On the other end of the mobile phone, the man’s languid voice rang out, "Say it again. Who did you see?"
"Master, it’s Miss Cecilia Branford."
The man cautiously added, "I saw Miss Cecilia Branford’s photos in a bar on Bali Island. According to the bartender, the photographer who took these shots did so not long ago."
The sound of a finger tapping on the table surface came from the other end. One tap, then another.
Two short, cold, and captivating words made the man straighten up abruptly. "Yes, Master!"
For the next two days, Sophie Sullivan began to doubt herself again.
The little maid never brought her food again; instead, the maid who usually gave her orders brought her some.
The food was barely edible and utterly unappetizing.
She couldn’t figure it out, so she decided to stop dwelling on it.
Her current mission was to take her medicine on time every day, just as the doctor had instructed. She was trying her best to nurse her vocal cords back to health as soon as possible so she could meet the conditions for surgery.
"Maniac, are you deaf?"
A sharp, almost harsh female voice called out. Sophie Sullivan nonchalantly got up from the haystack and jumped down.
The maid stared at her unblinkingly. "I’ve been calling you for ages, didn’t you hear?"
"Do I have to spell it out for you?" Sophie Sullivan sneered. "I heard you. I just didn’t want to acknowledge you. Understand?"
The maid, choked with anger, paused and then ordered, "Get this hay ready. It’s for feeding Gabriel later."
"If I’m going to do all this work, what will you be doing?"
Sophie Sullivan smiled indifferently. "We’re both servants. What makes your status so much more noble than mine? Why should you get to supervise while I have to do these tasks with my own hands?"
"It’s Sister Minnie’s command! Got a problem with that?" The maid goaded her. "If you don’t like it, go and complain to Sister Minnie. See if she’ll pay any attention to you."
"So, Minimus Hart is the only one who calls the shots in this manor?"
Sophie Sullivan picked up a blade of grass, twirled it in her hand, and suddenly snapped it. "So Minimus Hart can wield absolute power here?"
"Don’t twist my words. I didn’t say that."
"You didn’t say that, but what you meant was crystal clear."
The maid’s face flushed red with anger. Pointing at Sophie Sullivan’s nose, she was speechless for a long moment, unable to form a complete sentence.
Finally, she squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth: "Just you wait!"
The maid turned and hurried off to find Minimus Hart.
Sophie Sullivan tutted. "Trying to torture me with *that* pathetic display? Maybe in her next life."
Sophie Sullivan continued to sit on the haystack, her head tilted back as she gazed at the azure sky.
A faint, almost imperceptible cat’s mew reached her ears.
Sophie Sullivan turned her head, searching all around, but she couldn’t find that silly cat, Harry.
Sophie Sullivan jumped off the haystack and circled it twice. Finally, under the haystack, she found Harry, huddled into a miserable ball and covered in grass fragments.
Seeing Sophie Sullivan, Harry let out two loud MEOWS.
He looked utterly pathetic.
Sophie Sullivan tapped his little head with her index finger. "Harry, oh Harry, look at you now."
"MEOW." Harry shook his little head twice, sending a few grass fragments fluttering down.
"Seeing as you’re so pitiful, I’ll rescue you this once."
Sophie Sullivan pushed the haystack with one hand and, with the other, grabbed Harry by the scruff of his neck, lifting him out.
Finally free and in the daylight again, Harry let out two triumphant YOWLS.
The bell hanging around his neck was particularly conspicuous.