Caroline instinctively looked at Elena.
The image of Hawk, whom Elena had just seen in the manor, also surfaced in her mind.
Only Stefan, who had not entered, listened to the conversation between the two women, completely confused.
"Who are you talking about?"
"Hawk."
Caroline looked at Stefan, then seemed to think of something: "My cousin's fiancé. Right, Stefan, can you sense him?"
Upon hearing this, Stefan looked in the direction of the Fox Manor.
He sensed Liz Fox, the sheriff who had just entered, and also sensed an unfamiliar female presence, who should be the cousin Caroline mentioned.
Stefan even sensed the servants in the manor, and also sensed William Fox, who was being attended to as he rose from bed.
Aside from that...
Nothing.
Stefan withdrew his gaze and looked at Caroline.
Meeting Stefan's eyes, Caroline seemed to already know what he was going to say, her face serious as she spoke first: "He's inside."
Stefan's eyes immediately narrowed.
This time, it was Elena's turn to be bewildered.
She listened to the conversation between her boyfriend and her friend, completely puzzled: "What do you mean, he's inside?"
Stefan looked seriously at his girlfriend and told her he couldn't sense Hawk's existence.
Elena frowned upon hearing this.
"So what does that mean?"
"His level of existence is above ours."
Stefan's voice was low, his expression serious.
And not just above vampires, to be precise, it's above the entire group of extraordinary creatures.
This was a fundamental difference in the level of existence.
The only possibility why Stefan couldn't sense Hawk's presence was that Hawk's level of existence transcended that of an extraordinary being.
Hawk is not extraordinary but beyond extraordinary.
Listening to her boyfriend's explanation, Elena looked at her serious-faced girlfriend and then recalled the bloody scene with Damon, involuntarily gasping and turning to Caroline: "What is your cousin's fiancé's background?"
Caroline shook her head.
Beside her, Stefan spoke seriously: "No matter his background, the most urgent thing now is why he attacked Damon. Damon said that if he hadn't run fast, he might not have made it back."
Though Damon is very bad.
Despite Damon having his eyes on his current girlfriend.
But he is my brother.
My real brother.
Simply put, no matter how bad Damon was, if something happened, Stefan wouldn't allow an outsider to bully his brother.
At this moment, Elena remembered when she went in with Sheriff Liz Fox, the bewildered expression Hawk had when looking at her, and she frowned and said: "Could he have come for Catherine?"
Stefan and Caroline instinctively looked at Elena upon hearing this.
Elena took a deep breath, looked at the two of them, and recounted Hawk's gaze when she went in: "His eyes seemed bewildered and then seemed to have a sudden realization, as if he felt I shouldn't be there, and then seemed to realize I'm not the person he imagined."
In truth, many people have mistaken her identity.
After all, there is indeed someone else who looks very much like her.
Catherine Pierce.
Someone who looks exactly like her and is a female vampire who has lived for over five hundred years and is also Stefan and Damon's ex-girlfriend.
Beside her, Stefan's expression was serious: "Catherine has been wandering outside for hundreds of years, this is indeed possible."
Caroline looked surprised.
"Are you saying my cousin's fiancé might also be an ex-boyfriend of Catherine who is outside?"
"Ha!"
Sitting on the sofa in the manor, accompanying Gwen and chatting with Aunt Liz, Hawk couldn't help but laugh listening to the wild speculations of the three outside the manor.
Gwen and Aunt Liz, who were chatting, stopped their conversation, looking at Hawk who had laughed.
Gwen glanced at Hawk, blinking her eyes.
Liz also looked at Hawk with a smile.
With thoughts racing, Hawk looked at Liz: "Sorry, I just remembered when I came over, Gwen scared me by saying there are vampires in the town."
Sitting on the opposite sofa, Liz's smiling expression visibly paused but quickly recovered, looking at Gwen with a serious expression, scolding Gwen: "Gwen, Waterfall Town relies on tourism as its pillar, and it's also your home. How can you say such things?"
Gwen opened her mouth, glanced at Hawk, and then looked at her aunt.
"Sorry, I was just trying to scare Hawk."
"Hawk, don't believe her."
Recomposing her expression, Aunt Liz looked at Hawk with a smile and said: "What vampire, we need to talk science."
Hawk nodded: "Okay, Aunt."
At this moment.
Caroline also walked back in from outside.
After a brief brainstorming session outside, the three came up with a rather mind-blowing answer as far as Hawk was concerned.
Hawk is suspected to be Catherine's ex-boyfriend.
So...
After their discussion, they decided Caroline would use her status as a relative to find out Hawk's true purpose for coming to Waterfall Town at this time, and what kind of person he really is.
There she was.
Caroline walked in with a smile, casually asking, "What are you all talking about?" and then naturally sat beside her mother Liz.
Liz glanced at her daughter and jokingly said, "Hawk just said your cousin scared him by saying our town has vampires."
Caroline subconsciously skipped a beat but quickly calmed herself down.
"Haha, vampires, how could that be? Cousin, how can you say such a thing? What if people really believe our town has vampires and are too scared to visit?"
"I was wrong."
Gwen reluctantly admitted her mistake again.
Caroline promptly changed the subject: "By the way, cousin, grandpa said you're planning to spend Christmas here this time?"
Gwen nodded: "Yes, after Christmas we'll go back to New York. Taking advantage of the holiday to spend some time with grandpa."
Liz smiled and said, "You should indeed spend more time with your grandpa. After knowing you're engaged, your grandpa tried several times to fly to New York just to see you."
Gwen blinked.
"Mom never told me that."
"Well..."
Liz was just about to speak when she glimpsed William coming down the stairs after his nap, and said with a smile, "Your grandpa is here, you ask him yourself."
After an afternoon nap, grandpa William looked more energetic and approached with a cheerful smile: "Ask me what? Oh, Hawk, see the photo yet? How was it?"
Facing grandpa William's cheerful smile, Hawk replied with a solemn voice: "It's captivating."
William laughed heartily, pointed to Hawk, and said to Gwen: "I like him."
If William had somewhat liked Hawk before hearing that, then he was completely satisfied with Hawk after that statement.
Because Hawk's values perfectly matched his own.
That's also why he never moved into the town all these years.
No other reason.
Seeing some of the freely walking black-skinned people in town these days, he almost wished he could take out the old dusty whip from the basement and lash those black-skinned folks.
Of course.
That's also why Aunt Liz didn't force him to live in town.
Listening to her fiancé and grandpa's unabashed viewpoints, Gwen's lips twitched in response.
Aunt Liz was momentarily stunned, then seemed to remember something, silently shaking her head.
Caroline, on the side, was momentarily bewildered, watching her mother shake her head.
"What photos?"
"Old photos from the Fox Clan."
Aunt Liz, being the town sheriff, couldn't really speak out, some things can exist, but can't be said.
After her lips twitched, Gwen said to her laughing grandpa: "Grandpa, Hawk was scared to meet you at first, but I told him you kept many photos, and his fear instantly disappeared, he's even counting down the days at home!"
Upon hearing this, grandpa's laughter grew heartier, turning to Hawk: "Want to take a look at the treasure room in Fox Manor?"
Hawk's eyes lit up: "Of course."
He had heard Gwen mention that if the study housed the illustrious history of the Fox Clan, then the manor's treasure room held various trophies from the family's glorious past.
These trophies were once displayed openly to intimidate those slaves attempting to resist and escape.
But unfortunately, only William holds the manor treasure room's key, and without his consent, even Helen and Liz couldn't enter.
And now, William invited Hawk.
Hawk naturally accepted the invitation without hesitation.
Listening to her grandpa inviting her fiancé, Gwen said: "Grandpa, Caroline and I haven't been in the treasure room yet, could you let us also look inside?"
William shook his head: "No, only Hawk. Come on, Hawk, I'll show you the Fox Clan's heritage."
Hawk nodded, standing up from the sofa, he threw Gwen a helpless look, then followed grandpa William towards the Manor's annex.
Soon.
After Hawk and grandpa William's figures vanished.
Aunt Liz withdrawing her gaze, thought for a moment, softly said to Gwen: "Gwen, New York is a big city, remind Hawk, times are different now, some views can be held, but shouldn't be spoken aloud."
Upon hearing this, Gwen looked at Aunt Liz, nodded, and smiled: "Don't worry, Aunt, I know, I'll keep an eye on Hawk."
Caroline, on the side, just realized what her grandpa and cousin's fiancé were talking about.
The history of the Fox Clan.
In other words.
It's the blood and sweat history of those black-skinned people!
...