The Heiress’ Return: Six Brothers at Her Beck and Call (Wynter Quinnell) novel Chapter 1837

The following day, when the library staff arrived for work, they noticed that Avianna hadn't shown up, despite it being her shift. They tried calling her, but her phone was turned off. Concerned, they reached out to her parents, only to learn that she had never returned home the previous night.

Panicked, they immediately called the police and reported the situation, explaining that they had left work early the night before due to an emergency.

Before long, officers arrived at the library, took statements, and collected surveillance footage for further investigation.

Meanwhile, the police department's dispatch center started receiving multiple missing person reports—both male and female—all of whom had vanished the previous night without a trace. There were no signs of struggle, and no evidence was left behind.

With no clear leads, officers were sent to each reported disappearance site to gather surveillance footage.

The sudden string of disappearances caught the Special Unit's attention. Before Wynter entered the formation, she had specifically instructed them to keep a close watch on anything unusual happening in Colifernia, especially during this period.

Taking over the case, the Special Unit divided the work among themselves, reviewing the surveillance footage piece by piece. However, after spending an entire day analyzing the videos, they found nothing out of the ordinary.

The footage from the library case was particularly baffling. It showed Avianna preparing to leave at exactly 10:05 pm. Then, without warning, the feed cut out.

Other security cameras in the area showed her walking down the street as expected. Some showed her heading into a blind spot before vanishing, while others simply froze at the moment of disappearance.

The team was at a loss.

"Mr. Guzman, we've reviewed the footage over and over. They either vanish in blind spots, or the video just cuts out," one member reported.

Jaxen Guzman stroked his chin. "That means this isn't a simple disappearance. Someone planned this. Start investigating their social connections—see if there are any overlaps or patterns."

He then added, "Compile all this data. I'll take it to L and see if he can figure something out."

"Yes, Mr. Guzman."

With that, the team got to work, compiling the footage.

Now holding a USB drive with all the files, Jaxen made his way to a secret location. Knocking on the door, he called out, "L, are you busy?"

Wolf had just returned from the municipal building and was about to set some things in motion when he heard the knock. After stowing away his equipment, he opened the door. His small face was expressionless, and his unusual eyes locked onto Jaxen.

Jaxen hesitated slightly—after all, in the Special Unit, L only took orders from Wynter. The rest of them usually preferred to steer clear.

He quickly regained his composure. "L, there were multiple disappearances in Colifernia last night," he said, handing over the USB drive. "This contains the surveillance footage. We need you to check if any of the videos were tampered with."

Wolf glanced at the drive, took it, and signed, "Wait for my message."

Then, he shut the door.

Inside, Wolf plugged the USB drive into his laptop and played the footage. As expected, there were no visible clues. Without hesitation, he began typing rapidly, enhancing and reconstructing the footage frame by frame.

As the images became clearer, something unusual appeared—a shadowy figure lurking at one of the supposed blind spots.

Wolf shook his head. It was not enough. He continued working, adjusting the video further. Suddenly, as he enhanced the corrupted portion, the screen glitched and filled with static. However, after 10:05 pm, a new image emerged.

The video showed a tall, dark figure stepping into the library. Then, the footage became completely unreadable, accompanied only by harsh static noise.

…

Meanwhile, the rest of the team continued their background research. One of the members suddenly noticed something and called out, "Mr. Guzman, you need to see this."

Jaxen walked over, and the member continued, "Look at their birthdates. The missing individuals vary in age, but their zodiac signs all have one thing in common—they all have rare constitutions."

Jaxen stared at the screen, deep in thought. While this might not seem significant to an ordinary person, someone trained in certain disciplines would immediately recognize the pattern.

Still, he ordered his team to document the findings. This case was getting stranger by the minute. Then, he recalled something—before Wynter left, she had told him that if they ever encountered something inexplicable, they should contact Mt. Dragon's Kaspar.

Rushing to his desk, he dug out a slip of paper with a phone number on it. Without hesitation, he dialed the number.

After two rings, the call connected. He asked, "May I speak to Mr. Stavius?"

Kaspar glanced at the number and asked in a deep voice, "Who is this?"

"This is one of Ms. Quinnell's men," Jaxen replied. "Before she left, she said that if we ran into anything strange, we should contact you."

Kaspar's tone softened slightly when he heard Wynter's name. He shook his head. Wynter… Even after entering the formation, she was still finding ways to trouble him. But he had always had a soft spot for this soon-to-be disciple of his.

"What happened?" he asked.

Jaxen immediately relayed everything about the disappearances.

Kaspar furrowed his brows. "A missing person case? What do you expect me to do? I'm not some all-seeing sage who can divine their whereabouts just by thinking about it. This isn't something I can help with."

Jaxen quickly added, "We've discovered another lead. Our investigation shows that all the missing individuals were born on dates that align with rare constitution."

Kaspar, who had been sitting, abruptly stood up. "What? Rare constitution?"

Jaxen was startled by his reaction and confirmed again, "Yes, Mr. Stavius. Is there something seriously wrong with this?"

Almost as if speaking to himself, Kaspar muttered, "That person must have acted again—gathering ten individuals born with a rare constitution to perform the witchcraft of Life Force Absorption Technique in order to strengthen their cultivation."

Whoever was behind this needed to be found immediately, or there would be far too many victims.

Still confused, Jaxen asked, "Mr. Stavius, what do you mean by witchcraft?"

Kaspar snapped back to reality, gripping his phone tightly. "You need to speed up your investigation and find any traces of the missing people as soon as possible. Their lives are in grave danger. I'll take action on my end as well."

Jaxen nodded firmly. "Understood, Mr. Stavius."

Without another word, Kaspar ended the call. He needed to contact Atwater and figure out a solution. It seemed the person behind all this had caught on. The Sacrificial Human Formation wasn't over, and now they had started the Life Force Absorption Technique as well.

…

Meanwhile, the black-robed figure had locked all the kidnapped individuals in the basement of the old man's home. After securing the last one, he ascended the stairs. Outside, the old man sat on a stone stool, gazing into the distance, lost in thought.

The figure spoke from behind. "Sir, as per the records, we've captured all the targets so far. They all have rare constitutions. We still need five more—I will continue searching."

The old man turned his head slightly, casting a glance at him. "Very good. Make sure to speed up the process. Few people truly understand the Life Force Absorption Technique.

"The ordinary authorities will just see this as a missing person case, but the cultivators will recognize what's happening. We need to finish before they intervene."

After all, by their logic, a disciple with only average cultivation from the weakest sect, Mt. Nyxvarn, had no right to shake Mt. Lunther's foundations.

Yet, she had done exactly that—exposing scandal after scandal within the sects. Her victories only made them look incompetent. They would never allow this to continue.

If she were outside the formation, Wynter might have adjusted her approach. She wasn't reckless—she understood how to navigate power struggles when necessary.

But she had already been trapped inside for far too long.

At first, she thought unraveling the Heavenly Derivation in Granville Village—helping the sacrificed lost souls find peace—would be enough to break part of the formation.

But the deeper she delved, the more she realized how intricate the formation truly was. She couldn't afford to uncover the truth piece by piece anymore and had to speed things up.

There were ways to ensure Mt. Nyxvarn's survival in the long run, but she had no time to play politics now. She had to find the heart of the formation today.

She raised her eyes slightly. "Are you all questioning my identity, or do you simply believe I don't deserve the abilities I have?" Her tone was calm but sharp. "Terell, you're implying my soul and body don't match."

She could communicate with all beasts?

The moment those words left her lips, everyone around her gasped.

It had been centuries since the sects had seen someone able to communicate with all beasts. This skill was even rarer than having naturally gifted spiritual roots.

Long ago, when humans and mystic spirits coexisted peacefully, it was cultivators with this ability who maintained the balance. Now, finding someone like that was nearly impossible.

If such a disciple had emerged from Mt. Nyxvarn, why had Ailithir never spoken of it? Was it because of that incident?

The elders turned to look at Ailithir, who stood among them.

"You all remember what happened 50 years ago—anyone who showed even the slightest ability to connect with mystic spirits had their spiritual consciousness forcibly taken."

That incident had shaken the entire sect. The fear and unrest it caused were no less severe than the crisis unfolding at Mt. Lunther.

"So… are you saying Wynter can actually understand the mystic spirits?"

A few sages exchanged glances, struggling to believe it.

It felt like discovering that the weakest student in school—the one consistently ranked last—had actually been a hidden genius capable of scoring a perfect mark on the most challenging exam.

They had already witnessed Wynter's strength firsthand. But being able to communicate with all beasts? This was beyond what any of them had imagined.

Wynter met their gazes without flinching. "My spiritual roots are average. But since when has cultivation been determined solely by talent?"

Her question was so sharp and unyielding that, for a moment, the sages hesitated.

Then, one of them spoke. "500 years ago, when the formation warden ascended to the Sacred Path, did anyone question her origins?"