Chapter 1396
Over the past few years, Austin had been holding onto the title people gave him of being Dominic's
secret apprentice. Others respected him, and people would beg for him to visit their friends or family
who had contracted some disease from time to time.
He had grown accustomed to living in the limelight, although he would repeatedly tell himself that he
had never explicitly confirmed or denied the truth. It was all wishful thinking by the public. It had nothing
to do with him.
However, guilt started forming in him after such a long time. On top of that, he also feared that he might
be exposed.
Besides competing with Lily, he feared she might come out one day and expose that he was not
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtDominic's secret apprentice. Therefore, Austin had been trying to use his strength to prove that he did
not need the title to be capable. Still, he was always a step behind when it came to Lily.
This time, he retrieved the data Lily had deleted. It was all based on his own skills, thus making him
feel a great sense of accomplishment and satisfaction that he could not buy.
Austin stretched his arms and said proudly, "Professor Thompson, now that I’ve retrieved the data, you
don't have to worry anymore. We can proceed with the experiment."
"Yes, yes. That's great, Austin! You're amazing!" Thompson was almost incoherent after the adrenaline
rush. He was so happy that he did not know what to say. He placed his hand on Austin’s shoulder and
exclaimed, "This lab would be nothing without you. Now that Lily is gone, you will take her place. In the
future, you're responsible for this project!"
"Okay!'’ Austin simply agreed. Now that he had all the experimental data and the results of the previous
successful experiments, he believed he would soon succeed.
Maria was resting at home today. She had been so busy that she did not even have time to play cards
with her friends or even have any beauty treatments done. After two days of rest, she went to the
Rollins' household for a look.
The last time she met with Austin, he told her not to let Anastasia out to eat. Instead, she should be
taking the medicine he prescribed at home. He even ordered Maria to keep an eye on Anastasia.
Unexpectedly, as soon as Maria entered the house, the whole place looked different. It was as if she
had entered the wrong house.
She quickly took a few steps back to look at the gate.
'I’m at the right house, but why is the yard empty? Where are the pots and plants that were here?
Every flower and plant that used to be all over the yard is gone.’
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmWhen she walked into the living room suspiciously, it was even emptier. Besides the furniture and
appliances, the plants, including the cactus on the window sill, were no longer around.
'Did someone break in?' That was Maria's first suspicion.
Meanwhile, Anastasia was busy talking to the housekeepers, looking very occupied, which also
confirmed Maria's assumption. However, what thieves were stupid enough to steal every single plant in
the house, making it so evident that the house had gotten ransacked?
Her eyes widened in surprise. Thinking that her eyes were playing tricks on her, she rubbed them, only
to see that the living room was still empty.
"Tasia, was there a burglary here? Where are all the plants?" She turned around, trying to find them.
After explaining things to the housekeeper, Anastasia turned to look at Maria. "No, Aunt Maria. I had
some people move them away.” "W-Why?" Maria could not understand it. "Isn't it good to have plants in
the house? They can purify the air, and it's also refreshing to see. Also, did you have to move all of
them? There's not a single pot left."