Chapter 393

Chapter 393

Michael was actually Arthur's uncle, which was why he always referred to himself as "I" instead of "Dad."

But because he was unwilling to call himself a father, his words carried a businesslike tone. "From now on, I promise to fulfill my duties as your guardian."

I thought, "..."

It sounded awkward, but technically, he wasn't wrong.

Arthur didn't seem bothered by the way Michael addressed himself. Maybe...

Deep down, he didn't really accept Michael as his father either.

Arthur still looked worried. "Dad, I told you—if you're only making this decision because of Alice, then forget it..."

"No, it has nothing to do with Alice. I genuinely want to be a good guardian to you. Can you trust me?"

Michael's tone was firm, his gaze sincere.

Arthur froze for a few seconds, slowly starting to accept what Michael was saying. "Okay."

"Thank you." Michael looked at Arthur with a gentle smile.

"Arthur, happy birthday." Michael's words were heartfelt.

"Thanks, Dad." A genuine smile spread across Arthur's face.

He was still young, but he could tell when an adult's kindness was real—and whether they truly cared about him.

I knew Arthur desperately craved warmth and family, which was why he was willing to give Michael a chance to "make things right."

The warmth in Michael's eyes assured me that he had finally let go of that burden—the resentment toward Arthur as the child whose birth had killed his sister. But Arthur was innocent in all of this.

His sister's death was a lifelong wound. It had taken him eight years to stop seeing Arthur as someone to hate. That wasn't easy. I had no right to judge whether Michael was right or wrong in this. I could only hope that those still living could find happiness.

My phone screen lit up on the table, drawing my attention to a new message. It was from Eleanor.

I opened the chat to read it.

"Alice, does James hate me now?"

I frowned slightly. "Why would you say that?"

"I've sent him so many messages, and he hasn't replied to a single one. I thought maybe he was just busy and would respond when he had time, but it's been two days since I sent those messages, and I still haven't heard anything. I didn't know what else to do, so I had to ask you."

"If he really hates getting messages from me, I promise I won't bother him again."

Eleanor followed up with several sobbing emojis.

James had gone abroad on a business trip, but it wasn't like him to deliberately ignore people.

Something felt off. I turned to Michael and the others. "I need to step outside and make a call."

"Sure."

Michael nodded.

I walked outside the fast-food restaurant and dialed James's number.

It was turned off.

I didn't waste any time. I immediately tried to locate James's position.

The result came back as a failed query—unable to track his location.

My heart sank. I sent Michael a text: "Please apologize to Arthur for me. Something urgent came up, and I can't stay for his birthday."

Michael replied instantly: "Okay."

"Alice, what's the emergency? Is there anything I can help with?" Michael quickly followed up.

Not right now.

I glanced back through the window at Michael and the others, waved a quick goodbye to Arthur, then turned and left.

I was heading back to Emerald City.

...

I drove at full speed.

When I reached the Baker Group building, I headed straight for Robert's office.

No one was there.

His secretary told me Robert was in a meeting, so I went to the conference room.

Recently, Sawyer had been investigating the servants who had cared for Emily back in the day, hoping to find evidence that Robert had tampered with her pregnancies—causing both children Emily carried to be born with problems.

Yesterday, Sawyer told me the family had gone into hiding and he couldn't track them down. That made me suspicious that Robert had caught wind of Sawyer's investigation and colluded with them to hide the servants. I'd originally planned to get involved after Arthur's birthday and resolve this quickly. But I'd underestimated how ruthless Robert could be. He'd actually made a move against James. The fact that I couldn't reach James now meant he'd been captured by people Robert had arranged overseas.

The business trip was just a ruse—a way to lure James abroad, out of my sight, so he could be taken hostage.

Robert knew James was leverage against both my mother and me, which was why he'd chosen this approach. Whether Sawyer found the servants' family or not no longer mattered. Robert's actions had already exposed him. Some things you do because you have a guilty conscience.

Time to settle accounts with him directly.

I stood at the conference room door and pushed it open.

Robert's first reaction to hearing the door open was to assume someone was late. "Didn't I say this meeting was mandatory? Why are you so... late?"

When Robert turned and saw who it actually was, his irritated expression froze on his face. He knew I wasn't here for anything good, but with nowhere to hide and no way to escape, all he could do was force an awkward smile. "Alice, what are you doing here at the company all of a sudden? Is there something you need from me? If so, could you wait until I finish this meeting?"

The other employees in the conference room stared in confusion, watching their chairman treat his own daughter with such deference.

Robert obviously felt humiliated, but at this point, even with a hundred times the courage, he wouldn't dare pull rank as a father and raise his voice at me. Still, with so many eyes on him, he couldn't bring himself to openly beg me to leave.

"No. But I can give you a few minutes to have these employees step out. I need to talk to you in private."

Robert obviously knew what "talk in private" meant, but with me standing right in front of him, there was no escaping.

Robert swallowed hard. Then, for some reason—maybe a momentary lapse in judgment—he dared to say, "Alice, can't whatever it is wait until after I finish this meeting? This is an important discussion."

I didn't give Robert another chance. I grabbed him by the hair and slammed his head down onto the table. Gasps of shock erupted from the employees.

They'd never witnessed anything like this before and didn't know whether to pretend they hadn't seen anything or step in to help.

"All of you, leave."

I gave the order.

All the senior employees immediately stood up, heads bowed, pretending they hadn't seen Robert in this humiliating position. They filed out of the conference room one by one. The last person to leave—probably out of consideration for Robert—thoughtfully closed the door behind them.