pter 201
Together, they entered the fishing village.
Night had fully settled in by now.
The village was quiet–eerily so.
Celestine Selwyn knocked on the door of a small house where someone was cooking dinner.
For a long moment, there was only the faintest stir from inside.
“Who’s there?” a suspicious voice finally called out.
Celestine, steadying Gideon Prescott, explained why they’d come.
A long pause.
Worried she hadn’t been heard, Celestine repeated herself, just a bit louder.
Suddenly, the door swung open. A woman in a blue scarf, her expression less than welcoming, snapped, “Go, go on! This isn’t some charity hospital. Don’t block my door! People like you shouldn’t be here!“.
Gideon arched a brow, defiant.
Celestine tugged him back, apologizing quickly. “I’m so sorry to bother you so late. My friend and I went out on the water and got caught in a current–he hurt his leg. Is there any way you could spare us some medicine? Or if you know someone who has some, we’ll pay, I promise. We won’t take your help for nothing.”
The woman’s face softened a little. She opened the door wider. “Come in, sit wherever you want. I’ll get you the first aid kit–you’re on your own after that.”
With a grateful nod, Celestine helped Gideon into the simple yard.
Under the moonlight, the house was plainly furnished–no fancy decorations, but everything was tidy and well cared for. The woman clearly loved her home.
Celestine settled Gideon on a wooden chair.
When Sandra–the woman–brought out the medicine, Celestine knelt to treat his injury.
She lifted the hem of his pants, revealing a deep gash above his ankle, almost to
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the bone, as if it had been caught by a wire.
Celestine gasped. “Why didn’t you say anything?!”
Gideon shrugged off her worry. “Didn’t really feel it. Looks worse than it is.”
She didn’t believe him, her brows knitting together in concern.
She dabbed antiseptic and ointment onto his wound with careful, gentle hands, terrified of hurting him.
Every so often, when Gideon sucked in a breath or winced, Celestine jumped. “Are you okay? I’ll be more careful. Does it hurt, Mr. Prescott? If it’s too much, you can squeeze my hand.”
By the time she finished cleaning and dressing the wound, it was well past
midnight.
Sandra, who had kept quiet through it all, stepped forward as soon as Celestine finished. “That’ll be thirty–six dollars. Cash only.”
Celestine offered a sheepish smile, rummaging through her pockets. “Sandra, we fell in the water–lost our phones, no cash on us. Would you mind lending us your phone so we can call someone to bring money over?”
She hesitated, then sweetened the deal, “Tell you what–let us make a call, and I’ll pay you ten dollars for the trouble.”
Sandra scowled, but the promise of payment for her medicine convinced her. Reluctantly, she handed over her phone.
Celestine passed the phone to Gideon.
He raised an eyebrow. “Not going to call?”
“I can’t remember any numbers off the top of my head,” she lied smoothly.
She hadn’t died tonight, but she still wasn’t ready to face the Fordham family, especially Chester Fordham–the man who abandoned her for his true lov her own child, who’d been the reason she was kidnapped in the first place.
Gideon didn’t question her.
He dialed Vernon.
und
On the other end, Vernon sounded as if he’d just seen a ghost–relieved and frantic.
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Chapter 201
Gideon barked a short laugh. “Tell Grandpa and my brother I’m fine. Nothing to worry about. Oh, and-”
He glanced at Sandra, who was watching him closely. “Is your number set up to receive payments?”
Her eyes lit up and she nodded eagerly.
Gideon nodded. “Transfer ten thousand to this number.”
The chime of a payment notification rang out moments later.
Sandra stared at her phone in disbelief. “That’s… that’s way too much…”
“The rest is for the room,” Gideon said, handing her the phone.
Sandra quickly agreed and led them to a guest bedroom.
Celestine hesitated at the threshold, uncertain. “Are you sure you want us staying here?”
