As soon as the man spoke, Eric immediately recognized the voice on the other end of the line.
"Fuck you, Bob. She doesn't even know you!" Eric hissed, his grip tightening around the phone.
"So early, I'm surprised." Bob replied smoothly, paying absolutely no heed to Eric's anger. "You really do care about her. I thought it would take you some time for you to realize she was missing."
"What do you want?" Eric demanded, his voice shaking with rage.
"You already know what I want," Bob reminded him nonchalantly. "I told you to give me a chance to explain myself, or else I would have to force you."
"Fuck, Bob. Where do you want us to meet?"
"I will send you the location."
"I want to talk to her first," Eric insisted, his heart hammering against his ribs.
There was a brief, agonizing silence before Bob spoke away from the receiver. "Wait a minute... bring Jackie over here."
After a few seconds of muffled background noise, a familiar voice came through the line. "Hey, Eric."
Hearing her soft, steady voice instantly calmed the storm raging inside him. It was like he wasn't angry a second ago. "Hey," Eric breathed out, closing his eyes. "I am so sorry. I will get you out of there very soon. I am so sorry for dragging you into this."
"It's okay. It's not your fault," Jackie reassured him quietly. "Just promise me you'll take care of my mom while I'm here."
A heavy, painful lump formed in Eric's throat at her request. Despair washed over him; she didn't even know that her mother had already passed away. If it weren't for his bitter feud with Bob, Jackie would have at least been able to say a proper goodbye to her mother. He swallowed hard, forcing his voice to remain steady.
"Mmm... okay," Eric managed to answer.
"Thanks. Bye."
"Bye," Eric whispered to the dial tone.
Meanwhile, inside Bob's house, Jackie finished the call. She slowly handed the phone back to Bob.
Jackie made her way back to the backyard, heading toward the gazebo. As she neared it, she noticed Bob's nephew had already arrived, so she turned around to leave before he could spot her.
"Why are you leaving?" he called out.
Jackie ignored him and kept walking. He quickly stepped out of the gazebo, hurried forward, and blocked her path. She tried to step around him, but he stood firm, cutting off her escape.
"Hey, wait. What is wrong?" he asked.
Jackie took a deep breath, looked him in the eye, and answered, "You are wrong. I don't want to be in the same place as you. Let me leave."
She tried to push past him again, but he refused to move.
"Hey, wait. You know you shouldn't be rude to people who haven't offended you," he pointed out.
"Mr. Man, you should also know that it is not appropriate to force people to stay against their will," Jackie retorted.
He chuckled at her words. "I'm Lon. Let's talk. Just a casual chat," he suggested, insistsing on keeping the conversation going.
"I am not interested. You are not my talking mate," Jackie rejected flatly.
"You are really fiery. I like it. You're exactly the kind of girl I like," Lon smirked.
When he finished speaking, a cold smile crossed Jackie's face. "Sorry to disappoint you, but I prefer your cousin to you."
Lon's facial expression immediately changed. The playful smirk vanished, replaced by a sudden, tense coldness. His jaw tightened, and his eyes narrowed as her words hit home. The casual atmosphere instantly evaporated, leaving a heavy, uncomfortable silence hanging between them in the backyard.
Why him? What is wrong with me?"
Lon gave an angry, bitter chuckle as he spat out the words. Truth be told, Eric and Lon looked remarkably alike. They shared the same sharp features: thick black hair, strong rectangular jaws, pointed noses, and fair skin. However, Eric carried himself with a commanding presence, standing taller and noticeably more muscular than Lon.
Jackie looked at him coldly. "Physically, yes, you look alike. But your characters couldn't be more different. Your cousin doesn't tolerate nonsense, and he certainly doesn't force people into conversations they don't want to have."
Delivering the final blow, she turned on her heel to walk past him. Before she could take a step, Lon lunged forward and gripped her wrist tightly. His eyes flashed with a desperate intensity.
"I will prove to you that I am better than that rascal," Lon said, his voice dropping into a tone of absolute seriousness and determination.
"Don't waste your time," Jackie warned in a low, dangerous whisper. With a sharp jerk, she snatched her wrist from his grasp and walked away without looking back.
Later that evening, between seven and eight o'clock, Eric arrived at the family mansion. His arrival was met with tension, culminating in a deeply unsettling conversation with Bob in the study. The air in the room was thick with unspoken malice. Just before storming out, Eric turned to Bob, his face contorted with rage.
"Make sure I don't ever hear from you again after everything has calmed down," Eric threatened, his voice shaking with venom. "Or I will make you deeply regret donating your seeds to my mother."
He slammed the door and marched out of the library, his heavy footsteps echoing his anger. Yet, the moment he stepped into the living room and spotted Jackie sitting quietly on the couch, the fury seemed to evaporate from his posture. He smoothed down his jacket and made his way toward her, his demeanor shifting instantly.
"Hey," he said softly. It was as if the raging Eric of a moment ago had never existed, his voice turning warm and gentle the second he spoke to her.
"Are you okay? Did they hurt you?" Eric asked tenderly, his eyes searching hers for any sign of pain.
"No, I'm fine," Jackie replied, offering him a warm smile.
That smile was the one thing he adored most about her. She possessed a rare strength, finding a way to smile even during her hardest times. Yet, looking at her now, a heavy weight pressed down on Eric's chest. He wasn't sure if she could keep holding onto that beautiful warmth once she learned the devastating truth: her mother was no more. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he forced a reassuring smile and gently nudged her toward the exit. "We should leave. Now."
Jackie paused, looking down at her empty hands. "My phone. He hasn't given it back to me."
"Here." Bob suddenly stepped out from the library, cutting through the tense atmosphere. He held out the device, handing it over to Jackie.
Once the phone was safely in her grasp, Eric took her by the wrist. His grip was firm but protective as he guided her quickly through the hallway, out the doors, and toward his parked car. The cool outside air hit them, but it did nothing to ease the rising tension.
"You should call your sister," Eric said quietly as they reached the vehicle, his voice laced with concern. "She is worried sick about you."
"Right," Jackie murmured, her fingers trembling slightly as she unlocked the screen. She dialed the familiar number and pressed the phone to her ear. It rings only once before a frantic voice picked up.
"Sister? Is that you? Sis...?" Cyril gasped from the other end.
Her voice sounded strained and breathless, the raw emotion traveling clearly through the line. It was immediately obvious to Jackie that her sister had been crying for days, completely consumed by panic.
"Yes, it's me," Jackie choked out, a wave of guilt washing over her. "I'm so sorry for—"
"God, sis! Where have you been?" Cyril interrupted, her voice breaking into frantic, desperate sobs. "Mom died, and I couldn't find you! You're the only family I have left! Why did you do this to me? Where were you?" Cyril started to weep uncontrollably, the sound of her heartbreak echoing through the small space of the car.
The world seemed to stop spinning. Jackie's breath hitched in her throat, the warmth draining completely from her face.
"Mom... died?" Jackie asked, her voice faint, barely a whisper.
The frantic sobbing on the other end instantly ceased. A heavy, suffocating silence fell over the line for a few agonizing seconds, stretching out until the quiet became unbearable.
Finally, Cyril spoke, her voice barely a hollow whisper. "She... she died twenty-four hours ago."
Jackie let out a long, shaky sigh, the devastating weight of the words crashing down on her all at once.
She glanced at Erica's turned her attention back to the phone. "I am coming. Where are you?" Jackie asked calmly.
"I'm in the house," Cyril answered.
"Okay, I'm coming," Jackie promised.
When they arrived at the house, Cyril was already standing anxiously at the door. The moment she saw her sister step out of the car, she broke into a run. Cyril threw her arms around Jackie with so much force that Jackie had to stumble back a few steps to keep her balance. Overwhelmed, Cyril began to sob heavily into Jackie's shoulder. Jackie wrapped her arms tightly around her sister, gently stroking her hair in a comforting, rhythmic motion to soothe her tears.
Eric stood quietly on the other side of his car, watching the emotional reunion unfold. He couldn't help but marvel at Jackie's composure. Ever since her sister had delivered the devastating news about their mother's death, Jackie had remained remarkably calm—far calmer than usual. Eric deeply admired this hidden strength. Seeing how she managed to maintain control despite the heartbreaking situation, he knew it was proof that she had already survived a great deal of hardship in her past.
Breaking the heavy silence, Eric gently asked, "Will you guys be okay?"
Jackie offered a quiet smile and nodded softly. "Thanks, Eric. I'm very grateful."
"No, I should be the one to thank you," Eric replied warmly.
Hearing Eric's voice, Cyril slowly pulled away from the embrace and wiped her eyes, looking over at him. "Thank you so much, Mr. Eric, for finding my sister," she said, her voice trembling with emotion.
Eric gave a reassuring nod. "Please, do call me if you need any help at all. I truly want to be supportive during this time, so please call me if you need anything." Jackie nodded, "okay". They stepped away from the car to where Cyril was standing before. They watched as Eric embarked his car and drove off.