72 Memories 1

Liz's sudden entry into the room and the shout had been so sudden that she had managed to shock both the CEO and the previous head of the Sylvex family.

Although she tried to continue speaking, she had no option but to pause and control her emotions, during which Xander managed to recover.

"Little Missy? Your boss doesn't know what I want, and you're saying that you do? What kind of joke is this?! I don't have time to waste here."

The volume with which he spoke rose with each word, until he was almost screaming by the end of his statement. Yet, Liz didn't balk at all.

Instead, she just looked straight into the man's eyes and said, "Your family is still alive."

As a shocked silence enveloped the room, Xander shakily took a step back before grasping the hand of the sofa for support.

Apparently, Liz's words had affected him so deeply that even standing was a problem.

Finding his grip and finally sitting down, Xander first bent forward and closed his eyes, making it clear that he had to take a moment to gather himself.

Meanwhile, the CEO who had been watching everything with his brows furrowed noticed that Liz was actually now looking at Xander with pity in her eyes.

What the hell was going on?

When she had entered the room before, she had looked as if she was reliving some very sad memory.

This, in itself, had elicited in Will a slight twinge of worry, but her scream had replaced that with confusion.

And now, Will wished he could drag Liz out of the room to ask what was going on.

Yet, he understood that this was probably a very important moment which would be ruined if he did anything like that.

As for the possibility that Xander's second family was still alive, he had researched it thoroughly, but there was simply no proof.

If so, was Liz bluffing? Or could some new information have surfaced during the meeting?"

As if Xander was having the same doubt, he asked "Show me the proof you have," with his head still bent down.

"I have none. But I know that they are."

Hearing this, Will widened his eyes and gaped at Liz.

So…she wasn't bluffing, and she didn't even have proof?

Had she gone mad? Didn't she realize that this would actually mean being disrespectful to this man?

Seeing Xander, he realized that the man had already begun to shake again, but this time with anger.

Clearly, this was the second time that he had been given hope before it was taken away.

Just as he was about to step in to remedy the situation, Liz spoke again.

"I don't need proof. I know that it's true."

This only seemed to exacerbate Xander, who asked through gritted teeth, "Don't play games, little missy. If you don't have proof, then how did you barge in-"

"Either you are dying, or you have to leave your son forever. You are very, very worried about him, and you want us to protect him."

Hearing this, Xander looked up suddenly, with hope reflected in his eyes.

Clearly, she had hit the bullseye.

Realizing this, the shock in Will only grew greater.

WHERE THE HELL WAS SHE GETTING ALL THIS FROM?

Xander voiced his question in a breaking voice.

"I-if you don't have proof, ho-how?"

This question made Liz tear up again, but while Will and Xander watched, she put a firm clamp on her emotions before taking a deep breath and giving the answer.

"Your eyes, Mr. Xander. Your eyes when you realized that Happle had failed you. Those were the eyes of a parent who is worried about their children, because they know that they have no choice but to leave them alone to fend off the world. They want to keep them safe even if they aren't present. I know this, because I've seen them before. My mother-"

Her voice completely broke at this point, as if the memory was too painful to bear.

After a few seconds during which Liz closed her eyes and just looked up into the air, she continued to speak.

"The point is that I've seen them before, Mr. Xander. And I would recognize them anywhere. Now can you tell us why you went to such trouble to hide them from the world, so much so that even WE couldn't find them?"