After hanging up the phone, Juliet walked inside. Seeing Bowen still standing there, she reached out her hand.
"I need to go out. Give me the car keys."
Bowen had been trying to comfort a tearful Eileen, but at Juliet's words, his expression soured even more.
"You've been abroad this whole time. Now that you're back, what could possibly be so urgent?"
"Dad, it's none of your business. Why are you being so nosy?"
"I've supported you all these years while you were overseas…"
"Stop patting yourself on the back!" Juliet interrupted him with a scoff. "You supported me? That was all Grandpa's money. You haven't even given me my share of the stock dividends over the years. How can you say that with a straight face?"
With that, she snatched the car keys from Bowen's hand and started to head out. But then she paused, walked over to Eileen, and gently patted her cheek, smiling as she said, "Sister, make sure to clean up my room, okay?"
Eileen's lips trembled as she nodded vigorously.
Juliet chuckled softly. "And we're not kids anymore. While I'm staying at home, I hope you won't pull any of those low-class tricks like you did four years ago, got it?"
"Y-yes… I understand…"
Eileen was on the verge of tears, and Bowen's eyes were practically blazing with anger at Juliet.
But Juliet didn't care, clutching the car keys as she walked out the door.
With a loud "bang," she slammed the front door shut. That's when Eileen could no longer hold it in, tears streaming down her face.
"Dad, did I do something wrong? Why does she hate me so much? It was like this four years ago, and now… it's still like this. Maybe I should just leave…"
"Eileen, don't think like that. You're the only daughter your mom and I have. She won't be staying long."
Eileen collapsed on the couch, covering her face as she cried, while Bowen sat down next to her, trying to comfort her.
"That bag girl is eighteen now. Your grandpa's will stated that eighteen percent of the company shares would be transferred to her once she came of age. She's back now, probably to claim those shares! Once she gets them, she'll be out of here."
"Dad?" Eileen suddenly looked up, her face filled with distress. "Are you really going to give her eighteen percent of the company shares?"
When she was six, Old Mr. Black had insisted on a DNA test, which revealed that she wasn't the real daughter of the Black family. Since then, she had tried her best to please everyone in the Black family to stay.
She thought Old Mr. Black would just forget about his real granddaughter and that Juliet would never come back…
Not only had Juliet returned, but Old Mr. Black had left her all his shares!
If this got out, she'd be the biggest joke in all of City N!
"There's nothing I can do. His will was notarized, and there's a copy with Juliet…" Bowen gritted his teeth. "But don't worry. That bag girl doesn't know anything. I'll find a way to make her give up her claim to the inheritance!"
Eileen felt a bit of relief at that, her eyes still watery as she said, "Dad, I don't want the Black family's stuff. I just feel… the company is Grandpa and your hard work…"
"You don't need to say more. I understand you, Eileen. You're the true daughter of the Black family. That embarrassing bag girl doesn't deserve it at all!"
Eileen sniffled, a glint of calculation flashing in her eyes.
"Thank you, Dad…"
******
A Porsche pulled up in front of a private hospital in City N. The entrance looked eerily quiet, not even a sign to be seen.
As soon as Juliet stepped inside, a man in a white lab coat rushed out and nearly collided with her.
She sidestepped quickly and grabbed him by the back of his collar, yanking him back. "Where is he?"
David paused for a second, then quickly realized who she was. "Leopard, you got here fast!"
"Cut the chatter! Where is he?"
"He left." David rubbed his nose, sounding a bit helpless. "I didn't know he was the guy you were after."
David was mixed race, with striking gray-blue eyes and light brown hair. He was naturally gifted in looks.
He was the medic at the base and had the lowest combat skills among everyone there, even less than the cafeteria lady. In a place filled with violence and savagery, he was like a lamb lost in a wolf pack. So, his code name fit him perfectly—White Sheep.
Juliet narrowed her eyes slowly, her gaze growing more menacing.
David quickly added, "You know I don't keep patient records here, and there aren't any cameras. Plus, he paid through an anonymous international account, so we can't trace him."
"Who said we can't trace him?" Juliet replied as she walked further inside. "He had surgery here, right? You have blood and tissue samples, right? Bone scans too? And his appearance… well, the base sent a lot of people to hunt him down, so the look he showed here might not even be the real deal."
As long as she had that information, she could cross-reference it in the global DNA database. She was determined to dig deep and find him!
David nodded. "Okay, I'll get started on it."
The DNA test results came in quickly.
In the office, Juliet typed furiously on the keyboard, a cold smirk playing on her lips.
David rubbed his arms, feeling a chill.
"I gotta say, Leopard, that guy's had it rough enough. Can you not smile like that? It's kinda creepy. Using a sniper rifle with dum-dum bullets? Only you could come up with something that brutal."
It's worth noting that large-caliber sniper rifles were typically anti-material weapons, capable of taking down helicopters with armor-piercing rounds. The fact that the poor guy was still alive was already a miracle.
Juliet turned sharply. "How do you know I used a sniper rifle?"
David replied without hesitation, "Come on! That guy was wearing the top-of-the-line body armor, Dragon Skin. The only weapons that could break that would be a large-caliber sniper rifle or a grenade launcher… Oh, wait..."
Juliet paused the program that was scanning for information and let out a chuckle. "Well, that narrows it down, doesn't it?"
The global DNA database was so vast that it was tough to find a match right away. She had already cross-referenced the bone scans but came up empty.
Many mercenaries and assassins were regulars on the wanted lists. Their appearances could change dramatically, and traditional tracking methods like blood samples and fingerprints didn't work on them. That's why bone scans were the latest tracking technique. If that guy's bone sample wasn't in the database, it probably meant he wasn't one of the usual suspects.
David swallowed nervously. "Actually, I think… that unlucky guy just had surgery and probably hasn't left City N yet. We could search locally."
Juliet shot him a sidelong glance. "How do we find him? Send people in and make a big fuss about it?"
David fell silent again. That idea seemed pretty unrealistic in Country A.
******
Meanwhile, at a mansion on the outskirts of City N, a pale-faced man lay sprawled on the bed, half his face buried in the pillow. One could just make out his sharp features.
He was wrapped in bandages, with faint blood seeping through them.
"William, I found out. The on-duty instructor at the Death God International Mercenary Training Base that day was Ghost Leopard from Zone 51—an Country An woman. She became the top figure at that training base two years ago, but her age is unclear."
Frank Brown sat beside him with a sleek laptop resting on his lap. He was receiving information from abroad while speaking.
"Ghost Leopard's first recorded appearance was eight years ago when she beat the champion at an underground fight in Southeast Asia. The peak age for female boxers is between 18 and 28, so we estimate Ghost Leopard is between 26 and 36."
"However, according to mercenaries who trained at the Death God International Mercenary Training Base, Ghost Leopard is very young, definitely under 30..."
Before he could finish, the man on the bed stirred slightly.
"Useless."
Frank raised an eyebrow.
William Smith croaked, "This information is useless. The Death God Training Base lost something, and the on-duty instructor bears direct responsibility. She's already in City N."
"How do you know Ghost Leopard will come to City N?"
William's eyes darkened. "She will definitely come to City N!"
"Okay then," Frank nodded, smiling. "Since she's here, she'll find a way to come after you. We can set a trap."
"Who's the bait?"
Frank glanced at the man, all wrapped up in bandages.
"Uh..."
Setting a trap in front of someone like Ghost Leopard felt a bit risky.
William smirked slightly, his voice icy. "Bring people over. This isn't the Death God Training Base; she won't stir up any trouble here."
Frank couldn't help but say, "William, why don't we just head back to City W? Ghost Leopard can't make a scene here. If she attacks you from behind, you won't survive…"
Under William's increasingly cold gaze, Frank eventually fell silent.
Ghost Leopard was known as a sniper, a top-tier expert operating in vast, uninhabited areas. She was also the mercenary king who had single-handedly wiped out a militia base with dozens of members in a war-torn country.
Just thinking about someone like that chasing them in City N made Frank break out in a cold sweat.