True Tycoon Her Empire, Her Rules

Chapter 183

“Let’s head back,” Winnie said, her voice steady despite the brewing storm of unease. “I’ve got some ideas to mask your gold aura. That should throw him off our trail for a while.”

Drake merely nodded in agreement. He had no reason to doubt her. “Alright.”

Hobson, who had been eavesdropping the entire time, stood there with his jaw nearly hitting the floor. Drake was different from the devil he had heard of.

Drake was the only one among the younger set who had taken the reins of his family so early in life, and with such authority. He was a natural leader, and his peers, even those from the other illustrious families, rarely saw him mingle with them. Only Horace seemed to share any kind of rapport with him.

And Horace, well, he was the golden boy of their generation, no argument there. But Winnie? Why should she be any different? Was it simply because of her so–called talents?

To Hobson, it didn’t add up. After all, given the Patterson family’s status and wealth, they could have their pick of the best consultants and experts. Heck, he knew of several families that kept their own personal supernatural masters on retainer. If Drake really wanted help, he could have a dozen of the best at his beck and call.

Hobson just couldn’t wrap his head around it.

“Winnie, I know you’ve got some skills, but there are times when you’re better off calling in the big guns,” he said, the concern evident in his voice. “If there’s a creature out there gunning for Mr. Patterson, we should probably get a real expert in here.”

He was genuinely trying to offer sound advice, not out of disbelief in her abilities–he’d seen enough to know she had something real–but out of caution. He knew that if things went south, it wouldn’t just be her neck on the line. It would bring trouble to Mr. Patterson and, by extension, to the Patterson family. That would not be an easy mess to clean up.

Hobson thought he was being helpful, but Winnie wasn’t having any of it. She was about to set him straight when Drake’s icy voice cut through the tension, leaving no room for argument.

“Ms. Bryant is the expert in my view,” he stated, his eyes fixed on her. “I trust her.”

That single sentence silenced Hobson and sent a wave of comfort through Winnie, like a warm embrace. Although she was used to doubt, who could resist such unwavering affirmation?

pieces of paper from her backpack. They were different from the charm

Each doll was symmetrical and without a single frayed edge–a sight that offered an odd sense of satisfaction to anyone with a

with a slight sense of amazement as she brought the tiny

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the care she took with each cut

several notches simply because of those two little paper effigies.

altar of the old chapel, quickly inscribing talismanic symbols on the paper. Although the chapel was devoid of spiritual energy, it had once been a place of

her final stroke, the air in the chapel seemed to clear for a moment. When they looked again, the paper dolls,

ghost baby before, didn’t bat an eyelid. Hobson, however, despite

“They’re… alive.”

anticipating the gesture, stepped aside and approached

are these?”

to mask our presence as we leave,” she explained, plucking something unseen from Drake’s aura.

seen her ‘grab‘ it from him before. Yet, never having seen it himself, he didn’t quite grasp what it meant. That was until he saw the paper figure radiate

what she’d been grabbing from him

animated paper effigies off into the wild, leaving one imbued with traces of both her essence and Drake’s. After giving Drake

articulate his thoughts. The world he thought he knew had just expanded, and he was left reeling as they made their way back to the familiar, yet now

Winnie was nowhere to be found. Peering out the window, he watched as

to casually

to let anyone even stand too close to his car if they’re not dressed right, let alone share a

are

He screamed inside his