Chapter 270: Firecrackers Sound Again and Again to Bid Farewell to the Old Year
Chapter 270: Firecrackers Sound Again and Again to Bid Farewell to the Old Year
Right now, Martin was buried in work at the Gonzalez Group.
Several open folders lay on his desk, waiting for him to review and sign.
Martin wore a white shirt with a black vest over it and a solid black tie. He leaned back lazily in the leather chair of his CEO's office.
A pair of transparent-framed glasses rested on the bridge of his nose
Today was New Year's Eve.
A day for family reunions.
This time last year, he had been at the Gonzalez family home, celebrating with Victoria and the Hayden couple, enjoying the festive atmosphere.
He never expected this year to be so cold and lonely.
After Victoria ordered him out of the hospital, he returned to the Gonzalez Group
When other people were in a bad mood, they indulged themselves—drinking, playing cards, singing, dancing, fooling around with women.
Martin was different. When he was in a bad mood, he buried himself in work, using intense work to numb his heart and distract himself.
Right after his cold war with Victoria started, after he moved out of the Gonzalez Villa, his mind kept drifting to that woman's image.
Whenever he thought of her, he couldn't bring himself to take revenge or hate her.
That's why he moved out - to physically distance himself from her.
The tedious yet demanding workload allowed him to expand the Gonzalez Group, but no one knew that in the quiet of the night, when he stopped working, he still thought of Victoria.
"Mr. Collins, are you listening?"
Terry's voice came through the phone again.
Martin had been spacing out and hadn't heard what Terry was saying at all.
"Go ahead." Martin's thoughts snapped back to the present. He wearily removed his glasses
He placed them in the folder.
Terry repeated: "Mrs. Collins has taken Mr. Gonzalez out of the hospital."
Hearing this, Martin seemed relieved.
Being discharged meant Hayden was out of danger, right?
He could clear his name, too.
Martin's tense heart wasn't so anxious and worried anymore. His tone remained cold - he had long been used to burying his emotions deep inside.
So no matter what happened, even if the sky fell, he could stay calm and composed.
"Today is New Year's Eve. It makes sense for him to be discharged." Martin said in a low voice, his slender fingers pinching the bridge of his nose.
Just as he was about to hang up.
Terry added, "Mr. Collins, you might have misunderstood.Mr. Gonzalez has passed away. Mrs. Collins has claimed his body "
At these words, Martin's mind exploded.
Passed away.
Had Hayden passed away?
"What did you say?" Martin asked in disbelief.
Terry said: "Hayden fell from such a height. When we got there, he had a brain hemorrhage, and most of his blood vessels had burst. his internal organs were lacerated by shattered bones
"Mr. Collins, we really did our best. We tried to save him for three whole hours, until he took his last breath, then we stopped."
"Even if Hayden had lived, he couldn't talk, couldn't walk - it would have been a mess. A once outstanding entrepreneur, now turned into a cripple. He must have been in so much pain, suffering so much.I believe his passing finally brought an end to his suffering ."
Martin listened quietly.
For a long time, he didn't respond.
Then he hung up.
Hayden was dead.
Dead on New Year's Eve.
A day for family reunions.
Martin recalled Hayden's actions earlier that day-deliberately sending his wife and daughter away
Deliberately walking toward the balcony, refusing his help or support.
Even hitting him with his cane.
Martin connected all these details from beginning to end.
And suddenly understood.
He realized he had fallen into Hayden's trap
Hayden had deliberately made a scene in front of him.
Was he trying to trade his own life for Martin's?
To get him to let Victoria and her daughter go?
It seemed the old man truly cared about Victoria.
But how could he know that Martin had never thought of giving up his revenge?
Martin pulled out his cigarette case, took out a cigarette, and put it in his mouth.
He pressed the lighter, producing a blue and yellow flame.
The end of the cigarette was consumed by the flame, gradually glowing bright and dim.
Martin took a deep drag.
The smoke entering his troubled chest tasted bitter.
The smoke rolled around in his lungs, then slowly drifted out through his straight nose and thin lips.
He ruminated on the sacrifices Victoria had made for Hayden
Kneeling in the snow outside the Gonzalez Group building.
To get him to cover Hayden's medical expenses, willing to sign an unfair contract, working as a janitor at the Gonzalez Group, being humiliated by him.
Kneeling.
Kowtowing.
Getting pregnant for him, having his child.
Now Hayden was dead.
Martin didn't dare imagine how Victoria would react.
He didn't even dare face Victoria.
Would she blame him for what happened today?
But he was innocent too - Hayden had set him up.
Victoria was still carrying his child.
Even though Martin was scared, even though he knew Victoria wouldn't be pleasant when she saw him, he still stubbed out the barely-smoked cigarette in the ashtray.
Standing up, he snatched his black suit jacket from the chair and slung it over his shoulders
Then he put on his black coat, leaving the CEO's office while putting it on.
Car keys in hand, his face anxious.
He was uneasy, his heart feeling like it was weighed down by a heavy lead block.
What would Victoria's reaction be when she saw him?
Would she yell and scream?
Or would she hit him, curse him, tell him to get lost?
No matter how difficult it was, right now, he had to be by Victoria's side.
Because Victoria was his wife.
He needed to be there for his wife, to be her support.
The ambulance drove smoothly on the empty road.
It was already past midnight now.
Trees lined both sides of the road.
Dim yellow streetlights, filtering through the huge umbrella-like trees on both sides of the road, slanted, thin, and dense, shining into the ambulance.
Through the ambulance window, falling on Victoria and Hayden's bodieswere lying beside her.
The streetlights stood like silent sentinels, lighting the way for Hayden's final journey home
Victoria's numb and dull gaze fell on the scenery outside.
The ambulance wobbled and turned into an alley.
This was a wealthy area, full of low, spacious detached villas.
Past midnight.
Victoria turned her head. As the ambulance passed the detached villas.
She saw through the villa windows other families gathered together, faces full of smiles, raising glasses together, enjoying the New Year's happiness.
Victoria thought, if her father hadn't had this accident today, their family of three would have been celebrating like this too.
The ambulance reached the tall iron gate.
Aria waited by the gate, which stood open as though welcoming them home
Victoria saw a smile on Aria's face - the eager look of a wife waiting for her husband and daughter to come home.
The ambulance slowly stopped.
The driver opened the door and jumped out.
Victoria got out, too. The driver quickly opened the back door.