Chapter 1323: Chapter 1323: The Swing
But seeing Hannah only went to the swing, the unease he felt was somewhat appeased.
The swing was near the fence built inside the yard.
The fence was also entwined with vines.
Hannah recognized them; they were Rosalind.
The Simmons Family’s old mansion had them too.
Rosalind planted here made the whole villa seem like a house forgotten in the Black Forest.
It might be inhabited by a princess or perhaps by a witch.
To find out which, one must push open the door.
The girl lifted her head, her delicate fingers lightly resting on the swing, separated by layers of tree shadows.
Louis Snyder thought he saw a princess.
A princess waiting for him to rescue her.
...
Aunt Lee, who was picking vegetables in the living room, took a while before remembering what she had forgotten.
She forgot to say that the swing in the yard was actually set up by Jimmy Simmons personally.
On her first night there, she saw the man in the dim light, meticulously removing the spines from the vines and then carefully winding them onto the ropes of the swing.
Even the pale purple Rosa flowers adorning it were picked fresh by him every day and attached anew.
Aunt Lee, having lived more than half her life, always felt she had a good eye for people.
She had thought that man, with brooding eyes emanating malice, would have a fiery temper, like that no-good drunkard in their village who often beat his wife.
But Jimmy Simmons turned out to be unexpectedly meticulous and gentle.
He must be very fond of Miss Winter.
With that thought, Aunt Lee hurriedly dropped what she was doing and ran out of the villa.
After looking around and seeing no one, and being unable to speak, all she could do was panic.
After searching around, at last, she reached the swing.
Nobody was there; the only thing left on the swing was a handful of candy.
Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, falling partly on it, causing the translucent candy wrappers to shimmer with color.
Blue, purple, orange.
But the person in question was nowhere to be found.
...
Jimmy Simmons received Aunt Lee’s message while he was already on his way back.
He had made a mistake.
He had been outmaneuvered by Louis Snyder.
He had thought George River would be his greatest threat, but he hadn’t realized this was just a trap set by Louis Snyder.
Jimmy gripped the steering wheel tighter, his expression sinking completely, his anxiety and anger mixing together, a sweet metallic taste rising in his throat.
As if he were on the verge of spitting out blood.
Even though he drove as fast as he could, it was still too late.
All that awaited Jimmy upon his return was an empty room and the candy left on the swing.
"Louis Snyder!"
The two simple words, when uttered by Jimmy, were filled with grinding teeth.
He was so close, having dealt with everything already.
He had even given up his shares in the Simmons Clan.
Had it not been for Louis Snyder, he would have taken Hannah away tomorrow.
Aunt Lee just stood to one side, shivering, as she watched Jimmy smash everything in the living room.
She never would have guessed that Miss Winter, seemingly so delicate and fragile, could have vanished so suddenly.
It was just a minute’s time.
Jimmy clenched his fists, turned his head to look at Aunt Lee cowering to one side, his eyes blazing with fury.
He almost told her to "get lost" directly, but as his gaze fell on the opened jar of candy, he held back the words at the tip of his tongue.
"The money will be transferred to your account without a cent missing, make sure you keep your mouth tight."
Jimmy took his coat and headed straight out the door.
Only after he had left did Aunt Lee come back to her senses, unable to help wiping away her tears.
Her child’s illness now had hope.
...
Louis Snyder, feeling as if he had rescued the princess, was clearly very pleased.
