Chapter 41 A Town Full of Secrets
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“Mr. Zayden, what a surprise to see you here. Why didn’t you bring Miss Olive along for the ride?”
The comment hit Zayden right where it hurt. He knew exactly what Marcus was doing–and it worked.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Seeing the tension brewing between the two men in the hotel lobby, Quinn frowned. While Zayden was distracted, she quickly snatched her bag back and walked off in long, brisk strides.
The two men followed immediately,
Marcus stepped up beside her, speaking softly near her car. “I heard you were injured not long ago, and now you’re traveling alone again. I was worried something might happen to you. That’s part of why I’m here… the other part is business.”
Quinn came to a stop, pulling herself together. “Thanks for the concern. But it’s not necessary.”
She wasn’t hostile toward Marcus, but his behavior today was definitely suspicious. Judging by his words, it sounded like he already knew she’d be coming here. But how?
Zayden walked behind them, watching the difference in how Quinn treated Marcus compared to him. He was bitter, no question about it. But he also knew that right now, he couldn’t compete–not with Marcus.
Quinn knew she wasn’t getting rid of either of them. They were both the stubborn–mule type. So she said, “Fine. You can stay with me. But don’t get in my way. If you do, go back where you came from.”
The two men exchanged a look, then simultaneously looked away, unwilling to admit they’d silently agreed.
In her search for the mystery behind the silverleaf flower, Quinn visited every pharmacy and florist in the town, but no one seemed to know much about it.
She had already been in the town for nearly three days, and weirdly, she hadn’t made a single bit of
progress.
Quinn stood on the sidewalk, discouraged and uncertain of what to do next. Damon hadn’t sent any new messages, and the only lead she had was the ancient town address he’d given her.
Zayden was standing not far off, keeping an eye on her. If anything happened, he’d be there in an instant.
Marcus stood beside Quinn, tall and calm. He wanted to say something to comfort her, but when he saw her gaze shift away, he held his tongue.
Her eyes landed on someone nearby. “Zayden.”
Zayden responded immediately, walking over with a serious expression as he glanced between her and
Marcus.
Quinn knew Zayden wouldn’t have come all the way out here for no reason. He must’ve received some information and figured out what she was doing. Which meant they might have leads.
She instantly regretted telling them earlier not to interfere
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Chapter 41 A Town Full of Secrets
The words had barely left her mouth when the two six–foot–something men answered in unison.
“Yes.”
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They both frowned and glanced at each other.
Marcus was the first to speak.
“You’re looking in the right place. This town is where silverleaf flowers originally came from. But because of urban development, fewer and fewer people grow them here.”
He turned to Quinn. “A few years ago, an earthquake destroyed the soil structure here, so they couldn’t grow anymore. Over time, people forgot this was the flower’s point of origin.”
It wasn’t much, but it was a start. Quinn looked at him with hope. Marcus motioned for Zayden to share his lead too.
“What about you?”
Zayden pulled out his phone and showed her a photo. It was of a silverleaf flower displayed as an artifact in
a museum.
“Where is this museum?” Quinn immediately latched onto the clue.
Zayden tucked his phone away and gave Marcus a measured look before leading Quinn to the museum.
It happened to be open that day. Quinn headed straight inside and found the ancient silverleaf artifact on display.
Zayden asked a staff member for details, but there wasn’t anything unusual about it.
Other than that, there were no additional records. Once again, the trail went cold.
Quinn looked at Zayden helplessly.
He shrugged. “Time’s limited. And it seems like someone’s actively hiding the truth. These clues? They might be exactly what they want us to find.”
It felt like someone had dumped a bucket of ice water over her head.
Just then, a girl in a museum uniform walked over to Quinn.
“Excuse me, are you Miss Quinn?”
Quinn studied the girl’s demeanor carefully, then nodded, guarded. “Who are you?”
The girl smiled politely and handed her an envelope. “A man with the surname Duan asked me to pass to you.”
this
Quinn took the envelope and opened it. Inside was a single sentence–essentially confirming the same thing both Marcus and Zayden had just said.
Someone was blocking the flow of information Damon had no choice but to deliver it the old–fashioned
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Chapter 41 A Town Full of Secrets
Damon.
Sure enough, something had been planted on her phone.
Also inside the envelope was a photo–an image of a pill. On the back of the photo was an address.
