Chapter 153
Willow drifted into a deeper sleep.
Sterling sat beside her, lost in the peaceful contours of her face.
"Mr. Lancaster?" Blake's cautious voice came from the doorway.
Sterling returned to the present, tucked the blanket more securely around Willow, and stepped outside.
Blake quickly assessed his appearance, relieved to find Sterling's impeccable composure intact. He had personally promised Maria that nothing would happen between his boss and Willow. After waiting so long at the door without Sterling emerging, he'd grown anxious.
Thank goodness, he thought.
Sterling's expression hardened the moment he closed the bedroom door. "Where's Gloria?"
Blake called the resort staff to inquire and learned she was staying in Henry's villa. Before he could relay this information, Sterling was already heading downstairs.
"Have someone guard the room. Put Luke inside with Willow," Sterling instructed.
Blake acknowledged the order and made the arrangements, then hurried after Sterling toward the adjacent villa.
Having worked with Sterling for years, Blake knew that his boss was most dangerous when he appeared calm like this. He suspected Gloria was involved in today's incident. While he cared about Willow's wellbeing, he also needed to ensure Sterling didn't do anything excessive.
In her bedroom, Gloria was sleeping peacefully. In her dream, Willow had vanished from existence, and everything Willow possessed had become hers. Gloria smiled even in her sleep.
Just as she was about to marry Sterling in her dream, persistent knocking jolted her awake. She tried to ignore it, but the knocking continued relentlessly.
After several seconds, Gloria angrily got up and yanked the door open. "Unless there's a fire or earthquake, what's the point of knocking in the middle of the night? You're fired. Get out now!"
The resort servant remained respectful. "Ms. Brown, Mr. Lancaster is waiting for you downstairs."
Gloria didn't immediately process what she'd heard. "Even if God himself came—"
Halfway through her sentence, she snapped to awareness, staring anxiously at the servant. "What did you say? Mr. Lancaster? Sterling Lancaster?"
The servant nodded.
"What's he doing here at this hour?" Gloria's brow furrowed with apprehension. "Has Willow been found?"
The only reason she could imagine for Sterling's presence was Willow. He had arrived much sooner than expected—according to her plan, he shouldn't have come until morning. By then, Willow would have spent the night in the wine cellar and would already be dead.
But now...
Gloria could only hope that Willow hadn't been found yet.
"Yes, she has," the servant replied, crushing her last hope.
Gloria's heart plummeted, but she still asked hopefully, "How does Mr. Lancaster seem? His mood?"
The servant shook his head. "You'd better go down quickly. Mr. Bailey asked me to remind you not to keep Mr. Lancaster waiting."
Blake was here too. Gloria felt increasingly uneasy, but there was no escaping the situation now.
Not daring to keep Sterling waiting, she went downstairs in her nightclothes.
The moment she reached the ground floor, she felt the oppressive atmosphere in the living room. Sterling sat on the sofa drinking water, with Blake standing beside him. Neither spoke, creating an atmosphere of severe tension.
Gloria felt her scalp tighten. For a moment, she considered fleeing back upstairs.
"Ms. Brown," Blake called from across the room, then turned to his boss. "Mr. Lancaster, Ms. Brown is here."
Sterling had heard her footsteps when she first descended but had chosen to ignore her. At Blake's prompt, he turned to look at her, his gaze unnervingly intense.
Gloria had been contemplating escape, but meeting his eyes, she found herself unable to move.
"Sterry, you wanted to see me?" She dug her nails into her palm, feigning composure as she approached. "It's so late. What's the matter? When I heard you were waiting, I didn't even have time to change out of my nightclothes. Please excuse me."
Sterling's gaze settled on her face, heavy as lead. "Your brother says he's handed the resort project over to you."
Gloria nervously nodded.
Sterling's expression darkened, his presence becoming more intimidating, though his voice remained steady.
"Then how is it, Ms. Brown, that you can sleep soundly while a person has gone missing in your resort?" He scrutinized her expression, continuing unhurriedly. "With the resort's grand opening approaching, aren't you concerned about potential lawsuits over a death? Who would dare visit after such an incident?"
Though he didn't explicitly mention coming for Willow's sake, every word indicated he was seeking justice for her.
Gloria felt suffocated by the pressure he exuded, especially with his cold, penetrating gaze fixed on her. She summoned all her strength to maintain composure, careful not to show any unusual reaction.
"Are you blaming me, Sterry?" She lowered her eyes, feigning hurt. "When I heard the news, I immediately sent people to search. I would have gone myself, but the staff worried I might get lost too since I'm not familiar with the resort. They wouldn't let me go. There was nothing I could do."
Her explanation neatly absolved her of any responsibility.
Sterling watched her performance with deepening contempt. "Has your brother never told you how clumsy these little tricks of yours appear to us?"
Gloria's hands, hidden behind her back, clenched tightly. She realized Sterling knew she was acting.
But this was precisely when she needed to remain composed. She was gambling that Sterling had no evidence against her. Without a confession, he couldn't touch her, even if only out of respect for the Brown family.
"Are you suspecting me?" She looked up with feigned hurt. "How could you? Willow is my sister. No matter how much I might dislike her, I would never..."
Her voice took on a tearful quality as she spoke.
Sterling watched her performance with disgust. Like Charles, her acting skills far exceeded her actual abilities. Charles had deceived Willow with his act, and now Gloria thought she could fool him with her amateur theatrics.
Unaware of his thoughts, Gloria continued her defense. "Willow was with one of my employees before she disappeared. She might know something. I'll call her right now!"
Without waiting for Sterling's response, Gloria took out her phone and contacted Susan.
The call connected quickly. "Ms. Brown—"
Gloria, afraid Susan might say something incriminating, hastily interrupted. "You were with Willow this afternoon. What exactly happened? Come over and explain everything to Mr. Lancaster properly!"
After a brief silence, Susan replied, "I'll be right over."