Fled Believing She Was Scorned, Crowned as Everyone’s Only Love Chapter 02

When I reached the foyer, I ran into my second brother, Julian.

He wore gold-rimmed glasses, a suit, and had broad shoulders and long legs.

“Going to school?”

He lifted my backpack with one hand and slung it over his shoulder.

“Come on. I’m heading to Manhattan today anyway. I’ll drop you off.”

After the car pulled out of Greenwich, I was distracted the whole way.

Only when Julian’s SUV merged into the city traffic did I pretend to ask casually,

“By the way, Julian, what illness does Declan actually have?”

When I was little, I practically grew up following Declan around.

Later, he joined the Army Special Forces.

Although we didn’t see each other often, we never lost contact.

After he retired, he founded Vale Global Security and spent years handling high-risk security for government projects and multinational corporations around the world.

But when I was eighteen, he suddenly started seeing doctors frequently.

Over the next three years, he came home less and less.

I asked several times what illness Declan had, but I always only got vague answers.

The whole family was secretive about it.

Julian steered with one hand, weaving through the traffic.

“Declan’s privacy? I won’t speak of it casually.”

“Ask him yourself when he gets back.”

“I don’t even know where he went. He won’t even answer my calls.”

I murmured a “hmm” and clutched the hem of my shirt.

I lifted my lashes and stole a glance at him.

Julian was the smartest person in the Hartwell family.

He entered college at fifteen, got his medical doctorate at twenty, and now ran Hartwell Medical Center.

I’d always been closest to Declan, but I was somewhat afraid of Julian.

Just like now.

Julian lowered his eyes and met my gaze.

The corners of his eyes tilted up slightly.

Behind those gold-rimmed glasses, his eyes seemed to see through every secret I tried to hide.

“He wasn’t actually missing, was he?”

“Declan has professional security training. Whoever could make him disappear would have to be someone he completely trusted.”

“For example–”

“The person he trusts most.”

I sat up straight with a start.

Julian raised an eyebrow.

“It was just a hypothesis. Why so worked up?”

My core pounded.

I forced a smile.

“Who would dare do anything to Declan? Haha.”

Julian turned the steering wheel and pressed the gas again.

“By the way, Hartwell Medical Center has been collaborating with the state wildlife rescue center to develop a new type of protective equipment.”

“Lightweight but strong. It’s designed for extreme situations where durability matters most.”

I turned to look at him.

Julian kept his eyes on the traffic ahead.

Behind his gold-rimmed glasses, there was a faint, barely-there smile.

“It’s stored in the warehouse behind the research building. No one should be there tonight.”

Me: “…”

The car stopped near the Columbia campus gate.

I took a deep breath and clenched my fingers.

“I have a seminar tonight. I’ll stay in the dorm. I won’t be home.”

Julian said,

“Oh.”

His tone stretched slightly.

“Don’t overdo it.”

Me: “?”

Julian’s eyes curved.

“I mean, youthful people shouldn’t stay up too late during seminars. Take care of your health.”

That night, of course, I didn’t go to any seminar.

I first detoured to the research building at Hartwell Medical Center.

Then, after hesitating for a while, I walked into a convenience store and bought a few things I needed.

At nine that night, I took a car to Bedford.

This was the villa my parents had bought in my name when I turned eighteen.

They’d said,

“Our little princess is all grown up. She’ll have her own secrets.”

“From now on, this villa is your secret base. Whenever you’re feeling down, you can come stay for a while.”

They probably never imagined–

That my “secret” was currently waiting inside.

I walked all the way down.

By the time I stood in front of the door, my core was beating impossibly fast.

I took a deep breath and opened the door.

“Declan.”