Chapter 156 Antique Shop

Chapter 156 Antique Shop

The antique shop was very quiet. A piece of vintage, elegant light music played softly, drifting out from behind the curtain with an ethereal quality.

"Come in." Abigail's voice followed.

Sophia pressed her lips together, lifted the curtain, and walked in.

The room wasn't large, with dim lighting. Two small wall lamps and a candle on an aromatherapy burner cast the entire space in a warm orange glow. The scent wasn't too strong or too faint—wisps of smoke curled gently from the intricately patterned burner. A sweet fragrance with woody undertones reached Sophia's nose. It smelled pleasant and helped her relax.

Natalia sat on the edge of the sofa and tilted her chin up at her, her tone casual. "Sit."

Sophia nodded in greeting and sat down across from her, but her eyes fell on Abigail.

She sat sideways, wearing a dark coat, her hair neatly tied back. Her presence hadn't changed much from what Sophia remembered. Except for her left eye—it was now covered with a black eye patch.

Sophia's heart sank suddenly, and she blurted out, "What happened to your eye?"

"It's nothing." Abigail turned her face away, unwilling to continue the topic, and shot Natalia a glare with her right eye.

Natalia shrugged, turned to glance at the security monitor in the shop, and seeing nothing unusual, spoke up. "Let's just get straight to business."

Sophia pulled her gaze away from Abigail's eye patch, feeling inexplicably uncomfortable. She cleared her throat. "I want to know what Felix is really planning. I need to stop him."

Natalia raised an eyebrow and naturally crossed her legs, leaning back into the sofa. She first looked at Abigail, and seeing no change in her expression, continued speaking.

"We have the same plan, and we've already made preparations." She paused, her tone softening. "Felix plans to test the drug on some people in Emerald Harbor, using it to control them. Those who die will just be unlucky. The final product—he's going to deliver it to overseas buyers."

Sophia frowned. As she listened to these words, a chill slowly spread through her chest.

"Glimmercore," she said. "Is that it?"

"Yes." Natalia said. "Those few sudden death cases in Emerald Harbor were just byproducts of his testing phase. He doesn't care. To him, those people are just data."

Sophia's expression darkened. She looked up at Natalia. "What about your plan? Can I join you?"

"No." Abigail's voice was cold and clear, cutting Sophia off directly. "I agreed to let you come today only because I want you to leave Emerald Harbor as soon as possible."

"Of course I'll leave Emerald Harbor, you don't need to tell me that." Sophia spoke quickly. "But I also want to help."

"You can't help."

"How do you know?" Sophia's expression was serious. "If you don't tell me, I'll investigate on my own and find Felix myself. You can't stop me."

"You!" Abigail frowned tightly, her tone rising, her eyes showing undisguised worry.

"Alright, alright." Natalia tried to ease the tension, looking at Abigail. "She's your niece. Just give in a little. What's the harm in telling her? Felix is going to get rid of us sooner or later anyway. One more person knowing won't make a difference."

Sophia's attention was caught by those last few words. "What do you mean? Get rid of you sooner or later?"

Natalia lowered her eyes, a mocking curve forming at the corner of her mouth as she spoke slowly. "Earlier, Felix took all the products we developed and planned to blow up the laboratory under the island."

She gave a derisive laugh. "Including everyone in the lab. We were among them."

Sophia's face turned grim.

"Abigail and I got word ahead of time and escaped." Natalia continued. "But we didn't expect Felix to have people waiting outside to intercept us, trying to kill us. We fought with them and got injured. That's when Abigail's eye was hurt."

"That's enough."

Abigail cut her off coldly, her face dark.

Natalia smiled helplessly and closed her mouth.

The room fell silent for a few seconds.

Sophia looked at Abigail's face turned to the side, at the place covered by that black eye patch, and suddenly felt a heavy weight in her heart.

She wanted to say something. The words circled in her throat and finally came out as two words, her voice low and hoarse:

"Aunt Abigail."

Abigail's body stiffened slightly. She slowly turned her head and looked at her steadily with her right eye.

"About last time, I'm sorry." Sophia said softly.

She reached out and held Abigail's hand resting on her knee. It was somewhat cold, with distinct knuckles.

"I know about many things now, and I can accept them all."

She hesitated, but still mentioned something else. "Dwayne is back."

Abigail's expression changed abruptly.

"He's been locked up by Alexander. He's suffering now."

She looked at Abigail earnestly and said gently, "I hope you can let go of the past and start over. Whether it's for yourself or for something else."

Abigail bit her teeth and suddenly slapped the table with her other hand. "Felix lied to me."

Sophia was stunned. "What?"

"Many years ago, when I first met him, he came to me and said he knew where Dwayne was." Abigail narrowed her eyes and said coldly, "He used that to control me, and later helped me get rid of Dwayne together. After that, he invited me to work with him. I agreed. And I also wanted to continue getting revenge on the Kensington family."

Sophia chose her words carefully. "I think Dwayne won't live much longer now either. He'll die in pain. That's what he deserves."

Abigail laughed coldly. "Of course. It's just that I didn't get to deal with him personally. Blood debts should be paid in blood."

With that, she raised her head, her eyes firm and resolute. "I absolutely won't let Felix's plan succeed."

Sophia gripped her hand a little tighter. "I can help too. Tell me what to do."

Abigail stared at her, seeing her stubborn and determined look, and really had no way to deal with her. After a moment of silence, she finally spoke. "Fine."

Seeing this, Natalia put her legs down and looked at Sophia with a smile. "Then I'll start explaining. Listen carefully."

"The day after tomorrow, Felix is going to Crystalia to meet with overseas buyers and discuss the final delivery. It's the most important milestone before he leaves Emerald Harbor."

"Our plan," she raised an eyebrow, "is to lead him step by step into the trap we've set before then, and when he thinks everything is under his control, deliver a fatal blow."

Sophia listened carefully. "Can you be more specific? What can I do?"

Natalia and Abigail exchanged glances.

Abigail's face, which had been tense all along, suddenly smiled. She curved the corner of her mouth. "You'll be responsible for the most critical step. How about that?"