Ten minutes had passed...
Amelia Shaw sensed something was amiss. Listening, there was no sound of water; it seemed no one was taking a bath. She rose and quickly went to the bath chamber entrance. "Thomas, are you in there?"
She tried the door handle and pushed the door open.
The large bath chamber was empty; the showerhead was on, water pouring down with a loud SPLASH.
Amelia felt utterly deceived. That lowly maniac!
Fuming, she slammed the bath chamber door shut and stormed off.
Sophie Sullivan took her time returning to the bedroom. Just as she expected, an extra cup of coffee sat on the tea table. She was certain Amelia Shaw’s insidious intentions were still alive; given the chance, she would undoubtedly find a way to get close to Thomas Shannon. Offer him warmth, care, even her body.
Sophie poured the medicine she had filched from the doctor into the coffee, stirring it evenly with a spoon. She picked up the coffee and drank half. Then, she quietly waited for the medicine to take effect.
「Golden Wing Palace.」
Thomas Shannon and William Guillen were playing a few Bureaus at the Casino. Suddenly, Charlie River received a phone call. He immediately leaned close and whispered in Thomas’s ear, "Young Master, the maniac is in trouble!" Charlie River was getting to know him better and better, understanding precisely which words would capture his utmost attention.
Thomas Shannon’s brow furrowed deeply. He tossed the cards in his hand onto the gambling table. "What happened to the maniac?"
"The maniac took an aphrodisiac. She’s... she’s losing her mind, clinging to a bodyguard..."
Charlie River had carefully chosen his words. "Losing her mind" seemed more dignified, a way to save the maniac some face compared to saying she was "in heat."
Thomas Shannon shot to his feet. William Guillen turned his head. "What’s wrong, Thomas?"
"You all continue. I have to go." With that, Thomas Shannon departed swiftly with his bodyguards.
The black Lincoln fleet tore down the road, like a ferocious dragon baring its fangs and brandishing its claws.
They returned to the manor at top speed. The Lincoln pulled up to the castle stairs. Before Charlie River could even get out to open the door, Thomas Shannon had already pushed it open and disembarked. His expression was cold and hard as he strode into the castle like a meteor.
"Where’s the maniac?"
Minimus Hart bowed his head respectfully. "Young Master, the maniac is upstairs, in your bedroom."
His bedroom? The maniac and a bodyguard?
"Are you all useless?! Why hasn’t a doctor been called after all this time?!" Thomas Shannon’s fury radiated, shaking everyone present. Veins pulsed at his temples.
The maids and maidservants fell silent, not daring to draw a breath. They bowed their heads low, trying their utmost to shrink away and become invisible.
Minimus Hart kept his head bowed, his voice humble. "Young Master, the maniac refused a doctor. She said... she said she only wants a man, not a doctor."
Only a man, not a doctor? How could anyone take the delirious ramblings of a drugged person seriously?
Thomas Shannon sent Minimus Hart sprawling with a kick. "Are you useless? Don’t you have the slightest ability to think for yourself? She says she doesn’t want a doctor, so you don’t call one?!"
"I’m sorry, Young Master. I was wrong." Minimus Hart scrambled up from the ground and knelt at Thomas Shannon’s feet. "I’ll call the doctor immediately. Please, Young Master, calm your anger."
Thomas Shannon gave a cold snort and ascended the stairs.
He hadn’t even reached the bedroom when, from down the corridor, he heard the maniac’s coquettish voice mingled with a bodyguard’s panicked refusals.
"Don’t go... I’m so hot... I’m burning up..."
"Maniac, let go of me! I’m not the Young Master! You’ve got the wrong person!"
"Young Master? Who’s that? I want a man... I just want a man..."
"Quick... take me... I can’t stand it anymore..."