Holly Sawyer was playing on the computer in the living room while Leo Grant was getting ready to leave.
"Brother, where are you going?"
With sharp eyes, Holly noticed Leo was about to leave, so she immediately abandoned her computer and caught up to him.
"Tonight I have a party, it's not convenient to bring you along. Be a good girl and stay at home, huh?"
Leo squatted down slightly and gently rubbed Holly's head, speaking softly.
Tonight, he had a reception hosted by the mayor of Bexley, attended by notable people from the industry, Leo was, of course, among them.
Bringing a companion was an option, but the young girl was so innocent, not suitable for such a place, too chaotic.
"But, but, but..."
Holly bit her lip tightly, stuttering repeatedly without making much sense.
"There's TV, the computer, snacks, all here. Stay home like a good girl, I'll be back soon."
Leo pointed to the snacks on the table opposite the living room sofa, coaxing the young girl softly.
"But, but Holly is scared."
Holly lowered her head, nervously gripping her clothes with both hands, speaking in a low, small voice, awkwardly.
"Come on, it's five-thirty now, I'll be back by eight, very soon."
Leo spoke, coaxing the young girl.
The girl's aggrieved look really was heart-wrenching.
"But Holly is still scared, Mrs. Hayes is not here, being home alone is scary."
Holly tugged at Leo's clothes, looking at him with a pitiful face, near tears, her small face crumpled.
Really appearing very frightened, Leo felt quite pained watching her.
Mrs. Hayes had taken leave and gone home yesterday, saying there were family matters.
Leo's household only had Mrs. Hayes as a nanny, no one else was hired. Mrs. Hayes had been with him since their time in Arkenfall to Bexley, taking care of him for a long time.
"Brother, stay home with Holly, okay? The house is really big and empty, Holly's scared."
Holly bit her lip tightly, looking pitifully at Leo.
Leo glanced at the time, his phone in his pocket started ringing, he rubbed Holly's head, "I need to take this call."
Holly blinked her eyes, then let go of Leo's clothing.
Leo didn't go somewhere else to take the call, instead, he took it right in front of Holly.
"Yeah, I'm not going over, let the mayor know."
"Yeah, right, I'm staying with the young girl."
"The young girl is scared to be home alone, Mrs. Hayes went back for family matters."
"Whatever you want, it's fine."
Noah Raines's call was brief; Leo said a few words and quickly hung up.
"See, I'm staying here with you."
Leo put his phone back into his pocket, speaking softly.
"Brother is so good."
Holly's face instantly lit up with smiles, her brows filled with joy.
The young girl was quite easy to please.
"Brother, actually… you could have taken Holly with you."
After a few minutes, Holly leaned her head toward Leo, speaking hesitantly, as if feeling guilty for having done something wrong.
"Silly girl."
Leo gently rubbed the young girl's head.
"Holly will be good and listen, can sit and eat without running around, won't bother you."
The young girl blinked, speaking slowly, her tone full of self-blame.
"It doesn't matter, really not important."
Leo shook his head, replying.
He generally didn't enjoy attending these parties and receptions, but because the mayor invited him personally, he planned to show some respect. Truth be told, his presence didn't really matter.
The young girl was so innocent, those places were so chaotic, with her timid nature, it would be terrible if someone bullied her.
Don't let the mundane spoil the young girl's eyes.
"Really?"
Holly asked naively, uncertainty in her voice.
Leo nodded.
Only then did Holly relax.
——
"Holy crap, Leo, you lucked out."
At eight in the evening, Noah Raines called; no sooner had Leo answered the call than Noah's thunderous voice boomed through.
Leo and Holly were watching TV in the living room.
"What's gotten into you?"
Leo frowned, stepping aside to take the call.
Noah's call seemed quite nonsensical.
"People from Arkenfall caused a scene, barging directly into the reception, taking the mayor hostage, and specifically asked for you to show, but luckily you weren't there."
Noah explained, exhaling a huge sigh of relief that Leo wasn't present.
"By the way, why couldn't anyone reach your phone?"
Then Noah posed a mystified question, he intentionally couldn't get through when calling, and others seemed to face the same problem with no exceptions.
Noah found it odd, utterly inexplicable.
Because Leo's phone couldn't be reached, those people eventually withdrew, leaving everything unscathed.
Leo had dodged a bullet.
"That's not right, I've been watching TV; your call is the first I've received all evening."
Leo was puzzled, he had continuously watched TV with Holly, absolutely sure no calls had come through all night.
No reason for it to be unreachable.
"That's strange then..."
"Also, the mayor possibly has some ties over there, when I mentioned you couldn't attend today, his face noticeably changed."
Noah said, initially indifferent to this, but upon reflection it indeed lined up.
Leo and Noah continued chatting.
Holly, watching Leo take his call aside, felt her eyes darken slightly.
Ah, folks from Arkenfall bribed the mayor, orchestrated this whole scene, targeting Leo's life.
She knew a couple of days earlier, hence maneuvered Mrs. Hayes away, used her fear as a reason to deter Leo from attending the reception.
If Leo couldn't be stopped from going to the reception, she would tag along, having arranged personnel there, ensuring Leo's safety regardless of whether he went.
The mayor? Ha, his tenure comes to an end too.
A cold smile lingered at Holly's lips, somewhat bloodthirsty.
"Holly, I have to step out for a bit, would you like to come with me?"
Leo finished his call and asked Holly.
"Mm-hmm."
Holly stifled her cold smile and flashed a sweet grin, nodding her head.
Though Leo initially preferred Holly didn't come along, considering her fear of being home alone, he took her along.
"Brother, is this about the reception? Is someone upset because you didn't attend?"
Holly followed Leo out the door, biting her lip, her demeanor guilty.