Chapter 411: Garth's Vision Goes Dark
Garth arrived at the door of the room.
Two guards were standing at the entrance.
Garth said respectfully, "I'm here to see Ms. Powell."
The guards didn't stop him. "Ms. Powell is inside. You can go right in."
Garth suppressed the nervousness and excitement in his heart and stepped into the room with his subordinates.
There was a curtain in the room, and behind it sat a figure—presumably Gwyneth's daughter.
Garth had prepared his words in advance.
"Ms. Powell, I am the head of the Hope family, Garth, here to visit you."
"I've prepared a small gift for Ms. Powell—first, to celebrate the public announcement of your identity, and second, to wish you success and good fortune in everything ahead."
"Garth, you don't need to be so formal." Isabella's voice came from behind the curtain, carrying a playful laugh. "We're old acquaintances. If you act like this, you'll make me feel overwhelmed."
Garth froze.
Old acquaintances?
When had he ever become old acquaintances with Gwyneth's daughter?
And why did that voice sound familiar?
Garth couldn't help but stare intently at the figure behind the curtain.
Just then, Isabella walked out from behind the curtain.
When Garth saw Isabella's face, he was completely shocked.
As if he'd received some tremendous fright, he pointed at Isabella and said in disbelief, "You... you you you..."
"Weren't you quite talkative? Just a few days ago, you had endless things to say to me. Why are you suddenly stuttering?" Isabella asked, puzzled.
Garth: "!"
Garth looked at Isabella and shouted in shock, "Why are you here?"
Perhaps Garth's voice was too agitated, and his volume had risen several notches, drawing the attention of the guards outside.
The two guards glanced over, walked in, and looked coldly at Garth, warning him sternly, "Mr. Hope! Please watch your tone when speaking to Ms. Powell! Do not disrespect Ms. Powell!"
Garth's vision went dark, as if struck by lightning.
What on earth was going on?
Isabella, Gwyneth's daughter? Were they the same person?
How was that possible?
Garth's mind was in complete chaos, barely able to think.
"Garth, I heard you brought me a gift." Compared to Garth's shocked state, Isabella remained quite calm.
She said softly, "Since you brought a gift, what are you standing there for? Don't you plan to show me what you prepared? I heard it's something very valuable."
Only then did Garth barely recover a bit. He said somewhat dazedly, "Yes, I... I did bring a gift..."
He had people carry the item in.
Isabella walked to the gemstone ornament, lifted the red cloth, then covered it again.
"Very good, your gift is indeed valuable, so I'll keep it."
Garth was still in a daze. He stared at Isabella. "What's going on? Why would you..."
"It's just a matter of a surname, nothing to make such a fuss about." Isabella looked at him calmly and said, "I've received the gift. Is there anything else? If not, you can leave."
Garth was stunned.
Finally, Garth left the room in a daze.
His steps felt unsteady.
Several elders from the Hope family saw him come out and asked if he'd met Gwyneth's daughter, but Garth didn't say anything.
He went from initial shock to later confusion, and gradually, Garth felt as if he'd been jolted awake by a bucket of cold water.
He wondered—was he done for?
The other nobles present naturally didn't know what Garth had experienced, but many noticed that Garth had met the young Ms. Powell.
Seeing Garth come down now, the nobles stirred and gathered around him one after another.
"Congratulations, Garth. None of us got to meet Ms. Powell's daughter beforehand, but you did."
"Exactly, Garth, what gift did you prepare for Ms. Powell's daughter? Tell us so we know!"
Some were envious.
"Garth is different—he's already built a good relationship with Ms. Powell's daughter so quickly. The Hope family is probably going to rise to great heights!"
"..."
Garth listened to these flattering words, but his face was grim.
Only now did Garth finally understand why Brandon had told him to wait until after today to make his move.
When he thought about how he'd declared at the entrance of Radiant University that he would destroy Isabella, that he wanted her life, he wanted to slap himself!
No wonder Isabella had such nerve, daring to do anything!
It was all Orville, that bastard! It was all his fault!
Garth now wished he could strangle Orville directly, as if he'd never had such a son!
Garth did not need to participate in the rest of the banquet proceedings. With a dark expression, he left the banquet hall.
——
"Theron, look, why is Garth leaving?"
Not far away, Theron and the elders of the Howard family were secretly observing.
They couldn't figure out why Garth would leave directly without even participating in the rest of the banquet.
Theron's gaze was sharp and dark as he watched Garth's departing figure. Soon, he withdrew his gaze and said coldly, "Keep an eye on where Isabella is. Also, send a team to watch the Hope family's movements."
Last night, the Howard family's genetic research lab had suggested that they must bring Isabella in for research at any cost, and she had to be alive.
If they could successfully study Isabella's genes, they might discover the secret behind dual-element genes, which would be crucial for the entire Howard family's future.
So they needed to capture Isabella alive before Garth killed her.
Someone had just said they'd seen Isabella in the banquet hall, but she'd disappeared in the blink of an eye.
"Theron, are we making our move today?" one of the core members asked.
Theron thought for a moment with a dark expression, then finally said, "We'll make our move today. It's the most suitable time."
If he were Garth, he definitely wouldn't act today, because today was the day of the banquet itself. Garth would surely wait until the day after the banquet ended—tomorrow—to make his move against Isabella.
So capturing Isabella alive today would beat Garth to it.
Most importantly, even if something went wrong, they could pin it on the Hope family.
Because Garth had previously said he would kill Isabella, after they captured Isabella alive, everyone would just assume Isabella had been killed by Garth and wouldn't think of the Howard family at all.
"But this is the Powell family's home turf. If we act here, won't it draw the Powell family's attention?"
"Probably not," Theron said. "Right now, everyone in the Powell family is focused on Ms. Powell's daughter. Who would notice Isabella? Even if Isabella disappeared here, probably no one would know."
The others all thought this made sense.
The Howard family elders also agreed with Theron's words.
"After all, this is the Powell family's turf, so we should be careful. After we find her, I'll immediately hypnotize her and make her walk out of the banquet hall on her own. Once she's off the Powell family's grounds, you can just grab her directly." The Howard family's fifth elder, Quincy Howard, said.
Quincy was a top-level hypnotist.
His hypnosis skills even surpassed Leandro's.
Hypnotizing an eighteen-year-old girl was effortless for him, and he could do it silently without drawing anyone else's attention.
The Howard family members immediately dispersed quietly, searching for Isabella across several floors.
Little did they know, what they thought was a silent movement was actually being watched clearly by the Powell family's assassins lurking around the banquet hall. They immediately sensed something unusual.
Soon, a man in black flashed into Gwyneth's room.
"Ms. Powell, some restless people are starting to stir. They might be up to something."
Hearing this, Gwyneth's expression immediately darkened. "Who?"
Today's public banquet was crucial for the entire Powell family. Gwyneth would absolutely not allow anyone to cause trouble here. If they provoked her, she wouldn't be polite.
"It's the Howard family." The man in black said. "Three elders and seven core members from the Howard family came today. They seem to be searching for someone."
"Keep watching them," Gwyneth said coldly. "As long as they don't do anything to harm our Powell family, let them be."
"Yes."
——
"Quincy! Look, it's her!"
Finally, just as the banquet was about to start, the Howard family found Isabella on the first floor.
Quincy narrowed his eyes, signaling the others not to move, and walked toward Isabella first.
Coming before Isabella, Quincy looked down at her and said with a dark, threatening tone, "Isabella, I'm giving you one last chance. Join our Howard family, and you can still live. Otherwise, I can't guarantee what will happen next."
Isabella looked at the old man before her.
He had to be at least ninety-something, his face deeply lined, slightly overweight, with somewhat cloudy eyes.
Isabella showed no fear, her eyes slightly cool. "Which elder of the Howard family are you?"
"Fifth elder, Quincy."
He introduced himself: "I'm a hypnotist."
"I can tell." Isabella looked him over twice. "You look pretty weak."
Hearing this, Quincy's expression immediately became displeased.
"Theron was right, you are quite arrogant." Quincy examined Isabella with an appraising gaze. "So you really don't plan to join our Howard family, is that right?"