Chapter 134: Chapter 134: The Big Boss
The weather is unusually nice today.
The early morning mist quickly dissipated, and the sunlight pierced through the clouds, making the strong light hard to keep one’s eyes open.
Thea Lynch walked at the back, forced to keep her head down. Fortunately, Ian Preston was holding her hand.
The cemetery covered quite a large area, and Aaron Lynch’s spot was a bit far. Just the walk from the entrance took them four or five minutes.
The group was dressed in black by an unspoken agreement, the only hint of color was the bouquet of flowers in Thea’s arms.
As she stepped onto the last stair, a thin layer of sweat had already formed on Thea’s forehead.
Julian Zimmerman walked at the front, softly telling the few behind him, "We’re here."
At the end of this row, was Aaron Lynch’s spot.
Before Thea could speak, Ian had already let go of her hand.
She looked up, facing the glaring sunlight to see his face. The man’s face showed no expression, he turned slightly, placing his hand on her back and gently urging her forward.
"Go on," he urged her to go ahead.
Thea understood what he meant.
Her second brother and the others didn’t move, they just stood silently to the side watching her. This time, Thea didn’t lower her head.
She clutched the flowers tighter in her arms and walked past the three of them one by one.
Footsteps sounded behind her as they followed.
Thea had visited not long ago, perhaps that’s why she wasn’t as nervous this time, or maybe it was because she had company.
But as she squatted down and saw Aaron’s name, her eyes still couldn’t help but well up.
She placed the flowers in her hand down, softly calling Aaron’s name.
The surroundings were silent, only the sound of the wind passing through the woods and brushing past her ears. Thea took it as Aaron responding to her.
From dawn to dusk, the group finally prepared to leave.
As Thea got up from the ground, her calves felt stiff, and it was Ian who quickly reached out to support her.
Only after she regained her footing did Ian say, "We’ll go first."
Thea took a while to realize that by "we" he didn’t mean him and her.
He meant the three of them.
Ian, tough on the outside but soft within, seemed indifferent but was actually the most considerate. He specifically gave Thea some space so she could spend some time alone with Aaron.
The three of them went down first, but didn’t go far, standing where Thea could easily see them when she came down.
Julian’s gaze swept over Ian, as if he had something to say.
After a few seconds, he waved Ian over, saying, "Come here for a moment."
Ian glanced at him, their eyes met, and he responded with a grunt.
Leaving Silas Cheney and Sean Bell caught in a staring match.
After watching the two of them for a while, Silas nudged Sean’s shoulder with his, whispering, "Why don’t you go and eavesdrop?"
"Doing such low-class stuff, why don’t you go?" Sean didn’t budge.
Silas said, "Aren’t you the one who loves doing these things the most? I’m giving you a chance to shine."
"..." Sean sneered, "Yeah. And if we’re caught, I’m the one who’ll get beaten up, not you."
Both Silas and Sean weren’t exactly the nicest guys.
But the difference was, Silas was often just all talk, while Sean was a man of action with sharp words.
Though curious, neither actually went to eavesdrop.
But it didn’t stop their gossiping mouths.
If they couldn’t hear, they could still speculate, which wasn’t illegal.
"It’s probably got something to do with Thea."
"If it were about Thea, why would they hide it from us?" Silas disagreed.
His words made some sense, and Sean’s mind quickly raced, soon landing on something...
Clearly, Silas also picked up on it.
The two exchanged a look, silently communicating the same answer.
With confirmation, Silas frowned and said, "How did Second Brother find out?"
Sean said, "Couldn’t you see their eyes were all lovey-dovey? Wasn’t hard to guess."
"Jeez, I thought Second Bro might find out eventually, but I didn’t think it’d be this soon. They just got back a couple of days ago."
"You really think Second Bro’s a simpleton, huh?" Among them, Second Brother always seemed the most approachable, but he wasn’t someone without depth.
Thinking it over, he had been dealing internationally, with a sharp mind and keen observation. He probably noticed long ago but kept quiet out of consideration for the parties involved.
When they were kids, the elders often said, it’s a good thing Second Brother is innately kind and upright. Even if he didn’t go into politics, he’d still make a name for himself in other fields.
If Second Brother had taken a wrong step, well, most people wouldn’t stand a chance against him.
Second Brother really is the big boss.
Among their generation in the compound, the sharpest minds belonged to Julian and Ian.
Of course, Silas and Sean weren’t simple either, but compared to the other two, they fell short.
Silas was a chatterbox, unable to hide some things. Sean, being younger, didn’t care to hide anything at all.
"True." Silas clicked his tongue, "Do you think Second Bro also has a thing for Thea?"
Sean smiled slightly but didn’t respond.
Silas took note of Sean’s expression and said nothing more.
"Are you guys just making things up?"
"Whoa!" Suddenly, Thea’s voice came from behind, startling Silas into an expletive, and even Sean, though more composed, was caught off guard.
The two gathered themselves and turned around, "When did you get here?"
Thea, having appeared behind them at some unknown time, looked at them speechlessly, "When you said, ’Does Second Brother have a thing for me?’"
Silas and Sean: "..."
"Just kidding. We were rambling, just chatting." Silas gave a fawning smile, "You snuck up on us without a sound."
Thea replied understandingly, "You were so engrossed in your conversation, I didn’t want to interrupt."
"..."
Staring at the two for a few seconds, Thea crossed her arms and commented drily, "Gossips."
Silas was at a loss for words, unable to defend himself.
"So, are you done? Should we head out first?"
"Aren’t we waiting for Second Brother and the others?"
"No, no, let’s head back to the car and rest a bit." Silas pulled her along. Thea didn’t refuse.
Sean stayed behind to wait for Ian and the others.
——
In the car, Thea sat in the passenger seat beside Silas, adjusted the seatback, and reclined slightly.
Now it was just the two of them, and Silas couldn’t escape a thorough questioning.
"I really don’t know. Second Brother called Third Brother away and didn’t say for what."
Thea turned her head, silently watching him.
Her face clearly expressed disbelief.
Silas had lost all credibility with Thea long ago.
"It’s true. If you don’t believe me, you can ask Sean later. We were curious, too. If we weren’t afraid of Third Bro, we’d have followed to listen in."
"But..."
"But what?" Thea asked.
"But we guess it probably has to do with you and Third Bro."
