

Eventually, Lisbeth yawned. She hugged the blanket and slowly lay down on the bed, her eyelids growing heavier and heavier. But she still fought to stay awake.

Sebastian sighed. "Go to sleep. Don't be afraid."

Lisbeth was already half-asleep. At his words, she forced her eyes open. "How did you…"

Know I was scared?

"People who have nightmares are always the most afraid." Sebastian lifted the edge of the blanket and lay down beside her. There was about a fist's width of space between them. He propped his head up with his left hand and gently rested his right hand on her side. Just resting it there.

"I'm here with you."

Lisbeth slowly curled into his arms. "In my dream, you didn't show up. He got to her. There was blood everywhere. I couldn't do anything. I tried to run out and call the police, but I kept hitting the wrong numbers. I was going crazy… Then I finally found you, and you were hurt too."

Actually, the images in her dream had been much worse.

She'd dreamed that Sebastian had a knife stuck in his body. When they saw each other, they didn't even have time to speak. He collapsed. Stopped breathing.

In that instant, Lisbeth couldn't tell grief from terror apart.