Chapter 28 Carlos's Goodnight Kiss for Eddie
Carlos coldly said, "Get out!"
"Do you need help?" Angela kindly offered.
Carlos said impatiently, "No need, get out!"
With a frown, Angela muttered a few words under her breath and turned to leave the room.
After two hours of struggle, Carlos had finally bathed the two children and carried them into the bedroom.
Angela had just made the bed when Carlos came in with the two freshly bathed little boys and settled them onto it.
He also took a quick shower and changed into pajamas, but by the time he had finished, it was clear that the two rascals had given him quite the runaround.
Eddie crawled to the head of the bed, lifted the quilt, and burrowed in. His little red cheeks turned towards Angela, and he whispered accusingly, "He spanked me…"
"What?" Angela didn't hear him clearly at first.
Carlos did, though, and gave Eddie a stern look, his eyebrows knitting together.
Eddie, seemingly unperturbed by Carlos hearing him, complained to Angela, "He spanked my bottom!"
With that, he pointed an accusing little finger at Carlos, his eyes full of indignation.
Angela looked blankly at Carlos.
Carlos explained, "He was being naughty, squirming around, splashing water all over me."
"That's because you were... indecent with me!" Eddie protested.
Indecent?
If Eddie hadn't chosen such an absurd word, Angela would not have found it so difficult to suppress her laughter. Sidney, trying to keep a straight face next to her, seemed to be undergoing an ascetic's ordeal, no doubt running through the world's saddest thoughts to keep himself from bursting out laughing.
Angela asked in confusion, "How was he indecent with you?"
Eddie hesitated, unable to bring himself to say it, "...He touched me..."
Suddenly, Angela's gaze turned into one of scrutiny, as if examining a deviant.
Carlos could only feel irritation at the child's troublesome speech, perfectly innocent actions being misinterpreted. "I did not."
"But Eddie said you touched him..."
Sidney grew anxious, worried about his dad being accused of being a pervert, and stood up on the bed in an attempt to plead on behalf of Carlos.
Carlos said, "I was just giving him a rub down during his bath. Does that count as indecency?"
Sidney nodded vigorously in agreement.
Eddie protested, "I can scrub myself!" Normally, Angela would strip him down and place him in the tub, then busily create suds with the bath sponge while Eddie scrubbed himself.
"Alright, he was just helping you bathe," Angela soothed Eddie. "It's late, Eddie. Lay down and be good."
Eddie usually listened to Angela and obediently settled down. Sidney, too, clambered over to lie down next to Angela on her other side.
"I'm going to read Eddie and Sidney a bedtime story to put them to sleep," Angela said. "You can go back to your own room now."
Carlos hummed in response.
Previously, Sidney used to sleep with him. But after he started working late and repeatedly waking Sidney, he arranged for a nanny to tuck him in.
However, a bedtime kiss was always essential. Carlos approached the bed, leaned down, and gently kissed Sidney's forehead.
"Goodnight, Sidney," Carlos said softly.
Sidney nodded and hugged Angela around the waist. Carlos stood up, then suddenly remembered something and looked at Eddie.
Angela had set a clear condition for Carlos – he was to treat Eddie just as he treated Sidney.
Carlos, casting a contemplative gaze at Eddie, couldn't deny the complex emotions swirling within him. By all logical standards, Eddie was a constant reminder of Angela's betrayal and an affair with another man – a situation that should evoke disgust.
However, when confronted with Eddie's innocent face, a striking reflection of Angela's features, he couldn't help but find the child strangely endearing.
Bound by his promise to Angela, Carlos approached Eddie's side.
Eddie, uncertain about Carlos's intentions, instinctively drew himself under the covers, leaving only a small portion of his face visible.
Unexpectedly, Carlos bent down and planted a gentle kiss on Eddie's forehead. The action caught Eddie off guard.
Apart from his mother, no one had ever bestowed a kiss upon him. While Eddie should have felt resistant to such an intimate gesture, he remained stiff and still, absorbing the unfamiliar warmth.
Receiving the same "goodnight kiss" as Sidney was a profound and unexpected moment for Eddie, stirring emotions he hadn't anticipated. The complexities of the situation began to unfold, and Carlos's actions left an indelible mark on the young boy's heart.
*****
Back in his study, Carlos picked up a call from Mike with a report.
“Mr. Murphy, I apologize, but I have not made any progress in my investigation regarding Eddie.”
Carlos stared at the computer screen at a virus sample, one that had recently breached Magic Strategy's entire security network. Programmers had disassembled the virus, discovering its exceptionally complex design and tight integration. Even the company's top security experts couldn’t eradicate it at its root.
In the end, the virus was merely contained. The child claimed he had developed the virus.
Due to the virus's invasion, Magic Strategy suffered significant losses and had to rebuild its defense network. Fortunately, critical business secrets and client data remained secure.
It all seemed like a child's prank. He was only seven. How had he developed such a terrifying virus program?
What's more important, Carlos had asked Mike to thoroughly investigate the child’s background, to no avail.
The child appeared to be just an ordinary kid, no different from his peers, with a simple background.
But Carlos knew this was no ordinary child. Some noble werewolves possess innate talents—could Eddie be a child of such noble lineage?
*****
At the Parker family residence, the house was bright with lights deep into the night.
Gladys nestled next to Susie, her voice full of grievance, “Mom, you didn’t see what happened today. Angela strutted in front of me, embarrassing me completely!”
Susie Parker, Angela’s stepmother, had once captured Marshal’s attention even as Lauren, his wife, was gravely ill. At the time, Lauren's condition was not terminal; surgery would have given her a chance to recover.
But Susie, in Marshal's embrace, landed a blow with the blunt statement, “Once you die, Marshal will marry me.”
Moved, Marshal announced intentions to divorce Lauren, who plunged into despair and committed suicide by jumping from a building.
Angela was too young then to understand; she only knew her mother had died from an illness, not realizing that it was Susie’s cruelty that drove her to death.
Since then, Angela had been neglected. But after giving birth to a son and a daughter for Marshal, Susie basked in his affection.
Years had passed with no word of Angela. Susie only knew of her wretched life and never imagined that fortunes would turn and Angela would find herself with influence and power.