the two-faced Adopted Girl Who Melted CEO's Ice-Cold Heart
Chapter 247: You Were Born at the Top of the Pyramid and Will Never Understand Those of Us Struggling in the Mire

Chapter 247: Chapter 247: You Were Born at the Top of the Pyramid and Will Never Understand Those of Us Struggling in the Mire

The late autumn afternoon was greeted by a gentle autumn breeze. Within Squire Manor, the lush trees and blooming flowers concealed any sense of desolation.

When Richard Shaw entered Squire Manor, the estate was already an empty shell.

In the courtyard, there remained furniture left behind by the owners in their haste—sofa chairs, and a long snow-white wool blanket draped gracefully to the ground. Richard reached out and touched the blanket; it still held traces of warmth and a faint, lingering fragrance.

Two adorable ragdoll cats let out soft meows, stretching out their pink tongues to lick the man’s pant leg. Their emerald-green eyes gleamed like precious gemstones.

Richard lowered his gaze and then bent down to pick up the abandoned cats left behind by their owners. He gently stroked their little heads, cradling them securely in his arms.

"The Squire Family has vanished, Major General. There should be a hidden passage or safe house connected to the outside world here," one of Richard’s men reported promptly after inspecting the manor.

Their entry had been silent and unnoticed. However, upon breaching the outer defenses, the other party became immediately alert and chose to go into hiding.

Richard nodded slightly, seated in his wheelchair, dressed in a simple gray trench coat. His handsome and solemn features carried their usual calmness.

Minute by minute, time slipped by. Soon, the Subterranean Palace within the Squire Manor was uncovered by the elite forces Richard had brought. The man glanced at the slightly overcast weather and quietly waited in the courtyard, tucking the two cats inside his coat to shield them from the chill.

Without Richard’s command, none of his subordinates made a move against the Subterranean Palace.

Outside the ancestral shrine, Delphine dialed a number only to discover the phone had no signal. At that moment, the entire Akina Mountain was cut off from the outside world.

Instinctively, she looked toward Ignatius Leclair.

Beneath an ancient tree of a hundred years, its shadows swaying faintly, the man’s deep and fox-like eyes were dark, concealing any hint of emotion. Upon noticing her gaze, he said indifferently, "If you have questions, come ask them."

This area was already entirely under Ignatius Leclair’s control. Delphine’s palms felt slightly cold as she gripped the phone that refused to connect. Without looking at Griffith Squire, she walked over and stopped beneath the dense and weathered branches, looking up and asking in a hoarse voice, "Why have you never tolerated the Squire siblings? They truly wanted to live peaceful lives when they came to Nanyang."

Delphine thought about the days the Squire siblings had endured before, her eyes misting slightly, her voice raspy as she said, "You have no idea what kind of lives they lived before, nor do you know what kind of days I’ve lived through."

Ignatius Leclair noticed the redness around her eyes. Her black trench coat only made her pale skin appear almost translucent. A flicker of complex emotion passed through his eyes as he solemnly replied, "Delphine, you’ve never told me what kind of life you’ve led before."

"Cold, dark, monochrome, a mire, fear, numbness." She struggled to force out the words. Her pale, thin lips trembled slightly, yet she couldn’t elaborate further.

"The first time I saw Leah," she said after a pause, her voice cracking, "her body was riddled with tubes, like a lifeless porcelain doll lying there. Griffith didn’t even dare to speak loudly."

"To save Leah, you can’t even imagine the price Griffith paid for it," she continued, her voice hoarse. "You were born at the top of the pyramid, living a life of privilege. You will never understand those of us who claw our way through the mire."

The Squire siblings appeared glamorous, but everything today had been earned at the cost of Griffith’s very life. Leah still didn’t have a healthy body, and as for herself, she was nothing more than a broken body and a fractured mind pieced back together, never knowing when she might completely fall apart again.