The Ex and Her Riches novel (Gwendolyn and Maverick)

Treyton sank into deep thought.

After pondering for a while, he shook his head.

“No. You should know that Dad is not young anymore. He was already well advanced in age when you were born.

Lorelai has been trying all ways and means to get pregnant, but we never heard that she succeeded.”

Lorelai Sablich was Gwendolyn’s stepmother, who was only three years older than her. Lorelei and Gwendolyn could

never get along. Whenever they crossed paths, it seemed inevitable that they would argue.

Gwendolyn thought hard for a moment.

She always had a strong feeling that the image of the little girl in her mind was somehow connected to how she

ended up in Fairlake after losing her memory.

However, she could not remember anything about it.

Gwendolyn decided that she had to spend some time investigating that matter.

For the time being, she had to put it aside.

“Treyton, what did you do to that group of people last night?”

Treyton did not say anything.

By the time he got to the bridge that night, the situation had already concluded. Maverick had arrived with his men

first.

Treyton then cleaned up the mess at the scene. He kept a few men alive and brought them back for interrogation.

After mulling over it, Treyton chose not to inform Gwendolyn that Maverick was present at the scene. “They hurt my

sister, so I have to kill them to seek justice for you. I spared two of the men and locked them up. Once you’ve

recovered, you can interrogate them and try to gather any relevant information.”

“All right.”

Gwendolyn placed the chicken soup on the table by the bed. She remembered vaguely that someone had saved

her last night.

“Did you jump into the water to save me last night?”

The thought of that got Treyton all riled up.

By the time he arrived at the scene, Maverick had already jumped into the water.

When he carried Gwendolyn out of the water, Treyton noticed that the slits on both sides of her gown were torn.

Treyton wondered if Maverick had done something inappropriate to her.

“Uh, yes, I did.” He looked away, somewhat uneasy.

Gwendolyn stared at Treyton, frowning. “Really? I remember someone kissing me and delivering air through my

mouth so I could breathe.”

“What?”

Just as Treyton expected, Maverick had been up to no good.

Treyton berated himself for being too softhearted. He should have thrown Maverick into the water and let him

freeze to death that night.

“You were not in the right state of mind then. You must be mistaken.”

Gwendolyn stared into his eyes. “Treyton, you’d better not lie to me.”

“Why would I deceive you? It’s true.” He looked up and met her gaze resolutely.

Gwendolyn knew her brother very well.

Even if she knew Treyton was not telling the truth, she would not be able to get any answers if he refused to say

anything.

She then tried to ask him in a roundabout way, “What about Maverick? Where was he last night?”

“I have no idea where he went last night. He’s such an irresponsible guy. Natasha caused this mess, and it’s all

because of him. Don’t bother about him. I’ve locked him up in Bay Villa so he can’t leave.”

Gwendolyn frowned. She was about to say something when Treyton picked up the bowl of soup, cutting her off.

“Here, Kiddo, drink up. Flora made the soup personally. Your injuries will heal faster if you drink it.”

Meanwhile, in the basement of Bay Villa, loud, intense coughing could be heard. It sounded severe and forceful,

reverberating throughout the room eerily.

Maverick curled up on the cold floor. His eyes were dull and tired, looking like he was in a state of profound illness.

His face was ashen as a result of continuous coughing. He looked weary and exhausted.

His body was covered in a cold sweat, yet it felt excessively hot when touched.

Besides that, Maverick’s level of awareness was diminishing.

Elven had the closest relationship with him. However, he was in the hospital, recovering from his injuries.

Treyton had instructed William and Quinton to lock Maverick in the basement. They did not give him any water or

food. There was not even a light in the room.

Maverick had been locked up in the basement for more than ten hours.

If this continued, his life might be in danger due to the persistently high fever and his weakened physical condition.

They still had not found the person who attacked Gwendolyn, and Samantha and Natasha had gotten away scot-

free. Hence, Maverick had to stay alive.

Mustering all his strength, he placed his hand on his lips.

As he was not sure if Nico was in the vicinity, he whistled repeatedly.

William and Quinton heard some noises from the basement and opened the door.

“Mr. Wright, stop making trouble for us. Mr. Harris said that as soon as Ms. Shalders is well enough to leave the

hospital, we’ll let you go.”

Both William and Quinton did not want to stay in the basement any longer after warning Maverick. They slammed

the door shut and locked it.

Maverick was suddenly hit by a gust of cold wind that rushed in as the door opened, causing him to have a severe

coughing fit.

He coughed so hard that his shoulders hunched forward, and he was visibly trembling all over his body.

The night before, Maverick had insisted on jumping into the river to save Gwendolyn. Worried about his safety, Nico

had been hiding around Bay Villa to monitor the situation.

When he heard Maverick’s faint and weak signal for help, a wave of fury crashed through Nico.

“Damn it! They’re not humans!”

He led Neville and a few men straight to the basement of the villa.

William and Quinton did their best to stop Nico and his men.

However, both of them were no match for the ferocious group. Within a few minutes, William and Quinton were

defeated and beaten unconscious.

Nico kicked open the basement door. The moment he saw Maverick, a surge of anger welled up in his chest.

“Damn it! Is this how you repay someone who saved a life? I want to kill them all!”

Neville was equally infuriated. “Let’s get rid of those two bodyguards! I’ll freaking suffocate if I don’t let my anger

out!”

Just as Nico was about to answer Neville, Maverick’s scorching hot hand gripped his wrist tightly.

Maverick’s voice had become hoarse due to the long hours of coughing. He could hardly make a sound. Neither did

he have the energy to speak.

However, Nico understood what he meant.

Maverick did not want him to kill William and Quinton.

Nico struggled internally before sighing. Maverick was his boss, after all. He had no choice but to obey the latter’s

instructions.

However, Nico also knew that his men needed an outlet to vent their frustrations. He asked Neville to bring William

and Quinton to the basement and lock them up.

They then carried Maverick to the room on the second floor before placing a cooling patch on him.

Upon testing Maverick’s temperature, they realized he was running a fever of 38.9 degrees Celsius. A cooling patch

would not be enough to bring down his fever.

Nico asked his men to buy some antipyretics and administer them, along with fever-reducing injections, to

Maverick.

It was only late at night when a frail Maverick regained consciousness.

Nico took Maverick’s temperature again to see that his fever had subsided.

Fortunately, his life was not in danger.

Nico sat by the bed as he let out a sigh of relief. He did not look too pleased, though.

“Boss, this is what you get for risking your life to rush to the scene. Treyton locked you up and did not allow you to

visit Ms. Shalders at the hospital. I bet she doesn’t even know you are the one who saved her. This is absurd!”

Maverick half-closed his eyes, his eyelashes fluttering lightly.

Due to the high fever and fatigue, his spirited and lively eyes had lost their luster. His once vibrant and striking

countenance now bore a pallor, while an undeniable fragility marked his features.

Treyton had always disliked Maverick, so it was not surprising that he would treat Maverick this way.

Maverick could not help but feel guilty toward Treyton now that he knew the latter was his former brother-in-law.

He was not too worried about Gwendolyn. Treyton would undoubtedly take good care of her in the hospital.

Nico looked at a silent Maverick. His heart wrenched at seeing his boss looking so pale and weak.

“Boss, I don’t want to nag at you. You know your body isn’t as strong as it used to be, and you can’t withstand the

cold. The water in the river was so cold, yet you jumped in to save Ms. Shalders. Couldn’t you have waited for

Treyton to save her instead?”

Nico wondered if Maverick was stupid or crazy.

However, he did not dare to say his thoughts out loud.

He was afraid of the consequences when Maverick recovered.