The villas in this area were set far apart from each other, and after the rain, during working hours, there were no people or cars in sight.

Landon strolled along, silently memorizing the layout of the area.

Suddenly, two slender figures appeared in his line of sight.

Landon’s expression shifted instantly, his heart racing with nerves. “Amy? Night Owl? They actually managed to find this place!” he thought, feeling a surge of anxiety.

Then, he noticed that all the bodyguards around him had blank expressions–they had been hypnotized.

‘They must have something really important to tell me,’ Landon thought anxiously.

Landon quickly sent a mental message, “Amy, what’s wrong?”

“We found the Mystic Sect. It’s in a medical building about 3 miles straight from here…” Amy replied.

Amelia, wearing a mask and oversized sunglasses, pressed down the brim of her hat as she walked by.

Being this close to Landon on the Montgomery family’s turf made her heart pound with nerves.

Even though the bodyguards had all been hypnotized by Night Owl and wouldn’t remember a thing, she still didn’t dare raise her voice.

She could only blend in as just another passerby, slowly walking past Landon to pass on the message.

“Understood,” Landon replied.

He was just as nervous, quickly taking out a small pillbox he had hidden on him.

“There’s a love spell inside. Hand it over to Tuff for research. Be careful–don’t mistake it for a regular pill and swallow it by accident,” Landon sent the message.

“Are you okay?” Amelia asked.

Landon couldn’t help the smile tugging at his lips, no matter how hard he tried to hide it.

“I’m fine, don’t worry. Right now, the Montgomery family all think I’ve been hit with a love spell, and even Paul is worried I might be competing for favor! You should head back–Night Owl can’t keep this up for too long,” Landon replied.

Amelia nodded hard and hurried away.

Night Owl let go of her hypnotic power, feeling weak as she slumped against a tree. The brim of her hat hung low, shadowing most of her face and leaving only her sharp chin visible.

The bodyguards all snapped back to their senses at once.

Before they could notice Night Owl, Landon turned around and said, “Let’s go back, I’m done here.”

The group marched off together.

Night Owl let out a sigh of relief, sliding down the tree trunk until she was sitting on the ground, waiting for Amelia to come pick her up.

Suddenly, a shadow with a strong masculine presence loomed over her.

Night Owl instantly went on high alert, ready to strike–only to meet a pair of familiar eyes.

“You?” she asked.

Alden pulled down his mask, revealing half of his face. “It’s me.”

After Night Owl recognized him, Aiden quickly pulled his mask back up.

“I’m here to pick you up,” Aiden said, reaching down, trying to lift her.

Night Owl stopped him. “Amy will be here soon…”

“If you two keep showing up together, people will get suspicious,” Aiden said.

To keep a low profile, he’d put on a trendy black shirt with floral patterns, passing himself off as a fashionable young man.

But he was the leader of the Kington Gang!

The fact that even he had to be this cautious showed just how dangerous this place was.

Night Owl still felt a bit resistant, but for safety’s sake, she reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Aiden couldn’t help but feel secretly delighted as he picked her up and carried her toward the car.

She was so light. Even after all these days of eating the best food, she still felt like she weighed nothing.

‘Gotta keep feeding her up,’ Aiden thought.

Night Owl had no idea what he was thinking. She was just so tired, all she wanted to do was sleep.

Her head lolled against his strong chest, and she could hear the deep, rhythmic beat of his heart.

It was so strong, so powerful.

All at once, tears slid from the corners of her eyes as she hugged his neck even tighter.

“Dawson, is that you?” she asked.

“I miss you…” Night Owl murmured, her voice barely above a whisper.

Aiden froze for a moment, utterly ecstatic.

He was finally getting close to being the one she cherished most in her heart.

Being a substitute wasn’t scary–what truly hurt was being nothing at all in her eyes.

“I’m here. Go to sleep…” Aiden lowered his voice, coaxing her gently.

Night Owl closed her eyes in satisfaction and drifted into a deep sleep. The faint smile on her lips, mixed with the tears at the corners of her eyes, made for a picture that was both beautiful and strangely bittersweet.

Beautiful, yet heartbreaking.

Aiden gently settled her in the back seat, staring at her in a daze, unable to look away.

It wasn’t until a car horn blared behind him, urging him to move, that he finally went to drive.

‘Ugh, I should’ve brought a driver today,’ Aiden thought.

If he’d brought the driver along, he could’ve just kept her in his arms the whole way, letting her sleep there the entire ride…

Chapter 317

Aiden and Amelia’s cars headed back to the hotel one after the other.

Even though Night Owl was exhausted, her sleep was still light.

The moment they arrived at the hotel parking lot, she woke up.

“Where are we?” she asked.

“We’re back,” Aiden replied.

“Oh,” Night Owl said.

Night Owl sat up and peered out the window. “Where’s Amy?”

“She’s back–just went upstairs. She saw how tired you were and wanted you to get some more rest,” Aiden said with a soft sigh, his eyes full of concern. “You only slept for thirty-seven minutes.”

“I’m good now,” Night Owl said as she got ready to get out of the car.

But the moment her feet touched the ground, everything went black and she collapsed to the side.

Aiden reacted instantly, catching her before she could fall. “See? Why do you always have to act so tough? Come on, let me carry you upstairs!”

After saying that, Aiden glanced at Night Owl, his nerves on edge.

He didn’t dare make a move without her say-so.

Night Owl just pressed her lips together and stayed quiet.

Just when Aiden thought he was about to get rejected again, she suddenly reached out and rested her hand on his shoulder.

Overjoyed, Aiden immediately swept her up in a princess carry.

His heart was pounding wildly, like a startled deer trapped in his chest.

It was Night Owl’s favorite sound in the world.

That sound was just like Dawson’s. Every time she got hurt, he’d carry her home just like this.

And every time, she’d find herself pressing her ear to his chest, listening to his heartbeat–sometimes on purpose, sometimes without even thinking.

In those moments, she felt completely safe, like nothing in the world could ever hurt her.

‘Dawson…’ Night Owl thought.

“You two were way too reckless today, just running off like that without even telling me,” Aiden complained under his breath.

“We had to get the news about the Mystic Sect to Landon,” Night Owl replied.

“But what if he didn’t go out today?” Aiden asked.

“That’s why we were just taking our chances,” Night Owl said with a smile. “We got really lucky–he was the first person we saw when we got there.”

Aiden snorted. “That’s just because you didn’t run into Monroe!”

‘If we had, we’d just kill him,’ Night Owl scoffed.

Chapter 317

“You get all weak after using your hypnosis–how would you even manage to kill him?” Alden asked.

“Amy could do it. We split the work: I hypnotize, she does the stabbing,” Night Owl replied.

Aiden’s hands shook in shock, nearly dropping Night Owl. “Are you two out of your minds?”

“Fortune favors the bold,” Night Owl said with a tired yawn.

She couldn’t care less about the danger.

After all, she’d already stared death in the face once–with Dawson.

Aiden had nothing to say to that, so he just carried her inside.

Amelia had just taken off her gear, her porcelain face full of worry. “Night Owl, are you feeling really unwell?”

“I’m fine,” Night Owl gave her a reassuring smile.

Then she wriggled out of Aiden’s arms and, unsteady on her feet, made her way toward the bed.

“You two are being way too reckless,” Aiden couldn’t help but call out to Amelia.

Amelia’s eyes went wide in shock.

‘You seriously blaming me?’ she thought.

“You two really aren’t a match for Monroe. Stop always thinking about assassinating him,” Aiden said. “Landon’s already risking a lot as an inside man, and you two are just holding him back.”

“No way,” Amelia retorted, pulling out the love spell Landon had given her. “My husband even passed a secret to me.”

Aiden flicked his arm in mock disgust. “Ugh, that’s so mushy.”

“This is the love spell,” Amelia said, opening the pillbox to reveal a clear capsule that looked just like a fish oil pill.

Aiden and Night Owl’s expressions turned serious as they both leaned in to examine it carefully.

“Doesn’t look like anything special…” Aiden muttered.

“And there aren’t any bugs or eggs inside either…” Night Owl murmured, peering closer.