Ava Sterling fell asleep, and in her dreams, her whole body ached, just like when she was a child and Lillian Donovan’s beatings left her covered in bruises, lying on the ground crying. It hurt so much, a burning pain all over her body. It was another scorching summer day, her sweat soaked through, aggravating her wounds, hurting her so much that she didn’t know what to do other than cry. "Don’t cry, Grandma’s Ning Ning, don’t cry." She was held in a slightly cool embrace, full of a sense of security, enough for her to rely on. She opened her eyes, staring at the kind and distressed face in front of her, in a daze: "Grandma..." The aged hand brushed her face, pushing away the sweat-dampened hair on her forehead, and said with infinite kindness: "Grandma has always been by our Ning Ning’s side." "Ning Ning, don’t be afraid." She looked at the face in a daze, and tears fell down. Grandma wasn’t dead, that’s right, she was only a little child now, and Grandma was still by her side. She buried her face in this broad embrace, held her tight, and called out again and again, "Grandma... Grandma..." "Grandma is by Ning Ning’s side." "Ning Ning, be good, have a sleep, and everything will be fine." Find the newest release on NovelHub(.)net The kind voice lingered in her ear like a lullaby, the hands with skin like old tree bark patted her back gently, again and again, soothing her tenderly. Gradually, she fell asleep. Poe Vaughn looked at the person in his arms, her cries quieting, her sobs gradually disappearing, only her lashes still wet, holding crystal-clear tears that wetted his shirt and burned his chest. His fingertips gently moved, stroking her shoulder and back even more lightly, silently, again and again... The charity banquet continued as usual, with nothing changing in the banquet hall, and the auction proceeding in an orderly manner. None of the guests were aware of what happened in that room tonight, and none realized the undercurrents of the night, as everything seemed perfectly normal to them. Except for one person, Jace Kingsley. At this moment, he was sitting on the sofa in the VIP reception room, watching the time, then looking at the disturbingly deep night outside, his heart heavy. It had been several hours since Ava Sterling was taken away by Poe Vaughn, and the auction was over, though the recreational activities on the cruise ship continued. Of course, some guests had already gone to rest. But how could he sleep? He didn’t know how she was, or where she had been taken, so he went to find the organizer of the charity banquet tonight, Ethan Ainsworth. As the one who brought her here, he had the right to know her current situation and whereabouts. But after being brought here, there had been no news. Ethan Ainsworth hadn’t come; he figured he must be busy. After all, Ethan was the organizer of the charity banquet tonight, and he had many responsibilities and couldn’t look after just one person. Jace Kingsley checked the time again; it had been almost an hour since he was brought here, too long. Too long to be appropriate. Jace’s eyes fell on the night outside the window, threatening to swallow everything, unable to bear it any longer, he got up to leave. But just then, there was a click as the door opened. Jace stopped, looked over. Outside the door, Ethan Ainsworth came in while on the phone, seeing the person standing inside, said to the person on the phone: "For now, let’s leave it at that, we’ll talk later." With that, he hung up the phone, looking at Jace Kingsley, his gaze silently assessing. Nonetheless, he wore a smile, showing no signs of anything amiss. "Mr. Kingsley, sorry to keep you waiting." "Tonight is truly a busy night." He came over and extended his hand to Jace Kingsley. Jace took it, and a smile spread across his face: "I should be the one apologizing, knowing Mr. Ainsworth is busy, but still interrupting you." "Oh, don’t say that, who would go out of their way to find me if not necessary, right?" Ethan Ainsworth said, extending his hand to him: "Please have a seat." Jace nodded and sat back on the sofa. Quickly, a server brought some tea. Ethan Ainsworth was a mixed-race individual, but he preferred the customs and culture from his mother’s side, choosing to serve tea to guests instead of coffee. "Mr. Kingsley, try this tea, it’s the newest Dragon Well tea from my mother’s side this year." Jace Kingsley nodded, picking up the teacup and taking a sip. The tea had a clear fragrance, carrying the crispness of the first plucking before the rains, picked from the first batch of fresh, tender buds. Needless to say, the tea was excellent. But now he had no mind for tea appreciation, his head was full of thoughts of Ava Sterling. "The tea is excellent." Putting down the teacup, Jace looked at Ethan Ainsworth, speaking bluntly: "In my anxiety, I will get straight to the point." Ethan Ainsworth was also having tea, hearing his words, gestured for him to go on. Jace said: "It’s , tonight I..." He roughly explained the situation, that Ava Sterling disappeared when the power went out, and after that, he couldn’t find her. He hoped to enlist Ethan Ainsworth’s help to find Ava Sterling. He didn’t go into details, like seeing Poe Vaughn take Ava Sterling away, or seeing the man in that room. Ethan Ainsworth listened to Jace’s explanation, and his brow furrowed immediately: "There’s such a thing?" "Yes, at first I thought she went somewhere to have fun, as she has a playful nature, but after a long while with no sign of her return, I couldn’t help but worry." "Then I called her but she didn’t answer, and she didn’t reply to my messages, that’s when I realized something was wrong. I searched the entire cruise ship and couldn’t find her, so I came to seek Mr. Ainsworth’s help." "In that case, there should be nothing to worry about. This cruise ship isn’t an ordinary place, and the guests here tonight aren’t ordinary people either. I guess Miss Sterling might have gotten engrossed in having fun somewhere or maybe had a bit too much to drink and went to rest, so Mr. Kingsley doesn’t need to worry." "Of course, if Mr. Kingsley is truly concerned, I can have someone review tonight’s surveillance footage to find where Miss Sterling is." Ethan Ainsworth’s words suddenly came to a stop.