Hutchison's Heiress (TMSP)

Chapter 56 The Price of Protection

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Third Person's POV
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Days had passed since Princess last touched her phone. She had been too absorbed in the whirlwind of emotions and events to care about the outside world. But today, she finally decided to turn it on. As soon as the screen lit up, dozens of messages flooded in. Her eyes quickly scanned through the notifications—concerned texts from Sky, Arthur, and other members of Shadow Eclipse. But one name stood out among the rest— “Ash”.

King's messages were relentless, each one more worried than the last. He never missed a day, his concern palpable through the words on the screen.

“Where are you?”

“Please don't skip meal.”

“I'm worried about you.”

“You can call me anytime if you need me”

“Eerie, you know I'm always here for you right?”

“Good night, Eerie. I pray you'll have a sweet dreams.” 

The stream of messages tugged at her heart, a heavy reminder of the people who cared for her. Before she could finish reading them all, her phone began to ring. It was Arthur.

“Uncle?” she answered, her voice laced with confusion and worry.

“Sweetie, please meet me. You have to know something. This is an emergency,” Arthur's voice was tense, almost frantic.

Princess felt a surge of panic rise in her chest. “Where are you?”

Arthur quickly gave her the location, and without a second thought, Princess grabbed her things and rushed out the door.

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When she arrived at the meeting place, Arthur was already there, pacing back and forth. As soon as he saw her, he rushed over, concern etched on his face.

"Sweetie, are you okay?" he asked, his eyes scanning her for any signs of distress.

"I'm fine, but you said this was an emergency. What's going on?" Princess demanded, her worry now turning into dread.

Arthur hesitated, looking as if he was struggling with what to say. "It's about Sky," he finally said, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Sky? What about him?" Princess's heart pounded in her chest.

"He's missing. No, actually... he's under punishment," Arthur revealed, his expression pained.

Princess's eyes widened in shock. "What do you mean, 'under punishment'? What happened?"

Arthur took a deep breath, as if bracing himself for what he was about to say. "Your grandpa punished Sky because he couldn't protect you properly. From the moment you returned to the Philippines, all the incidents you've been through... he blames Sky for not watching over you well enough. That includes what happened in the parking lot."

Princess felt a cold chill run down her spine. Alam niyang malalaman at malalaman din ng grandpa niya ang nangyari pero hindi niya inaasahan na si Sky ang paparusahan niya.

“But... that wasn't Sky's fault! How could Grandpa do this?”

Ace already captured Varletia's cousin, ang tao sa likod ng lahat ng mga nangyaring pagtatangka sa kanya at marahil ay naparusahan na rin ito kaya naguguluhan siya kung bakit pinarurusahan si Sky ng kanilang lolo eh wala naman siyang kinalaman sa mga nangyari. It was she who asked to keep it from Sky because she didn’t want to worry him.